Super Excited!!!

Well, Readers, our family has been chosen to be featured on Give1Save1 Europe!! We are SOOOO excited and honored! Our week begins March 18 and they will feature us all week long! The way this works is that people go to that website and donate a dollar/week to different adoptive families who are adopting from different countries. The Europe page will be about one month old when it is our turn, so SPREAD THE WORD! One dollar. $1. Seriously, Reader, what an easy way to bless someone! I know that I went on this week and donated my buck to the Boswell family who is adopting a sweet little cutie named Edna. For $4 a month, you are getting involved in kingdom stuff!

One of the requirements to be featured is to have a video where we tell our adoption story. I was thinking about I-Movie, but I am not a natural when it comes to that sort of thing and, honestly, I am pretty busy right now with all the other stuff that we HAVE to do (dossier should go out tomorrow!!!).  We were so surprised and excited that Zeke Bryant, videographer for the Mad Ants and the Komets, heard about us and offered to make our submission video!

So, skip your McDonald's coffee for the day, get your dollar ready and spread the word anyway that you can think of. Every little bit matters and a dollar multiplied by everyone is a lot of dollars. ;)

Thank you so much!

Exhausted thoughts from an expectant mother filling out grant applications

Last night Garth was asking me how I felt "about this adoption thing." I had to tell him that honestly, it is a lot like pregnancy! The excitement, the trepidation, the exhaustion...I mean, staying up until 2 am working on grant applications is pretty fatiguing!

The downside: I have no explanation or excuse for the fact that chocolate has been my obsession. I don't get the good parking spots.

The upside: I don't gain a ton of weight that I have to account for on a bi-weekly basis, carefully weighing which jeans are the most scale friendly. I can see my toes. I can eat without producing sound effects. I won't have to stock up on diapers.

Wow! Far more ups than downs!

A friend of mine commented on a picture that I had posted to Facebook. She said that it reminded her of an ultrasound picture. When I thought about it, I agreed; it is a picture that signifies the hopes and dreams of our family.

Check out what my friend has to say!

Portrait by Nicole: To Bring Home Their Son.....: The other day I was browsing facebook, when a post from an old Mops (mothers of preschoolers) friend caught my attention. Crystal was sel...

Thoughts...

I found this quote on the blog of my new friend who is in Ukraine adopting her girls.

"Never, never be afraid to do what's right, especially if the well-being of a person or animal is at stake. Society's punishments are small compared to the wounds we inflict on our soul when we look the other way." -MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.

I think that this is a very relevant quote for what our family is embarking on.

To be honest, not everyone is as thrilled as we are. We hear the horror stories (do people think we don't know?) we hear the "what ifs". We know all of that. We know that adopting an older child brings a special set of circumstances with it. We absolutely expect difficulties. Interestingly enough, when we were expecting our children "the easy way" we never had people come up and tell us horror stories like, "Do you know Susie? Well she had a kid and he knocked the neighbor's trash can over and spray painted the cat, I sure hope that you don't have those kind of problems". If we did hear horror stories, they were about a horrific birthing experience and they were told with a measure of pride.

That being said, do I think it is worth it? Absolutely. Am I positive of God's calling for this journey? Without a doubt.

Let's be honest, Reader, most of the "problem" children and adults that we know had every advantage growing up. Parents who loved them, mothers who took their prenatal vitamins and plenty of access to good food and healthcare. All any parent can do is their best. You plant the seeds and trust God with the multiplying.

When people tell me their concerns, I listen. I know that it is well intended. I am not out to change anybody's mind. I am out to follow God's will for us and leave the changing of people's minds to Him.

I challenge you, Reader, to "Never, never be afraid to do what's right, especially if the well-being of a person or animal is at stake. Society's punishments are small compared to the wounds we inflict on our soul when we look the other way." 

WOW!

So, I spoke with our facilitator today. Here are our next steps:

• Send I-600 Immigration form along with payment off to Texas.
• Go to Indy for Biometrics appointment (fingerprinting)
• Sign and notarize our dossier papers
• Send said papers to Indy (or day trip?...so much more tempting if there was an IKEA) for apostille. Interestingly enough, Indiana is the only state that apostilles for free! Normally it is $30/document. We have 30 documents to have apostilled. That is a lot of money that we are saving by living in sweet Indiana! (I knew there was a reason that I don't complain too much about the weather...) -SIDE NOTE: Apostille is basically like having something notarized, but on steroids.
• Send all of this to Ukraine to be audited by KGB. (We have watched Mission Impossible enough to know about those people).
• Get invitation to Ukraine for SDA appointment.
• Go to Ukraine for one week.
• Come home for 2-3 weeks.
• Go back to Ukraine for 1 day for court. (Garth will come home after this, while I am planning to stay for 3 more weeks and bring home our son)
• 10 day waiting period after court.
• GOTCHA DAY!
• 10 days of government document gathering, passports, visa, etc.
• HOME! To Indiana. Home of the free apostilles.

How long will this take, you ask? Barring any monkey wrenches, we will be going to Ukraine in TWELVE weeks. 

I am so excited. And completely in amazement. And totally open to see HOW God is going to provide for this.

What can you do? 

Pray! Pray for our process. Pray for the grants that we are applying for. Pray for safe travel. Pray for Grace, Claire and Wyatt as they are getting ready for another sibling. Pray for Garth and I as we are humbled again and again when we see God working in this situation. Pray for our sweet D who is not with us now, but will be soon, that his heart may be soft to God and to family and that his health can stay strong through all the travel and transition.

This journal submission is not a result of a forced act of coercsion or pleading by my wife, Crystal, but rather another chosen step by my own accord.  Perhaps, seeing my thoughts outwardly expressed in another manner will help me better understand something that is becoming much more of a reality.

Adoption.

Crystal and I will have another son... another child.  Grace and Claire will have another brother.  Wyatt will have another brother (aside from his other brothers João and Pedro).  Our family will be forever changed. I will be forever changed.  This boy will be forever changed.  I pray that through all of the planning processes that God is given full glory, first thoughts, and praise.

Two days ago, or thereabouts, I had my first un-prompted pondering about another child in my family.  All 6 of us were riding in the mini-van and heading back home; I looked into the rear-view mirror thinking one more boy and we will have all the seats filled.  A slight emotional and logical connection took place.  In a little way, the feeling I experienced was similar to when the Grinch's heart grew three sizes.

Of course, I know that I have a heart and a passion to love, but adoption was never something that I made a connection with in the past.  I always thought adoption is a wonderful thing, but never really gave any thought about me and my family doing this.  A better understanding of how God adopted me is beginning to take hold.

Last thought and experience to share.  (Keep in mind, that this journal is more for my experience, but if it helps some other guys/husbands like me, I hope this helps.)

After completing an assignment downtown this morning I had quite a bit of quiet time walking several blocks back to my car.  I watched the different people around, cars, buildings, bushes, etc. and then I thought about Wyatt.  If he were with me now, I would be listening to him ask many random questions, watching him pick up rocks, and holding my hand.  Holding hands with my kids brings such warmth and joy to my heart.

What about this other boy who I haven't met yet?  Would we be holding hands together?  I would be his dad.  I will be his dad.  Would I be good at this, after all, I do well with my friends' kids.  Wow, this boy will be my son.  I will be a father to four children.  Crystal and I will be a family of six.  I can do this.  I am excited to do this.

I look forward to this new journey with my wife and family.

God is good.

~Garth

Whispers

Today was interesting. I was checking my checking account this morning and...gulp. We are fine, don't get me wrong, but when I think of the magnitude of what we are embarking on, it sometimes seems really insurmountable and frankly intimidating.

We just decided to do this mid-January and things have just been flying into place! 

I am in a Bible study at church right now on Revelation. The challenge from week to week has been to journal the things that the Spirit reveals to you on a day to day basis.

Anyhow, back to the story; I was praying about the finances and bemoaning some of the things we may have to curtail for right now (vacation, anyone?). About 20 minutes later the Spirit whispered to my heart, "you think you are giving up a lot? Look what I gave up to come for you." 

What wouldn't you give up to bring your child home? What didn't God give up to bring us home?

*Sniff*sniff* This whole process has been making me soupy. 

The love that I can have for a child that I have never held. The spot that has grown in my heart for him, such that when I am praying for my children, I pray for him; I calculate the seven hour time difference and think about what he might be doing at this moment. Wanting a family, but having no idea that one is coming for him. I ask God, the Father, to keep him warm, to wrap him in His arms of comfort, to protect his heart and his optimism. The optimism that makes D go up to visitors at his orphanage to ask if they have come for him. I can't wait to travel nearly 6,000 miles and say, "Yes."

More of the story

Well, here is more of the story, like I promised:

Garth and I have been married for 12 years this June. We have three wonderful children, aged 8, 6 and 4, plus some great relationships with exchange students that we have hosted. I have wanted to adopt my whole life, I have always felt God’s calling for adoption. Whenever I spoke to Garth about it he was never very interested. I prayed to God to change Garth’s heart. I was so convicted of the call, but God wasn’t changing Garth’s mind! There were literally nights in the last five years where I would wake up with tears trailing down my face, climb out of bed, prostrate myself on the floor and PRAY for MY CHILD that I knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, was out there. Were they warm, were they fed? This is what was plaguing my mind. Finally, in February 2012, I changed my prayer. I asked for God to remove the urgency I was feeling if it wasn’t what He had for us in that moment. I felt instant peace! It was amazing, no sooner had I finished my prayer than GOD answered. I spend 11 months in peace about it.

Flash forward to January 2013. I was browsing Facebook and saw a picture. It was of a boy that was being hosted through an orphan hosting program. The post said he needed a family. He was older than the baby that I had always envisioned, but it was like God whispered in my soul, “what if?” I decided to ask Garth what he would think about meeting V; I was shocked! Garth was game for it! We spent a wonderful day at the park with V and his host family. When we got home that night, Garth said, “Why not? Let’s go for it!” I was amazed! I had given God the desire of my heart and He gave it back to me!

We called V’s family and told them our plans, they were thrilled. The next day, though, we got a call saying there had been some wires crossed; V was in the process of being adopted. We were so happy for him. I was left wondering if Garth would still be game and HE WAS! We are now in the process of trying to adopt D, who is 7years old. There are no guarantees in Ukraine as to who you will get. We need to send our dossier and request a referral with D. Hopefully that will happen. If it doesn’t, though we are trusting God to use D to bring us closer to who we are supposed to have.

Things have gone very smoothly and quickly so far and we thank God. We could be traveling as soon as mid-May! Wow! Whereas we feel emotionally ready, we know that we have a ways to go to be financially ready; we also know the expenses don’t stop when we come home, so that is why we are trying to raise what support that we can.

Garth and Crystal Sponseller

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Welcome!

We are embarking on the adventure of a lifetime and want to invite you to come along with us! The Sponseller family is adopting from Ukraine! More information to follow, for sure, but this is the Big Announcement.