Yesterday in church we worshiped to a song called “A Thousand Hallelujahs.” Generally worship is a time I love to reflect on what God is doing in my life and how he is playing a role in each and every moment. With this song I felt a bit more overcome with joy as I thought about our adoption process and how extremely blessed our family has felt through the recent donations coming in from those around us choosing to support us in that manner. Although these donations came from people, I know they were provided by God, as he is orchestrating each and every step in this journey, including filling the hearts of others to spur them on to supporting us through these donations. The chorus says the following:
“With a thousand hallelujahs we magnify your name. You alone deserve the glory, the honor and the praise. Lord Jesus. This song is forever yours. A thousand hallelujahs and a thousand more.”
I have definitely felt like shouting a thousand hallelujahs for all he has and continues to do, he deserves all the praise in this process and in so many other aspects of my life.
You can listen to the song here: https://youtu.be/ga057VTHdP0
When we received notification from Lifesong that they had awarded us a $4000 matching grant we were so thankful and then when they reached out to tell us we had also received a $5000 direct grant that did not require matching to use, we felt so blessed but when we watched the donations come in and our match was hit and then even more still came in we felt overwhelmed! When people talk about what prevents them from adopting, cost is typically at the top of that list, but I am here to share my testimony of Gods provisions through it all. There have been so many signs of his hand in all of this along the way, both this time and last time. We feel so certain he is in control and knows the ending before we even do, directing our steps to get there. We have now been able to pay off our $8800 invoice with our adoption agency and have enough to likely cover the cost of the next fee, along with most of our first trip costs. We have almost hit $15,000 donated. This is huge and so amazing. As I’ve mentioned before adoption costs are a lot, typically $40,000-$50,000 depending on country. We knew as we entered into this that this was the case, but we also knew from our previous experience that God works in the hearts of others in way we can’t and leads them to have a hand in adoption, whether they do it directly or not. I share this so that others can have hope in that piece and not allow it to stand in their way of stepping directly into adoption. There should be no barriers, there should always be a way. Check out our progress at https://mystory.lifesongfororphans.org/stories/gard-family-adoption
So, we will continue to leave our account open with Lifesong, as we have more costs ahead of us and we know the current funds will be depleted as we move ahead. Our Dossier was approved and registered on December 30, 2022, so now we wait for our match. We have been told there are a lot of variables within this, so a timeline is hard to predict but recent trends have shown about 5-6 months from dossier registration to match. We pray for Gods timing in this. We know he has chosen our sweet little girl and will put all pieces into place when the time is right. Once we have a match we will travel to meet her before returning home and waiting for trip two to pick her up. Please continue to pray for that process, we appreciate them all!
I also cannot fail to mention that China has began to open their borders more. Which made the song in church yesterday become even more relevant. It has been 3 years that families have been praying for something, hundreds of families waiting, not knowing and receiving no updates on their children. To say they have felt heartbreak is an understatement so please join me in praying that the borders beginning to open will lead to an expedited response from their government to allow families to travel and bring their children home.
Gard Family Adoption Adventure 