The English Family Wants to Adopt
Jerusha and Luke
Fort Worth, TX
We are Luke and Jerusha! Thanks for taking a moment to read our story! We met at Oregon State University and talked about adoption even before we were married. It was how we envisioned growing a family. But we both felt called to work overseas and were unsure how well a family would fit into the picture; we didn't want to sacrifice one for the other. Adoption remained our first choice as the years went by, even as we welcomed our biological daughter, and as the doors to international work continued to close. As the years went by, we learned that instead of packing up our home for ministry we were supposed to be opening our home. International adoption was on our hearts first, but in our researching we gained insight into foster care, the adoption of older children and siblings, domestic adoption... so many places in which obedient, Spirit-led followers can serve the Lord. Right now, with a young toddler already, we are hoping to grow our family through domestic infant adoption. We are also purposefully choosing an open adoption and hope to build up, love, and encourage the biological parent(s) of the child too. Adoption is beautiful and adoption is messy. There is no way around it. Please consider consistently praying and/or supporting us financially as we choose the messy places to love and live.
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1 Family Update
Donors
Drew Chrisman
We are very happy to see your profile and your heart for adoption. We pray you continue to feel led by God through it all and are met with encouragement at every step.
Logan Amirian
Robin Mayfield
Glad we are able to help out!
Shawn McCorkle
We are really excited for y'all in this and thankful for your heart for adoption!
Bethany
Steve Hawkins
Allison Baker
Brittany Christian
We are praying for you in this process!
Scott Bauman
Steve Hawkins
Steve Hawkins
Justin Pearson
We love you all and are excited about how close you are to adopting! We are donating in honor of Aiden Basheer Tribou, the child of some friends who was lost in childbirth 3 years ago tomorrow. I can't think of a better way to honor Aiden and his parents request to do good in his name than to be a part of a child going to a wonderful, loving home. Love, the Pearsons
W E A R E M A T C H – R E A D Y!!!
I thought that announcement would come so much sooner than it did, but we are finally here! All our paperwork is approved. Our Home Study is complete (again). We sent off all our profile books to various Nightlight Christian Adoption offices around the U.S. And we have been overwhelmingly blessed in the last 6 months financially. Now, we are waiting for the phone call.
What does Match-Ready mean?
In an open adoption, the role of choosing is reversed. We don’t pick the child. The birthparent(s) picks us. Once all the paperwork and finances are in order, the adoption offices get the green light to start showing our profile to expectant birthmothers. Social workers do their best to put forward profiles that match the birthmother’s wishes and the adoptive parents’ preferences. Sometimes there is an in-person meeting so we can learn more about each other. Sometimes matches that initially looked good fall through. This is often the longest, hardest, and most emotionally tumultuous part of the process.
The Long Back-story to Getting Here
This process is longer than I could have ever imagined. We had talked about adoption when our daughter was born, and started the process officially in May of 2018. Being a teacher, I thought I could handle the paperwork and we would soon be ready and waiting. The process would end up taking an agonizingly slow year to complete. When our Home Study was finally completed in May of 2019, I was exhausted and dejected. ("Are basic things like uploading documents supposed to be this difficult? I understand that you ‘updated’ the form, but do I really have to do the whole thing all over again?") And none of our attempts at fundraising seemed to be working out.
When the new school year came in the Fall (2019), I tried to embrace the hustle again. I had new and clever fundraising ideas galore and was eager to push them to fruition. They fell flat. Again. Unexpected medical bills kept coming, even though we are considered very healthy individuals. We kept trudging through the days with twinging hopes that maybe one of the grants that we had applied for would come through. On top of everything, last year was one of the hardest years of teaching I have had – 4 preps – and I couldn’t breathe. The mental hypoxia continued until Christmas Break. I didn’t have any new insights, epiphanies, or profound wisdom, but I felt like I woke up and could at least take full breaths instead of gasps.
And then in January (2020) I started praying. Really, I started begging. We had gotten very little financial support to that point and didn’t have any extra in our bank accounts. Nothing seemed to be working. God, if You don’t do something soon, we are going to have to quit. I sent out a round of support letters to close friends and family, praying over them before I popped them in the mailbox. I was asking for $10 from each one of them. A set of back-to-back sermons prompted me to start praying bigger. It was absurd: I asked God for $100 per day to be donated. I prayed, pleaded, and cried many mornings in the shower and on the way to work in the mornings. And we were flooded in grace. By the end of January, we had received a little over $4,000 in grants and gifts. By the end of May we had received an additional $6,500. I have difficulty pinning down any instances in which I have received such a full ‘yes’ in response to a ridiculously specific and brash prayer.
What is the next step?
There are two main phases ahead of us: At-Match (when we are selected by a birthmother) and Placement (when the child is born and placed with us). Each of these phases require a separate $7,000 fee. (There are other small fees after placement, legal fees, etc., but these are the main hurdles). We will continue to be setting aside savings each month to help prepare for these costs, we have more grants on our to-do list, and we might put together a fundraiser for this summer or fall, although COVID-19 has quashed most of our plans and ideas in that arena. Donations/gifts are still beyond welcome and critical as we move closer to these phases.