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

Family Friday: Jonathan & Christy

 I love Fridays! I love sharing stories of hope and love and family.  I'd like to introduce to you Jonathan and Christy, who Lifesong served through fundraising support in their adoption of sweet little Jadon.  Listen in as Jonathan & Christy share their hearts...

After we had raised much, but not all the funds needed for a domestic adoption, Lifesong graciously partnered with us to help raise 100% of the funds needed. Not only were the Lifesong representatives we interacted helpful, they were especially encouraging to us in our adoption journey. Having Lifesong’s partnership enabled us to offer tax-deductible giving, and the remaining funds needed were contributed in short order. Lifesong helped us adopt in a timely manner, and bring baby Jadon home.

God's timing in using Lifesong in our adoption was amazing. The day after Lifesong informed us that the remaining funds needed for adoption had been contributed, we received a phone call from the adoption agency that a birth mother wanted to meet with us. Our partnership with Lifesong for Orphans enabled us to have all the funds needed the day before we got the phone call about the baby boy who is now our son. We will forever be grateful to Lifesong for helping us be ready to bring our son home!

-Jonathan & Christy

And becuase this little guy is too cute to post only one picture...

Jonathan, Christy & Jadon--We pray God's richest blessing on your family knowing that GOD--above all--is your protector and providor.  Thanks for letting us partner with you in the exciting journey of adoption!

Family Friday: Frank and Sharon

Meet Frank and Sharon, a Lifesong and Both Hands family we were blessed to serve beside.  They adopted a little boy domestically who they named Will Franklin. It is SUCH a joy for us to work with loving Christian families who desire to bring children into their forever family!  Thank you Frank & Sharon for letting us be apart of your journey!

We stumbled upon Lifesong on our mad search for adoption grants and assistance.  I wasn’t much on filling out massive applications and writing grant letters, so it was much to my delight that Lifesong featured the Both Hands project opportunity.  We fell in love with the mission and felt that this was the direction God was leading us.  Lifesong managed all the incoming funds and paid out adoption invoices all while making it a seamless process for us.  What a blessing!  --Frank & Sharon

Conferences you don't want to miss!

Calling all church pastors, adoption & orphan advocates and adoptive (or considering adoption) families!! We're excited to highlight some incredible upcoming conferences with a focus on the fatherless...

July 26, 2012

Afflicted Conference (Eureka, IL)

"Give justice to the weak and the fatherless; maintain the right of the afflicted and destitute." Psalm 82:3

Afflicted Conference will share the needs of not only the fatherless, but also reflect on the human slavery that is tragically increasing in our world and what WE, as the body of Christ, can do to help make a difference! Visit the Afflicted Conference Facebook page for more details!

September 14-15, 2012

Empowered to Connect (Nashville, TN)

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. Click here to register.

September 14-15, 2012

Together for Adoption Conferce (Atlanta, GA)

Romanticizing orphan care and adoption is so very easy and tempting to do. But there is no such thing as orphan care and adoption without suffering. The primary objective of this conference is to take Christians deeper into God’s story of adoption to give hope and practical tools to walk with deep joy through “the sufferings of this present time” (Romans 8:18-23) for God’s glory and the good of orphans around the world.  To register or learn more, visit their website.

Both Hands: You Make Beautiful Things...

Another Both Hands project....

Dustin and Katie have answered God's call and stepped out in faith to adopt a little boy from South Korea. The Leonard Family and a team of volunteers worked on a widow's home to help raise funds to cover the high cost of adoption!

Since Mrs. Banegas' husband passed away, it's become more difficult for her to keep up with the necessary improvements and repairs to her home. So on April 28th, the Leonards and the team of volunteers worked on her home for the day.

Each volunteer raised sponsorship for their day of work. Since most of the supplies for the repairs on the widow's home are being donated, 100% of the money raised will help bring home this little boy to his forever family! 

Check out their video that won "The Best Christian Media" Award on Vimeo!

Click here to read a local new's article on this project!

Click here to see Dustin and Katie's fundraising page.

"Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world." — James 1:27