Family Coordinator & Conference Call

by Evie

YAY! We finally have a family coordinator!!! We missed her phone call yesterday afternoon:-( But we will return her phone call on Monday. We are excited and have so much to do between normal life and 10 hour long (thankfully, not all at once) Hague Online Training. It is a course for parents who are on their inter-country adoption journey.
Also, we will be experiencing our first conference call for paper-chasing families on Wednesday!  So, paper-chasing, here we come!!!

Yard Sale Fundraiser

by Evie

Well, for a week or so, I thought we had skipped spring! But the weather this week reminds me that it is still March. So, there is still time (and cool enough weather) to do some spring cleaning! We will have some company in the next month and an ADOPTION HOME-STUDY soon! So, I will be thoroughly cleaning our home soon--not that they will be investigating every nook and crany. But, you know, it gives me motivation to get things clean and organised! Will you be doing some spring cleaning in the next few weeks?

As Steve mentioned in a previous post, we plan on a having a yard sale as another means of fundraising. And we would like you to help! If you are local, and would be willing to donate clothes, furniture, nicknacks or other things (all in good condition), that would be great! All proceeds will go towards our adoption. We would really be appreciative of any "treasures" you could send our way. Or, if you have a larger item and a smaller vehicle, we would be willing to pick it up. Please let us know and we can arrange that.

We're thinking we will have the yard sale in mid May. We will nail that down soon and let you know!

How to make the perfect cup of Just Love Coffee

by Bev (Nana) Wesner

 A step by step tutorial!

Order from Just Love Coffee and support
Steve and Evie's adoption of a sweet baby from Ethiopia!
 Our delivery of Just Love Coffee came with a giant burlap bag! 

Under the burlap were our treasures
! 
Inside the little box was not a little burlap bag,
but a really cool handmade mug!

Now quickly pour the beans into the grinder.

Inhale the wonderful smell of the fresh ground coffee!

Quickly add the ground coffee into the coffee maker.

Now here's the hard part. Wait until the pot is finished brewing. If this is too hard, inhaling the aroma of the coffee beans helps pass the time.

Quickly pour fresh brewed coffee into your really cool homemade mug from Just Love Coffee.

Ooops! I didn't wait until it was finished brewing. I should have smelled the beans a little longer! 

Add cream and sweetner, quickly.

Yeah, you know what to do next!

Very, very slowly enjoy each sip, thinking and praying about Steve & Evie and their little baby in Ethiopia! 

Now that's good!

Well, Let the Celebration begin!

As we enjoy the coffee, we will be praying for you and Baby Wesner!

On Your Mark! Get Set...

by Steve

So where exactly are we in the adoption process?

Whenever I take a road trip to anywhere new I like to look at a road map. I like to see the big picture as well as zoom in to see the tricky parts. Knowing how to get somewhere makes me feel less stressed out when I don't recognize where I am.

At the moment, in this adoption journey, I am in information overload. America World Adoption Agency (AWAA)  has been very helpful. The first introductory packet of papers to sign has the process all laid out in 2 or 3 different formats. But it still feels less like a simple road map and more like a thousand page flight plan for a shuttle launch. So we will be doing a bunch of reading, trying to figure out the right questions to ask and what exactly we are supposed to do when.
God has set our feet upon this road and He will direct our every step while orchestrating the billions of other variables that we will never know, much less control.

So where are we?
It seems that we are waiting for the gun to go off to signal the start of the race.
We applied and were accepted into the Ethiopian program. Then AW sent us about 8 things to read and sign. We signed them and sent them back with our first of three installments for the AW program fee.
Once they get those papers and verify everything is right, we will be assigned a Family Coordinator. Then he/she will help us with what is next -the Homestudy, and the great paper storm. This part of the process takes a few months (maybe 6).
We are expecting to hear from AW no sooner than 3/30, but it could be a few days after that.

Thank you for your prayers!

Common Questions

by Steve

Why do we want to adopt?

We want to adopt for several reasons, but the main reason is simple: we want to adopt because God has adopted us. We want to love because God has loved us. We want to reach out to the needy because God has reached out to us when we were most destitute in sin and pulled us to Himself.

God’s love and joy is a boundless and overflowing wonder. Before time began, in His perfect Triune self, each Person had abounding, overflowing love and joy toward the other persons within the Trinity: the Father loving the Son and the Spirit; the Son overflowing with love for the Father and Spirit; and the Spirit overflowing in love for the Father and the Son. This love and joy overflowed into time and space as God poured it out into creation. It flowed through history and into our very hearts and lives. Our desire to adopt is a continuation of that overflowing of God’s love -flowing out from us to a needy orphan.

Why there?

Why international?

When we look at orphans in general, there is such a disparity between the standard of living of domestic orphans and those of 3rd world countries. They are all in desperate need of love and care! How can we see this and do nothing?

Why Ethiopia?

There is no super-spiritual reason for Ethiopia really. Right now it just seems to be the most straight forward for the price. Russia is easier and much quicker, but it is also very expensive. We do not have the finances to do that (...at least this time).

Why now?

Evie has had a burden for some time. I have been more hesitant. I struggled to try to come to grips with the massive problem of the millions of children who need parental care. I still do not know how to process this problem that has no solution. We live in a fallen world that groans, longing to be set right.

I have been dragging my feet. At the start I said that we need to get other things in order before we move forward in adoption. I came to see that my “being responsible” was actually motivated by desires to advance my own little kingdom. It was a lack of faith because in my heart I was depending upon myself and my ability to get my life in my own perception of orderly. My hesitance was hard on Evie, who is very burdened for orphans. She was never a nag, but she did pray much.

Another reason for adopting now, is that we want to bring our child home before our boys get too old so that they can be closer in age. This adoption will take a very long time (2 plus years). So we want to get going on it so that the boys will still be children when we bring our new son home.

How are we going to pay for this?

This is really the area that I wanted to have all our ducks in a row before we started on the journey. You know, not that I wanted all the money in the bank -I know God can provide, but I wanted to make it as easy as I could for God. But God does not want my help, He wants my humble worship. God will provide.

We plan to:
Cash-flow: I will be working more overtime at work as I am able. Side jobs often come up as well. All these moneys will go toward the adoption.
Fundraisers: We have some links to some fundraising organizations. Also, I’m sure we will be having Garage sales and the like!
Grants: There are many grants available for adoption. We will apply to as many as we can.

As we start this journey, we really just want the adoption process to be over already so that we can bring our little one home.
We are deeply grateful to our pastor/friends Jason and Steph Webb for going before us and sharing their journey with us.

Big Announcement!

"But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God. Gal.4:4-7





Dear Family & Friends,

We love you and want to share with you what the Lord has been leading us to pursue. Over the last couple of years, the Lord has been preparing our hearts and family to adopt. This is no small thing, and we covet your prayers.

We are excited to announce to you, that we have been accepted into the Ethiopia Program of America World (awaa) to adopt a male toddler.

More details to come.

We praise the Lord for His grace in our lives this far!

Steve & Evie