Grants and a Piece of Humble Pie
There are many people we meet who say they would love to adopt or they would love to adopt some day. Many times the biggest hurdle in their minds is the financial requirements. We have a good friend who has worked in the adoption world for over 20 years. I was surprised to hear her say that she has never met a family who couldn't adopt because of finances, there are other reasons, but finances is never one of them - there is always a way.
During those first weeks after we decided to adopt again, Kevin and I talked about the money that would be required for this adoption and the additional sacrifices our family would need to make in order for it to happen. We also knew that adopting a child with multiple medical needs = lots of medical bills. It wasn't a deterrent for us to adopt but something we needed to be realistic about. We knew that God had called us to adopt Elie and He would provide everything needed to get her home and to care for her. We knew there were many ways to find money for an adoption, but we hadn't actually traveled down that path ourselves when we were adopting Faith. We experienced many blessings of people giving us money to help with costs, but it was nothing organized. For the most part all of our adoption expenses for Faith came out of Kevin working an extra job. So we began to pray that God would use our family as an example of ways to finance an adoption.
In October our friend, Sue, suggested that we apply for a matching grant through an organization called Brittany's Hope Foundation. You can read all about their story here. I have always hated asking people for money for myself (except from mom and dad, but that doesn't count). When I was little I would make my sister sell all of my girl scout cookies for me because I couldn't stand the thought of asking someone to buy something. I have no reservations asking people to give money for someone else, but asking it for myself is humbling and a bit painful. So when Sue first suggested Brittany's Hope and that we would need to fundraise half of the money, it took us sometime to decide if we should do it or not. We could definitely benefit from the help financially, but I didn't know if I could actually ASK people to donate for our adoption. But we couldn't get away from the thought of finding out more about this grant.
God finally won that battle, told us to humble ourselves and submit the application. BHF choose our family to receive a $10,000 matching grant!! What that means is if we raise $5000 they will give us $5000 for a total of $10,000. This will be a huge blessing to our family and help get us to the $25,000 total needed to complete our adoption of Elie + the finances needed for medical costs once she comes home. I called my friend, Karen, to let her know the good news and she said she had some to share with us. She and another friend had already been planning to host a fundraiser to raise money for our adoption expenses. Even now, weeks later, I still get choked up when I think about it. Since that day in November there have been so many amazing things happen and the love out-poured on our family is a daily reminder of the provision of our God. It is our desire that one day Elie will hear these stories and know just how much she was and is loved.
So here we go:
For those local, our fundraiser is this Sunday and we would love to see you there! For those out of town, some of the vendors have set up online shops. All the info is below:
January 8
1:00pm to 4:00pm
21800 Iannis Spring Dr, Ashburn, Va
Mandi Wooton, Silpada, www.mysilpada.com/mandi.wooten, under Sonya Judkins party
Tres Billy, Pamp Chef, www.pamperedchef.biz/cheftress, under Karen Preston or Brittany's Hope Foundation
Cindy Russo, Scentsy, https://
During those first weeks after we decided to adopt again, Kevin and I talked about the money that would be required for this adoption and the additional sacrifices our family would need to make in order for it to happen. We also knew that adopting a child with multiple medical needs = lots of medical bills. It wasn't a deterrent for us to adopt but something we needed to be realistic about. We knew that God had called us to adopt Elie and He would provide everything needed to get her home and to care for her. We knew there were many ways to find money for an adoption, but we hadn't actually traveled down that path ourselves when we were adopting Faith. We experienced many blessings of people giving us money to help with costs, but it was nothing organized. For the most part all of our adoption expenses for Faith came out of Kevin working an extra job. So we began to pray that God would use our family as an example of ways to finance an adoption.
In October our friend, Sue, suggested that we apply for a matching grant through an organization called Brittany's Hope Foundation. You can read all about their story here. I have always hated asking people for money for myself (except from mom and dad, but that doesn't count). When I was little I would make my sister sell all of my girl scout cookies for me because I couldn't stand the thought of asking someone to buy something. I have no reservations asking people to give money for someone else, but asking it for myself is humbling and a bit painful. So when Sue first suggested Brittany's Hope and that we would need to fundraise half of the money, it took us sometime to decide if we should do it or not. We could definitely benefit from the help financially, but I didn't know if I could actually ASK people to donate for our adoption. But we couldn't get away from the thought of finding out more about this grant.
God finally won that battle, told us to humble ourselves and submit the application. BHF choose our family to receive a $10,000 matching grant!! What that means is if we raise $5000 they will give us $5000 for a total of $10,000. This will be a huge blessing to our family and help get us to the $25,000 total needed to complete our adoption of Elie + the finances needed for medical costs once she comes home. I called my friend, Karen, to let her know the good news and she said she had some to share with us. She and another friend had already been planning to host a fundraiser to raise money for our adoption expenses. Even now, weeks later, I still get choked up when I think about it. Since that day in November there have been so many amazing things happen and the love out-poured on our family is a daily reminder of the provision of our God. It is our desire that one day Elie will hear these stories and know just how much she was and is loved.
So here we go:
For those local, our fundraiser is this Sunday and we would love to see you there! For those out of town, some of the vendors have set up online shops. All the info is below:
January 8
1:00pm to 4:00pm
21800 Iannis Spring Dr, Ashburn, Va
Scentsy
Pampered Chef
Leesburg Chiropractic and Message
Double Stuff Paper and Fabric
Lottie Hop
Dacia Photography
Silpada
Longaberger
Just Imagine
31 bags
Rachel Cruz Photography
Poetry in Motion Photography- Online Shopping:
- Lisa Seaman, 31 bags, http://www.mythirtyone.com/
shop/preshop.aspx
Mandi Wooton, Silpada, www.mysilpada.com/mandi.wooten, under Sonya Judkins party
Tres Billy, Pamp Chef, www.pamperedchef.biz/cheftress, under Karen Preston or Brittany's Hope Foundation
Cindy Russo, Scentsy, https://
in addition to having precious ellie in your arms soon, i think one of the greatest things from this journey you're on is the unique chance you have to shout to the world just how great and mighty and awesome and faithful our jesus is! you have a joy and a testimony very few have experienced... thanks for sharing glimpses so we can rejoice (and pray) with you.
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