Tuesday Testimony is a time when we focus on testimonies of some of our grant recipients. May you be blessed by their stories.
Believing strongly that children are a blessing from the Lord, we knew early in our marriage that we wanted to begin growing our family. In God's sovereignty, He allowed us to struggle with infertility as a means to open our eyes to the joys of adoption. Through the teachings at our church, observing many families adopt among our congregation, and researching adoption from a biblical and practical stand point, God began drawing us to His heart for orphan care. God has continually affirmed to us His love for orphans and convinced us that adoption was not His 2nd choice for our lives, but clearly His 1st choice for our family.
Initially, we decided to pursue a domestic private adoption in 2009. At the last minute the birth mother we were connected with changed her mind, and we were left heartbroken. God used that time of sorrow to redirect our hearts to international adoption. After researching the AIDS and orphan crisis in Ethiopia and learning about the sad statistics of their plight, we began feeling very burdened for the children of this country. In April 2010, the Lord led us to begin the adoption process to bring two small Ethiopian children into our home.
Justin was fortunate to graduate seminary this past December after working on a MDiv degree for the past 4 years. We have live on a fixed income throughout his studies, and knew when starting out on this adoption journey that we would need to trust the Lord for His miraculous provision. He has been faithful every step of the way! We're amazed at how our church has come alongside us to helps us raise funds for our adoption. Much like the early church in Acts, many in our local congregation richly blessed us with items to sell for our yard sale. By the grace of God, we made $3,200 that day for our adoption! The Lord has proven His faithfulness to us time and time again, and we can honestly say that He has provided above and beyond what we ever could have asked or imagined. His provisions point us to His great love for orphans, and His great love for us as His own adopted children.
Our dossier was sent off to Ethiopia in early July of 2010, and we received two referrals for a little boy and girl in September. Our children are currently around 5 months old, and we are eagerly waiting to receive a court date so that we may legally adopt them. Receiving a grant from Katelyn's Fund has been a huge provision in our lives and could not have come at a more perfect time in our adoption process. We are so thankful for not only the financial support Katelyn's Fund has provided, but for the spiritual support they have been to us as well. We have been so deeply touched by their care, concern, and prayers. It is such an honor to be connected with such a gospel-saturated ministry, which is passionate about making it possible for families to obey Christ's command to care for orphans.
