Matching Grant

I think the main reason that prevents families from adopting, especially internationally, is the cost.  It's not cheap to pay for an adoption and many families can't fathom how they could pay for the adoption process.  I know of several families now who are in waiting to bring a child home because of lack of funding.  It's sad, really, to think of waiting children in desperate need of families with families with desperate desires to adopt and money is the gap between them, especially when our country is the wealthiest country in the world by a long haul.

During our adoption process, I wanted to give fund raising my best shot.  At times it seemed overwhelming and honestly sometimes it felt like a waste of my time.  My efforts included:

*  selling farm eggs, produce and raw honey
*  participating in 2 children's consignment sales
*  hosting 2 garage sales
*  opening an etsy shop to make t-shirts, handbags and head bands
*  selling clothing on ebay
*  selling furniture & household items on Craigslist
*  selling our Lionel train set on ebay
*  Swap & Shop to Adopt
*  On line auction

Up until this time, we have not asked people for donations, but generous friends and family members have surprised us with donations that have blessed us immensely.  All of these things combined have totaled close to $10,000.  We are so blessed by that!

As I've mentioned before, I have applied for 10 grants from various agencies who have funds to help adoptive families.  We have heard back from over half of those and each one we were denied funding.  We were so grateful when we got home from Turkey to hear from Lifesong.  Lifesong is a non-profit Christian ministry dedicated to help meet the needs of orphan children around the world, and obey God's call to "visit the fatherless....in their affliction." (James 1:27).  They have approved us for a $3,000 matching grant.  That means that for every dollar we raise, they will match that dollar up to $3,000.  YIPPEE!  We have until March 6 to raise this money.  Below is the letter that we have sent out to friends, by request of Lifesong.  If the Lord is nudging you to donate to our adoption, you can follow the directions below and mail a check to Lifesong on our behalf or make a donation through Paypal or credit card by clicking here. 

Dear Friends & Church Family,                                                                                                                                  

“A father to the fatherless…God sets the lonely in families…”  Psalm 68:5,6

Many of you already know that we are in the process of adopting twin boys from central Africa.  The Lord gave us a heart for adoption early on in our marriage.  The Lord’s timing is perfect, and He put the strong desire in us last year to actively pursue adding children to our family through adoption.  Through circumstances orchestrated by the Lord, we were led to a wonderful agency in Indianapolis to adopt from (country undisclosed).  (Country undisclosed) is a country of great need.  The infant mortality rate is 50%, most of who die of treatable sicknesses such as malaria or hepatitis.

There are an estimated 147 million orphans in the world, but the cost of international adoption oftentimes hinders people from considering adoption.  The average cost of an international adoption for one child is $30,000.  These numbers can be overwhelming.  We know that God loves these children dearly and calls Christians to care for them, training them to know and serve Him.  Not everyone is called to give orphans a forever family, but James 1:27 says “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and fautless is this:  to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”  It is God’s heart for us, as believers, to look after the orphans.  One very important way that believers can do this is to financially give to the adoption of other Christian families.  

Our adoption costs so far have been over $41,000.  We are in the final stages of bringing our boys home and will have an estimated  $15,000 due to complete the process.  Making our financial needs known to others has been a difficult part of this process for us, but we know that it is Biblical to do so.  We appreciate your friendship and support and would like to ask you to prayerfully consider helping our adoption.  

Pray:  Please pray for our boys as they wait to come home.  Pray that their little bodies will remain healthy and that God would prepare them and us as we become their forever family. 

Give:  Would you please consider making a tax-deductible donation to help us pay for the remaining costs of our adoption expenses?  

Lifesong (www.lifesongfororphans.org) has graciously given us a Matching Grant of $3,000 to help pay for the balance of our adoption expenses.  If you would like to be a part of helping our little fellas coming home to our family, you can send your tax-deductible gift between now and March 6, 2013 to the address below.  Lifesong is a trusted organization administering the funds on the behalf of our twins, and will pay adoption expenses out of funds received.

**  Please make checks payable to:  Lifesong.   Please preference FISH FAMILY # 3227 in the memo section of your check.  (Note:  In following IRS guidelines, your donation is to Lifesong which retains full discretion and control over its use, but intends to honor the donor’s suggested use.)

**  Mail checks to:           Lifesong for Orphans    

                                        Attn:  Fish Family #3227

                                        P.O. Box 40 / 202 N. Ford St.

                                        Gridley, IL  61744

Thank you in advance for investing in the Kingdom through your prayers and finances – it will be an investment with eternal returns!  (Matt.6:20).  You may follow our adoption blog at www.findingallourfishsticks.blogspot.com to receive updates on our adoption.  May God be glorified in and through us!

In Christ,

The Fish Family