Christmas letter

Dear Family and Friends,

Merry Christmas!  We are now in our third year of living in Colorado, and truly feel that this is "home".  Of course, we miss our family and friends in California, but we have developed a great community in our short time here.

As some of you may know, we celebrated our fifth wedding anniversary in June.  No couple ever dreams that infertility will be something that they will have to deal with but we have faced this heartbreaking reality.  We felt led to get off the emotional roller coaster of medical treatments and “what-ifs” and pursue adoption.  We truly believe that God has prepared our hearts to adopt.  He wants to build a family for us, just not in the way we were thinking!

After much prayer and research, we have begun the process to adopt from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) through a wonderful agency called A Love Beyond Borders, located here in Colorado.  We chose to pursue international adoption because we felt God calling us to focus on one of the eighteen million orphans in Africa.

We have been praying for the little boy or girl that God has for us, and we are so excited to meet him or her.  We have set up a blog that will be updated with our progress in the adoption process and we invite you to follow us on our journey: www.travisandjennyadopt.blogspot.com.

The process is long and not without obstacles, but we are ready for the challenge.  There is much to be done, including paperwork, fingerprinting, interviews, home visits, and fundraising.  We anticipate the hardest part will be waiting – waiting for a referral, waiting for updates, and waiting to travel.  It will be hard, but so worth it to someday bring our precious child home.

How can you help?  First and foremost, please pray for us and our child in the DRC as we begin this very special journey.  The adoption process will take about a year and is a journey of faith every step of the way.

Our greatest need is financial, as our adoption costs are estimated to be $35,000.  We would ask that you and your family prayerfully consider giving financially.  This is certainly not an expense we had been expecting or knew to save for.  Our adoption expenses include home study costs, agency fees, dossier preparation and translation fees, government fees, travel expenses, and medical and orphanage fees.

We truly believe that God has led us to adopt and will provide the necessary funds needed for this adoption to be realized.  We are encouraged by the fact that He knows exactly how much we need (to the penny!) and already knows how He is going to provide it.  We are planning fundraisers, including the design of a t-shirt, and will be applying for grants once our home study is completed.  Donations can be made online through our blog or by check.  All donations will be put into a special savings account specifically for our adoption expenses.

We are so grateful for your friendship and for considering this opportunity to partner with us in bringing an orphan home.  Please call or email us with any questions you may have regarding our adoption journey.  We are more than happy to talk about this wonderful adventure.

We love you and wish you a very Merry Christmas.

Love,

Travis & Jenny