Category Archives: fundraising

Uncomfortable with comfortable

Posted in fundraising, orphan care by

I turned 40 this month.

I’m relatively sure that I was 20 just a few days ago. And even though time seems to move too quickly, I wouldn’t go back. At each turning of the age clock, I have celebrated and moved forward. I really do not wish for days gone by–moments maybe–but not entire days.

Celebrating 40 years has caused me to reflect and recognize a few things about my life and me.

I’m comfortable.

And life is good.

Ryan and I are able to provide for our family, and we are comfortable. We don’t have everything, but we have more than enough to be satisfied.

We have a house that we call home. Our children are healthy and have access to a good education. We both work at jobs we enjoy. Our pantry and freezer could feed us for an extended amount of time. As cold as the past winter was, we were always warm and secure.

Over the past few years, I’ve had the opportunity to travel to other countries and meet people who live in very different circumstances from my own. Many of these men, women and children were missing out on one or all of the above.

We have been working to bring B home and into our family since 2012. And we are finally seeing progress that makes us believe he will be home within the next year.

My time of reflection of my life has caused me to reflect on B’s life. I’ve tried to put myself in the shoes of this almost 16 year-old boy who will soon be joining us.

It is easy to think of all the things he will gain–his siblings, more siblings, a mom and dad, a large extended family, new friends, access to food at any time, appropriate medications, a furthered education, and the list goes on. But he will also have to let go of many things in order to move forward. He will leave the only country he has ever known. He will leave his grandmother, his aunt, his cousins, his friends, his home, his language, his culture. He is going to be uncomfortable. Daily. Hourly. Perhaps even minute to minute in the beginning.

And I’ve come to realize that even though I’m grateful to be comfortable, I may benefit from being uncomfortable.

This need brings me to a commitment I have made. I’m running. That’s right.

Running.

Those of you that know me well know that this is not a normal activity. You may even think this is a joke, but it’s not.

I first gave running a go last summer. I worked my way through the couch to 5K plan and when I ran a mile it felt like a huge accomplishment, because in all my years I had never run an entire mile.

I completed the plan and walked/ran in two 5Ks. I didn’t really enjoy it. I loved crossing the finish line, but the training was hard and I was mostly out of my comfort zone trying to complete the plan.

So this year I’ve decided to continue on the path of stretching—literally and figuratively.

I’ve committed to running a 5K and a half marathon in September.

This makes me uncomfortable.

I am not a runner. It is not something that comes easily to me. Some people have this on their bucket list of things to try or to accomplish. I am not one of those people.

And I’m doing something uncomfortable to better understand the term. To remind myself that people push through discomfort every day and choose to see joy. They choose determination, effort, and to simply do the work that needs to be done. 

B will need to push through uncomfortable to be at home here.

The 5K will be run for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. I have walked this 5K the past five years with my family in memory of my cousin Josh who battled CF his entire life.

The half marathon will be run for Project Hopeful. They are a non-profit organization that educates, encourages, and enables families and individuals to advocate for and adopt children with HIV/AIDS and other special needs. 

I would love it if you joined me. Yes. You.

Please considering running or walking or running and walking with me. I’m happy to share more information with you.

I’ve also committed to raising $400 for each of these life-changing and in some instances life-giving organizations.

If you feel led to support my run you may donate to CF here or to Project Hopeful here.

I promise to update along my uncomfortable way.

And just like that

Posted in Ethiopia, fundraising by

This is our mailbox.

photo copy

And its contents brought me to tears.

We are fully funded for our trip.

You read that right.

We are FULLY funded!

To say that we are grateful is an understatement.

Sometimes even the lady that taught communication for over a decade is speechless.

Thank you.

Facing the giants (not just a movie)

Posted in adoption, Ethiopia, finances, fundraising, life lessons by

Ryan and I leave for Africa on a missions trip to love on orphans in only 2 weeks.

14 days until we have the opportunity to

photo

in Uganda and Ethiopia.

We recently received permission from Visiting Orphans, our mission trip sending organization, and America World, our adoption agency, to visit with B while we are in Ethiopia. It was cause for great celebration in our house! The kids are working on the letters they want to send with us and choosing the photos they would like us to share with B.

In our home church we are currently working our way through “The Story.” It’s a book that uses the NIV Bible–the stories, poems, and teachings–and reads like a novel. Sunday we looked at the experiences of Joshua as he led the Israelites through multiple battles. In each situation, God’s people overcame the giant they were opposing.

Our family is currently facing 2 giants.

The first is MOWCYA. We are still awaiting an appointment with the Ministry of Women, Children, and Youth Affairs. We wrote in a previous post about the power MOWCYA has to allow or not allow B to be adopted into our family. Our appointment was originally scheduled and cancelled two months ago. We continue to feel incomplete without B in our home. This opportunity to visit him will be like balm to our souls. What a joy it will be to see him, to hug him, to hear his voice. 

We ask that you join us in praying that MOWCYA will schedule the appointment with our adoption agency, and that the meeting will take place before we land in Ethiopia. If the meeting takes place before we arrive in Ethiopia and they agree to pronounce B adoptable, we will be able to discuss the adoption and our plans with B. If the meeting has not taken place, we will still be able to see B but won’t be able to talk about our hopes to bring him home.

Our second giant is in regards to our mission trip. And yes, we consider this a mini-giant in comparison to our adoption giant, but it is a giant none-the-less.

We are two weeks away from leaving for Uganda and Ethiopia but we are not fully funded financially. Through our own contributions and fundraising we have paid just over 80% of our total. As of today, Ryan and I still owe a total of $968.86. We humbly ask that you would pray for our upcoming trip and if you feel led–support us with a financial gift.

We’ve already overcome 1 giant this morning.

Writing this post.

It is difficult for us to ask for financial help, as we are still so grateful for the support we received three years ago bringing our girls home.

The other difficult part is B’s possible adoption just around the corner. With that will come 10s of thousands of dollars in fees. We have already paid a little over $10,000 to get to the point we are now, and much of that came from purchased necklaces, scarves, rulers, raffle tickets, or envelopes of cash. And yet the upcoming numbers are still overwhelming–a giant indeed for our family of 6.

We transparently admit to you that we have spent the past 24 hours praying about whether Ryan should stay home and put his finances toward myself and a few others on the team who are still lacking in funds. We discussed putting the rest on a credit card and not sharing the need. And no that decision was not taken lightly by our “Dave Ramsey family.”

But we have instead decided to post our struggle.

The truth is that we can’t do this on our own, and I’m not sure that anyone benefits from us acting like we can.

Your prayers have helped us put one foot in front of the other every day that we have been in wait. We believe that those prayers will bring B home and allow us to visit him in two weeks.

You likely woke up this morning with an impending run-in with a giant. Rest assured that God is bigger. And in His timing and in His way, He will overcome.

We have two beautiful daughters who remind us of that truth every day.

Now on to my fourth giant of the morning–hitting the publish button.

Freezer Pleaser Raffle WINNER

Posted in adoption, fundraising by

Tonight we closed out our Freezer Pleaser Fundraiser and are beyond excited to share that we sold a whopping 570 tickets!

That means we were able to raise $2850 towards our adoption of B. How exciting is that?!

But that means that a lot of you are waiting to find out who won!

And the winner of a brand new freezer and 30 homemade freezer meals is…

JOLENE HOWES of HAMILTON, IL!

Thank you to everyone that entered.

You have humbled us by your support of our family.

We are blessed indeed.