Sunday, November 2nd is Orphan Sunday!

On November 2nd, Christians around the globe will stand together with one goal: to rouse believers with God's call to care for the orphan and what our role is in response.

Please see below if you're interested in learning about how you can be involved in this amazing ministry!  

On a personal note, if you feel called to help us bring Abigail home, we are still in need of financial assistance. We're waiting to hear back from some grants but still have a long ways to go. Our next meeting with our adoption worker is on Thursday, December 4th. Our hope is that someway, somehow we will be able to define where the remaining funds are coming from at that time so that we can move forward with the process. The thought of being able to have our adoption profile book shown to birth moms in the beginning of the year is very exciting! We still need help to get there and appreciate every prayer and every dollar that comes in. 

(Donate Button on the right or donations can be mailed to Benson & Heather Marshall at 
PO Box 8334 Richmond, VA 23226 
Ref: Abigail's Adoption)

Thank you all!

"Orphan Sunday isn't about charity; it's about the mission of Christ. I pray that every Gospel-transformed congregation will observe Orphan Sunday, calling all Christians to our mandate to image Christ by caring for his little brothers and sisters, the fatherless of the world." -- Dr. Russell Moore, author Adopted for Life

Does your family, small group or church have plans for Orphan Sunday? There are so many ways that we can honor orphans collectively as the Body of Christ on Orphan Sunday. If you don't have plans or haven't heard of an event near you, here are 4 ways you can engage in this year's Orphan Sunday:

1. Advent for Orphans Calendar -- see explanation below.
2. Orphan's Table -- share a meal eaten by orphans around the world. Gather with family, small group or church for the meal, discussion and prayer.
3. Plan an Orphan Sunday event with a Partnership Package -- easy-to- follow Orphan Sunday event plan, enabling you to partner with an organization to create a simple event!
4. Contact your Regional Orphan Sunday Coordinator with questions, to seek ideas as you plan, or to let them know that you will be holding an event.

Be sure to also check out their other resources which include videos, prayer guides, sermon notes, t-shirts & more! Together, let's stand for the orphan!

To learn more about Orphan Sunday or find an event near you visit OrphanSunday.org

Get your FREE Advent Calendar & celebrate with purpose! 

See how your family, small group or church can celebrate the anticipate the birth of our Savior in a special way that also shows love to orphans.

Limited supply of Advent for Orphans calendars available! Learn more & order your calendar today at www.lifesongfororphans.org/advent.

Things are happening!! (aka Paperwork galore!)

So... since the approval of the home-study, I have failed to post an update!  Not because we aren't doing anything but because we have been in  grant application mode!  We've applied to several grants and still have a few to go! Wow- the paperwork for those is each about as much as the home-study (or at least it feels like it) but I'm becoming a pro and they are getting faster!  As you probably know, we still need to raise $17,000 in order for the agency to start showing our profile book.  Our next meeting is scheduled with our case worker in November so our hope is that we will know where the funds are coming from by then so that we can outline our financial plan and start having our profile book shown by the beginning of the year!  I will update the blog for sure as we hear back from grants but for now we're in waiting (& still applying) mode.

We have to give a HUGE thank you to our pastor and friends who are being so kind in writing referral letters as needed for the various grants!

Also, we're excited to be signed up for an adoption baby care class next month from this place below!

So, even though it may not seem that things are going at warp speed, they are going!  As always, thanks to every one of you who take the time to look at our little blog and say a prayer for us!  This journey would be so much less rewarding without your words of encouragement and support!!

 

PS.  If you would like to donate to our adoption fund, there is a link to the right.  In addition, we have T-shirts & coffee for sale that we receive a portion of through some awesome companies!  Check out those links at the top!  We are thinking about putting together another fundraiser and will certainly post it here if we decide to!

We're approved!!!

As of May 28th, 2014, our Home-Study has been approved!  Yay!! This was a really big step and we're excited to have that part of the process completed. Now, here is how it goes...

In order for the agency to start showing our profile book (a book that we put together with pictures and info about us) to expectant birth moms, we need to either have the remaining $17,000 in hand or at least have an outline of where exactly the funds are coming from and how we could access the funds as soon as we receive a placement. We hope to get at least a portion of that (several thousand or more is hopeful!) from grants and the remaining will be from donations, fundraising and our personal savings.  Because we have chosen to set our preferences to adopt a girl, it could take us longer to receive a placement than families that are open to boy or girl so we're hoping we can start showing our profile book sooner than later so the wait can start. We've always had it on our hearts to adopt a girl (Abigail Grace) so we are going to remain steadfast on that even if it takes longer. It's pretty crazy because we could get a placement right after they start showing our profile book (not likely but has happened!) or a year or two later  (the average wait is around two years but the soonest has been about a week!) It's just a matter of how soon our story connects with a birth mom who is expecting a girl. 

So...please continue to pray for the birth parents, our future daughter, the agency and us. As always, the support of everyone has meant (and continues to mean) so much!

Praying for blessings for all of you!!

Home-Study Visits Completed!

We're so excited that as of two weeks ago (April 25, 2014) we completed our last Home-Study Visit!!!  Even though this is a long detailed part of the process, it wasn't bad at all. We actually kind of enjoyed it!  The visits consisted of individual interviews with each of us, interviews as a couple, a home environment check visit, and a visit to discuss what we are open to/our preferences.

Now, we will be getting our official approval letter anytime and it will be time for us to raise more funds by applying for grants & fundraising. Then, once we know where the remaining funds are coming from, we will make our profile book (a book that has pictures and tells all about us for the birth mom to look through) and birth moms will start looking at it until one picks us to adopt her baby girl!  Crazy awesome!! It's becoming more real now that the Home-Study is done and we have come this far! We knew it would happen but it starts to become more of a reality in our mind as another part of the process is completed. Now, we're pretty much left with one big task- coming up with the rest of the funds needed to be able to have our profile book shown. We appreciate your prayers as we start looking into more fundraising options & grants. Thanks so much for the support!

If you would like to help us in our journey, there are a couple of ways...

1) As mentioned, pray!  Pray for us, the birth parents, Abigail, Bethany Christian Services and everyone involved.

2) Financial support. If you desire to help financially, donations to Abigail's adoption fund can be made directly on this site via paypal or mailed to PO Box 8334 Richmond, VA 23226.

Thank you all & God Bless!

Heather & Benson

Home-Study Visit #1!

We had our first home-study visit yesterday from 6-8pm. It was a breeze :) Katherine just came over and sat in our sun-room and talked with us for a couple hours. We went over paperwork and she asked us a little about ourselves.

We know God has this all figured out so we're actually very relaxed about the whole process so we weren't nervous at all. It looks like the home-study is going to happen pretty quickly because we already have our 2nd visit scheduled for next week which will be in their office and will consist of individual meetings with us.

The 3rd visit will be back at our home and will mostly involve going over a home environment checklist to make sure we're baby ready and the last visit is back in their office to go over our preferences and look at some other profile books so we can get ours together! The whole home-study process is only these 4 meetings so we'll probably have those completed by mid April!  It's definitely moving along now!  Thanks again for the prayers!!

It's scheduled!

I JUST got the call from Katherine at Bethany Christian Services to schedule our first home-study visit!  It's funny but I actually got a little bit of a knot in my stomach because this has been a LONG time coming!  So, here goes! We're really in it now! She will be coming to our home on March 21st to have our first home-study meeting. Once we get the home-study completed, which should be by early May, and raise the remaining funds needed, we'll be preparing a profile book that tells all about us and will be shown to the expectant moms that fit our preferences, of which any one could choose us to be the adoptive parents. It's crazy, exciting and nerve-racking all at the same time! I'm sure all parents know this feeling! Thanks again for the support! We can't wait to introduce you all to Abigail Grace when God brings her to us!!

Coffee shop update...

I'm taking a breather in a coffee shop at the moment and thought this would be a perfect time to do a quick update since good things are happening!!!

What's so great you ask?!?!

Well...we're moved! We love the neighborhood!  Our neighbors already stopped by to introduce themselves :)

For anyone who wants to stay in touch the old school way, our new mailing address is PO Box 8334 Richmond, VA 23226.

And, for anyone who missed it, I was laid off about 6 weeks ago- boo!  But, that's OK! I already landed another amazing job that I start in a couple weeks. One of my old managers, who works at the new place, was excited to have me join this company as the Executive Assistant to the President and Vice President so YAY! The position is a nice step up from my previous position anyway. Yep!  God's great like that!

But, what about the adoption you might ask? What's up with that? Are you guys still doing this thing or what?!?!

Um....well...YES!!!!

The agency called to schedule the home-study but we were in the process of moving and needed to get settled in the new place so we let a family get bumped ahead of us on the home-study list. But, we're the very next!!!!!! That means that they will be calling us in the next couple weeks and we'll be starting the home study most likely before the end of March! So, we're moving slow and steady at God's directed pace. Thanks again for your prayers and financial support. We're so amazingly thankful!

OK, time for me to stop stalling and go unpack some boxes :)

Blessings!!!!!