One Week Out!

As I type this the butterflies in my stomach are having a party!  We are one week away from flying to Utah where we will (as long as baby girl stays put until that time) have the opportunity to meet and go to supper with the precious birth mother and father of our baby girl.  Excitement, nervousness, and anticipation are oozing out of us currently as well as prayers for the Lord to defeat any anxiety that comes along with those feelings.  We are making final travel plans, the girl's staying arrangements, newborn preps, and final paper work and financial completions.

Over this last week we have watched our gracious Father do what only He can!  We have been short several thousand dollars to complete this adoption and we continue watching Him do His work and fund what He favors.  He has been in every single detail and continues to blow us away.  We have watched the body of Christ come together and sacrificially bear our burden in so many different ways.  We have seen the hands and feet of God at work before our very eyes and have been so humbled and grateful to be a part of such an amazing family of believers!

As we await the arrival of the newest pink addition to our family, we are praying earnestly for the birth family of our beloved little one and ask that you would too.  We are asking the Lord to shine through us as we desire to be a glimpse of Him to this dear family who has chosen life for our little one.  We are praying that in the intensity of the upcoming days that our eyes would be fixed on Him and our  hearts would be stayed on Him.  They are fixing to walk a very hard and emotional road, and we are praying the Lord's peace and comfort would overwhelm them as He makes Himself known to them.

To all of you who have been such support and encouragement to us through this adventure, we ask once again, would you hold the rope of prayer for us in the upcoming days and weeks as the Lord prepares this little one for her grand entry and that all the details of each facet of this adoption would align perfectly to point a watching world directly towards all that Christ did on our behalves, so that we could be members of HIS family, children of the MOST HIGH GOD, not just sons and daughters, but heirs WITH CHRIST!

To God be the Glory great things HE has done!!!

We're headed to Utah....our big announcement update.

It’s nearly impossible to try and put into words all that Christy and I have experienced in the last 5 months or so. It seems like every conversation, blog, or opportunity that I get to share with others what all has transpired so far in this adoption process simply scratches the surface of all that has really taken place.

Only a few short months after Christy and I first married in 2006, we fell in love with two little brothers who needed a loving family and a home. We prayed and opened our hearts but didn’t feel the Lord leading us to adopt at that time. Ever since then God has graciously taught us more and more about our adoption in Christ and back in April, after much prayer and trusting the Lord, we began the process to adopt!

We quickly realized that this road wouldn’t be easy but reminded ourselves often that the road that led to our adoption wasn’t either. So in the first of May we decided it was time for action. We announced that we were adopting to our friends and family and in order to get the ball rolling, I sold my motorcycle to pay our applications costs. Little did we know all the decisions that soon had to be made. Literally it was question after question.

In the midst of all the questions, we began to plan our first fundraiser.  A t-shirt fundraiser! We were told in the beginning to aim for a goal of 25K, which was greatly intimidating to us, but with the help of a friend from college, Bubba Crowder from @FundtheNations, we quickly had a well-designed t-shirt and were taking orders. We also began working towards having a garage sale to raise funds. In only a few short weeks we had raised over 1,000 dollars from shirt sales and soon our garage and one other was full of donations for our yard sale. Over 50 people volunteered to help throughout the yard sale and God graciously exceeded any expectation of ours and raised 5,000 dollars.

In the beginning, we also opened a business checking account for my side lawn care business and committed all of our earnings to this adoption. God has been gracious to bless that as well.  We’ve done all sorts of things to help raise funds and each one of them has been blessed. We are so grateful! Our cousin traveled down from TN to do photo-shoots with kids and donated all the proceeds. Christy and a friend Sabrina started making necklaces and that has helped as well. Our church graciously planned a Pancake Supper for us and gave nearly 3,500 dollars. We received a matching grant the very next day for that exact amount.  Only a few weeks later we received a 2,500-dollar matching grant and our parents were very gracious to provide matching funds. Besides this, many friends and family have sent letters of support and finances to help with the costs.

We have received overwhelming prayers, love, encouragement and support from our family, friends, and church family. The journey thus far has been nothing short of awesome, sanctifying, and faith building.  This has been about so much more than raising money and adopting a child.  God has grown us in ways unimagined and indescribable. It’s a gracious work and I am so thankful.

This past Sunday we matched with a birth mom in Utah. We couldn’t be more excited as the situation is exactly what we’ve been praying for. An open relationship with the mom and even the dad is present. We are looking forward to meeting them and praying for an opportunity to love them and share the Gospel with them as well. She is due Nov. 21 and we are making plans to be there.  We are so thankful she has chosen life for this child considering the painful road of life she has already walked. The costs and fees are 32,000-33,000 plus travel expenses, which is slightly higher than we have to date. We are confident in the Lord’s provisions and that He has led us to where we are. In the last 5 months He has given us over 28,000 dollars for this adoption!!!  We are amazed at His provision and reminded from James that “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” James 1:27.

So here’s how you can help. First, pray. Please pray that God would work out the many details. Pray for the birth mom/dad and for this little girl to be delivered safely and healthy. Pray for protection, provision, and safety. Pray for the travel details for us to workout accordingly. Pray that God will provide us with the 4,000-5,000 dollars we need in the next 14 days.  I know this is a huge request but we fervently believe He is able. I am hoping to sell my guitar today or tomorrow so please pray for the details of that to work out. The church has always been God’s plan for the orphan and we have seen the body of Christ ‘care’ in fathomless ways.

Second, you can also help by giving. So many of you have already given generously and we are so thankful. If you’d like to give, just click the ‘donate’ button to give by c/c or through PayPal, or if you’d like you can mail it to us. (address below)

Lastly, you can also help us by advocating for us. This is where you can be creative. It could be as easy as sharing this post on Facebook or Twitter. Or you may have something to sell or donate. You may want to talk to friends or family on our behalf, share our story with them and ask them to join you in prayer for us or in giving!

Once again thank you all so much for your support, encouragement, and faithfulness without which this would have been impossible.

The Williams Family

^“But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.  Because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” ⁷ Therefore you are no longer a slave, but a son; and if a son, then an heir through God. Galatians 4:4-6

305 Brushfire Drive
Dothan, AL 36305

OUR BIG ANNOUNCEMENT!

For this child we have prayed...

Since the Lord placed adoption on our hearts almost seven years ago, we have been pondering, praying and contemplating the right time for this journey to begin.  We felt the green light in January of this year as we recognized and mourned the 40th anniversary of Roe vs. Wade and the slaughter of over 55 million babies.  We began praying through the route God would have us to take as we stared at the overwhelming possibilities  and countless directions to take.  As He confirmed through circumstances, conversations, and faith which path would be ours, we hesitantly began the process.

Over the last several months, God has proven to us over and over and over and over and over that He owns it all, He reigns supreme and He is a Father to the fatherless.  He has graciously met our needs over and over and continues to ask us to step even further than the path reveals gravel to stand on.

This past Friday we were presented with a situation in the midst of a situation we were already praying through and looking for direction, provision, and open or closed doors.  We asked the Lord to clearly show us which direction to walk in and we would do it.  We had a few hours to decide, but we felt clarity from the Lord to move forward with this situation.  Through prayer, wisdom sought from the Lord and wise friends, and confirmation through His Word we awaited an answer.

We had no expectations to hear anything until today (Monday), however, yesterday while eating Lunch with friends I got an unexpected phone call from Courtney (our FAC consultant) informing me that the birth mother had narrowed her choice to a few and we were one of the few.  After a nerve wracking evening of awaiting phone calls, a conference call with the birth mother and birth father, and "the call" with the final decision, we were finally informed that they...CHOSE US!

That's right, we are expecting a baby girl due November 21st!!!  Our hearts are overwhelmed with excitement, joy, and even a bit of fear.  We are beyond humbled and honored that God chose us to parent this precious little girl and so very grateful for this expectant addition to our family!

As I reflect back on the last 10 months of this adventure, all I can see is God!  He has lead this adventure in directions and territories completely unknown to us and He has seen fit to lead us to this very point where we are expecting and making arrangements to travel to Utah in 17 days to be there for the birth of OUR DAUGHTER!

Thanking God for His bountiful blessings and provisions thus far, we are singing at the tops of our lungs all that He has done!  His boundless love and all encompassing peace has given us strength and motivation and as we near the hight of events in the next several days, I am reminded of the greatest need we have and that is praying hearts on behalf of our family, our child, the dear birth family and all that will be involved with unending details that have to happen in order for this to work out.  If you have read this far into the blog post, we humbly ask that you would commit to praying.  Would you hold the rope once again on our behalf?  George Mueller depended solely on the Lord to accomplish His purposes through the work he did simply by praying continually.  Not one need he ever had went unmet.  Prayer is a powerful tool we hold and we ask that you activate it!

To GOD be the Glory from beginning to end!

Here We Go Again!

Here we go again!

This week has been full of ups and downs and surprises at almost every turn.  Trying to discern which path is from the Lord often takes patience, waiting, and questions; none of those are my specialties.  So without going into too much detail, we are once again asking you to pray.

Life on this journey of adoption has thus far been filled with lots and lots of "what ifs" and so we are placing the whole process, every bit of it, all the pieces that hang over the edge, into the Lord's hands.  Thank you friends for holding the rope once again for our family!

To God be the Glory for whatever HE wants to do...

The Answer

We have prayed and prayed over the last week asking God to shut the door if it was not ours to walk through, and that He did.  We received our answer tonight, which was not exactly the one we were hoping for.  The birth mother chose another family to be the parents of the little one she is currently carrying and this coming Friday she will entrust the little life currently entrusted to her to another family.  We are certainly sad that the family she chose was not ours, however we rejoice that she has chosen life for her little one and now chosen a family to give him or her a life that she believes she can not.

Our hearts ache a bit, but only for a little while; His mercies will be renewed as we awake in the morning and we are still trusting Him to lead us through what HE has called us to.  Trusting God over the last week has revealed much about the weakness of my faith, but has strengthened it to new heights. Stephen and I are truly humbled that the Lord has entrusted two lives to us already and as we continue on this roller coaster we are repeatedly humbled at how He will entrust another to us in HIS perfect timing.

We are sad tonight, but trust the Sovereignty of the Creator to finish this work HE has started.  Thank you for holding the rope for our family as we have endured the uncertainty of this last week and thank you for your encouragement!  Words can never convey the amazing assurance your kind words, texts, and prayers have meant to us.  Walking this road with a team like you makes the disappointments more bearable and the excitements more exciting.

To God Be the Glory as He continues writing our story.  

The name of the game...WAIT

So, last Monday night we came to you asking you for your prayers as we decided whether or not to submit our profile to this particular Birth mother due this coming Friday.  We were absolutely astounded at how the Lord gave us peace and confirmation every step of the way as we sought His wisdom.  We did submit our profile and this dear birth mother has had our's and two other families' profiles in her hands since last Tuesday at noon.

Here we sit almost a week later still wondering what the Lord holds for us.  As of today there is still no decision.  Of course we (and by we I really mean me) are quite a bit anxious as we wait for a decision, but I am continually reminded of how hard this must be for this mother.  She has not only made the decision to place her child for adoption, but now she is deciding who his or her mother and father will be.  I can only imagine the emotions that come with that and the overwhelming uncertainty as well.

We have been fervently praying for her as we have waited and we will continue to do so.  My heart has been so heavily burdened as I try to put myself in her shoes day after day and as I consider what all this decision can and will mean for her.  I wish with all my heart that I could wrap my arms around her to comfort her through this process and tell her everything is going to be alright.  I wish I could affirm to her the selflessness in the decision she is making and encourage her to run into the arms of an amazing Savior waiting for her.

But for now, we will continue to wait.  I feel the Lord continuing to stretch my faith further than I ever dreamed possible; but knowing in the depths of my heart that He will see us to the end of this and with that I can rest peacefully and hopeful.

Thank you for praying dear friends, I beg you to continue.

To God be all the Glory for the great things he does!

Calling ALL Prayer Warriors!

We have been wading through a few situations and praying over specifics and even presented on a couple of the situations over the recent weeks; we have been overwhelmed by the emotions, logistics, waiting, and reality that comes with all of this and our faith has begun to feel much like a rubber band at its max capacity.

Nevertheless, we sit here tonight and ask that you would pray for our family.  Just today we have been presented with what seems to be a situation we can't walk away from.  It is not the original planned route we thought we'd take however it feels like the Lord has cracked this door open, and we have until 8 am our time in the morning to decide if we want to present on this situation.

Our hearts are beating rapidly out of our chests, however the Lord has given us much peace and rest in possibly moving forward.  If we are chosen by the birth mother as the parents of this precious little one, her due date is next Friday, November 1st.  It is more money that we currently have, it is far away, it is not with our original consultant, it is none of the things we thought it would or even should be.  However, God has been showing us over the recent months how big He is and how great and mighty His works really are.  We have witnessed him provide our family with $27,500 in 17 weeks for this adoption and obviously if He has called us to this particular child, He's not quite done with that part.

We are ready and willing to act on what we feel like He is opening the door to, and apart from His closing the door we will enter through it tomorrow and wait on the Lord to do what He wants to.  Please pray that we will trust God and that we will not move apart from His guidance and direction.  Please pray for this birth mother as she is about to make the hardest decision of her life.  Pray for all that are involved in the process of assisting her.

We wouldn't normally post this information so prematurely, but we desire MUCH prayer and trust that after reading this you will commit to doing that on our behalf.  Thank you for bearing our burden and holding the rope for our family!

To God Be the Glory!

The Kingdom of Heaven is like treasure, buried in a field, that a man found and reburied.  Then in his joy he goes and sells everything he has and buys that field.  Matthew 13:44

Doing things that have eternal weight sometimes change our view of what treasure really is.