Leah Stirewalt

Out of Deep Waters

The Finish Line is in Sight!

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downloadIt’s amazing how so much can change in so little time!

Less than two weeks ago, I was pining over the difficult waiting days we’ve been experiencing while in this place of limbo…waiting to return to Bulgaria to bring our children home. And then…just when I thought the wait was never going to end…we got THE call!

Our adoption has been approved, and we’ll be returning to Bulgaria in about a month to pick up our children!!!! Woohoo!!!! We couldn’t be more ecstatic!

We’re busy taking care of those last minute details in preparation for their arrival…making sure their room is ready, shopping for things we still need, scheduling doctor’s appointments, etc. We also have packing lists to make, as we’ll be traveling over to Bulgaria just the two of us and returning home with three more. With Thanksgiving, the wedding of our oldest son, and Christmas on the heels of our return, we need to be extremely organized before leaving. And yet…the timing is EXACTLY what we prayed for. We asked God to bring our children home by Thanksgiving. And. He. Said. Yes!

We kept hearing they’d be home by Christmas, but we knew God could make anything happen, and we really wanted them home by Thanksgiving. No detail throughout this whole journey has gone unnoticed by Him. Especially when it comes to finances.

We began this journey expecting the fees to total around $35,000. However, when we committed to adopt a sibling group of three, those costs increased to closer to $50-55K. Regardless, we have been completely dependent on God to raise the necessary funds to complete this adoption. We are THRILLED to share we only have just under $9,000 left to raise to completely fund this adoption. Through our personal savings, various fundraisers, grants, and gifts from friends and family, God has already provided over $35K. Simply amazing! This has been nothing short of a faith walk, and He has been so very faithful!

Addtionally, we just received word this week we’ve been blessed to have received a Lifesong for Orphans matching grant of $2,000. Here’s how this works:

Lifesong will match…dollar for dollar…every donation made to our account up to $2,000. This is HUGE y’all. Since we’re just under $9,000 away from having our adoption completely funded, and with your help…this would almost take care of half that. All donations will only be accepted by Lifesong until our children are home, so we really need your immediate response, if at all possible. They’ll match $1, $10, $100…until the $2,000 mark is reached. That makes your $25 gift turn into $50 and your $50 turn into $100. See how this works? The simplest and most expedient way to donate is online. Simpy click on this link:

http://www.lifesongfororphans.org/give/donate/

Select “Give to an Adoptive Family.” Complete the online form and fill in our “Family Account Number” (5546) and “Family Name” (Stirewalt) fields.

Thank you, in advance, for helping us reach the full benefit of this grant and ultimately getting that much closer to the financial finish line. We. Are. So. Close.

NOTE: In following IRS guidelines, your donation is to the named non-profit organization. This organization retains full discretion over its use, but intends to honor the donor’s suggested use.

Individual donations $50 or more and yearly donations totaling $250 or more will receive a tax-deductible receipt. Receipts for donations under $50 will gladly be sent upon request. Lifesong is a 501(c)3 tax exempt organization.

We can’t wait to “introduce” you to our children and share pictures of their beautiful faces. Thankfully, there’s not too much longer to wait for that! We’ll meet you at the “finish line”!

I’m Ready to Sell it All!

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Sell it all!“It can all go as far as I’m concerned,” I recently shared these words with my husband. While I really don’t mean that literally, I am at a crossroads where getting our children safely home from Eastern Europe is more important to me than knick-knacks, decorations, unused clothing…simply put…THINGS!

We are feeling the crunch of our impending adoption and wanting to make sure we do everything we feel God leads us to do in an effort to raise the remainder of the funds to cover the mountain of adoption expenses facing us. We would do whatever it took to protect our own biological children, and these children are no exception.

Over this past Easter weekend, we began going through the house, room-by-room examining everything to see if it could be a sell-able item. We don’t intend to get rid of truly sentimental items or those things we need for day-to-day living, but there are many other things we’re willing to say goodbye to in an effort to reduce that financial mountain.

We are still “processing” each room, but so far…we’ve removed pictures off walls, taken decorations right from where they were on a piece of furniture, pulled handbags out of closets, emptied dressers and nightstands, and much more! It kind of feels like we’re preparing to move, but it’s time to say goodbye to THINGS to be able to one day soon say hello to little people in need of a family!

Now don’t get me wrong, there were some items I struggled to place in the “to sell” pile…for various reasons. Could be a reason as simple as “we’ll never get it for that low of a price again” to “I’ve had that since I was a teenager”. The inner struggle to keep those things kept burdening me, but I kept hearing His inner voice whisper words similar to these…Precious daughter…

  • What’s more important…that thing or those big, dark eyes you’ll be looking into soon?
  • Do you really think I can’t provide it for you again sometime in the future? Perhaps you won’t even have to pay a cent for it then; don’t worry about the “good deal” you received the first time around.
  • Don’t you know I’m looking at your heart? What’s more important to you? I can see deeply into the crevices of those secret places and know the answer, but now I want to see you follow through on those nudges.
  • Remember my friend Job? Remember how I rewarded him with twice as much after he lost it all the first time?
  • You know how much I care for those who care for those close to my heart…orphans and widows? Just follow through with my commands, and you’ll be blessed!

God’s words continue to pierce my heart, and so I continue to say goodbye to things that could possibly bring us that much closer to our children. It’s all His money anyway. May we honor Him with it!