Saturday, September 29, 2012

It Takes a Village


This is our support letter which, I feel, God inspired me  to write months ago even before us going through the adoption process was a definite go. I sat down and just wrote what my heart was longing and we haven't changed it since (except for a few grammatical things by my awesome technical writing husband :).  It's pretty humbling and scary to ask for money from people not knowing the response you'll receive but all trust and faith is in the Lord and faith and trust is in the people around us that know us and know our story. Please read it, pray about it and feel free to contact me for information on how you can donate to bringing our long awaited baby home. My email address is hamrick.kimberly@gmail.com. We now have a Paypal account up on our blog so your donations can be quick and easy and not cost you an envelope and a stamp. Thank you for your love and support and most importantly prayers through this process.


Dear Family and friends,

Incase you hadn’t heard, we are expecting!!!  We’re expecting to adopt a little baby boy or girl.  After years of praying for our future children, God has called us to adoption.  Many of you are aware of our journey thus far and know how deeply we’ve desired to raise a child to love and serve the Lord.   We have been through quite a journey to this point but we’re overcome with excitement now that we are taking this leap of faith.  God first put adoption on our hearts years ago and has, time and time again, reminded us of his command to love and care for the orphan.  He has taught us, through much prayer, the deep spiritual connection of adoption in that we are all adopted sons and daughters of our Father in heaven.  In Romans 8:15-16, St. Paul tells us that the spirit we have received as Christians has brought us into an adopted relationship with God, “through which we cry, ‘Abba, Father!’  The Spirit itself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.”  We are heirs through our adoption; God has chosen us.  And now God has decided to form our family through adoption.  We deeply believe that earthly adoption is an amazing witness and example of the Gospel and we feel strongly called to participate in this beautiful story of our faith.

It is amazing to see how God has worked in our life and in our marriage to get us to this point.  We’ve done extensive research and have decided upon an adoption agency in Texas called Gladney Center for Adoption.  We personally have friends who have used Gladney in their adoption endeavor and have highly recommended them.  We recently visited the agency and are extremely impressed with them, their staff, professionalism, and expertise.  Gladney, a non-profit, is one of the oldest adoption agencies in the United States and a highly respected adoption agency that has been doing domestic infant adoptions for 125 years.  We have chosen to adopt domestically through this awesome organization.
You may be asking, “How does this concern me?”  First, we ask you, our dear friends and family, to pray.   We have been praying for our future children for years and we know that our child will need all the prayers he/she can get as they may be growing in his/her mother’s womb at this very moment.  Please, also, pray for our child’s birth mother, as making the decision to place her child for adoption is not easy but is so incredibly courageous, especially in a culture that condones and even encourages abortion.  Pray for her heart and her life, that she will experience the Lord through adoption.  And thank the Lord for her decision to choose life!

We would also like to ask that you prayerfully consider supporting us financially, as adoption is very expensive.  The cost of the domestic program we have been accepted into will end up costing us around $20,000.  This cost includes home study fees, attorney fees, adoptive and birth parent counseling (plus many more agency services), and any other costs that the agency will need in providing transitional care for our child from it’s birth until he or she is united with us.  It is humbling to say, but we are relying on the Lord to provide as we do not have $20,000 at this time.  We are working hard to save, but also believe in a God that can do anything when He moves, and we know with every fiber of our being that He has led us here.  Therefore, we’re trusting and we’re asking you to help us in giving a baby boy or girl a loving home and an amazing Christian community.  Everyday, we thank the Lord for the blessing of awesome Christian friends and family that surround us.  Our hearts jump with joy at the thought that we will be able to give that experience to a little boy or girl that may otherwise have never experienced Christian community in their lives.

We truly appreciate your support in this amazing journey of adoption.  We also pray that we will be a witness to the beauty of adoption and our journey will compel others to care for the orphans in a world where there is such a great need.  God bless you and we again thank you with all of our hearts for your support, prayers, and friendship.

Sincerely,

Matt and Kim

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