We were so blessed to be able to work with the organization Lifesong for Orphans during Haven's adoption. They are an orphan care organization who not only supports adoptive families, but orphans around the world by providing child sponsorship and in-country programs to provide food, shelter, education, and Christian discipleship and training. Through their grant matching program, we were able to raise over $4000 toward our adoption expenses. It was a huge blessing and the staff was wonderful to work with! When they emailed and asked if I would be interested in becoming a Lifesong Blogger, I, of course said yes and was excited to help promote their wonderful organization.
For the last couple months I have received dozens of emails from people who have questions about the adoption process and fundraising. I love helping others through the process and have been planning to do a series of posts about adoption, fundraisers, agencies, waiting, ect. So, when Lifesong emailed and said their new series of posts would be about helping to equip and encourage prospective adoptive families I thought, YES - they're doing the work for me ;)
3 Ways to Prepare for the Adoption Journey
Like any journey, it's appropriate to think ahead, to plan and to prepare for what is come. Along the way we'll realize that it isn't all what we may have thought or expected. There are unplanned events and struggles, along with unexpected joys and surprises.
Join us as we walk down a few different paths of the adoption journey and discuss some key resources as you look ahead in preparation of bringing a child into your forever family.
Many of you may have already walked this journey. Some of seen friends or close family struggle through the path. Maybe you are just starting to "pack your bag" for your first adoption. No matter the traveler or the progress, here are a few helpful tidbits for anyone who is considering adoption (for the first, second or third time!).
3 Ways to Prepare for the Journey...
- Pray. Fast. Read. Most importantly, seek God's direction and plan for your family. Spend significant time praying, fasting and reading His Word together for guidance, wisdom and peace. God does not call everyone to adopt, but He may be calling your family to be involved in caring for the orphan in some way. Sit and listen to the Father, He will prepare your feet for the path He has for you (Psalm 18:33).
- Educate Yourself (With Trusted Materials). With some of the best Christian material on adoption, Empowered to Connect provides books, videos, trainings and other resources to help foster and adoptive families parent children from hard places. Prepare and receive realistic expectations ahead of time by reading books like The Connected Child or attending an Empowered to Connect Conference. See resources & upcoming Empowered to Connect Conferences >>
- Take a Pre-Adoption Assessment. Striving to make the adoption process less complicated and overwhelming, our friends at Loving Shepherd Ministries have helped guide over 6,000 couples in their early stages of adoption. Through their Adoption Assessment Form, their staff gives your family adoption options you are eligible to pursue, along with lists of agencies, home study providers in your area and more! Best yet, they offer this as a free service to prospective adoptive families. Learn more & fill out their Adoption Assessment Form today >>
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3 Responses to “Partnering with Lifesong - 3 Ways to Prepare for the Adoption Journey ”
Hello,
I'm currently doing some fundraising for a little boy who lives in Uganda. I was wondering how you went about doing your online auction when you were fundraising for adopting Haven- did you have people from other countries places bids and paying for items- how did that work out? Yeah, just wondered how you put everything together and did the bidding etc.
It is great to see the updates that you send out and to see Haven growing and you guys growing as a family.
Many Thanks
Sharon
Hey Sharon! I set up each auction item as an individual blog post and had folks bid in the comments section. Highest bidder at the end made payment through paypal. Their payment included shipping (most of my auction items were donated from etsy shops and so I had them tell me what they typically charged for shipping and went with that). I only had one out of country bidder and he payed me after I shipped his item and knew exactly how much shipping would be. That worked out best for us. I have also seen people hold their auction on facebook and have a facebook album with all the items and people place bids under each picture. That seems to work really well too. If I did it again, I think I will do it using facebook next time.
Please let me know if you have more questions or need any help! Let me know when you are planning on holding your auction and I will help you promote it by sharing with family and friends!
Thank you very much Leah I will look into all of that and will let you know if and when I do an auction or anything else that could be promoted across the water!
Sharon
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