From Brent
We’ve stuck our neck out several times to ask help for others but this time, we are asking for our family. On the counsel and encouragement of those we trust and those who have privately given graciously to our family, we are just flat out asking if you will help us finish raising the money for Abby’s Wish (our next adoption).
Please don’t stop reading… here’s the scoop:
The Right Time
Abby is in the final months of her chemo, over two years of misery. All she’s talked about during this whole ordeal is adopting her a baby brother or sister. That’s where “Abby’s Wish” came from. We have raised about $10K of the $25-30K needed to bring a couple of orphans to their new home.
We have an adult child moving out this week and another one in a year or so. There will be plenty of room. We’re sacrificing too… garage sales, reducing our family budget, foregoing things we would normally like to do or have.
If we can finish the fundraising now, it will be 6-12 months before we would travel to get the kids. So now is the perfect time to do the final fundraising.
While we have begun our home study, we will not start the official adoption process until all the money is raised. If you start an adoption then bail out for ANY reason, those kids risk never being adopted.
Why the Fundraiser?
People honestly inquire “if you can’t afford the upfront costs, can you afford more children?” No, we don’t have an extra $30K sitting around for the upfront costs. That’s another level of income above us.
As for “affording” more kids, having a larger family is a totally separate part of the commitment. We live a frugal life. We have a 30 year old house in a small town that I’ve expanded with my own two hands and lots of sweat equity. We drive 10 year old cars. We live modestly. We don’t use credit cards, we have no debt other than our mortgage. We’ve purposely given up a lot of potential “lifestyle” because we want to invest our resources to adopt orphans. I work very hard, provide for my family and our commitment has always been:
If other people will invest with us in the upfront costs of adoption, we will invest in the long term costs, care and parenting. Both investments are equally important.
What Happens to the Donations
We have an adoption savings account. Every single penny goes directly towards the adoption expenses. Period. That’s all it will be used for. We are going to adopt a baby and if the opportunity is there, we will adopt a sibling or 2nd child at the same time. Why?
Simple economics. It only costs about $5K more to adopt two kids at once rather than starting over and having to raise another $25-30K in the future and… that’s what we all want. The kids love the thought.
Would You Help?
We would never directly or publicly ask for donations for selfish wants. We know it’s expensive to adopt internationally and some people object to the costs. They think we shouldn’t adopt “foreign” kids when there are domestic kids to adopt. To that we answer: God calls some to domestic adoption and fostering; He calls some to adopt from poor foreign countries. There are great challenges to BOTH, and you have to be committed either way. We minister to the orphans in poor third world countries. That is where God has led us. We have no other reason than that.
If you don’t agree with our reasons, support our objectives, or just don’t like that we’ve asked… then simply disagree and give us the benefit of the doubt that our motives are pure. We’ll get plenty of criticism for this post, but we accept that as part of our commitment to adoption.
Please consider helping us bring home a couple of orphans to a new life. We have a large audience that we give a lot of time and ministry too. We don’t ask this lightly or take you for granted. We are being as direct and honest as we know how. There is power in numbers and there is hardly an eternal reward more great than the “pure religion” of caring for orphans and widows (James 1:27).
If you will invest up front in the adoption costs, we’ll invest the long term care and expense of raising these children. Together, we all will reap the eternal blessings and reward.
That’s as honest and direct as we know how to be. Thanks for taking time to consider it.