The Pass It Forward Adoption Fund

While we still have a long ways to go to raise the full amount for the Pass It Forward Adoption Fund (And I still really need YOUR help) I have decided it is time to announce the family who will one day be given the funds to completely their adoption (and then in return will turn around and raise the money once again to pass onto the next family).

From the very beginning when the Lord started working out the details of the Pass It Forward Adoption Fund He put a very special family in my mind. I prayed more than you could image about this decision- knowing it was a big one. Then, I confirmed that decision with a good Christian friend of mine whom God also put this family in the forefront of her mind.

For several months now I have continued praying over this decision, and then I spoke with the family and they too have been praying. They realize that this will be a gift- and yet at the same time there is a responsibility that comes with it. The responsibility of accepting the gift, finding the child the Lord has in mind for their family- and then also raising the adoption costs for the next family. Therefore the vision of the Pass It Forward Adoption Fund continues on. The reason we started this fund was because we believe that when God blesses us it is so that we can bless others. It is not a open hand close hand deal. It’s a open hand, receive his blessings and then continue to bless others as well.

The Pass It forward Adoption Fund was founded on the vision that those with a heart for adoption will come together, work together and support each other through this amazing journey called adoption. From the many, many emails I have received over the past few months asking for help, emails from individuals telling me about families they know of in need of funds for their adoption- I know without a doubt that we are on the right track. Raising the money for an adoption can be so overwhelming- overwhelming enough that often times it is the sole reason people do not adopt. They see the cost- and it stops them dead in their tracks. And inevitably, a child in need of a family remains an orphan for life. So for those of you who have walked this road of fundraising and saving, and for those of you who have emailed me informing me of a family in need- I challenge YOU to also come along side a family and help them. Get creative, work hard, sacrifice yourself, pray. Ask God what YOU can do to help a deserving family bring a child home. I promise you will not regret it.

I wish I could help EVERY FAMILY- I wish I were Bill Gates (Bill honey, if you happen upon my blog could you please help us out here??) but I am not. You all have no idea how much I truly appreciate all of you who have come along side of me and given. Many of you are adoptive families- many of you are in the adoption process right now. I have had children empty their piggy banks and give, I have had families eat beans and rice for a month and give. I have had people return purchases and people go without- all because they know that together we can make a difference in the life of a child. I am so thankful for each and every one of you. You may never see the full extent of your sacrifice- but God does. He sees and He knows.


The recipients of the Pass It Forward Adoption Fund have a huge passion for orphans. They are a good strong Christian family who we know often sacrifice themselves for others. They are a family who I know has the ability and the desire to continue on the vision of the Pass It Forward Adoption Fund. They are a family who deserved to be blessed. Our prayer is that this fund can continue on and on to help more and more families yet for now, we had to choose just one family- and that family is... (drum roll please) - The Riggs family. http://www.riggsfamilyblog.com/

For those of you who know them- you are shaking your head agreeing they are the perfect choice. There are so many reasons why but for now I want to just share a few…

Several years back Michelle and I became friends as we were both adopting from Guatemala through the same agency. I remember being blown away by Michelle’s constant offering of prayer. She truly seemed to care and truly seemed to want to help, even as she herself was adopting. But it didn’t stop there. As our family worked, struggled, and fundraised to bring our daughter Mya home from Guatemala- Michelle and Brent were doing the same thing at the same time for their son Landis. And yet in the mail they sent US a check for $450 to help with our adoption cost. Right there is an example of the kind of people they are. Always putting someone else’s needs before their own.

Secondly, is Abby. A lot of you know Abby because of her leukemia. I know Abby because of her heart. Even at her young age Abby understands that she was adopted and she understands what a family is. But it doesn’t stop there… you see, Abby doesn’t sit around worrying about her cancer or the pain it brings her. Yes she knows she is sick and she knows there is pain involved. But what bothers Abby most is knowing there are kids out there just like her, who are hurting and sometimes sick- but without the love of a family. Without a family to hold them when they cry, a family to tell them that everything is going to be okay. Abby knows that it is through adoption she is able to experience these things for herself today. Because of this it is Abbys greatest wish to adopt a baby brother from Ethiopia. Yet in true Abby fashion- she doesn’t just wish for a brother- she wishes for a bald baby brother so that he will be just like her.

Again, I want to thank you for all that you have given up and given so far- to help one day make this families dream of adopting another child come true. We still have a ways to go but I know together we can make a difference in the life of a child.

I cannot wait to see what God does through YOU!!!