We should be able to bring our girl home soon.  We passed court and her paperwork has been submitted to the US Embassy.  The only thing standing in the way is finances.  This adoption has moved so fast we haven't had much time to fund raise but we have been blessed by an organization called Lifesong.  They have graciously set up an account for our adoption where you can make tax deductible donations and they will send the money to our agency.  

    

Fraole

                                                                                                 

 “A father of the fatherless…God setteth the solitary in families…” - Psalms 68:5, 6

Some of you already know that we are adopting a 12 yr old girl from Ethiopia.  She is an orphan that has lost both of her parents and was living with a brother who could no longer take care of her.  We appeared in Ethiopian Court on 04/23/2012 and legally became her parents.  Here are a few things we learnt about her while we were there.

·         She has been praying for Christian parents and prays every morning, mealtime and bedtime.  

·          She is a very compassionate and caring young lady who loves to play with the little kids and always makes sure they are served at mealtime first before she eats herself. 

·         She is smart and already knows how to read and write some English.

·         She is excited about being a big sister to our daughter “Layla”

A few firsts we got to experience with her.

·         Elevator ride, Ice Cream, Seat Belt J, restaurant and a trip to a lion zoo.

We know God has big plans for her and we are humbled to know that we get to be a part of it.

 Some people have asked why are you adopting again?   

When we were in Ethiopia last year we got the opportunity to meet several “street kids”.  These kids are approximately 12 – 16 yrs old and living on the streets.  Some of them are shining shoes or selling small items like Chap Stick or Kleenex to passersby.  We also witnessed what I call legalized human trafficking where we seen hundreds of girls being taken to Arab countries to become house servants. These girls are being recruited from rural areas where the poverty is extreme and due to language barriers these girls are very vulnerable.  Some of the girls we seen at the airport appeared to be very young like 13, 14.  Some of these children have “aged out” of an orphanage and feel they have no options.

Did you know it is estimated every day 38,493 children AGE OUT. Every 2.2 seconds another orphan child ages out with no family to belong to and no place to call home.

60% of the girls are lured into prostitution

70% of the boys become hardened criminals

Many of these children accept job offers that ultimately result in their being sold as slaves.  Millions of girls are sex slaves today, simply because they were unfortunate enough to grow up as orphans.

The disastrous outcomes of most children who age out of institutional care is evidence that these children don’t know the meaning of love, and are unable to comprehend God’s love.  Receiving Jesus Christ makes no sense and too many of them will never have a chance to become adopted children of God.  The biggest challenge for us is not opening our hearts and home to another child, but it is in finding the finances to complete the process.  We estimate our total cost for adoption fees, document preparation, home study, airfare, travel, etc… so far have been $27,000 – that’s certainly money we don’t have, but we know God is faithful and is leading us to trust Him.  By God’s grace we’ve been able to pay $17,000.00 towards this adoption. 

Honestly, it’s a little difficult for us to ask for help.  We appreciate your friendship very much and would like you to pray & consider helping us in our adoption.  There are two ways you can help:

1. Prayer-Please pray God would tenderly care for Fraole in Ethiopia until we are able to bring her home, that God would prepare Layla for the upcoming changes to our family, and that God will give us wisdom, discernment, and insight as we raise our children to know Jesus Christ.
2. Financial support – will you please consider making a tax deductible donation to help pay the remaining $10,000 in adoption expenses, to bring Fraole home.

If you would like to be a part of bringing Fraole home, you can send your tax-deductible gift between now and July 16, 2012 to the address below.  Lifesong is a trusted organization administering the funds on Fraole’s behalf, and will pay adoption expenses out of funds received.

1. Please make checks payable to Lifesong for Orphans and write “preference: Sale #2782 adoption” in the memo section.

2. Mail checks to:

Lifesong for Orphans

Att: Sale/#2782

PO Box 40
Gridley, IL  61744

April 23rd Court Date

Things are moving much faster than what we were prepared for.    God has big plans for this young lady and I can't wait to see what they are.  I am humbled that we get to be a part of it and I can't wait to be her forever family!!!

Isaiah 58:6-7

 ⁶ “Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:
to loose the chains of injustice
   and untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free
   and break every yoke?
⁷ Is it not to share your food with the hungry
   and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—
when you see the naked, to clothe them,
   and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?

Let the adventure begin!!

Hi my name is Debbie and I am starting this blog so that family and friends can keep up with our newest adoption. 

God blessed us with a 2 yr old girl from Ethiopia this last year and we are now heading back to Ethiopia to adopt a 12 yr old girl.   

Where are we at in the process??
We just sent our dossier to the Ethiopian Embassy in DC.  We now wait for our fingerprint appt and court date.  Could be a few months and while we are waiting we need to raise some funds. I am applying for a few grants this week and pray that they will approve us.

Debbie