The great debate

We have debated whether to include our letter of support for our latest grant on the blog. We finally decided it might be helpful to others who are in the process of seeking, applying for and responding to assistance organizations. We have been so blessed by the grants we've received, and God has certainly humbled us over the last four years, helping us understand that as Christians it is a blessing to give and receive in His name.

The purpose of our blog is to:

1) glorify God and boast only in what He has done; and

2) encourage others to follow His call, no matter the obstacles, real or imagined. So below is our letter of support for Lifesong for Orphans.

February 10, 2008

Dear Family and Friends ~

Many of you know that God miraculously introduced adoption to us in 2003. Since then He has blessed us with the homecoming of our two daughters from China, Kayden and Kambry. Now we are waiting to travel once again to bring home our son, Kaeleb Jon, residing in Foshan Nanhai, Guangdong, China. Kaeleb is 20 months old, and we hope to bring him home in March! We’ve been praying for him since August, 2007 when we began petitioning for him, and we are thrilled to call him our son.

You may wonder what has prompted us to adopt, especially when we have three beautiful biological children. God so clearly directed us that we knew this was His plan for our family, despite the fact we had no resources to complete an adoption. We spent countless hours in the Scriptures, wondering why God would allow us such blessing when we are not equipped for such a task, when we realized adoption is where God’s heart is at, and we could do nothing other than surrender to His call. We believe adoption is a physical picture of what God has done for us ~

I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. John 14:18

…He predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will … Ephesians 1:5

In the difficult times of waiting over the last four years, God has surrounded us with His love, revealed the truths of His Word and given us peace beyond understanding. He has reminded us that while a child needs a parent’s love, more than anything he needs to know Jesus’ love. He has brought Scripture to life through the adoption process, and He has proven that He is our provision!

The biggest challenge for us is not opening our hearts and home to another child, but it is in finding the finances to make this happen. We estimate our total cost for adoption fees, document preparation, home study, airfare, travel and post placement to be $28,000, money we certainly don’t have. But we know God is faithful and wants us to trust Him completely. By God’s grace, we’ve been able to apply $6,000 to this process.

It’s been difficult (because of our own pride), to make our needs known to the Body of Christ, but we realize it’s Biblical for us to do so. We appreciate your friendship, support and encouragement, and we would like for you to pray and consider helping us complete this adoption. There are two ways you can help:

Prayer ~ Please pray that Kaeleb is being loved and cared for as we wait to bring him home, that God would prepare all of our children for the transition to come, and that He would give us wisdom, discernment and insight as we raise Kaeleb to know Jesus Christ.

Financial support ~ Will you please consider making a tax-deductible donation to help us pay the remaining $22,000 in adoption costs to bring Kaeleb home?

Lifesong for Orphans (www.lifesongfororphans.org) has graciously given a matching grant of $4,000 to help bring Kaeleb home. If you would like to be a part of God bringing Kaeleb to Himself through our family, you can send your tax-deductible gift between now and April 2 to the address below. Lifesong is a trusted organization administering the funds on Kaeleb’s behalf, and will pay adoption expenses out of all funds received.

Please make checks payable to Lifesong for Orphans. Please write C Johnson Adoption in the memo portion of your check. (*Note: In following IRS guidelines, your donation is to Lifesong which retains full discretion and control over its use.)

Mail checks to:
Lifesong for Orphans
P.O. Box 40
202 N. Ford Street
Gridley, IL 61744

Thank you for investing in the Kingdom through prayer and finances. It will be an investment with an eternal return! Most of all, please pray this entire journey would glorify God and fulfill His purposes!

In Christ,

Clayton, Connie, Kuyler, Kolton, Kenzie, Kayden, Kambry and Kaeleb Johnson