It is fair and accurate to say that our adoption journey began before we even met each other. Ethan’s parents adopted two toddlers from China when he was 15. He has witnessed first-hand what it feels like to bring outsiders into a family unit. For Caroline, the theological idea of adoption was integral to her story when she started walking with the Lord, deeply cherishing being brought near to God as his child. After we met in college, we talked about adoption on our first date! In our early years of marriage, it became a clear desire for both of us for adoption to be a part of our family story, it was just a matter of when. After some tough battles with postpartum depression and anxiety following the births of our two biological kids, Thea and Ransom, the Lord made it clear the time was right. We are eager to continue growing our family through the means of adoption so that we can bring more children into God’s covenant people (Ephesians 1:4–5).
It is also clear in the Scriptures that the Lord desires to bring every nation into the blessings through His beloved Son (Genesis 12:3; Matthew 24:14, 28:19). Many will see this fulfilled through international adoption, but even here domestically in the United States, there are families and children of every tribe and tongue who are lost. It is our heart to see more orphans given a home and shown the love of God. Indeed, the growth of families is one of the primary ways God continues to build His kingdom (Gen. 1:28). Truly, there is no greater gift than the adoption from the Father that we have received through Christ’s sacrifice for our sins. It is our prayer that our adoption will extend that gift to more children, granting that child a safe place to wrestle with hard truths, ask questions, grow, be loved, and, we pray, live to the glory of God. At the same time, we pray our family would show unbelievers a clear picture of the gospel through our blended family; to the praise of God’s glorious grace.
We are currently pursuing a domestic newborn adoption with an adoption consultant. We are so grateful for our supportive families, the prayers from so many, and our thriving church community. We covet your prayers, that the whole process would be met with an abundance of God’s grace. Pray that the Lord’s Providence would surround us, bringing the right child (or children!) to our home. Pray that the Lord would abundantly provide the necessary funds to make it all possible; this is perhaps one of our biggest hurdles, though we know it is a small one to God. Finally, pray that the Lord would give us peace; true peace that surpasses all understanding and that our minds would be stayed on the Lord (Isaiah 26:3, Philippians 4:7). Thank you for coming alongside us!
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.