Hi friends!
In June 2022, we were matched to adopt a 5-year-old boy in Vietnam who we’ll hopefully be able to welcome home this year! We’d like to briefly share how we came to pursue adoption and how we hope you’ll join us.
During our engagement we discussed a desire to adopt if we were to be parents: going with God’s heart to care for orphans (Isaiah 1:17; Psalm 72). When we got married in 2010, we didn’t feel called to be parents yet so we continued to focus on cross-cultural ministry, which the Lord graciously blessed.
In 2014, we felt the Lord calling us to start pursuing adoption, however, the more we thought about being parents, the more we feared we wouldn’t be good parents. For years, the two of us alternated between one being ready and the other held back by fear. Yet, God never stopped putting people in our life and calling our hearts to orphan care: we just needed to trust Him.
In early 2020, we were one week from moving back to China when the pandemic closed those doors. As we waited to see if they’d open again, God miraculously gave both of us Peace to pursue adoption and step beyond our fears. We had experienced God’s sovereignty and faithful provisions in many ways in the past, and finally realized we needed to trust Him with parenthood as well. Many of you have already taken on parenthood in various ways and we’re grateful for your example and courage.
“This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another…There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear…” -1 John 4:10, 11, 18
With excitement and nervousness, by God’s grace, we’re opening our hearts and home to a child who needs the loving care and stability of a family. So, in August 2020, we applied with Holt International, an experienced and reliable adoption agency, and now we have been matched with “H” (we’re unable to share his name or photo publicly.) Throughout this journey, we’ll need your prayers and encouragement.
The Lord has been gracious beyond our expectations: our family and friends have generously filled in the gap for the funds needed to pay our adoption fees and for travel so our son can join our family and loving community! In late October 2022 we received the final adoption approval and we leave for Vietnam in mid-November!
This funding page will remain open for one year after we bring our son home. Any funds raised can be used for medical expenses. We’ll keep you posted if we learn of more needs in those regards. We welcome you to reach out to us with any questions or for more details.
Contributions made using the form/instructions below are tax-deductible.
We’re so thankful for you!
with Love,
Kelly and Andrea
To DONATE BY MAIL, please make out the check to ABBA Fund (do not write the family name on the physical check, which will invalidate the charitable aspect of your gift ... instead either print out this page to send with it or include a separate note to request that we preference your gift toward the family profiled on this page) -- then mail your check and preference request to:
ABBA Fund, PO BOX 868049, Plano, TX 75086-8049
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**AN IMPORTANT CLARIFICATION FROM ABBA FUND ABOUT YOUR DONATION**
Using the online form on this page automatically submits a request to preference your gift to the family profiled on this page as part of ABBA Fund’s Christian Family Adoption Grant Fund. ABBA Fund administers this fund and maintains full control and administration of all donated funds. We also strive to honor our donor’s preference requests in accordance with IRS and Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (ECFA) guidelines.
The IRS allows donors to state a preference of how their contribution is used and request that the gift support a particular family — and it allows the charitable organization (ABBA Fund) to fully consider that request as long as the donor understands and acknowledges for charitably given tax-deductible gifts that the ultimate authority regarding the disposition of your gift is at the discretion of the charitable organization. By using this online form, or other method described above, you are acknowledging an understanding of those IRS guidelines.