We didn’t think that hosting an orphan in our home would change our lives forever. We had no intention of adopting; it wasn’t even on our radar. In fact, my husband said, in no uncertain terms, “We can do this, as long as you promise me we won’t adopt.” And I agreed. Because it was crazy enough to have an almost-teenager–from another country, who was an orphan—stay with our family for four weeks over Christmas. We were willing to commit to short-term crazy, but not to life-changing, forever and ever crazy. Famous last words!

During Christmas 2012, our eyes were opened to the needs of orphans around the world through the ministry of New Horizons for Children. This ministry gives children the chance to experience the love of a family and the love of Jesus for four-five weeks at Christmas and during the summer. Hosting is like a missions trip from the comfort of your own home! We hosted Mariana, a girl from Eastern Europe, in order to make a difference in her life, and we found that ours were the lives that were changed!

When Mariana came, and our family quickly fell in love with her. Our three daughters, Katelyn, Elise, and Alison, easily accepted Mariana into their hearts. And “promise me we won’t adopt” quickly turned into “We can’t send her back.” But we didn’t have a choice—we had to put her back on an airplane, and feel the pain of a piece of our heart go to Eastern Europe. New Horizons for Children does not facilitate adoptions—they are strictly a host-only organization. But once we learned Mariana was cleared for adoption, we signed up with an adoption agency and started our home study.

Funding our adoption has been a journey of faith! A large amount of our adoption costs involves the travel for the three trips required by the Eastern European government and the one-month stay in country that is required for the first trip. Chris has done work on the side as a computer programmer/consultant, and we also pulled money from personal savings. We received two grants right before Christmas, which was a big encouragement. Since September, Lindsay been baking bread every week as an on-going fundraiser.

We also sold t-shirts we designed through Fundthenations.com, and it was a blessing to see friends and family all over the country support us by buying a shirt. Partnering with the ApParent project was another amazing blessing: we sold bracelets made from recycled cereal boxes. These unique pieces of jewelry help families in Haiti provide food, shelter, and health care through a sustainable business model. We had a very fun “Christmas Shopping Party” fundraiser at our home in November where seven different direct-sales companies and other businesses were represented. Friends donated their commission for sales made that evening, and we also had businesses who donated 50% of the purchase price towards our adoption! We shared a video of pictures of our time of hosting Mariana and had Christmas cookies, coffee and eggnog. It was a great way to tell others about our heart for adoption, and we were able to raise $1000 from that evening. In January we launched a fun online auction which raised $2000.

Our three on-going fundraisers are through ScriptCharms jewelry, Umweo Bags, and Just Love Coffee. ScriptCharms has unique bracelets and necklaces which can be customized with your favorite Bible verses; the link for our fundraiser is http://www.scriptcharms.com/?Click=13. Umweo Bags helps fund a feeding clinic for severely malnourished children in Zambia, Africa. Their beautiful, handmade bags help parents care for their children while helping our family adopt as well. The link to their online store is http://umweobags.storenvy.com/; enter HillAdoption in the note at checkout for us to get credit! Just Love Coffee was started by an adoptive family who wanted to give something back to their daughter’s home country of Ethiopia while helping other families adopt. The link to our coffee store is https://justlovecoffee.com/about/beneficiary/miraclesform/

Our journey from hosting to adoption can be found at our blog at www.miraclesform.com. We are very excited to bring Mariana into our home forever—no more goodbyes!

We are the Hanlon Family: Jim, Christine, Zach (age 19) and James (age 5). We are adopting through China’s Special Needs Program.  The call to adopt came quite unexpectedly last summer, as God worked his plan through the words of our youngest son, James.  His message took root in our minds first, and then quickly bloomed in our hearts.  We happily accept the mission set before us, and we hope our story inspires others to care for orphans in any way they can. (James 1:27) You can read how our journey started, and where it goes from here at our blog.

When we set out to learn more about adoption, we had no idea the cost associated with it. Although the initial estimate stung a bit, it did not deter us. We know that we are more fortunate than most people in the world (According to the World Wealth Calculator, if you make $33,500 a year, you are among the richest 5% in the world.)  We don’t measure our overall wealth in dollars, (James often says, “We’re rich with love, right mom?”), but with statistics like the one above, we can’t help but know that sharing our blessings with someone who needs a family is the right thing to do.

Initially, using savings and a few other tactics, we managed to pay the first few bills ourselves.  Jim and I are both 6th grade teachers, so taking on a few tutoring jobs and coaching soccer were ways we could use our talents to bring in some extra money. We also received a $500 grant towards our home study. Now that our dossier is just about finished, we are faced with much larger bills, and so we are beginning to reach out to others who might be called to support the tragic state of 14+ million orphans worldwide.   We recently signed up with Adopt Together, a 501 c 3 charitable organization designed to reimburse families for adoption related expenses.  All donations are tax deductible. Within the first week that our site became live, several people jumped on board to help us reach our goal. We are blessed with such kind family members and friends.

To keep the momentum going, we decided to add a little twist to the fundraising efforts. For every $50 donated at our Adopt Together site, your name will be entered for a chance to win a week stay in a 4-bedroom vacation villa in Kissimmee, Florida from August 7-14, 2014.  (See the villa at homeaway.com, property #905233.) This raffle fundraiser will only last until the end of March, to give our winner the chance to make travel arrangements. You can enter as often as you wish, for example $100 = 2 chances to win, $200 = 4 chances to win, etc. You can also donate with a check by printing out raffle tickets here.  Tickets will be automatically generated when donating online; paper copies are only needed when donating with a check. You don’t have to participate in the raffle to donate to our mission.   There are directions on our Adopt Together site on how to have your name entered into the raffle.

Which little girl has God chosen for our family? We happily wait for news of who she is, and will gladly carry out God’s plan for her future. “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” (Jeremiah 29:11)

Thank you for kindly following our family’s adoption journey and for supporting one little girl’s future.