Dear friends and family,
In September 2010, Laurie and I set our hearts on completing our family through adoption. God made it abundantly clear to us that He had one or maybe two children for us half a world away in Ethiopia. We set off on this journey that we thought would take no more than two years with full hearts. Nothing could hamper our spirits or get in our way.
Shortly after we committed to our adoption agency (www.allgodschildren.org), however, governmental procedures in Ethiopia were revamped in an effort to curb corruption that was evident in the international adoption community. Tragically, child trafficking was and still is a serious problem in Ethiopia. Children who were not legitimate orphans were being plucked off the streets and pawned off as orphaned children. The new procedures were intended to provide additional oversight and validation of the legitimate orphan status of the children. Our family understood the positive intentions of this delay, and we did our best to settle in and wait for God's perfect timing.
Four and a half years after we started our journey, our hearts were running on empty, our spirits were hampered, and we wondered if our adoption journey was destined for a desolate dead end. We wondered if we had misunderstood God's call for us.
Somewhere toward the end of January, I (Travis) was on the verge of writing our adoption off as a failure. I was ready to quit and be content with the wonderful family God has blessed me with in my wife and two beautiful daughters. But then God started speaking to Laurie. He impressed upon her the incredible truth that there is absolutely nothing that is too difficult for Him. "All it takes is one word from God, and it is so," she said. We prayed and fasted every Monday for three weeks. And then God did the IMPOSSIBLE!
On Monday, February 16th, we received the call we had been waiting YEARS for. We had received a referral for TWO BEAUTIFUL CHILDREN! Big sister Abeng turned 5 on March 28th and little brother Judiber who is 3!
Colossians 1:11-12 says, "May you be strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light."
Just when our endurance and patience diminished, God once again proved to us that He was and is with us. Our faith tank was immediately filled to the brim, overflowing with evidence of His glory, grace, and power. We were reaffirmed that we did indeed hear God calling us to this adoption, and we are moving full steam ahead!
We are now on the home stretch of our journey of bringing these children into their forever home, and we're asking for help. Laurie and I need to raise $25,000 for expenses including costs for our agency to care for our children before we bring them home, agency fee's, immigration fee's, travel expenses, etc. Our pastor recently told me, "$25,000 isn't a lot of money to God." We know without a shadow of a doubt that God will provide for his children, and we are seeking every possible source for that provision. With much prayer and consideration, we feel led to reach out to our friends and family. If you have a heart for orphans and feel called to donate to our adoption fund, we would be truly and forever grateful. Any contribution, large or small will go a long way.
Thank you in advance from my family and me for your thoughtful consideration. We wouldn't be here without the incredible support of our friends and family, a blessing we are humbled by and immensely thankfuul for.
With love and thanks,
The Coombs Family
All donations are made via Ordinary Hero which is a 501c3. This makes the donations tax deductible to you. Funds donated will be sent directly to our agency to cover adoption expenses only and you can donate anonymously if you would like.
In addition, contributions can be made via check to "Coombs Family Adoption" that will be routed through our church (www.lifechurchreno.com) as a tax deductible donation.
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