The Light at the End of the Tunnel

We wanted to update you with the latest. It seems that our paper trail has just about come to an end! We've finally gotten all the government paperwork out of the way. Our documents have been delivered to the consulate in Guangzhou, China. Our next step is what is called Travel Approval. That should come sometime in the next few weeks, which means we will be approved...to travel!

We're excited that things are still moving along. Please pray that our travel visas would be approved, and pray for us as we find ways to raise the travel money we still need. There are some grants we haven't yet heard from that we are hoping will help. We hope to be able to book our flights in the next few weeks but we are still trusting God's financial provision. 

Also, we wanted to say thank you. We are currently just $800 short of our $5,000 matching grant. That's a lot of generosity! There's a few more days left, so if you want to help us finish that off, click here. 

For fun, we'd like to share some updated photos we received this weekend. Seth has changed so much the kids asked if we were adopting a third child! Here he is:

And here's Ruthie. We were encouraged to see how healthy she looks:

This Gift Will Last Forever

It has been almost one full year since we began our adoption process. One thing that has been an encouragement to us along the way has been this song:

We know that our being able to adopt is a gift to us, and we are excited to see God making this dream of ours a reality.

Those of you who have been following our blog will recall that we applied to several grants a few months ago. We’re excited to share with you the news that some of those grants have come through.  One of them, an organization called Lifesong, has been particularly generous. 

Lifesong has offered us a $5000 matching grant.

This will get us a long way towards finally bringing our kids home (Meet our kids here).

The way the grant works is that Lifesong will match any money we contribute, up to $5,000. So $50 becomes $100 and $100 becomes $200, $1,000 becomes $2,000, etc.

We only have until June 1st to raise this money, which is why we are asking for your help. Would you consider making a donation to Lifesong on our behalf? The matching funds in this grant will go a long way towards getting us on a plane to China to pick up our kids.

Here's what you need to do: 


Send your gift to the below address. In the MEMO line it needs to say:  preference Harrison #3567 adoption

Lifesong for Orphans

PO Box 40 / 202 N. Ford St

Gridley, IL 61744

Things to consider:

1. Your gift to Lifesong is fully tax-deductible.
2. 100% of your gift goes to fund our adoption, not to fund Lifesong. Their operating costs are entirely underwritten.
3. Your gift will last forever. :)

We are so thankful for the support we have been given already and we thank you for the support yet to come. Please continue to pray. 

Meet Our Kids!

So it has been a while since we updated our blog. We were just about to post about waiting, because that is what we’ve been doing for the past several weeks. Waiting on paperwork, waiting to hear something about our adoption process.

Just as we were preparing that post, we got slammed with news...one piece after another. Now there is so much news to share that it is hard to know where to start! 

First, we’d love to introduce you to our children. We finally got confirmation of our approval, which means that we are able to share photos and details about the kids. Over the next few weeks, we’ll share more news, but first things first:

Here’s our son:

He is 15 months old now so this picture is a little dated. But isn’t he adorable! We’ve decided to name him Seth, because it means “chosen.”  Over eight years ago, when God was first planting the seed to adopt in our hearts and minds, we heard this meaning through a friend. I knew then we would be blessed with a son through adoption one day and his name would be Seth. So it is with great excitement and joy we are able to introduce you to Seth James Erhao Harrison. Isn’t he precious?! We cannot wait to get his squishy cheeks into our loving arms and shower him with the blessing of “home.” He has a special need that we will be seeking medical attention for as soon as we get him settled to his new environment. 

Now it is our pleasure to introduce you to our beautiful daughter. 

This is Ruthie Joy En Harrison. She is four years old. Her name is Ruth after the strong women in our lives that have been named Ruth. And we think the name is a beautiful picture of the story of Ruth from the Bible. Ruth goes to a foreign land with a strange people group. But God gives her a new beginning and a new hope...we want our people to be her people and our God to be her God. Joy is after our dear friends, the Jacksons. Their courage and joy through their journey of their son’s terminal illness has given us the courage to bring Ruthie into our hearts and home. 

You see, Ruthie has cancer. She has a form of cancer known as retinoblastoma. It is a cancer of the eye. Most children get this treated at a very young age. The very fact that Ruthie has survived this long is puzzling to the doctors we already have in place here in the United States. The head of Children’s Hospital in Seattle has agreed to take her as a patient to help get her the medical treatment she so desperately needs. We’ll be honest. We don’t know how long we will have Ruthie Joy at this point. 

So why adopt her? Because love is worth the risk. 
And, in part, because we have been adopted.  As the Bible teaches, while we were yet sinners...terminally ill because of sin...Christ died for us. 

Are we scared? Yes. Are we nervous? Yes. Are we confident this is what God wants us to do? 100% Yes. 

We know it is a lot to ask our family and friends to walk alongside us in this journey of adoption...to take the risk with us as we make our hearts vulnerable to uncertainty. We do not take lightly what we are asking you to do...but we also don’t want you to miss the opportunity to share in the joy that comes when we are available to what God has for us. 

Thank you for partnering with us, for praying with us and for journeying alongside us. We’ll share more info soon, and you can always message us with questions.

Cookbooks are Headed Your Way!

I just wanted to share this picture with you. We are at the post office, and this lovely postal employee is processing our cookbooks so we could mail them out to you. Each one of those envelopes represents a cookbook. More than that, each one of those envelopes represents your generosity and love, towards us and our children. As I stood there watching all these books go out in the mail, I was a little overwhelmed by how blessed our family is. We've got such a great support network, and we just want to say Thank You.

If for some reason you don't get your cookbook in the next dew days, please let us know. If you live here locally, we can hand deliver yours. And, if you'd like to order a cookbook, or order an extra cookbook, we still have a few copies left. Get them here while you still can.

Do For One What You Wish You Could Do For Everyone

One of our desires with our blog is to educate folks, as we have been educated, about adoption and orphan care issues all over the globe. That's why we're excited to bring you monthly content from Lifesong, an incredible organization focused on adoption, orphan care and foster care, as well as providing grants to people like us who have a heart to adopt, but who are hindered by the costs. These stories are powerful. I especially appreciate the Andy Stanley quote at the beginning: "Do for one what you wish you could do for everyone." In a broad sense, that's what we are doing. We're doing for two what we wish we could do for the 147 million orphans in the world. As you read this, consider your own role...

"And the King will say, 'I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!'" Matthew 25:40

One Child. One Life. One Soul.
An ongoing theme of our ministry is the power of ONE. Not to ignore the often overwhelming 147 million orphan statistic, but to focus on making an impact on ONE child. As Andy Stanley says, "Do for ONE what you wish you could do for every one. And when do you for ONE, you often end up doing for far more than just one." 
Please enjoy these ONE child stories...

IN THE MIGHTY NAME OF JESUS // Lifesong Zambia

In Zambia, like many parts of the world, witchcraft is very prevelant. At Lifesong School in Zambia, we teach the children that God is more powerful than witchcraft and the witchdoctors that practice it. They can have power through Jesus Christ to fight off evil, through HIS NAME! Listen in as Paul shares the experience that he and his friends had with a local witchdoctor...

Pray that God will continue to show himself to Paul and use this experience to build his trust and faith in our Father God.
Learn more about Lifesong Zambia >>

GROWING THE NEXT GENERATION // Lifesong Liberia

Thomas grew up on the streets without any parents to care, protect or provide for him. A missionary brought Thomas to Lifesong's Master's Home of Champions, knowing he would be cared for. Listen in as Thomas shares his heart for the people of Liberia and the role he sees for himself to bring Christ's name known!

Pray that Thomas will continue to grow in His relationship with Jesus Christ and with boldness, share the gospel to others. Learn more about Lifesong Liberia >>

Read more ONE child stories...

Katie Rescued from Orphanage -- Katie, born with down syndrome, was 9 years old and weighed only 10 pounds when Joe & Susanna traveled to adopt her. Read Full Story

Natasha Breaks the Cycle -- "I was looking for someone to understand me, to love sincerely...I received all this!" Read Full Story

"I am your mommy!" -- Beautiful account from one of our Lifesong Adoptive families, sharing their first moment they met their son Cohen from Congo. Read full story

Look What Finally Arrived!

If you orderd a cookbook, we just got them from the printer today! We'll be sending them out soon. If you didn't get to order one, click here. 

Thanks for your continuing prayer and support!

International Women's Day

Today is International Women's Day. (Don't worry, we didn't get you a gift either.) But one gift you can give is to pray for the birth mothers of our two adoptive kids. We don't know the exact circumstances that led them to put these two kids up for adoption, but we can only imagine that it was a difficult decision. We'll likely never meet these women, but they have made an eternal impact in our lives. The frank reality is that there were a lot of decisions they could have made related to these kids, but we are pleased that they chose life. They chose to give these kids some kind of a chance, and now we are pleased to fold these kids into our lives and our family.

Would you stop and pray today for these two women? Pray also for the thousands of women all over the world who, due to poverty and oppression and other factors find themselves facing similar, difficult decisions.