Family Friday: "..sew him into our family, Lord..."

Meet Justin and Jaymi...

Because of their involvement in their local church's adoption ministry, God began to work on their hearts and lead them towards adoption. Through this ministry, Jaymi saw a picture of a little boy from Taiwan that captured her attention.  She says, “I had looked at a number of photos of waiting children before, but this time was different.  He stole my heart and I took this experience as a green light for our family to being the process of adopting.”

We at Lifesong felt blessed to partner with this special family as they brought home little Zac from Taiwan this spring. Please join us in listening in to their testimony of God's faithfulness...

We prayed specifically for God to "sew" our son into our family, even before we met. People who didn't even know us prayed those exact words over our adoption! That could only be from the heart of our loving Father who knows us all! We have been home with Zac for 6 months and it feels like he has been with us forever. He is sewn in!

--Justin & Jaymi

Family Friday: Justin & Bonnie

 I'm excited to introduce to you Justin, Bonnie, Asher and Hosanna, a family we were so blessed to partner with in their 2 year adoption process from Ethiopia.  Lifesong for Orphans along with Immanuel Baptist Church partnered with this family to help bridge the financial barrier of adoption through grants and fundraising support! I invite you to listen in as they share their journey to their two little 'treasures'.

We started our Ethiopian adoptions in April of 2010. We knew the Lord was calling us to adopt, but we honestly did not have the financial means to do so.  We received both a direct grant (through our church) and a matching grant from Lifesong during the Fall of 2010.  These monies came at the exact time that we needed in order to pay for our referral fees. 

God provided manna in the desert for the children of Israel one day at a time, and He likewise provided for our daily adoption needs through Lifesong.  It seemed that whenever a bill was due, we would receive a notification from Lifesong telling us that someone had donated towards our matching grant or our account fund.  These notifications continued throughout the duration of our adoption process! We praise God for Lifesong and do not know how we would have funded our adoption without their assistance.

We learned two amazing lessons throughout our adoption process.  Firstly, our Lord is a God who grants justice to the fatherless.  Secondly, He richly supplies all that we need when we chase after the things His heart breaks for.  After years of prayer and tears we saw Him grant justice to our children in miraculous ways; and through Lifesong He provided abundantly for all of our financial needs.

--Justin & Bonnie

Paying it forward...

 

We were delighted to get this email from a Lifesong family who, several years ago, received a matching grant that assisted them in their adoption journey to China...

Dear Lifesong,

We wanted to send another letter of thanks out to your organization for helping us with a matching grant during our adoption journey.  It was so very helpful, and we deeply appreciate the work that you do!  It has been over 3 years since we returned from China with our daughter, and even though it has been a difficult road at times, we wouldn’t change a thing.  Our daughter will be turning eight years old on the 26^th of March. 

In honor of that special day we would like to “pay forward” a $1,500 matching grant to a family similar to ours.  We would like to provide this for a family that on paper doesn’t seem to qualify for help and is adopting an older or special needs child.  

Thank you again for all you do,

Lifesong family (asked to remain anonymous)

WOW! What a JOY it is for us to be able to work with families like this whose hearts are displaying the glory of our Father God!

Family Friday: Jason & Sherry

Listen in as Jason & Sherry share their testimony from their recent adoption of their son Josiah,

 

We took a big step of faith in beginning our adoption experience.  We had put off adopting for several years due to the financial cost.  Finally, we decided that (on our own) we were never going to have the funds to adopt.  Feeling called by God to adopt, we knew we were just going to have to trust in God alone to complete the adoption for us.  We could NOT do it on our own.  We started the process with a tax refund check of $5,000 and no other money in savings.  Two years and $30,000 later, we came home with Josiah.  God worked it out completely.  Every time we needed money, he provided.  Lifesong was one of those ways that God came through.  We received a matching grant from Lifesong and got the added blessing of watching our friends and family help us bring Josiah home. -Jason & Sherry

 Thanks Jason & Sherry for partnering with Lifesong...It was such an honor for us to play just a small part in the work that God has done in your lives and your family!

Family Friday: David & Erica

(Photo by: Nina Mullins Photography)

I don't know about you, but this picture speaks a thousand words to me. Words like love. Ransom. Family. Joy. Excitement. Hope. Belonging.

I still remember receiving this picture last May from Erica and how it spoke to me. In that moment, God spoke deeply into my heart and urged me to stop and in stillness reflect on this picture, causing me to realize His deep love and how He choose to adopt ME into His family...

Listen in as David & Erica, who were blessed with a matching grant from the James Fund in partnership with Lifesong for Orphans, share some of the thousand words that come out of this special picture:

God used the ministry of The James Fund to bless our family and help bring Zahra Reign home forever.  When God called us to adopt again we knew it wouldn't be an easy task financially, although this was our second adoption we were once again in a new kind of uncharted territory.  Fundraising. 

God used our fundraising journey to show us more of himself, His love for us and for His children.  It allowed us to see the body of Christ at work in a tangible way on behalf of us and our precious daughter.  Over and over again God moved in HUGE ways to confirm to us that we were to stay the course and trust Him to provide.  When we saw our daughter on a waiting child list and knew she was meant to be ours--it was a bit overwhelming knowing what would be ahead of us financially.  God again confirmed His provision for us and for Zahra.  We moved forward in faith requesting her file and saying YES to this precious four year old little one.  The money needed each step of the way was never late, rarely early, always right on time.  Through our James Fund Grant and the amazing support of our Lifesong Family we were given the opportunity to not only have a tax deductible option for donors but a match for the money donated.  This was a HUGE provision for us, making it possible to complete our adoption. 

Here we are months later: Zahra is thriving, we are so blessed to parent this precious little girl, celebrating her life, and watching the redemption process as she learns about the love of a family.  She is speaking more and more English, adapting to her new surroundings, loving her siblings, and soaking in every moment.  We cannot thank everyone enough for what God is doing in and through the James Fund & Lifesong for Orphans ministry.  We are truly humbled and blessed.

-David & Erica

Thank you so much David & Erica for letting us share in this exciting journey and be reminded of the great Father who adopted us!