It has been 5 short days since we let a little group of our friends and family know that we are indeed, in the adoption process again. We have accepted the referral for a 5/6ish year old girl in Uganda, Olive! And we are happy, ecstatic, a little nervous but mostly ready and excited to watch how the Lord will pull this off, for a second time! And also- we're going to have 8 kids! Craziness.
Five days ago we launched "Envelopes for Olive" and through a handful of wonderful people- we've raised $1,602! Enough for our home study & half of our DSS fee! The Lord never, ever ceases to amaze us. So next week is our home study, and because we have already chosen/have been accepted to our agency and committed to a referral, we already owe the big money. Our first agency payment of $5,250 is due now. Today. Yesterday. Last week when we signed the paper and sent it in saying "YES" to Olive. And because she was a "waiting child", this adoption is going to go just as quickly, if not quicker, than it did with the boys! (5 months total from home study to travel with the boys!)
A huge advantage of doing this a second time- we've seen the Lord's work. We know he's in this- we have seen him provide crazy amounts of money in crazy little time and we know he is going to do it again. Fundraising is humbling. It's not fun asking people for money. It is not fun to say "hey! the lord is calling us to adopt this child, buttttttt....we need your help because we don't have 30k". It stinks, but God uses it. Money makes people uncomfortable. People run when you mention money, and we totally get it. But, we will do what it takes because we believe that all of the money in the world is the Lord's and he will direct it to be used for his purposes.
Before we begin, we want to say first that we don’t take this lightly. To be asking so many people to contribute and sacrifice again, we feel a great responsibility to honor you in the way we are spending our own money. We are pretty thrifty as it is but are being even more thoughtful about the dollars being spent every day. We know we are asking a lot, but we are stepping out in faith believing that God will provide. Would you consider walking alongside us in this journey?
Last week, friends came over to help us label 200 envelopes for our first fundraiser:
Here’s How It Works!
We have a basket of 200 numbered envelopes (#1-#100 and a second set, #1-#100) that we’re praying will all be claimed.Here’s what will happen if you say “YES” to an envelope…
1. You will pick a number, any number 1-100. OR, you can ask us to choose one at random for you.
2. The number you pick is the amount that you will fill the envelope with. So if you choose #37, you will put $37 in the envelope.
3. When you commit to an envelope, you have two options: 1) You can send the money for your envelope via paypal to our adoption fund OR 2) We will send the envelope to you(postage will be paid), and you can fill it and send it back to us.
4. Once you have completed your envelope donation, you will receive something sweet in the mail from us as a Thank You for coming along side us!
So, how do I get an envelope?
-Easy! Just let us know you want one, and which number you want (or tell us to draw for you!). There are TWO of each number, so don't worry about picking the same as another person. We will also be keeping track and posting progress!
You may comment publicly or email us privately (email or Facebook or text, however you want to get ahold of us!) to claim your envelope.
Make it fun! Pick your birthday. Your age. A special date. The age of your oldest child. How long you've been married. How long you hope to live. The most we are asking anyone to give is $100, and we know the Lord is faithful! Please don't be shy to pick the small ones! Envelope #1, #2 and #3 are JUST as important to us as #99.
THE UNBELIEVABLE PART:
If all envelopes are filled, it's $10,280!!!!! 200 people to give $100 and under will equal HALF of our agency fees!
We watched the Lord provide $15,000 in a day last time. $8,000 in one week, $2,000 in a fundraiser. We have peace and pray that you will consider helping us get our girl home! Here is what our chart looks like right now, the black numbers are the envelopes that are still available! This will be updated daily if new envelopes are claimed so the numbers here are current.
-claim an envelope #1-#100:
email us at emailthepotters@gmail.com
Facebook us
comment on this
or click on the paypal icon on the right hand side of the blog (it's safe!) and it goes right to our adoption fund!
