A Living Alternative

When we were first pregnant a few years ago the strangest thing happened.  People started bringing out babies and kids into the public eye like never before.  I mean, surely there wasn’t this many children around before we had learned we were pregnant, for I had hardly noticed them before.  Seriously though, it was like my eyes were opened to a whole new spectrum of the world I had only been vaguely aware of before.

When we lost our first child, that awareness went into overdrive.  However, where once it inspired the excited paternal longing that caused my heart to ache with love and hope, now it was ravished by grief and anger.  In fact, for nearly 6 months I could not attend church, as the sight of fathers with their little ones sent me into an emotional (and physical) tail spin of weeping, questions and despair.

As we get closer to our adoption being completed, my fatherly instinct has rekindled with deep (if cautious) excitement and hope.  I am again seeing children everywhere (though noticing more those of a darker colour) and my heart is filled with anticipation and love.  We know that it will be hard- after all, we have a significant debt ahead of us to pay for the adoption and that’s just before we get the kid home!  (By the way, PLEASE continue to help us get the word out about our Adopt-A-Pixel fund raiser found here).  Despite the challenges, I am going to be a Daddy!

Many people are asking us where we are at in the process, what has already happened, what is the time line, etc.  While we love the questions, Kim thought it would be helpful to get everyone up to speed.  Check her blog post about the whole process- past, present and future!  Thanks again for all you prayer and support.

It is really exciting for me to announce that, as of last week, Kim & I are through the home study process for our adoption. The recommendation was glowing! All our paperwork has been submitted and the current payments made. Our files will be approved in Manitoba, then sent off to Ethiopia. There it will be reviewed and they will work to find a child to match our dossier. We could receive a referal in 5 months or in 18 months. So now we wait.

For those who have been following our Adopt-A-Pixel fundraiser, you will see that we have raised about 15% of our goal so far. I cannot tell you how blessed we are for the generosity of people like you who stand with us in this way. For nearly 15 years I have been living on the financial gifts of others, relying on it for almost every need, a humbling dependence. It has deeply shaped me.

However, I never anticipated that our ability to have a family would depend on the gifts of others. The deep sense of powerlessness that we face with infertility, coupled with a career choice that left any alternative financially unlikely, could be crippling to us. And yet, because people like you have stood with us in prayer, friendship and generosity, we not only hold off despair, but we are filled with hope.

Keep standing with us in this, as we have a long way to go. We are working hard to find other sources of funding, but your continued support and advocacy in this endeavour is still needed. Again, thank you so much!

As many of you know, Kim & I are in the process of adopting a child from Ethiopia. After our devastating experience with miscarriage to our consistant and unexplained inability to conceive again, we decided to pursue this course. It took us many months of prayer and consideration, but we truly believe this is God’s plan for our family. Among the challenges we will face along the way, finances will be our biggest hurdle. There are significant expenses involved in this process. As missionaries, this will be exceptionally challenging to our support-based income. To that end we have launched an exciting fund raising project:

We are asking you to consider getting involved in helping us in the process. At the website there is a beautiful picture of a baby.. The pixels of this image are yours to “adopt”. Simply visit the website and “adopt a pixel”. Every donation, even as little as $1, will really help. As donations come in, we will keep you updated. Our goal is to raise $20,000 towards the process. Scroll over the image to see how many pixels have been adopted!

You can also help out by getting the word out. We are asking anyone who is willing to promote this on their blogs and websites, both by posting on it and/or adding the button to your site (see below). We also have a Facebook cause that you can join and invites friends to join. Every little bit helps.

Tax deductible receipts for Canadians who wish to give larger donations are available through the following process (NOT PAYPAL). Please make your cheque or money order payable to Youth With A Mission and include a separate note with our name on it and the words “For Adoption”. As per Revenue Canada’s wishes, do not put any name or info anywhere on the cheque except what is listed above.

Send cheques to our Project Funding office (see below info). If you are interested in giving on a monthly basis you can send in post-dated cheques or use our pre-authorized payment method. If you are interested in receiving a pre-authorized payment agreement form please email or call our donor office with your name and address. All other donations can be sent through PayPal as unreceipted gifts.

Project Funding
PO Box 57100
2480 East Hastings Street
Vancouver, BC V5K 5G6 CANADA
Ph: (604) 436-4433 Fx: (604) 436-4466

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