You read that right... we are fully funded!
Today we are praising God and thanking him for all of you who he has used to get us to this point. We knew from the very beginning that God will equip us to do the things that he puts in our hearts to do, but we're also human and the numbers were big. There were definitely moments where we had to choose again to surrender it all to him and trust him to provide. It has been such an amazing and faith-growing experience to see how he has not only provided what we need but also been kind enough to encourage us through the people who he sent to be a part of that.
When we shared the news with the girls that we were officially done fundraising and had the funds needed to bring Cariño home, we also asked them how much money they thought we needed for the adoption...
Kira said, "A LOT...maybe 700" and then Thea responded, "I think 27." I asked her if she thought 27 dollars, 27 hundred, or 27 thousand, and she said, "thousand"... And that was the closest we got. Our final goal ended up being $47,000 in order to also allow for travel costs for the girls to travel with us to Colombia for the 4-6 week stay. To know that God already has that need fulfilled as we wait to be matched with our little one is such a great encouragement that he is working in this process and one day (hopefully soon!) our family will be growing!
For the part many of you may be here for....
This afternoon we drew the winners for our raffle - the final fundraiser that we put together. This absolutely couldn't have been pulled off so successfully without the help that we received from people who shared our story with others they knew and assisted us in selling these tickets. You guys are awesome!
Nearly 3000 tickets were sold in just one month! The three winners have been chosen by princesses Kira and Thea (*note the tiaras in the video) and the video will be below. I was GREATLY mistaken about my ability to hold the camera steady for this whole video, so please, if you watch it, forgive me for the shaking. haha, oops!
Congratulations to Daniel, Brandin, and Toby + Marie! We hope you are thrilled with your winnings!
As for us, Ben and I will be going to the Rooted in Love conference with our adoption agency at the end of July. We are excited to sneak away for a few days together and also to hear and learn more about adoption, what to expect for the days ahead, and meet other families in the Latin America programs with our agency. If you have favorite restaurants or date night ideas for Birmingham, AL, send them our way!
Thank you again, for all of your support so far! Just because we are fully funded does NOT mean that we don't still need our people. We ask that you would continue to pray for our family as we prepare our hearts and our home to welcome another child. Pray also for FANA, the home in Colombia with whom we are waiting our match, and also for the child that we may not yet know (and lovingly call Cariño) but that God has planned to be a part of our family.
All praise be to God from whom all blessings flow!
-The Minters