Fund Facts

We have had some folks ask how they can help with our adoption expenses.  Here is the answer to that questions, along with where we are on the financial end of things.
Please feel free to share this post with others via email or your social media account(s).

We are currently working and saving towards the rest of the overseas fees and travel expenses and are in need of a little over $3,000 to be completely funded.  (For a general listing of expenses related to our adoption, you may visit our Financial Goals page.)

If you would like to donate towards our adoption expenses, you can do so through Lifesong for Orphans where we have a fundraising page.  There are two ways to give.  Funds can be donated online or via check sent through the mail, and donations will be accepted until the adoption is complete or she is in our home.

1)  Checks can be made payable to "Lifesong for Orphans".  In the memo section of the check, you must note the family account number and our family name to assure that it goes to the correct account.  Our family account number is 4122 and the family name is Foster.  Checks can be mailed to Lifesong For Orphans, PO Box 40, Gridley, IL 61744.  100% of the money that is donated via mail will go directly to our adoption. 

2) You may also give online.  Go to www.lifesongfororphans.org/give/donate.  Under "gift preference", select "adoption funding", and under "adoption gift preference", select "family specific".  Our family account number is 4122 and the family name is Foster.  Please note that if you choose to donate online, Paypal does charge an administrative fee that will be taken our of the total donation amount.

(In following IRS guidelines, your donation is to the named non-profit organization.  The organization retains full discretion over its use, but intends to honor the donor's suggested use.  Individuals donation of $250 or more or yearly donations totaling $250 or more will receive a tax-deductible receipt.  Receipts for donations less than $250 can be requested.  Lifesong is a 501(c)3 tax exempt organization.)


If you have not given, would you consider it?

Every Dollar Makes A Difference!

If you have given already, thank you. Please know that we are grateful for your sacrifice.

Orphan Advocate - Lifesong

"Orphan Sunday isn't about charity; it's about the mission of Christ. I pray that every Gospel-transformed congregation will observe Orphan Sunday, calling all Christians to our mandate to image Christ by caring for his little brothers and sisters, the fatherless of the world." -- Dr. Russell Moore, author Adopted for Life

On November 2nd, Christians around the globe will stand together with one goal: to rouse believers with God's call to care for the orphan and what our role is in response.

Does your family, small group or church have plans for Orphan Sunday? There are so many ways that we can honor orphans collectively as the Body of Christ on Orphan Sunday. If you don't have plans or haven't heard of an event near you, here are 4 ways you can engage in this year's Orphan Sunday:

1. Advent for Orphans Calendar -- see explanation below.
2. Orphan's Table -- share a meal eaten by orphans around the world. Gather with family, small group or church for the meal, discussion and prayer.
3. Plan an Orphan Sunday event with a Partnership Package -- easy-to-follow Orphan Sunday event plan, enabling you to partner with an organization to create a simple event!
4. Contact your Regional Orphan Sunday Coordinator with questions, to seek ideas as you plan, or to let them know that you will be holding an event.

Be sure to also check out their other resources which include videos, prayer guides, sermon notes, t-shirts & more! Together, let's stand for the orphan!

To learn more about Orphan Sunday or find an event near you visit OrphanSunday.org.

Get your FREE Advent Calendar & celebrate with purpose! 

See how your family, small group or church can celebrate the anticipate the birth of our Savior in a special way that also shows love to orphans.

Limited supply of Advent for Orphans calendars available! Learn more & order your calendar today at www.lifesongfororphans.org/advent.

Orphan Advocate - Lifesong

Several months ago, I signed up to be a  Lifesong Blogger.  This means that once a month, I receive an email with an adoption related post (HTML format) that I can post on the blog to share ideas, resources, and information regarding orphans around the world with you.  It is left up to me to decide if I want to share the post they send me or not and until now, I have not done anything with the posts I have received. From time to time, I will share one of these with you though probably not every month - we'll see. :D  Anyway, I will title and tag each of these posts "Orphan Advocate".  Each time you see that title, you will know that the information given is not an update about our adoption but is information about how you can pray for or be involved in orphan care around the world.  Following is this month's orphan advocate post.

Adoption is a journey. 

Like any journey, it's appropriate to think ahead, to plan and to prepare for what is come. Along the way we'll realize that it isn't all what we may have thought or expected. There are unplanned events and struggles, along with unexpected joys and surprises.

Join us as we walk down a few different paths of the adoption journey and discuss some key resources as you look ahead in preparation of bringing a child into your forever family.

Many of you may have already walked this journey. Some of seen friends or close family struggle through the path. Maybe you are just starting to "pack your bag" for your first adoption. No matter the traveler or the progress, here are a few helpful tidbits for anyone who is considering adoption (for the first, second or third time!).

3 Ways to Prepare for the Journey...

1. Pray. Fast. Read. Most importantly, seek God's direction and plan for your family. Spend significant time praying, fasting and reading His Word together for guidance, wisdom and peace. God does not call everyone to adopt, but He may be calling your family to be involved in caring for the orphan in some way. Sit and listen to the Father, He will prepare your feet for the path He has for you (Psalm 18:33).
2. Educate Yourself (With Trusted Materials). With some of the best Christian material on adoption, Empowered to Connect provides books, videos, trainings and other resources to help foster and adoptive families parent children from hard places. Prepare and receive realistic expectations ahead of time by reading books like The Connected Child or attending an Empowered to Connect Conference.  See resources & upcoming Empowered to Connect Conferences >>
3. Take a Pre-Adoption Assessment. Striving to make the adoption process less complicated and overwhelming, our friends at Loving Shepherd Ministries have helped guide over 6,000 couples in their early stages of adoption. Through their Adoption Assessment Form, their staff gives your family adoption options you are eligible to pursue, along with lists of agencies, home study providers in your area and more! Best yet, they offer this as a free service to prospective adoptive families. Learn more & fill out their Adoption Assessment Form today >>

There is wisdom in preparation, but don't forget to keep in mind that we have a Father who knows the beginning and the end. An Almighty God who is writing and arranging your family's story behind the scenes. When things don't make sense, wait on Him. His way is always best!

TUG

*Disclaimer - This post is a little different from most of the ones I publish.  If you are curious, read on, but please don't say that I didn't warn you! :D

Have you ever had a day (or days), week, or month of discouragement and/or frustration mixed in with a few "Are we crazy?" and "Now what?" thoughts?  Mid week last week, those were my thoughts on the subject of this adoption.  The excitement of our immigration approval was not over, but it had dimmed somewhat in light of the fact that we.were.stuck.  We could not make anymore big steps forward until we had the money to do so.  I have tried not to focus on money on this blog, instead making it more about our adoption journey, but the truth is that adoption is expensive - expensive to the tune of a minimum of $25,000 - $35,000 and money that we, and the majority of adoptive families, don't have lying around.  

By Abe Ezekowitz (My private collection)
[GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) 

On Thursday morning, I talked to our contact at Lifeline and was told that once we have our dossier in Hungary, it usually takes only a few weeks for approval, and we enter the referral stage of adoption.  Referral can be a process that is very fast (within a month or two), or it can drag out for several months.  It is dependent upon a few things, one of them, the availability of a child that is a good match for your family.  While this information came over the phone line, I was thinking "Ok, this is great news! We are getting closer, but we don't have the money to move forward right now, so it still seems so far away."  That same day, we got a phone call from an agency we applied to to get an interest free loan for adoption expenses.  (The year after a completed adoption, an adoptive family is eligible for a tax credit to help offset the costs of adoption.)  Lifesong and We Care For Orphans are partnering together to give us a $5,000 loan.   This loan is given to us now, and we agree to pay them back using some of the tax credit we will receive after the adoption.  Every time it has appeared that we would hit a wall regarding the money we need to move forward, God has brought it in from somewhere.  In this instance, it is more than we needed right now, and will also help us to cover some other upcoming expenses.  We are so thankful that God is using Lifesong and We Care For Orphans to help us move forward now.  We hope to have our dossier in country in the next few weeks.  

By Ryan Child
  

You may be asking still.."What about your post title?  What does "TUG" have to do with this?" When I was a teenager, my pastor taught us to use the acronym TUG for answered prayer.  It means "Thank U God".  No, it isn't the best English, and yes, I know that "you" isn't spelled that way, but I never forgot that and still often use it today to cross off an answered prayer on my prayer list.  I just wanted to say Thank you God for answered prayer!  Thank you also to those of you who have been praying with us regarding the loan/grant applications we have mailed out.  Please don't stop praying!  This was the only loan application we sent out, but there are still several grant applications that are pending.  We still need $15,000 - $20,000 between now and the time we will travel to get our child. Please pray that we will be awarded some (or most) of this money through grants and the rest through fundraisers and extra income.  Right now, we have no idea where this money will come from, but every time we have needed funds to move forward, He has provided them.

I read this week Ez. 37:1-10 where Ezekiel is told to preach to dry bones.  There was no life there, but Ezekiel went forward anyway because he knew that is what God told him to do.  I hope that if you have some "dry bones" in your life that this post about seeming "dry bones" in our lives will encourage you.  If you have no idea how what is happening is going to work out, even though you know you are doing what God has called you to do, may I encourage you to move forward anyway in this thing we call faith.

  Thank you to those who have helped us financially so far.  Our puzzle fundraiser is still going on, and we still need more pieces to be purchased!  Will you help Cole put more pieces of his puzzle together?  To read how