Our personal journey has led us to the wonderful opportunity of adoption, so we are in the process of adopting two children from Ethiopia. The purpose of this site is to share that journey with you as we keep you updated with our progress, prayer requests, and needs. Thank you for your interest, participation, & support.

Why Ethiopia?

THIS WAS OUR ADOPTION ANNOUNCEMENT LETTER:

To Our Dear Friends and Family,

In many ways, there is nothing quite as helpless yet as beautiful as a baby bird. This small creature is nestled into a home high above the ground, completely dependent on its caregiver for protection from prey and a source of nourishment to grow. At the beginning, their nest is their entire world. In time, this precious living thing draws from its instinct and develops further muscle structure. With some gentle coaxing from mama bird, the little one will be challenged to take a few hard falls to the ground, before successfully finding just the right amount of wing flapping and air thermals to soar. Flight essentially turns fear into freedom.

Tommy and I have had several challenging years, and 2010 was no exception. Our desire to start a family has allowed us to travel down a road filled with loss and heartache, often leaving us confused, frustrated and very alone. But through pain, God has a way of developing beauty and blessing if we trust Him. He tells us in Isaiah 40:31, “but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” His blessings do not always come in packages wrapped in red ribbons lying under a glittering Christmas tree.

This year one of his main gifts to us is the privilege to begin the pursuit of adoption of two babies from Ethiopia. It’s obvious that God has instilled within us a love for the world and all of His people. Sadly, these two children are among roughly 5 million orphans in this country waiting anxiously for a committed family to take them under their wings and provide and care for them. They are abandoned and alone, feeling vulnerable and lacking the gentle touch to help them take the hop of faith in the open air. Very few will be able to exchange their fear for freedom. Our prayer is that we would be the parents who give these babies a nest of security, a lifetime worth of love and provision, and eventually teach them how to fly upwards into greatness as they serve the King. How amazing that God does this for us as well. Psalm 91:4 states this perfectly, “He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.”

This adoption announcement is truly a joy but will require work. We certainly cannot accomplish this task alone. We pray that God will give us patience, direction and success! The time-line is never promised, but averages between 10-24 months. We also seek your support through much prayer and financial participation. In addition to mountains of paperwork & long waiting periods, the total cost will most likely be around $35,000-$42,000. We have set up this blog so you can follow our journey and the details at www.TOMMYandKENDRA.com.

At this point, two abandoned baby birds will hopefully become part of our family in the near future. If God chooses to expand our family with additional children in the years to come, we will simply find a bigger nest….

In great anticipation,

Kendra & Tommy