Our Story

Wow! I'm so excited that this is finally actually happening! I want to share our adoption story so far...as it's been over a year in the making! Although I've thought about adoption off and on throughout our marriage (over 15 years!), it's never been something that Ryan and I talked about seriously. I've always had a heart for the "nations"...something that began as a little girl in GAs. I've always been very missions "oriented"...seeking to live a life that pleases God, a life that lives his gospel. However, in September 2011, God changed all of that. He made it real in my life. I attended our annual KNCSB women's retreat, and Jen Hatmaker was the speaker for the weekend. I highly encourage you to check out her blog here. She spoke about the mandate in scripture to reach the "least of these," and to truly live out the gospel...all of it. Did you know there are currently over 147 million orphans in the world? Jen had recently adopted 2 children from Ethiopia, and at the very end, shared a video of meeting her children for the 1st time. God spoke to me so clearly during that video...it reminded me of the day he called me to full time ministry, it was so clear. I remember asking Him, "God, do you want us to adopt a little girl?"

So, almost the entire ride home (5+ hours), I'm stewing, googling (when I have service), and praying to myself. After I get home, and slightly settled, I unload it on Ryan. I promise I did it easily! I simply told him what God had been saying to me, and that I knew it wasn't anything we'd ever really talked about. I told him that I had thought about it off and on, but never really looked into it. I said that I didn't feel like it was something that was going to go away, so I wanted him to pray about it. And then I dropped it. Mostly. Kind of.

Okay, so I tried to drop it. I tried to not be naggy. But meanwhile, I began doing my own research. I had told Ryan that I envisioned a little African girl, but not a baby. So I researched. A lot. Fast forward a bit to the next summer. We attended the annual Southern Baptist Convention, and there were a few breakout-type sessions on adoption. Lifeline and LifeSong were there, and did some events/meetings. The main one happened to be on our anniversary, so I asked Ryan if he would go to it with me. And he did, without complaining!

Then the excitement begins for me! We got back, and were in the process of buying a new-to-us vehicle, and Ryan mentions, to the finance guy, that we are considering International Adoption. Without any prompting from me whatsoever! Woohoo!! I was so excited! Through the next couple of months, not much happens concerning the adoption. Maybe some mentioning it every now and then. Maybe some asking where he is mentally concerning the whole idea. Finally, one day he says that he's now "open" to the idea. Hello, big swinging door!

Rewind a bit. I said not much was happening concerning the adoption idea, but I forgot to mention the other ways God was working. Through our kids! Up to this point, we have not mentioned anything to our children about the possibility of us adding to our family. However, Holly (our only girl, right now), asks me one night, out of the blue, if we can adopt a sister for her. She doesn't ask if we can have a sister, or if we can have a baby, but if we can ADOPT a sister. Hello, confirmation from God! Thank you Jesus!

In October (already 1 year after my first mention of it to Ryan), Ryan attended the Annual Meeting for the Kansas-Nebraska Convention of Southern Baptists, and Kevin Ezell was the preacher. I believe he's adopted 3 of his 6 children internationally. The first thing Ryan talks about when he comes home that day is a story that Kevin Ezell told, concerning one of his Ethiopian children. Payton was listening to Ryan tell the story, too. At bedtime that night, Payton asked me if we could adopt a child from an orphanage. I just told him that he needed to pray about it...and ask his dad! Confirmation from 2 of our children. Jesus, you are amazing!

So, shortly after Payton's questions, our friends from high school (we were in youth group together, the boys were best men in each other's weddings...) posted on facebook that they're filling out a pre-app for International Adoption. Wait, what?!? I immediately messaged Harmony, and we were (are) pretty obsessive about messaging each other. Neither of us feel like it's a coincidence that we're talking about/considering this at the same time. What has God got planned for us?!? So, we ended up arranging a visit, and Matt and Harmony drove up to North Platte for the weekend. We had lots of fun (7 kids!), and Harmony and I were able to talk a lot about adoption. They still had not settled on an agency yet, so we were looking over some of the info that we both had.


A week has now passed, and Ryan is pretty open about talking about it. He rolls his eyes and grumbles to put on a show...but he is excited to be on this journey as well. It's definitely scary to be adding to our family, but we are not on this adoption journey for US.

Here's the motivation: God has put us in a place to be a family for a child that needs nothing more than a family. Nothing more than love. That is something we can do. God has adopted each one of us as His child. We are His heirs, His chosen children. What better way can we spread the gospel of Jesus Christ, than to model what he did for each us in our own family?

We are excited that God has chosen us to be a family to a little girl that needs a family. We are excited to bring a new sister into our family!

Please, more than anything else, pray for us during this time. It will be a long process, and not an easy one. Pray that in everything, we will glorify our Father, and honor Him. Please pray for our daughter, that we have yet to meet. Pray for her to be safe, to be loved, to be protected, to be fed until we can bring her home. Pray for our children as they face an adjustment, even if they don't realize it. Pray for God's provision. This adoption will likely cost around $30,000. That's a TON of money. And not something we have lying around. We will be working on fundraising very soon. We would love to have you support our decision to adopt, and support God's calling to be the hands and feet of Jesus. We can make a difference in one little girl's life, and make one little girl an orphan no more.