Flights: Booked! Hotels: Booked! Adventure: Booked!

We are closer today than we've ever been to finalizing our adoptions! You won't believe how it happened.

We had been looking at our total funds, and looking at the cost of travel, and they just didn't add up. All along, our desire has been for the 5 of us to go to China together. But as the clock was ticking and our dates we needed to be in China drew nearer and nearer, we began to think that might not happen.

We finally resigned ourselves to "Plan B," where some of us would stay here and some would go. Not the ideal situation, but the only situation we could see, short of a miracle.

Well, that's when the miracle happened. We got a call that a friend of a friend (someone we've never met before) offered to pay the travel costs for us. We were floored. So, we've now made arrangements to get all of us to China and ALL of us back!

We give God all the glory. We thank you for your prayers and for your support. We'll continue to update our blog, as we are able. We can't wait to meet our kids!

So close...

To say it's been a rough week is an understatement. Not to bore you with too many details but we are all sunburned, I dropped Kris' iPhone in water and the biggest is our heads...3 pixies and 2 buzzes later...we hope our lice have been decimated...we hope. If not, we might head to Seattle to "Lice Knowing You"...a lice removal store. Yes this really does exist and I would do just about anything at this point not to take lice to China.  And we are still waiting on the final funds to get to our children. I am trying not to fear. So many people have been so generous and we are SO CLOSE. Please pray today that God would provide. And thank you so much for all your love and support. We are holding tightly to His promises. 

"Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:4-7

We have already had a prayer request answered! We got our VISAS!! This is huge. Thank you for praying. 

We received great news yesterday. We have been given another matching grant! This means if we can raise $2,500, God's Grace Adoption Ministry will match it with $2,500! All that needs to be done is a check sent to:

God's Grace Adoption Ministry
P.O. Box 4
Modesto, CA 95353

And "Harrison Adoption" in the memo line. 

We are getting so close! We are so thankful for all the prayers and support we have received. If you are interested in contributing, please let us know and thank you for helping us bring our children home.

We're Going to China...!

 
Well it has been a wild week. We are steps away from our big trip to China. Friday we received what is called "Travel Approval." Basically what this means is our adoption paper train has come to an end and China has said "They are yours...come and bring them home!" And we cannot wait. Our prayer is we will travel by the 4th of July. We will spend a couple days in Beijing, a week in each child's province and then a week in southern China. All in all it will be just under a month in a foreign country! All that being said, there are still obstacles and hurdles to make it through. There are many things to pray about and we would like to share a few with you: 

First of all, please pray for our children. Pray for open hearts for Ruthie and Seth. Even though we have been storing up hugs and kisses for these two little ones, they do not know yet we even exist. And when they find out we do, it will feel more like an abduction than a coming home. We will look, smell, and be different than them. It will be scary for them. Please pray they will adjust quickly and be ready and willing to accept our love. Also, please pray for Hannah, Calla, and Elliott. They are going to have a lot of changes very soon and though we are all excited, things are going to be different after being the same for the last 9 years.

Also, we cherish your prayers about receiving our Visas. Because Kris is a pastor, we had to jump through extra hoops stating we are not going to China to tell people about our faith but rather just to visit and adopt. Please pray we get these soon as they are a critical part of our travel. 

Please pray for our health. Pray our immune systems are top notch going into China. Please pray as we will be trying so many new things it will feel overwhelming. Please pray we do not get sick, get lice, scabies, or some other unknown malfunction. Being in such a new place with so many unknowns feels scary but at the same time, very exciting. But I also know the excitement will wear off eventually and feel exhausting. Pray for endurance. 

And last but not least, please pray for the money to travel. We basically need to raise $17,500 by Tuesday or Wednesday. It seems huge but we know nothing is impossible for those that love God and are called to his purposes. I have no idea how he is going to show up but I can see his faithfulness in all the nooks and crannies of our lives. I know he will be faithful again. Believe it or not, we have already raised over $37, 000 in the last 9 months. That is incredible to me. That is you...our friends and family coming together to help make the gospel come alive. Please, please pray for God to provide. We cherish your prayers and support.

While We Wait

 
Well...to start off...thank you for all your support in raising the matching grant. We successfully raised the $5,000! Praise the Lord! So that $5,000 became $10,000. We are getting closer and closer to meeting our financial goals to head to China and pick up our children. And our family and friends have been a huge part of that part of our journey. 

While we wait to hear from China about when we can come, we are veraciously reading...it's kind-of a coping mechanism for Kris and I. We have been reading some excellent books and I wanted to be able to share them with you.

First is The Connected Childby Karyn Purvis, David Cross and Wendy Sunshine. It is written primarily for adopting parents but honestly, it's a book every parent should read. It takes a good look at parenting children with high needs but I have found it to be beneficial with my biological kiddos. It looks at parenting through a psychological perspective while also addressing the body and spirit. It helps the parent/child relationship in a way that gives respect to the child while empowering the parent to empower the child. 

The second book I would like to recommend is Adopted for Lifeby Russell D. Moore. This is a great book that marries the Christian doctrine of adoption with literal adoption. It is a good blend of inspiring and throughout-provoking ideas and very tangible, practical action steps.


Another excellent book is Silent Tearsby Kay Bratt. Warning...this is a book that opens your eyes to a situation that you cannot walk away unchanged. It is one thing to be ignorant about a situation and do nothing. It is another to be suddenly made aware and then choose to do nothing. If you read this book, it will stir in your heart a desire to do something. Bratt takes you on her journey as a volunteer in an orphanage. It lays out the terrible realities of the travesties of life, the need for grace and truth in those fragile situations, and the need for everyone to do something...not nothing. 

Please continue to pray for us as we wait and continue to raise funds. We are anxious to hear from China but know that God is working out His perfect plan. And please pray for the health and safety of our children. Thank you.

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.