Sunday Snapshot: the culmination

Well, this Friday marked a very big milestone in our adoption journey. The event we've been planning for several months....stressing over, worried about, praying for, consumed by, and so anxious to get through. It was the Mark Schultz concert fundraiser at our church.

I dreamed big with this idea and was so incredibly humbled and blessed to see it all come together. This adoption journey has been a long one for us, (with many unexpected turns along the way), and in my mind, besides bringing her home, this was sort of the culmination for me.

I had this idea before we ever saw Jenna's face and now, in doing this event, it means we are very close to getting our girl.

I think it all hit me as we stood in the foyer before the doors opened- the entire group of volunteers (about 40 people), our pastors, our closest friends (who we absolutely could not have done this without)- we all prayed together. Not just for a successful event, but for Jenna, for her joining our family, for the orphans of the world, and for God to be present and glorified in all of it. It was an incredible night. Very personal, emotional.

The night was one of those memories that I will hold close to my heart for the rest of my life. I got to share it with many of the people I love most in this world and through this event I pray that many lives will be touched. From the proceeds of the event, we are able to 1) get some financial help with our adoption expenses, 2) purchase a large air conditioning unit for the baby room of Jenna's orphanage, and 3) start a seed fund for the Grace for Orphans ministry at our church to hopefully bless another family who may adopt in the future. I believe that when people seek to care for the orphans of the world in the name of Christ, He shows up in a big way.