We reserve Tuesdays to share stories from some of our grant recipients. May you be blessed by their stories….
We are in the process of adopting Mollie Elizabeth who is 2 ½ years old. She currently is in foster care in China.
Jeremy and Heidi have been married for 16 ½ years. When our children were younger, they would bring up the subject of adoption. It was something we were never considering. We had the perfect family, a boy, and then a girl. We were happy, or so we believed.
In October, 2010 Heidi attended a Christian retreat called The Great Banquet. It was here that God began to soften and move in her heart the thought of adoption. He revealed a plan to her that she had never dreamed, that she and Jeremy had another daughter waiting for them in China. It was confirmed to her several times that weekend through other people and their ministries, but the biggest confirmation came through a letter from her Aunt Molly.
When Heidi was very young, her parents divorced. They are wonderful people, but just felt they needed to part ways.
She and her sister moved in with Aunt Molly. She had never been married and had no children of her own. Although, they were never formally adopted by her, she was their adopted Mother. She loved them unconditionally.
At The Great Banquet, Aunt Molly sent Heidi a letter. The first line of this letter read, "Although you were not born of my body, you were born of my heart." That final confirmation was all Heidi needed and God’s plan was now sealed in her heart.
As she shared this news with Jeremy, he was reluctant at first. It wasn’t that he was against the idea; it just was not ever something that was on “his radar”! They began to pray for God’s will to be confirmed in both of them. If this was truly God, then He would reveal his heart and there would not be any doubt.
In February, 2011 Jeremy knew that the Lord had confirmed that which he started in Heidi’s heart and so began the process of international adoption.
Adoption is expensive!! That was one thing that kept Jeremy unsure about whether or not they should move forward. We applied for a Katelyn’s Fund grant at the end of 2011. When they called to interview us, we were extremely impressed and encouraged. At the end of the interview, they prayed for us. As they prayed, you could feel the presence of the Lord in our home. It was powerful. Jeremy and Heidi left the interview call saying, “Even if we don’t get a grant, just being prayed for by these wonderful people was worth it.”
The people involved in Katelyn’s Fund are precious, wonderful people. We’ve not met them in person, but the way they care about their families is awe-inspiring. They are the epitome of James 1:27 “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”
Blessings!
