For a few weeks I’ve known I had this moment coming, but today I finally sat down and did it. I compiled all my random notes and lists and names and receipts from my “adoption journal” into a spreadsheet (probably my 2nd time ever using excel all by myself. I’m telling you, adoption is stretching me 
), and am sitting here FLOORED by what God has done.
Remember 2 short months ago when I shared with you the daunting amount of money an international adoption of two children costs? Remember how I told you how we had no idea where it would all come from?
I’m sitting here with 2 numbers in front of me:
-Total adoption expenses: $34,480
and
-Money received/pledged toward J/D’s adoption: $29,947.91
Can you believe it?!?!
I keep looking back at my very fancy little spreadsheet and am just blown away by that second number. I keep looking at the list of places and people it came from and I am so humbled.
$2000 of that is from a grant we never even applied for. Someone else, knowing our need, put our name in for it and we had the joyful surprise of a receipt from our agency one day in our e-mail. Hello, here’s 6% of your adoption costs. just. like. that.
Over $6000 of it is from yard sales – yard sales in Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. Not only did friends have these sales, tons of people donated items to make them so successful. Talk about adding meaning to the phrase “You’re trash, my treasure”…
A chunk of it is from friends, some of whom I have never even met, who contacted us and told us they were called to be part of adoption and the Lord had led them to do that by helping us bring David and Jonathan home.
In fact, that’s what all of it represents. It is from people giving extravagantly and sacrificially. It’s from fellow missionaries and seminary students and family members and friends who are called to be a part of orphans becoming sons – not just in our family, but in God’s family.
And I don’t really have words to express how it makes me feel to be a recipient of such generosity. I stand amazed. Amazed that God did this, amazed that we have the privilege of watching him do this, dollar by dollar.
And I’m humbled. So humbled that the Lord called me – me with my weak faith and anxious heart – on this journey of watching him provide.
And I’ll be honest. I’m humbled because in the midst of such provision and grace, I still fear, I still worry, I’m still so faithless. I think,”Lord, did you know who you were dealing with when you called us to this? Did you know that I could have a mountain of an ebenezer before me, and still so quickly forget, so quickly fear?”
More on that tomorrow. I just wanted to share this incredible news with you all and ask you to rejoice with us in the Lord’s provision. Yes, we still have about $5,000 more to raise, and we can’t wait to see where He brings it from.
There aren’t words to thank Him who brought us this far, or you who have joined us in this. But we do thank him and you from the bottom of our hearts.
That really is pretty awesome guys! I am so glad to see God providing for you in these ways! We are really looking forward to when we have our support all raised and can join the team to work with you guys and your children in the years to come!