Dear friends and family,
We are excited to share the latest chapter in the Parfitt family story. We are adopting!!
Earlier this year, the Lord began calling us to adoption. Having confirmed His will for us in many amazing ways, we began the search for an agency. The Lord has very graciously been closing some doors and opening others along the way and we are excited to begin the adoption process through Nightlight Christian Adoptions.
With millions of orphans around the world, we have spent many hours researching and speaking with agency staff in order to narrow down which program to pursue. As we continue to ask the Lord to show us where our child is waiting, the three best options open to us at this time are domestic infant adoption, the Colombia program, or India special needs adoption. Each of these programs has unique characteristics to consider.
Domestic infant adoption is what's known as a "waiting family" program. There are hundreds of families waiting to welcome a newborn. Through this program, an expectant mother chooses a couple with which to place her baby. These adoptions are "open" adoptions where the adoptive parents commit to provide regular updates for the birth family as well as yearly face-to-face visits. This is a beautiful opportunity to show the love of Jesus to a birth mother and for her to see that her child is growing up in a loving home.
The Colombia program, as in all international adoption programs, is a "waiting child" program. There are thousands of children in care in Colombia, and many are waiting for their forever home. Through the Colombia program, we would have the opportunity to adopt an older child (10 years and above) or a sibling group with minor or no special needs. These children bring with them difficult histories of abuse or other trauma and desperately need the safety and stability of a loving family.
India is home to a staggering 20 million orphans (with some estimates being even greater). Through this program, we would be eligible to adopt a child with minor to moderate special needs. Some examples of these needs include clubfoot, cleft lip/palate, vision issues, hearing loss, albinism - many needs that are treatable or correctable with the medical care we have here in the US. We would also be able to adopt a much younger child (around age 2) and maintain birth order in our family.
Adoption is a costly process in many ways and we need your support to bring our child(ren) home. There are several ways you can help:
1. First and foremost, we need your prayers. Adoption was God's idea. When we repent and put our faith in Jesus, we are adopted into His family. Our enemy, Satan, hates adoption, he hates us, and he hates these kids. We know he will do everything in his power to discourage us along the way. Please pray for peace, wisdom, and encouragement. Pray that we will continue to discern the Lord's will as to which program to pursue. Please also pray for favor with our agency and any foreign government officials who will review our file.
2. We also need your financial support. In the short-term, we will have around $10,000 in adoption-related expenses over the next 3-4 months. The total cost to adopt one child ranges from $35,000-$50,000, depending on the program. This may sound overwhelming, but we know God "is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think" (Ephesians 3:20).
3. We are working on some creative fundraising projects that we will be letting you know about in the near future. If you have some ideas or would like to help with fundraising, please let us know!
4. We have also hired a builder (who is himself an adoptive dad!) who will be adding a large bedroom in our attic in order to make room for our growing family. We will be finishing off the project ourselves in order to save a bit on labor costs. If you are interested in helping with painting, laying flooring, or other finishing touches, we would love to hear from you!
The Bible says that God is "a Father to the fatherless" and that He "sets the lonely in families" (Psalm 68:5-6). We are grateful that the Lord has chosen our family to embrace the calling of adoption. We are thankful for your prayers and support as we continue on this journey. May all that we do be for His glory alone.
With heartfelt thanks,
The Parfitts
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