Once upon a time there was little family of three who loved each other very much. They had so much love that they desperately wanted to share it with another child. After many failed attempts of bringing another biological child into the world and having so much love in their hearts, they looked into ways to bring another newborn babe to their home from another loving mother who was not able to give the life she wanted to for her child. Tried as they may to feel it was the right direction to go, they did not feel comfortable about moving forward. This was very frustrating to the little family.
Time passed and the Lord in his infinite wisdom guided them in another direction. With much prayer and supplication, they were guided not to a baby, but to a child. A toddler, whom they would bring into their home from a distant land, and give a better life than he would have otherwise.
Knowing that it was the right thing to do, but not knowing much else about the process, this family moved forward. The little family was overwhelmed by the cost and the preparations of adopting a child. They began to explore any and all options available.
Times were hard for a lot of people. Banks were not lending money or offering loans even to the family, who whose finances were in good order. Options once available to absorb some of the costs of adopting, were not available at the present time.
Going forward with faith, and much trepidation, they decided to organize a fundraiser to cover some of the beginning costs of the adoption. The mother worked tirelessly for weeks feeling very awkward asking for crafters and friends, to donate one item for the fundraiser. The mother herself, not being particularly crafty, did as much as she could to contribute her own donations towards the cause.
Much to her surprise, many, many people came out in force to help. The mother found herself very grateful for those creative hands and giving hearts that did so much to help.
The family was extremely humbled at the outpouring of donations for sale, to supply their event. The next task rather daunting for the family was getting the word out.
One thousand fliers were printed, Five hundred of which were distributed thanks to the efforts of four teenagers who spent several hours in very, very cold temperatures, cheerfully passing out fliers, singing Christmas carols along the way.
Social networking sites, blogs, emails, were sent. Never had this family had the need to ask for help like this. They had no idea what type of response they would receive. Their faith in mankind was restored by all who helped with so much to prepare for the fundraiser. What they hoped was that those pure in heart, would hear their prayers, and would feel compelled to come and purchase some of the wonderful items that were generously donated.
The day before the fundraiser, two wonderful friends, spend the whole day helping the mother price over four hundred items that were donated. The mother was amazed that these women, cheerfully, helped her put things together. The mother thanked God, once again, for wonderful friends.
Donations were brought till late in the night the day before fundraiser to was to be held .One angel friend, and a angel cousin, stayed till the wee hours of the morning, to decorate a and help display all of the items that were donated. After all the work was completed, the couple knew there was no way they could have pulled this off on their own. Their humility was overwhelming,
Around 4:00 AM on the morning of the first day of boutique, everything was finally ready. Exhausted, the mother knelt beside her bed before retiring, and offered up, a fervent prayer. "Lord, I have done all I can do, I am exhausted, I need thy help, by touching people, with our story, compelling them to come." The mother fell into bed for a short sleep.
The next day, within one hour, of the beginning of the fundraiser, as many as forty people, showed up to buy products and contribute. The mother and father were overwhelmed.
In one hour's time, they were astonished at the donations they received. They were grateful for every donation, no matter how small. Family came, brothers and sisters. Cousins drove an hour's drive to donate and support. Perfect strangers saw the signs and generously open their pocketbooks, for the cause. Neighbors not only contributed by making items to purchase, but came out in force to see what was there to buy. The couple commented privately to each other, this was a glorious life reunion with wonderful friends and family they associated with throughout their life. Tears of gratitude, tears of joy, and tears of every emotion were shed that day.
The fundraiser was held two days, both were bitterly cold. Friday, although cold, the sun was shining. Saturday, was snowy, icy, wet and cold. Very few people came in the first two hours on Saturday.
Again, the Lord poured his tender mercies in abundantly blessing the little family. In the afternoon things picked up. The second day was also filled with reunions of past friends and associates, and new friends who took the time to care. The family felt possibly, that they've lived in one of the greatest places on earth.
The donations did not end with the fundraiser. Many, many checks and money came in the mail, during the next few weeks. Family members, cousins, passed associates, and friends were overwhelmingly generous to this family. The family reflected heavily upon the reason for the season. And they felt the pure love of Christ because of what everyone had done...............................
Just when they thought they had seen all of the generosity they could bear, on Christmas Eve the doorbell rang at about 8:30 at night. When the mother opened up the door, no one was there. As she went to shut the door, she looked down on the doormat to see this:
A canning jar full of mostly quarters and a note that said: "We heard about your desire to adopt a child and we think that is wonderful. We wanted to help so here is a Christmas jar from us to you. We hope your dreams come true! Merry Christmas, The Christmas Elves." The coinage in the jar exceeded $85.00. Once again, they were amazed and vowed to always believe in Christmas Elves. The donations did not stop there. More have come since then. They are grateful for every donation, no matter how small.
This is our family's Christmas story this year. The fundraiser was a complete success! We thank all of you so much for your generosity. We have learned much, our faith in God, has also strengthened. We're so humbled and grateful beyond words, for everyone, who has helped us.
We have been told by many parents, who have adopted that adoption is a journey. We are already seeing this in the short time that we have been involved in the process.
Just to clarify, we do not know who our child is as of late. There are several processes to move through before we are given a stack of pictures; (from what we have been told) to choose which child we feel like is to be a part of our family. We are looking between the ages of two and four years old. We understand the risks that are associated with a child who was not an infant. We are ready for the challenge! We're happy we can give it a least one child, who is orphaned, or whose family no longer can care for them, a better life. We know this is to be. And I, as a mother, am aching inside, until we bring this boy home to be with our family. This experience has been life changing. I am a born a cynic. A quality I wish I did not possess most of the time. This is experience has taught me much. And I am sure; I have much more to learn. There just no words to express our gratitude.
You may check back frequently on this blog and I will try very, very hard, to keep everyone updated on the process.
In the next several weeks we should have all of the paperwork done and processed to move forward with the home study. The home study takes two months. The information is then sent to the dossier. From there things start to move rather quickly. Check back every few weeks, and I will do my best to keep you updated.
How we feel is summed up by a familiar quote from the movie, It's a Wonderful Life:
"Remember, no man is a failure who has friends."
Thank you from the bottom of our hearts and wish you and yours all the blessings and happiness in your lives that are possible.
Love,
Jeff, Linda, & Jacob Isom
