Fundraising

Friends of ours told us about an adoption fundraising website, Adopt Together.  Friends and family can see your profile, donate money towards adoption, and receive a receipt that makes your donation tax deductible.  Pretty cool.  If you want to contribute, click on the link below or on our "fundraising" tab.

https://adopttogether.org/thesears6/

If you aren't interested in donating, still check out the homepage video listed below and be "adoption educated"!  It's a great video.

http://adopttogether.org/

Before we started the adoption process we were very naive to the plight of orphans and how socially far reaching their impact is.  Did you know that 25% of orphans end up homeless?  Did you know that by finding children families you are in effect impacting the rates of crime, homelessness, prostitution, people on government welfare and unplanned pregnancy?  I didn't know. . .but I know, now.  I don't want myself or anyone else to be paralyzed by the magnitude of the world's problems.  Behind all the statistics are real, live, hurting people.  These people need our help.  Mother Teresa said, "We can do no great things, only small things with great love."  I believe it. We can all make a small difference.  God blesses us so we can bless others in his name.  You don't have to get involved in our passion, but please get involved in God's passion for hurting people around the world and DO something tangible in Christ's name.

Our Little Man

Huihui was born in the Hubei province of China and was found at one day old in Wuhan City.  He was left in a hospital and his parents could not be found.  He was 7 lbs 4oz at that time.  He lived in the orphanage in Wuhan until he was 18 days old.  He was then placed in foster care.  (Which we were thrilled to hear!)  He currently still lives with that family and even has an older sister (who is also a foster child).  At 6mo he had his lip repaired in a local hospital.  They tell us he walks, babbles, and is popular amongst his neighbors.  :)  When he gets home, he will have surgery to correct his palate and hopefully, we'll get him talking!

How we got here. . .

In January of 2012, God started breaking our hearts for children whom we'd never met in places we'd never been.  There are over 17 million children in the world who have lost both parents.  Though foster care in this country is far from an ideal situation for children, being an orphan in other countries in the world is gut wrenching.  For many children, being an orphan means starvation, no education, little or no medical care, and becoming a social outcast.  It can mean growing up in an orphanage or on the streets.  It's hard to turn your back on children in this situation, but it becomes quite impossible when God starts tugging at your heart.

Fast forward seven months and God had made it abundantly clear what his plan was for our family.  He had a child waiting for us--soon there would be one less orphan.  So, we began the adoption process.  By November we got THE phone call that there was a 14 month old boy in China with a cleft lip and palate who needed a family.  We opened our email and saw his precious face for the first time.  Huihui is what his caregivers call him, and soon he will be ours!