Oh my goodness gracious, Anthony and I are still so amazed at what the Lord has done for sweet Yulia. It truly blows our minds when we consider how desperately He loves her, and all orphans, for that matter.
After our recent fundrasier, I have received a whole lot of emails. Most of them asking me some of the same questions. I thought I would answer a few of them here as so many of you are obviously praying for Yulia, and gathering from the number of people who have written to me, many are wondering the same things.
Why did I stop the Chip-In at $20,000.00?
Simply because of the way that the grant will be distributed to her family. Once a family is committed to bringing Yulia home they will either have to have a home study already completed (which is what we’re praying for), or they will have to commit to doing one asap. The money for the home study, Promise Trust funds paid to Reeces Rainbow (who will facilitate the adoption), and USCIS approval cannot come out of the grant fund due to the fact that RR only pays out the grant money after the adoption process has already begun. The initial adoption costs therefore will have to be covered by the family.
I hope that makes sense. It’s just the way large grants are distributed. Every ministry that I know of will ONLY release a grant once a home study has been completed. To just hand out a huge sum of money before the initial paperwork has been done would be ludicrous. Too many things can go wrong, and then the money would be lost. These things have to be handled with utmost integrity.
I will absolutely let you know as soon as I hear that a family has committed to bringing Yulia home. Please keep trusting with me that it will be soon.
Can I still donate to Yulia’s fund?
Yes, you absolutely can, if you feel led. Just go here and get the details. You can either do it via PayPal or snail mail.
Did we do something special to raise $20,000.00 in five days?
Ummm….no! Nothing at all. We heard from the Lord, went out and bought an iPad, prayed like crazy, trusted God for an outpouring of provision, and that was it. Seriously friends, it was ALL God and NOTHING of me. God mobilized His army to meet a need. That is the only explanation I can give you. I promise you that I do not have any special gift in raising funds or anything like that. I don’t know anything more than any of you about how to have a successful fundraiser. This was just one of those times that God chose to display His glory!
There is such a need. What can I do to help?
Yes, there is such a need. There are so many amazing organizations that fundraise for children who are desperately looking for homes. Brittany’s Hope is one of my favorite ministries. They helped us tremendously when we brought Haven home. There are many places where you can put your money and know that it is going to good use. Personally, we love to help families who adopt children. Having relied solely on fundraising to bring our four adopted children home, we know how hard the journey can sometimes be. It gets so tiring asking for money after a while. Sometimes it is so wonderful to be blessed with a few extra dollars even before you have asked.
Adoption is ridiculously expensive. No doubt about it. I hate that it costs what it does. It is wrong! But there is nothing anyone can do to change it. I will never understand why it is the way it is.
One thing I do know though is that my God is MORE than able to provide the ransom for an adoption. We have seen it, lived it, and experienced it. Four times over. We adopted all four of our children debt free. Was it easy? No, absolutely not. It took hard work and effort. Not once did we expect God just to rain down money from heaven and say, “Here you go, Salems, now just go and adopt your children.” No, we knew we would have to put in a whole lot of effort. But God always rewards those who work hard. He provided for our children in astounding ways.
I am absolutely confident that God can provide for an adoption.
I get so many emails from people who have such a heart for orphans, they long to bring a child home yet are unable to adopt due to life circumstances, hubby not being on board, lack of finances, unemployment, etc. Many of us have been there, done that. I always tell them to sow seed into someone else’s adoption. Sow seed and watch it grow. Bless someone else with the very thing that you are desiring, and watch it come back to you. God’s just so amazing like that.
There are so many families adopting. If you really want to do something to help out–please consider helping them out. As with Yulia’s adoption fund, it ALL adds up. Do you know just how many people donated $5 and $10 to her fund? I cannot even tell you. It’s loaves and fishes stuff, you know? God does the multiplication.
Here are just a few friends I know of who are adopting. I have known these ladies for a long time here in the blogosphere.
Suzanne is giving away an awesome cruise to the Bahamas that I am seriously twisting God’s arm to give to me. The give-away ends tomorrow and they are in need of so much money to just begin their adoption of Eli. Feel like a little cruise? Go and sow seed.
Holly and her family are getting ready to travel to China very soon for their adorable little princess who has many special needs. Holly has a HUGE heart for orphans. She is selling the most stunning Ugandan jewelry for next to nothing. Need a piece of Africa? Go here and please consider helping Holly to bring her sweetie pie home.
Connie and her precious family are paper chasing for another little treasure waiting for them in China. These people have hearts of gold. They are giving away a seriouly fabulous camera as part of their fundraising efforts. Please go to her blog and consider helping them out. It ALL adds up.
Lori and her family are adopting another teenager about to age out of the Chinese program. They too NEED the funds to get to China before time runs out. Lori is selling Show Hope tees that are so cute. Bringing home older kids is NOT an easy thing. These people are called by the Lord. All they need are the finances.
Linda and her family brought home Daniel in February 2010 after a year of waiting on God to have victory over this special baby’s life. God is asking this family to trust Him once again as He moves mountains to redeem two more children from Liberia. God has made a way that the cost is much less and for that we are grateful. You can read about how urgent this adoption is here.
Tammy and her family are adopting Mayah. She has Treacher-Collins syndrome. It’s a cranio-facial abnormality where, in her own country, she has been rejected. They are waiting here, with open arms for her. Their three sons talk about Mayah daily and pray for her. They still need $8320 to fund Mayah’s adoption.
Those are just a few families that I know of who have current fundraisers to bring their children home. I know they would all be so thankful for any help that they can get from the body of Christ.
The need certainly is enormous…but so is our God.
How blessed we are in giving.
And finally, I used random.org to generate a winner….
Jennifer Applin, you are the winner of the iPad. Congratulations! I’ll be contacting you soon.
