Family Friday: Cory & Cindy

We are pleased to share with you adoptive couple Cory and Cindy who adopted their little girl, Svetlana "Lana" Grace from Russian.  Cory and Cindy were awarded with a matching grant from The James Fund (in partnership with Lifesong for Orphans) and it was our joy to partner with them as they brought little Lana into their forever family. Listen in as Cory and Cindy share their hearts... 

Please share a testimony of your adoption experience with Lifesong...

Our adoption experience was very positive from beginning to end.  Lifesong was a huge encouragement both in terms of the matching grant and providing a legitimate, reassuring way for friends to contribute to the adoption with the benefit of their gift being tax-deductible.  The adoption was a team effort compromising so many people and perhaps what has been most rewarding is seeing how many people have felt wholly a part of this process from the beginning.  And of course we love our adopted, girl, Lana.  She is just right for us and our family. 

Can you name one God-thing (God's provision/hand in your adoption) that comes to mind? 

Having to make a third trip to Russia due to a change in the Russian law was a surprise to us and a potential financial burden.  We simply couldn't afford to make a third trip without risking going into debt.  In the few weeks leading up to our third trip and then immediately afterwards, we saw an unexpected $11,000 more come in to help us pay off all of our adoption expenses. 

Family Friday: Steve & Kim

 

We have been blessed to partner in fundraising with Steve & Kim as they brought home their precious daughter Charis from Zambia. Listen in as they share some of their journey...

As we walked through the adoption process, we were grateful for the people who approached us asking if they could help. Lifesong became an invaluable partner for us, establishing an avenue for our friends and family to surrounded and support us in our mission to bring home our wonderful daughter. 

We were impressed by the responsiveness and the flexibility Lifesong offered. Once we got the clearance to travel, things moved quickly. Lifesong responding by dispersing monies very quickly. Zambia is not like adopting from other countries. The staff at Lifesong were great to work with because they were willing to adapt procedures to match the uniqueness of the process.

Adopting Charis was the most amazingly wonderful and painful experience all wrapped up into one. The process was a mess. Yet, through it, we constantly saw God’s timing and perfect plan from lodging to “just happening” to meet the one person who could get a document processed quickly.

We praise God for his protection and provision.

Thank you Steve & Kim for partnering with Lifesong--it was our JOY to be just a small part of this incredible journey that God led you on. We commit you and your family to God in prayer...that He would continue to show Himself to each of your hearts and that your family could be a picture of the gospel to those you meet.

Family Friday: Scott & Alison

Listen in as Scott & Alison, Lifesong adoptive parents, share their journey of brining home Ethan and Levi from Ethiopia.

Without a doubt, God's provision with our adoption expenses was one of the most amazing aspects to our adoption process. We had fellow adoptive families advise us to make a financial plan for our adoption but then also to step out in faith and watch and see how the Lord would provide. By the end of our adoption, nearly $20,000 had been donated toward our adoption! Unbelievable! A true Miracle!

We believe that partnering with Lifesong encouraged family in donating toward our adoption.  Many were glad to see their money go directly to an organization and their funds used towards only our adoption expenses. 

Thank you Lifesong for partnering with us and making our adoption a reality!

Empowered to Connect Conference Dates

Listen in with Michael & Amy Monroe talk about "Being on the Same Page" in order to love your children well...one of the many topics covered through Empowered to Connect!

Empowered To Connect, together with Show Hope, hosts the Empowered To Connect Conference — a two-day conference designed to help adoptive and foster parents, ministry leaders and professionals better understand how to connect with “children from hard places” in order to help them heal and become all that God desires for them to be.

The next Empowered To Connect Conference will be on April 20-21, in Denver, Colorado at Mission Hills Church. Registration for the Denver conference is now open! If you cannot join in April for the Denver conference, then be sure to mark your calendar for the September conference in Nashville, Tennessee on September 14-15, 2012.  Visit www.etcconference.org for more information and to register online.

Outside the Walls Network

We invite you to listen in as Christ Fellowship's Mark Thomas shares the joys of working Outside the Walls...

A few years ago, Christ Fellowship wanted to provide a viable mechanism to effectively assist members of our body who believed God had called them to change their family through adoption.  The "viable mechanism" we found to assist our church in adoption was Lifesong for Orphans.  

After seeing some of our own members successfully walk through the adoption process, Lifesong approached Christ Fellowship to see if we would consider offering financial support for other followers of Christ outside of our church body who were pursuing adoption.  Realizing that Lifesong, the adopting family and Christ Fellowship all shared the same goal of impacting others for Christ, we agreed to join the Outside the Walls Network. 

Doing so has been an incredibly rewarding experience for all parties involved.  First, it has enabled families to fulfill their pursuit of adoption.  Second, it has afforded Lifesong with the ability to experience the joy of seeing other believers serve a family in need.  Third, it has blessed Christ Fellowship as we strive to be obedient to God's call.  Finally, and most importantly, I am convinced that God is glorified as his people work to support one another for his cause. 

Because of the significant impact a church body can have in an event such as adoption, we would ask others to consider partnering with Lifesong for Orphans to financially support families outside of your church who are walking through this experience.  If you prayerfully consider offering support to those believers outside of your immediate church body, I am confident that families will be blessed, lives will be changed and, above all, God will be glorified.

--Mark Thomas, Christ Fellowship  

Because of this mindset, 21 Church Adoption Funds within this network have together made 91 commitments totaling over $310,000 in adoption funding to assist families "outside of their walls".

Would you be willing to join the Network and reach more children together, than you could alone? 

We invite you to learn more about Outside the Walls Network to see if this is a possible fit for your church community.