Counting the Cost

As we wait for our travel to China, I can't help but look back at this journey so far and one of the biggest miracles has been God's financial provision.  I believe that our family being very transparent in this process will encourage others to begin the journey of giving another child a home so here's what the numbers look like:

I believe that this adoption will end up totaling about $37K.  Again, if you want to see where that money goes, please check out the cost page on our adoption agency's website. The bulk of it is about to be paid out in plane tickets, our in-country travel package and the orphanage donation we give in China.  A lot of it pays for our agency to manage the program and to cover background checks, visas and other government requirements.  I'm so thankful that from the very beginning they were open about the costs.

About half of the costs we were able to come up with from our budget.  Every tax refund, third paycheck or any dollar we could squeeze from our budget went straight into the "adoption" fund in our budget spreadsheet.  Literally, if our gas bill was $7 less than we were expecting, that $7 was transferred over.  Some months we did better than others but God multiplied when it looked impossible.  We never could have embarked on adopting Liam unless we had gone through Financial Peace University, paid off $39k in 18 months and gotten to "Baby Step 3".  We had already trimmed our personal budget down to pay off that amount of debt and kept a monthly budget where we know where every dollar is going before the month begins.  We basically stayed in "gazelle intensity mode" for this entire process.

I believe about half of the cost came from fundraising and generous donations.  We raised over $13k on our AdoptTogether page.  Over $5000 more came from our pancake breakfast, garage sales, craft sales, t-shirt sales, and individual donations.  We also received a grant from Sowing Roots that we have applied directly to our agency to cover our travel.  I am still so overwhelmed by the generosity of our friends, family and even complete strangers.  Thank you for being a part of Liam's story and blessing our family by your giving.  I have learned so much through this process and I definitely am inspired by your generous giving and want to give more to others.

I write all of this to encourage you.  Whether it is adoption, missions, starting a ministry, I believe that God has a call on all of our hearts.  Whatever that is, I believe that He will provide a path and the means to walk that path.  He is our great provider!

And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. 
2 Cor 9:8