As some of you know, one of my biggest hesitations regarding Micah's adoption was the upfront financial cost. How were we going to finance an adoption when year-over-year we had barely grown our savings? In fact, how could we afford to spend $30,000 when we had less than half of that in our savings account? Although Deanna kept telling me everything was going to be O.K., I was worried that we would end up financially broken after we got back from China. I was relying on myself and putting my trust in things that I thought were in my control.
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I'm going to pause here and take a moment to share something with you that I knew BEFORE God called us to adopt ... something I had forgotten. All of the money I possess is really God's money. I am merely a steward of that money. You see, God granted me the job that I have, God has given me the ability to perform that job, and God wants me to use the money I earn to further His kingdom here on Earth. I am responsible for using the money wisely and God is responsible for bringing the money in.
As we all know, putting trust in something we don't have any control over can be scary. It is no wonder that Jesus speaks about money so often in the gospels. It is no wonder why the rich young ruler went away crying when Jesus said, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” (Matthew 19:21) The fear of losing money can cripple us with anxiety and keep us from doing God's work here on Earth. On the other hand, the love of money can lure us into doing all sorts of evil things as we turn our focus away from God and onto ourselves.
If you are reading this, and you have been called to adopt, I want you to know that you have NOTHING to fear. I know that can be hard to grasp. In fact, if you are like me, you will likely not be able to believe this truth until you take that first step of faith. Only after you have walked in faith can you look back and see all of the good God has done in your life. Thankfully, God had shown himself faithful to me and our family in the past many times, and I knew deep down that I could rest in the fact that He would do it again.
Also, if you have been called to adopt, know that God has a heart for orphans, and He will take care of them and you! There are many people out there, both in the church and outside of the church, who will come to YOUR rescue as you go out to rescue your child. Our adoption journey is proof of that. So are the journeys of the thousands of families who adopted before us and put their hope in Jesus.
One final note ... there were two things that ultimately got me "over the hump" and fully committed to adoption. One thing that God did for me was ease my fears by allowing us to refinance our home. Refinancing our home freed up a little more money each month and gave us access to more equity in our house. This made me feel better even though I am sure God knew that we would not need to draw on that equity. The second thing God did for me was send me some sound words of wisdom from a friend. One day at work, this person asked me, "How much money do you need? $30,000? That is the cost of a new car. $30,000 is a small amount compared to the worth of child and his future." How could I argue with that?
.......................................................................Now that we've been home almost a month, we finally have a tally of all of our expenses and donations. I am happy to report that God is good and He answered our prayers in a remarkable way. We were able to get Micah home without taking out any long-term debt! This is truly a blessing to our family. We certainly have a long road ahead with more doctor's visits and surgeries to possibly follow, but for now we are content knowing that God has provided and truly moved a mountain!
The total cost of Micah's adoption totaled over $33,000, and we were able to raise over 1/3 of that cost. In total, sixty (60) families from all walks of life gave money to support us. Some of these people are friends, some are coworkers, and some are family. Some live in and around Peoria, IL, while others live as far away as Chennai, India. Our goal was to raise $12,500, and through God's grace, we raised $137 over that amount. Thank you, thank you, thank you again to all who supported us and helped us bring Micah home!
In addition to the donations, we also raised a total of $1485 from a garage sale and will be receiving a $5000 adoption credit from Caterpillar, Inc. That leaves us with a total bill outstanding of $14,457. That amount will be partially offset with the federal income tax credit offered to adoptive families.
The total costs and reimbursements are listed below. If anyone has questions, please give me a call or get in touch. I'd be more than happy to discuss.
($33,579) - Total Adoption Expenses
$2,500 - Matching grant from Bethany Baptist
$10,137 - Donations
$1,485 - Garage Sale
$5000 - Reimbursement from Caterpillar, Inc.
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($14,457)* - Total Remaining
* Some of this will be offset by the non-refundable federal tax credit of $12,970
