Dade and I have known that we would love to give a home to a child in need from a very early point in our marriage. After a lot of prayer, research, time, and consideration we have decided to pursue an adoption from Lesotho. This was not a decision that we made lightly. We are aware of the struggles and challenges that we will face with adopting internationally. We know that we can provide a child with a loving home and we will face every joyous moment and every obstacle together. God has made it very clear to us that it is time to take that leap of faith.
Adoption has been on our hearts for many years, but our adoption journey started on March 5, 2022. I was driving to our church to listen to Lisa Harper speak at a women’s conference. I know that she is passionate about adoption and the thought crossed my mind that if I ever had the opportunity to talk to her, I would want her advice on adoption. I didn’t think that there was any chance of that actually happening, but it did. Lisa Harper spoke for a little while and then our worship team played a few songs. I could feel myself getting emotional. I felt like God was telling me that I needed to let go of my desire to have another biological child. That is not an easy thing to do. As I listened to the music and struggled with this thought, Lisa Harper came down to me! There were over 900 women in the church and she came down to me. I knew that I needed to ask her about adoption. I asked her what advice she could give me. She said her only wish was that she would have adopted sooner. Her advice to me was to find a good Christian agency and take it one step at a time.
It was like a switch had been flipped. The hurt that we both felt from our struggles with infertility has turned to joy. We are honored that God has given us Avery and that we will also get to experience the blessing of a child through adoption. We were anxious to get started, so we began the adoption process with the first agency that we both agreed on. We quickly realized that this was not the path that God was leading us to. We continued to research all of our options and prayed. A few months later, Dade and I called a local agency to ask about their program and the countries they could help us with. It didn’t seem right for us, so the adoption specialist began naming off other countries that other agencies could help us with. Among the short list was Lesotho. We instantly felt like God was up to something. Lesotho is a small country in southern Africa. Our church has adopted a valley there and sends several teams there each year. We have heard so many stories of how God is moving in Lesotho. The idea that it would be open to international adoption didn’t even cross our minds when we began pursuing adoption. After we looked more into this possibility, we learned that Lesotho only partners with three countries worldwide for adoptions, and there is only one agency in the United States. That agency only allows 10 families at a time to be in the program and we were “randomly” referred to it!
Our drive and sense of direction was renewed, but we wanted some type of assurance from God that this is what we were supposed to do. That following Saturday morning, I got up with the sole purpose of having intentional prayer time. During that time, I said one of the most heartfelt prayers that I have ever prayed. Before I tell you about that prayer, I have to tell you about the prayer I prayed over six years ago now.
In 2015, we lost the baby that we had wanted for years. Miscarriage is never easy, but God uses those hard times for His good purposes. Dade and I grew closer together at that time and I learned to truly empathize with others going through the same pain. We continued to pray for a child and we got pregnant again a year later. I wanted so badly to be excited about this pregnancy, but I was not at peace. We’d been down this road before and I was convinced that we were going to lose this baby too. We had heard the heartbeat and the doctors had told us that everything looked good, but I wanted to hear from God. I was still angry about losing our first baby and it was robbing me of my joy. I yelled out to God. I was very blunt with Him about how I felt. He’s a big God. He can handle it. God answered my prayer/angry rant. I felt the urge to open up my Bible app. The verse that I saw was Isaiah 43: 18-19.
“Forget about what’s happened;
don’t keep going over old history.
Be alert, be present. I’m about to do something brand-new.
It’s bursting out! Don’t you see it?”
Our baby girl was born a few months later. Avery is truly a blessing to our family. There is not a day that goes by that we don’t thank God for her. She is really looking forward to being a big sister! She often prays for God to lead us to the little boy or girl that is waiting for us.
Now back to my most recent heartfelt prayer. It wasn’t an angry prayer this time, but a really honest one. As I talked to God, I told Him that we had started the adoption process before and didn’t want to make that mistake again. We wanted some assurance that this was His path for us. At the exact minute that I finished my prayer, my phone lit up on its own. It was my verse of the day, Isaiah 43: 18-19. (A slightly different version.)
“Forget the former things;
Do not dwell on the past.
See, I am doing a new thing!”
ONLY GOD! Only God could answer our prayers in such a perfect and meaningful way, and He continues to do so. At times, we’ve had doubts about our abilities to navigate this journey, moments where we ask ourselves, “Are we really doing this?” God has made it abundantly clear to us, initially and repeatedly, (in too many stories to share) that this is His plan for our family. We know that we could not do this alone, but we are not alone. God is with us. We have begun the process of adopting from Lesotho and we are looking forward to welcoming a Basotho child to our family!
Currently, we are preparing to send our dossier to Lesotho. We are so excited to share what God is doing in and through our lives. We’d love for you to be a part of our journey toward providing a loving home for a child that needs one. While your financial assistance would be greatly appreciated, your prayers would be appreciated even more. Specifically, please pray for Dade as he will be traveling to Lesotho with River Oak Church next month. We know this will be a great opportunity for us to learn more about the cultural roots of the child that we wish to adopt. We love that our child will be able to stay in touch with his/her culture and heritage through our church. Please pray for the children waiting for their forever homes and specifically for the child that God has chosen to be a part of our family. Once we are matched with that child, we will go to Lesotho for three weeks to complete the adoption. When we return from Africa, I am planning on taking some time off of work to focus on the needs of our son or daughter. Please pray for a smooth transition and that we can give this little boy or girl what they need as they adjust to a completely new way of life.
We have already seen God move in some pretty big ways and we know that we will continue to see Him move in this process. We are so excited to share that Lifesong and Josiah’s Adoption Fund, an “Outside the Walls” partner, have offered us a $7,500 matching grant! This grant acts as a catalyst to allow friends and family who wish to support our adoption to have the added incentive of seeing their impact doubled. For every dollar given through Lifesong toward the matching grant, Lifesong and their funding partner will provide an equal donation, up to the total matching grant amount. Your funds can be sent by check or through the Lifesong website. (There is a small credit card fee if you give through the website.) To give online, please click the DONATE button on this page. If you would rather mail a check, please make it payable to “Lifesong for Orphans,” and it must include #10747 and Chisler on the memo line of the check. Please mail to: PO Box 9, Gridley, IL 61744.
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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.
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