​A year and a half ago we began the process to grow our family through adoption, something we both felt called by God to do since we were teens.  We are adopting a baby boy from Ethiopia and will likely be matched with a specific child in the next 6-12 months, though it could be ANY DAY!!! Once we are matched, we will fly to Africa to bring him home.  Though we haven’t seen his face yet, we’ve already named him Immanuel!

 

 

We just wanted to take a moment to update you on the progress of our adoption and also to ask for your help.  The big news is we are now on the waiting list!  This is immensely exciting, and while it’s difficult to say just how long the wait will be, we’re hoping it won’t take long.  While this is very exciting, it’s also a little scary.  Up until now we’ve mostly met the expense requirements from our own income (a HUGE THANK YOU to those who have helped us along the way).  This has been possible by the grace of God and his provision, and the nature of the expenses we’ve encountered in small steps along the way.

 

 

We’re presented with a new challenge at this stage, however.  Soon we’ll get an email with a picture of a brand new baby boy in Ethiopia.  At that point we’ll need to pay about $10,000 in fees and another $10,000 in travel expenses (we have to fly to Ethiopia twice).  If the money isn’t in hand, we’ll be forced to turn the child down. L  With this in mind, we’ve set our goal date to have all funds needed by September 13, 2013.

 

 

The great news is that Lifesong for Orphans has generously agreed to match gifts toward our adoption dollar for dollar, up to $2,500!!  It's humbling to know we can't do this on our own, but we're so grateful for the opportunity to let you be a part of this awesome journey.  Not all families can adopt, and we hope you see this as a chance to capture God's heart for orphans.  While we don't currently have the finances to pay the immense adoption fees we strongly believe God led us to this place to demonstrate through his provision that he is Father to every orphan.  We are his willing hands.

 

Once the matching grant has been used in full, Lifesong for Orphans will still process any donations toward our adoption, and all gifts are tax deductible.  If you would like to give toward our adoption miracle, just click on the “Give” box below for instructions!

 

Every gift received is a treasure and we'll be forever grateful for your help in bringing Immanuel home.  We have faith that God knows the exact child who will be part of our family and we know that His timing is perfect, whether that be sooner or later.  But we have also felt that this is really an opportunity to reach out to the people in our lives and let them see our need, pray for us and our son, and be a financial part of this miracle.

 

 

THANK YOU to those of you who have already given toward our adoption.  You have no idea what an encouragement it has been to our hearts to see that you have caught this vision with us and are cheering us on.  We are incredibly grateful for you.

 

 

God bless you all and thank you so much for being a part of our lives.

 

 

With much love and respect,

 

 

Benj and Gabi

 

“I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.”

-Jesus (John 14:18 NIV)