Jennard and Janny brought Samuel home in April of 2018. Since then we have been seeking God’s leading to adopt again.
First of all, thank you to all of you who have journeyed with us in bringing Samuel home and for being the village that is raising him. It has been a privilege and a gift to become parents via adoption. We want to share with you some blessings:
1. We understood our own adoption into God’s family through Jesus. Hearing and using the word “adopt” has a deeper meaning after adopting our child. Then we read a verse like John 14:18 (“I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.”) that Jesus said walking towards the cross. He had a plan to pay the cost to not leave us as orphans. And we fall in love with Jesus deeper.
2. We experienced the cost of adoption. Samuel’s adoption costed about 45K which is about the cost of our second adoption. Even while both of us were working full time, this amount of money is not easy to save. But we did it with so much joy. We gladly gave up shopping for clothes or eating out because even the thought of getting to hold Samuel in our arms brought us so much joy. (And now that he is home, it’s better than what we imagined.) God let us share in His cost (even to a fraction of a fraction of a degree) and His joy through our own experience of adoption.
3. Adoption was not and is not plan B. Janny often wondered what sin she must have committed that we would be barren. Then reading Romans 8:28 (And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose) and Jeremiah 1:5 (“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations“). After surveying our hearts, we come to be reassured that God will use all things for His good plan. God used our barrenness to lead us to Samuel. The more we get to know his personality, temperament and interests, God proves to us that He had made Samuel to be our son… just like He proves to us that we are His children and loved us before we were even conceived.
Because the blessings outweighs the cost we embarked on the journey to adopt our second child. For our first adoption, we chose to not fundraise because we were both working full time. With a little help from a few friends and family, God provided for all things. This time, we had saved enough funds then we had unforeseen expenses (Jennard’s car broke down and we had flooding in our home.) At first, we were distraught because we had put this fund aside for our child #2. But now we have peace that God wants us to fundraise to share this joy of adoption with more people. Please do not feel obligated to give. We thank you for even reading so far.
STRIPE charges an online processing fee (2.2% +.30 USD per transaction). Your donations will be decreased by this amount. You may also send a check payable to “Lifesong for Orphans”. In the memo line please write “Cahatol 09000”, to ensure it is credited to our account. Please mail to Lifesong for Orphans, PO Box 40, Gridley, IL 61744.
Lifesong has been blessed with partners who underwrite all U.S. administrative and fundraising costs (TMG Foundation and other partners). That means 100% of your donation will go directly to the adoption.
- In following IRS guidelines, your donation is to Lifesong for Orphans. This organization retains full discretion over its use, but intends to honor the donor’s suggested use.
- Lifesong is a 501(c)3 tax exempt organization. Individual donations of $50 or more and yearly donations totaling $250 or more will receive a tax-deductible receipt. Receipts for donations under $50 will gladly be sent upon request.