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.
No comments:
Post a Comment