Marathon: Check

Wow, I have to say running a half-marathon is a great bucket-list accomplishment. However, having done so for the purpose of raising support for adoption and in the company of our dear family and friends elevates it to one the most meaningful and graceful events of our lives.  

Thank you to everyone who supported us in prayer and encouraging texts and Facebook messages! Those of us who have been nursing injuries, slightly undertrained ;), and running for the first time felt the power of your prayers with each mile.  

To our family who gave up a weekend, arranged childcare, booked hotels, abused their bodies and are still feeling it today, we are forever grateful.  We seriously could not do this adoption thing without you guys.  Your excitement and enthusiasm and desire to help in any way have fueled us so much! 

Anna and David: Andrew's twin brother and his sweet wife traveled from Chattanooga with us to participate in the race.  For Anna, this was her first competitive 5K and she gave up precious time with her family to prepare.  In addition to creating our awesome shirts, David also was willing to abuse his body for over 4 hours for Levi.  I describe it as such because David did not exactly train for this (full) marathon, as in he hadn't run a mile in at least 3 months.  He gets the "Stupid Stud" award for this marathon (and to clarify he is an excellent runner and typically finishes in close to 3hrs).

Andrew was the one who came up with this crazy idea.  My legs thank you babe! He rocked Knoxville with a finishing time of 3:19. 

Cheri: Andrew's sister and my running partner.  Its likely I would be passed out somewhere around mile 10 without this girl.  Cheri trained despite some serious back/hip pain. Thank you for running with me...you know you could have broken 2hrs without me.  It was such a blessing to pray through the list of prayer points with you along the way.  

See that guy in the jeans and Chacos?...that's Cheri's husband Ben.  Even though he is an excellent runner, he chose not to participate so that he could assure that one of them was back in Chatty for their daughter's gymnastic recital Sunday afternoon.  He was our moral support...when he spotted us around 10.5 he ran with us to the end, I'm not even kidding when I say I probably would have finished 10 minutes slower without him! 

B.J., Elena, Will and Joslin Flora: You guys rock!!! We loved getting to spend a little time with you and were unbelievably touched by your generosity and sacrifice to be a part of this sweet family time.  

Connie and Bill: You guys are awesome! Cutest 5K couple, by far.  In all seriousness, you have been right there all along encouraging and supporting us....from Chatty Crafty  to this race.  Levi doesn't yet know what a grandparent is - we are thrilled that you will be his living definition! 

Beth and Rob (& Lily) Palmer: I wish everyone had best friends like these guys.  They drove up from Chatty Sunday morning to cheer us on (and take all these awesome pics)!   We love, love, love you guys!

We are so grateful to Stephanie Craft for caring for these munchkins back in Chattanooga while we were away! It was such a relief to not have to worry about their well-being: we were certain they were having a blast!! (By the way, don't worry - Chloe and I will be starting "how to sit in a skirt" classes tomorrow morning!)

There's so much more to say...but I think I will leave that to future posts.  We are so grateful for each of you!

Love, 

Robin & Andrew

Just a few more steps...

As I write this I can hardly believe the words are actually appearing on the screen in front of me.  In just  a matter of a few hours our family and friends will be lacing up our green laces and wearing our neon green shirts in support of our "Laces For Levi" adoption fundraiser.  Even more exciting than this, we are just a matter of weeks away from SPRINTING our way across the world to bring our precious son home to his eager family!  What an amazing God we serve that has truly provided the finances, patience and persistence through this journey!

If you are checking out this blog for the first time (possibly due to curiosity from all those radioactive green shirts you saw at the Knoxville Marathon) we first want to thank you for taking the time to share in our journey.  While this blog is certainly not a complete reflection of the two years of hard work and waiting to bring Levi home (this might have something to do with a 2 and 5 year old not providing ample "computer" time in our house!) we hope it provides a little glimpse into who we are and what God is choosing to do through our family.

I won't spend too much time restating information about who we are (there is a great yet not so updated, profile section that can do this for you) but I would like to share a little about what we are about.  We believe with all our hearts that as children of God we are all adopted.  We were outcasts in this world with no home and no hope of a future.  Like the 147 million orphans in the world we needed a family more than anything.  God then sent His Son to buy our freedom and FULLY adopt us as His very own children (Galatians 4:5).  This same God also promises that HE will put the lonely into families here on this earth as well (Psalms 68:6).  We began to ask ourselves whether God might have plans to use us in this way.

Fast forward two years...after a trip to work with orphans in Haiti, many late nights working on fundraisers, tears of joy and sadness, and so many other stories that couldn't possibly fit in this blog we find ourselves on the precipice of seeing God's promise become a reality.  Levi is coming home!

Now for some of you all this info is interesting to hear but doesn't answer the crux of the question that you read on a neon green shirt in a marathon and led you to this blog..."Ask me about little Levi".  The answer to this question has three very simple yet very significant answers.

First, as you can imagine many times the things of most worth are the most expensive to make a reality.  Adoption certainly fits this statement.  We are blessed to say that due to God's working in so many of our friends and family HE has already provided for most of the expenses of our adoption and so we are blessed to say we are on the homestretch.  With that said though there are still a few more steps to go. If you feel led to assist in helping in this way we would be honored.  There is a link on the right side of our blog's home screen that says "Donate".  This is a safe way to donate funds towards our adoption costs.  Here is the great news with that:  ALL proceeds go directly to bringing him home and ANY funds over our needed amount will be given to the Calvary Chapel adoption fund to assist in other families on the same journey.

Second, PLEASE PRAY.  As our previous blog post states, there are many areas we could greatly use prayer in during the coming season of life.  While this has been a strenuous yet joyful two year process it is just the beginning of an even greater and more challenging journey.

Lastly, I want to remind you of what the front of our shirts state..."Minus One".  The reason we chose this is because simply stated one orphan in the world is one too many and 147 million is just heartbreaking.  God is so anxious to continue filling His promise of brining those precious children into a family (not only HIS family but also a physical family).  Please pray and consider whether your family would be open to God using them to play a role in subtracting one from the 147
million.  It seems like such a small step, but doesn't every great journey start with one step!

God Bless,
The Scharffs

Left to right: Andrew, Chloe (3yrs), Wade (5yrs), Robin

Levi (4yrs on April 30th) was abandoned as an infant and has spent his life at the Kaifeng City Social Welfare Institute in the Henan Province. We matched with him in August 2012 and look forward to traveling to China this May to adopt him. 

Time To Lace Them Up

For those of you not aware Robin and I along with many of our family members will be embarking on the final steps of our last adoption fundraiser this Sunday. We will be lacing up our shoes to help bring Levi home by running the Knoxville half and full marathon. 

We first want to thank all of you who have supported us in this process through your donations and prayers. Words cannot express just how grateful we are.  We simply can't imagine where we would be in this journey without you. 

We also want to ask you to join us on Sunday. Since for almost all of you coming is not possible we want to invite you to be our prayer partners in this endeavor. Below you will find the topics we will be praying over during each mile. If willing we would be honored to have you join us in some or all of these prayers for Levi and his new family. May God be honored through our steps and may each one be an expression of the great love for Levi He has placed in our hearts!

Before the race: Pray that we survive and finish the race with no injuries!!  Due to scheduling and health issues our training has been "less than ideal" so we are trusting that HE brings us through!

Mile 1: TRUST- In the midst of all the unknown in this process we will trust in The Lord

Mile 2: LEVI'S HEART- God will soften Levi's heart to the unknown in store for him. 

Mile 3: THE WAIT- That we will have patience in the remaining time. 

Mile 4: FINANCES- That God provides provision and wisdom in the final adoption and travel expenses as well as the unknown medical expenses when we return. 

Mile 5: TRAVEL- Our travel will go seamlessly and with no issues.

Mile 6: THE MEETING- God's hand will be on our first minutes with precious Levi

Mile 7: LEVI'S FAMILY- God will provide peace  and understanding to the birth parents of Levi who abandoned him at birth. 

Mile 8: WADE WHILE WE ARE GONE-  Wade will have peace and understanding while we are away for two weeks. 

Mile 9. CHLOE WHILE WE ARE GONE-  Chloe will have peace and understanding while we are away for two weeks. 

Mile 10: WADE & CHLOE'S CAREGIVERS WHILE WE ARE GONE- God will provide the best scenario for Wade and Chloe while we are gone and will give those with them patience and understanding. 

Mile 11: OUR HOME- God will continue to prepare our home to be a safe and warm place for him. 

Mile 12: OUR CHURCH- God continues to use Calvary Chapel in serving as our Church home. 

Mile 13: LEVI'S SLEEP WHILE IN CHINA- Levi will sleep well in our hotel during his first few days with us. 

Mile 14: LEVI'S SLEEP ONCE HOME- Levi will adjust to his new home/bed once he gets home. 

Mile 15: PLANE FLIGHT BACK TO U.S. - Our flight will be peaceful and calm for Levi

Mile 16: WADE AS LEVI'S BROTHER- God will use Wade in serving as Levi's older brother. 

Mile 17: CHLOE AS LEVI'S YOUNGER SISTER- Chloe will learn to respect and love her new older brother. 

Mile 18: LEVI AS A BROTHER- God will shape Levi's heart to serve as Wade and Chloe's brother

Mile 19: LEARNING ENGLISH- Levi will learn English quickly and we will have patience in the process. 

Mile 20: LEVI'S SALVATION- God will open Levi's heart to understand the truth of the Word and his need for a Savior

Mile 21: BONDING- Our bonding process with Levi will be sweet and quick.  We will quickly become one family united together. 

Mile 22: OUR FRIENDS- God will give our friends understanding during the transition time and will bless Levi's life with their love and friendship. 

Mile 23: OUR FAMILIES- God will give wisdom to our family in this time and continue to create relationships of love towards Levi. 

Mile 24: ROBIN AS LEVI'S MOM- God will shape Robin's heart to continue to be the loving mom she is to our new son

Mile 25: ANDREW AS LEVI'S DAD- God will prepare Andrew to raise Levi as a Christ like man. 

Mile 26: LEVI'S FUTURE- That Levi's future will be bright, happy and filled with the joy of knowing Christ Jesus!

After race: we are able to actually drive our car back to Chattanooga...really, that we have the energy after 26.2 miles to finish the final few to bring Levi home!!!

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