Quick Update

We just wanted to let everyone know that a date has been set to meet with the birthmom: October 2. We haven't heard yet if she is having a boy or a girl. There was supposed to be a sonogram today, so maybe we will find out next week. Please continue to pray for her and for us. Thanks, friends!

News

Hi Friends!

Today we received news that the birthmother for whom we put together a quick profile while at the beach chose us! She met with the Bethany counselor yesterday and liked that we already have a son, so her baby will have an older brother. She also liked that we are musical and come from large families. This young lady is still not 100% sure that she will give her baby up for adoption, but she has requested to meet with us in order to help her decide. She is due in early November, and we will likely get to meet with her in the next few weeks.

We are quite surprised and so excited. Our profile was nothing fancy--just some typed pages and pictures with hand-written captions (my handwriting has never won any prizes...in fact, it was once publicly criticized by a college professor in front of the whole class). So, we know that we weren't chosen for our professional-looking profile. We trust that God is working in this young lady's life and He will accomplish His purposes. Please pray for her that she would have wisdom as she seeks to make the best decision for her baby. Although we would love for this to be "our baby", we know that we are not God, and He may have other purposes for this little life. Please also pray that God would reveal Himself to her if she doesn't know Him already. She is very young and has faced many difficulties in her short life.

We do not yet know if the baby is a boy or a girl, but we were told that she would soon have a sonogram to find out. We will keep you posted on the details.

On another note, our church is holding its annual rummage sale, and some dear friends have donated many items that will be sold to benefit our adoption fund. One very kind friend in our caregroup has coordinated this for us. Please pray that it does not rain, and the rummage sale can proceed as planned. Thank you for your prayers!

~Jill and Stephen

Moving Quickly...

Well, we're back from a wonderful time at the beach. Not only was it a week of rest and relaxation, but it also afforded us lots of time to work on all the paperwork we needed to have completed upon our return. The day after our return we had our joint interview with Bethany Christian Services, and our individual interviews and homestudy are planned for next week. Things have definitely moved quicker than we expected, but we continue to have much peace and joy.

We have been overwhelmed with gratefulness for the support we have received over the past several weeks in the form of several sizable donations. You (and you know who you are :) have blown our minds with your generosity. We cannot express how thankful and humbled we are by your kindness, and we know you will receive great reward in heaven.

We continue to trust that "...God will supply every need of (ours) according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus." Some points of prayer: after our homestudy, we will be applying for an interest-free loan that is available to Christian families adopting. We hope to qualify for this loan and to pay it off with the adoption tax credit. However, we were recently reminded that the renewal of the tax credit will depend on whether or not it passes Congress, as it will be voted on again for the next tax year. So we would really appreciate prayer that one, the tax credit is renewed for adopting families, and two, that we would qualify for the interest-free loan. Also, we will be applying for one or more grants that would be of help.

On another note, we are creating profiles for Bethany to show potential birthmothers. The birthmothers will then chose an adoptive family from the profiles they view. We have submitted an early profile because our social worker has a birthmother scheduled to come into the office next week, and she would like to show her our profile. This is exciting for us, and we are praying that God would direct the right birthmother to our profile. We will keep you updated.

~Stephen and Jill