Our adoption story started on February 14th, 2015. We were engaged to be married and excited about the adventures ahead. I (Hannah) for Valentine’s Day gave James a card. Inside the card was $100 and a small note that wrote “let’s start saving for adoption.” That gift marked the tangible beginning, of the previously discussed dream, to someday adopt a child together. We were married two months later and began to monthly put aside money to save for adoption. We started to pray for our future adopted child.
For me (James), the strong desire to adopt came a few years earlier, while reading one day in the Fargo city library. During that season of life, I’d often escape there for silence and solitude. On that day, I was reading through the book of James, and came to this strong statement, “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” (James 1:27) During this time of great transformation in my life, I felt a foundational value was growing within me: that my life would be pleasing to God the Father, regardless of how pleasing it was to others (an idea this verse expands upon). I remember looking out the window and saying to the Lord, “This is what I want for my life.” While I wanted to serve orphans and widows in broad ways, the seed to one day adopt also began to grow within my heart.
In 2019, I (Hannah) was volunteering in an orphanage in Kyrgyzstan. That fall, I had two very clear and vivid dreams about adopting one specific, older boy in the orphanage. This boy has severe disabilities. He is unable to walk or use his arms, but is very smart. He uses his mouth to write and draw. I told James about it and we started to pray, and think about adopting this boy. But we both felt like it was not the right time because we were starting a business and that was our “baby.” Then in the spring of 2022 we took a sabbatical rest and in that time felt the Lord telling us it was time to start pursuing adopting this specific boy from Kyrgyzstan. We were encouraged by Luke 14:12-14 in which Jesus says to invite the poor, the lame, the crippled and the blind into your banquet. We saw the Lord showing us that this is for this specific boy; through adoption we are inviting him into the banquet of our family. The events of the past 2 years also reminded us that Jesus may return any day, and we agreed we would feel sad if Jesus returned before we’d adopted one of the unnumbered plethora of orphaned children with special needs, suffering greatly throughout the world. In July 2022 we sent our application into Lifeline. And in August I had one more dream about this specific boy. In this dream he was older and adopted into our family.
Fast forward to today- we have been given a $6,000 matching grant from Lifesong for Orphans! Every dollar given will be doubled up to $6,000! Praise God! Lifesong for Orphans is also providing us this great service, where we can collect tax-deductible gifts, without a portion being taken for their administrative costs, as they’re already covered.
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James and Hannah
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 “Thorson 10476”, to ensure it is credited to our account. Please mail to Lifesong for Orphans, PO Box 9, 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.
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