Our Adoption Expenses

Psalm 105:1-5 says to “give thanks to the LORD, call upon His name; Make known His deeds among the peoples…Speak of all His wonders…Let the heart of those who seek the LORD be glad. Seek the LORD and His strength; Seek His face continually. Remember His wonders which He has done…” Our adoption story (specifically how God has provided the necessary funds) is one of those wonders. It is also proof of God’s promise in Malachi 3:10 that if we “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse and test God…He will open the windows of heaven and pour out for us a blessing until it overflows.”

After celebrating Victor’s 5th Gotcha Day last October, we began to consider the idea of adopting again. That same month, Tim learned that he would be receiving a bonus from work and although we had been thinking about purchasing another vehicle, we knew the amount would be enough to pay for the first fee of an adoption process. We prayed about it, did a little research and felt the doors were open to move ahead with an Ethiopian adoption. We only had a couple thousand dollars from Tim’s bonus to begin the process and didn’t know from where the rest of the money would come, however, we felt God’s Spirit moving us to forget about buying a truck and pursue adoption, trusting He would provide the rest. So we did.

At the time we thought the adoption would cost about the same as the fees for our first adoption, $15,000- 20,000. In fact, one reason we chose Ethiopia was because of the lower fees and the one week long trip requirement. Early on we also prayed that we wouldn’t have to borrow money from the bank for this adoption as we did for the first. That desire came from the fact that until just recently we have always lived above our means, using any extra money to pay off debt from a home equity loan or credit card bill. Now that our only debt is our mortgage and we feel we are finally honoring God by sticking with a budget and not spending more than we make, we didn’t want to have to get another bank loan. From the start, this was my prayer. Tim wasn’t convinced, however, that God would have us pay for it any other way, so he met with the bank and filled out the application for a home equity loan. A couple days later he learned that we DIDN’T qualify for the loan because of the housing market and the fact that we had recently refinanced (who doesn’t qualify for loans these days!!!). Although my initial thought was, “Then we can’t adopt”, I remembered my prayer that we wouldn’t have to get a bank loan and the verse God showed me during my quiet time THAT MORNING. It was Deuteronomy 33:27, “The eternal God is a dwelling place, and underneath are the everlasting arms.” Tim agreed that God wanted us to trust Him to provide for this adoption and not the safety net of the bank. A few weeks later this was confirmed when we were $200 short of turning in the next home study fee and some friends of ours came up to us at church and gave us a $200 check specifically for the adoption. They had brought it to church to give as a donation for the Haitian relief offering but (unaware of our need) felt the Spirit telling them to give it to our adoption instead.

An interesting side note but certainly the reason we’re sharing this is that the message at church that morning was on Malachi 3:10. After feeling challenged to trust God completely with our finances, Tim felt convicted to increase our giving to a percentage he had wanted to achieve for a while. Although our budget was already tight and we had just begun the adoption process and weren’t sure how we would pay for it, Tim adjusted our budget so that our giving to the church would reflect the conviction he was feeling in his heart. We prayed God would honor this decision and pour out the blessings, and boy, has He ever!

We started looking around the house for things we could sell to raise money for the adoption fees. The kids even made note cards that Dad offered to have printed so we could sell at the yard sale we were planning. Friends and family donated items for the sale and we were blown away that at the end of the day, the total amount raised (on really just a bunch of junk) was double what we expected- not $400 but $800. The amount wasn’t what blew us away; it was the fact that it was twice what we thought it would be. You see, we were well enough in to the adoption at this point to discover that our initial estimate of the cost was only half of what it would actually be ($30,000 rather than $15,000). Two things had changed to raise the cost. One was the new regulation for couples to have to make 2 trips instead of 1. The second was the fact that somehow, our hearts had been opened to adopting two children at the same time instead of one.

In looking over our budget again for something else we could cut, Tim decided to turn in our cable box and give up TV channels for a year. THE SAME DAY he turned it in, Dad came by the house to give us money mom had made by selling the kids note cards. He gave me the $100 from Mom and another envelope from him. I opened it and found a $5,000 check! Once I stopped crying and listened to his explanation, I discovered this was actually from his mom, Mamaw, who had recently passed away and left money for her children in her will. Dad had wanted to give it to my sisters and me a few months earlier (around Christmas) but wasn’t able to until just that week. Tears again welled up as I explained that it couldn’t be better timing!

There’s more! Some friends asked if they could host a fundraising hoedown to raise money for our adoption. Although it was hard to accept because of our pride and discomfort in feeling like we were asking friends and family for money, we felt the Spirit urging us to allow them to do this for us so God could continue to provide what we needed to pay for the fees. We were overwhelmed by the support of friends and family who joined in the square dancing and had a great time with us in a celebration of this adoption. Again we were shocked to learn that $1700 was raised to help pay for the fees.

Some other financial blessings were placed in our laps, including another bonus from Tim’s work and our tax refund, so that currently we have paid $18,000 for this adoption- all without having to borrow from the bank! Our most recent news was of our referral, which was another shocker. It seems that rather than one or even two children, God has chosen for us a sibling group of three. We didn’t even consider the increased cost when looking at their faces in the pictures, but accepted the referral immediately then asked what it would entail. With the extra child, our total costs will be just under $40,000. So, rather than being finished with paying fees at $18,000 (our initial estimate), we were only half way there. We had seen God’s handiwork too much from the start to doubt He would give us what we needed even though we were only half way there! So again we got on our knees.

The week after we accepted the referral, our next fee of $10,000 was due. We had $7,000 in the bank and asked God about the other $3,000. Without a clear answer the following morning, I called the bank to check on another type of loan with which we might qualify- we were desperate and thought that it was good enough to make it to $18,000 without a bank loan and the time had come to inquire. Apparently God, looking out the window of His storehouse, didn’t think so. At the same time I was talking to the bank about a loan, Tim was pulled aside by a buddy at work who (not knowing our need) said he and his wife had money saved in an account they were using for an adoption but didn’t need it yet. If we needed cash with the increased # of kids, they’d be happy to loan us money interest free! Did you catch this was the same time I was talking to the bank?!!! Just 2 days later we received a call from Orphan Care Alliance. It is an organization which helps families with adoption expenses. They informed us that they would be giving us a $10,000 interest free loan. Little by little God was rewarding our trust by providing JUST what we needed exactly when we needed it.

It gets even better! This is the overflowing part. The following day (last Friday), we were shown an article about the adoption tax credit which is now considered a refund. Basically, we will get $13,170 (minus any grant money) back PER CHILD at tax season next year. So for us that means we will get a refund of $39,510 (minus the amount given to us by others specifically for the adoption) - that’s the cost of the adoption. WOW! It was like God was saying, “Okay, it’s time you see that I’ve got this covered like I said I would in Malachi 3:10. Now why not focus on the children instead of how you’re going to pay for this!”

The $10,000 interest free loan will help us pay the remaining referral fee of $5000 and allow us to pay our friend back, plus pay for one of our $2000 airline tickets. We are now waiting to see how God will give us the cash we need to pay the remaining $12,000(mostly airfare and travel expenses) to complete the adoption. We feel better about borrowing from the bank because we know in the spring of next year we will be able to pay it all back with the tax refund. We’re still not so sure, however, that God wants us to go that route. It’s what we’ve prayed from the start, that we wouldn’t have to borrow from the bank and pay interest, and so far, $18,000 into it, we haven’t had to! God is so good and faithful to His Word! We are continually amazed!!!

Malachi 3:16 “Then those who feared the LORD spoke to one another, and the LORD gave attention and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before Him for those who fear the LORD and esteem His name.”

1 Peter 2:9 "But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for His possession, so that you may proclaim the praises of the One who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light."