Tick tock tick tock

“But as we wait, as we journey, we find ourselves clinging to God as never before, and listening for his voice as if our life depended on it!  That in itself makes the waiting worth the while” (Patterson, 75).

Every day I am reminded that we are waiting.  Whether it’s in the morning when I am preparing breakfast and the baby outlet covers prevent me from plugging in the griddle or I see a glimpse of our wait list number on our dry erase board from the corner of my eye.  We are expectant parents in what some may joke as a very long pregnancy. 

Sure, there are the obvious ways it looks different.  I am not harboring this child in my body so therefore my stomach isn’t growing horizontally (other than from poor dietary choices) , I am not making monthly visits to the OBGYN, and my diet hasn’t changed as it would if I were pregnant.  Honestly, in many ways it is the normal for me because I have no comparison since I have never been pregnant and adoption was always at the forefront of my mind.

Needless to say, all the other preparation looks similar from what I can comprehend.  Our baby consumes my thoughts.  What will he/she look like?  Has our child already been conceived?  What about the birth mama?  What is going through her mind?  Praising God for her choosing of life for this sweet child that we will someday raise.  I am utterly in awe that we will be entrusted to this child’s life that I have yet to meet.  What else do expectant parents do, you ask?  We have started collecting a few items for what will someday be a nursery for baby Schwoch.  We have attended classes on raising adoptive kiddos and kids from hard places, talked to loved ones about what to expect on the road ahead, prayed like crazy & waited some more.  There is no doubt the road ahead is long and will get hard, but we are waiting with hope & humility. 

I just finished a book from a dear friend titled “Waiting.  Finding hope when God seems silent” by Ben Patterson.  The truths in this book could not have come at a more perfect time.  I would highly recommend it because really aren’t we all waiting for something in life?  It reminded me and put me in the place of our forefathers in faith such as Job, Abram & Sarai as they waited and suffered.  Did they ever cry out in their suffering and wonder when God would show up on the scene?  Absolutely.  Did they wait perfectly and with patience always?  Hardly.  My point being that even in their lowest, God was up to something greater.  “That finally, is all God himself assures us of in the here and now of our suffering.  He nowhere promises healing in the here and now.  He nowhere promises understanding or comprehension of it all in the here and now.   He nowhere promises that if you do everything right and keep your nose clean he will shield you from all evil.  What he does promise you is the presence of his Spirit to uphold and comfort us” (Patterson, 43).

I have studied the book of Genesis in the past and have specifically focused on the story of Abram and his wife Sarai.  If you are unfamiliar with it, this couple is promised by God himself, specifically Abram, a great nation (Genesis 12:2).  They long for a child and have given up hope when they hear they will become parents at the ripe ages of 90 and 100 years old.  In the meantime something is happening far greater than they could fathom, “The wait has been purifying and shaping Abram and Sarai into Abraham and Sarah.  Remember:  from God’s reckoning at least as important as the thing we wait for is what we become as we wait” (Patterson, 122).  Isaac was born as promised.  I am able to sympathize with Sarah and Abraham on a much different level than before as I wait to grow our family and put my tiny self and my waiting into perspective of God’s greater purpose.  “As it turns out, the creation is waiting for the same thing Abram and Sarai are waiting for!  To their immense surprise, they discover that their waiting for a child is linked to a much greater Waiting-the Waiting of the world and its redemption.  And the fulfillment of Abram and Sarai’s waiting will set in motion God’s campaign to restore his fallen creation.  The birth of a child, their child, will be the vehicle for redemption” (Patterson, 64).

There are days when I get so impatient and the wait seems treacherous.  With international adoptions one thing that is extremely difficult is not knowing what is going on.  You hear something one day and something extremely different the next.  In this book Patterson points on something spot on “Modern Christians are afflicted with a “zap mentality.”  It’s the idea that unless God “zaps” us immediately in response to our prayers, unless he does something that is immediately accessible to our five senses, then nothing has happened (144).  Well that sure wasn’t one easy pill of truth to follow.  But as a child of God I must remind myself that no loving parent would hand their child just anything at an instant.  “If we wait it is because God is waiting for us to become the people he wants us to be” (Patterson, 112).  In our obedience he is equipping us and molding us into the parents He desires us to be along the way.

I’ve had people shy away from conversations with me because they don’t know what to ask, or think the idea of growing a family through adoption is such an alien idea, or just want to let me know “it will be so hard”, but heed not.  I am a soon-to-be mama just like all the other mamas out there; their tummies may just scream “I’m pregnant.”  If my heart could scream it, it would :).  With that being said, ask away people, walk alongside of us on our journey, give us parenting tips (which we may or may not take), but most of all just be real with us and share in our excitement, joy and obedience to this call.  This past mother’s day was the first mother’s day celebrated as I was considered a mom-to-be.  Inside I thought “Oh, no one will think of the fact that I am celebrating this day in a new way” or “Oh people wouldn’t consider me as an expectant mother.”  Boy, was I wrong.  Your cards, gifts and sweet texts meant more to me than you can ever imagine. 

Specifics in our adoption

We have been waiting for three months now and get monthly updates from our agency.  Ethiopia just recently passed a new step in the process which requires an orphan to be up for domestic adoption in country for two months.  In a sense, they are exhausting all measures to keep the child in his/her home country with any living relatives which is good!  All this to say, we thought things would be at a standstill for a few months, but we got some news fairly recently that orphans already in the process did not have to go through this step so there has been some movement.  It is difficult to estimate a time frame, but we most likely have a year or two head of us in the waiting before we receive a referral.  At this rate it is moving much slower than it has in the past which is difficult, but also good to make sure adoptions are taking place ethically and orphans are considered true orphans.  Yes, this is what we signed up for, but it does not mean it is always a walk in the park.

On a side note, I have mentioned an organization I am head-over-heels for before on our blog called Noonday Collection.  Noonday Collection was started by an orphan advocate and world changing woman here in Austin, Texas in 2011.  It uses a fashion marketplace to ethically create opportunities and a job market among the vulnerable and oppressed among many other things and is currently working with over ten countries and even more artisan groups.  I just recently said “yes” to becoming an ambassador and a voice for Noonday and would love to share more of the heart behind this company, give you a catalog or have you host a trunk show in your home to share these stories of hope from around the world.  Check out my website at http://jenniferschwoch.noondaycollection.com .

Take care people. All our love.

Jen & Luke Schwoch

 

“He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all, how will he not also, graciously give us all things?” (Romans 8:32)

Dossier may be a fun word to say, but we're glad it's out of our hands!

It has been a while since I have gathered my thoughts on pen and paper.  These last few months Luke and I have been venturing all over town to collect the last few pieces for our dossier compilation.  If you are unfamiliar with the adoption process, the dossier is the mounds of paperwork that includes everything from official birth certificates to letters of recommendation on what would make us good adoptive parents.  All of this paperwork will be sent to Ethiopia along with our home study for translation & approval.  Let’s just say the people down at Frost Bank are probably sick of seeing the Schwochs for their weekly notarizations :).

All this to say, this point in the process is marked with mixed emotions.  The paper chase portion is over, now comes the waiting.  We will be waiting for an estimated 2 years for our referral.  A referral is when we will be matched with a child and will receive any information they have on him/her along with photographs.  Oh how I long for the day when I first see our babe’s face!  Daily, I am leaning on God’s never-ending, constant grace.   To say this process is sanctifying would be accurate as we are more easily able to see the idols we turn to that we think will satisfy us, even though they always seem to let us down.

We are headed into our next phase with eager anticipation, but also with an overwhelming sense of peace.  I think I read on one of Jen Hatmaker’s older blogs recently that only 5% of adoptions go perfectly as planned with no hiccups along the way.  As much as we’d like to hope everything goes smoothly with our adoption, I’d like to think we have fair expectations for the road ahead.  Paperwork may get lost, documents expire, the wait may be longer than predicted, but we are confident in God's plans and are honored that we get to play a role in them.

This whole waiting period puts the one true wait into perspective for us.  As believers of Jesus Christ we hold every word of the bible as true, sufficient and without error.  In chapter 9 verse 28 of Hebrews it states “Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with the sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.”  In the grand scheme of things waiting for our child allows us to step back and marvel with anticipation for the far greater wait:  a day when Christ will return for us and make all things new. 

One of the true joys of the whole process for the both of us is sharing our heart and more importantly God’s heart behind adoption.  As I can imagine, just like when a woman is carrying a biological child, it consumes your every thought.  Paper pregnancy is no joke people.  When we share our adoption journey we have gotten several questions multiple times so I thought I would end this blog with some of our frequently asked questions…

1.)  Q:   If there are millions of orphans in Ethiopia why in the world will it take you at least two years to receive a referral?

A:  While we wish the process were quick & simple, the truth of the matter is that it is a long process full of paper work & waiting. This is good news & bad news at the same time. The good news is that the longer wait times are due to the government & country working hard to find any living family member or relative that might be able and willing to take the child into their home. After all, reuniting an orphan with their original family should always be plan A. The bad news is that we have to wait longer because of the many checks that exist throughout the process. I can’t remember who it was but someone recently put it this way – international adoption involves two governments trying to create a family. Most governments can’t even figure out their own agenda, much less coordinate an adoption with another government.

We recently sent off our dossier to our agency. Before the dossier is sent to Ethiopia for translation and review, it must go through multiple steps of authentication in the U.S. First, the Secretary of State in Utah (where our agency is located) must authenticate our dossier, then to the U.S. Department of State followed by the Ethiopian embassy in Washington D.C. This process takes 4-6 weeks and once final, we are officially a waiting family! Next the dossier is sent to Ethiopia for translation & review by the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs. Then approximately 2 years later we are given a referral which includes a picture of our child with any and all history available. Ethiopia requires 2 trips in country. The first trip, 3-4 months after referral acceptance, lasts 5-7 days and we get to meet our child and sit in front of a judge who ultimately decides whether or not we are fit to adopt our child. Then we return home and will travel back to Ethiopia in about 1-2 months for a 3-5 day trip where we pick up our child, go to the U.S. embassy in Ethiopia to get final clearance and return home!

2.)  Q:  Since you will be waiting for a couple of years, is there any chance you will have a biological child while you wait?

A:  Well I guess there is always a chance right?!  We have no doubt that God is bigger than birth control.  Our desire to adopt first doesn’t stem from fertility issues and we have received such a strong calling and clarity in these plans.  We are thrilled to bring a little one into our home that may have different bloodlines, but that is just as much a part of our family as a child I could give birth to.  When we think about our firstborn being an adoptive babe, although we know it won’t be easy, we are so excited to attach to our child and establish a bond of family before possibly having any biological children.  Your guess is as good as ours, but there are no plans to become a family of three before our trip to get our little love from Ethiopia.

3.)  Q:  How is your fundraising going?

A: God has been so gracious and has blessed us in more ways than we could have ever imagined. The financial part of adoption can be daunting and I’m not sure how people get through it without a strong trust in God. Jennifer and I do not have enough money on our own to adopt, but trusted His call on our hearts and knew that He would provide no matter what.

Our garage sale in October was a major success and in total we raised almost $6,000. God has provided through donations from friends and family in unbelievably generous ways. Our amazing sister/sister in law, Gretchen Watson, designed some awesome shirt for us to sell and they have been a big hit (we still have a few left if you are interested). We have had three sweet people (Kim Truss, Sally Jones & Robin Schwoch) host Noonday Jewelry trunk shows for us. If you haven’t heard about this company check it out at www.noondaycollection.com. The company was started by a woman who was adopting her son from Rwanda and was looking for ways to raise money. With a heart for the nations and the vulnerable, this Austinite created Noonday.  A foundational verse of this company is from Isaiah 58 “if you pour yourself out for the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then shall your light rise in the darkness and your gloom be as the noonday” v. 10.  Noonday employs men and women all over the world who make beautiful jewelry with their local products. The jewelry is then sold at trunk shows hosted by friends and a portion of the profits can go towards an adoption. The company works two-fold by allowing women and men around the world to enter the work field so that they don’t have to put their children up for adoption, and works here in the states by enabling families financially to adopt.  If you are interested in hosting a trunk show, we would love to connect you with some resources.  We cannot stop praising God for his blessings and continued provision.

In total we have raised close to $17,000 and expect the entire process to cost around $28,000 - $30,000. We still have a ways to go, but have been so encouraged by family & friends response to the gospel and the James 1:27 mindset of caring for the orphan. We are planning on some more fundraisers in the future so look for updates on Facebook. If you want to learn more or feel led to give, check out the link below to our You Caring fundraiser page. We can’t thank you all enough and couldn’t live out this gospel call without you.

https://www.youcaring.com/adoption-fundraiser/schwoch-a-bye-baby-adoption/79828

We are honored to get to be a part of this story and are beyond thankful for all the people around the world who have chosen to be a part of this story with us.  Even just by reading this blog you are taking time to hear our hearts.  We thank you.  Please pray that we can wait well, for our child’s well-being and heart, for the birth mama and for our paperwork every step of the way.  Until next time.  Love ya!

Jen & Luke Schwoch

P.S. Do you have a question you’ve been dying to ask us or are you considering adoption?  We would LOVE to hear from you!

Home studies: they're nothing like the movies

At five til ten on the morning of October 28^th I anxiously paced the house and kept peeking out the window curtain every few minutes.  The doorbell rang, our case worker was here.  To my surprise, in walked a bright-eyed sweet young girl about our age.  From there she proceeded to “interview” Luke and I.  In reality, it felt nothing like an interview, but more like catching up with an old friend on everything from why our family chose to adopt, why Ethiopia, our marriage and of course parenting.

I look back and laugh at how worried I was about the home study.  I meticulously cleaned the house and we baby-proofed to the best of our ability.  She quickly skimmed the house and gave us a few instructions on things to fix before she returned the following day.  Prior to our home study, we had several adoptive moms and dads tell us not to worry about a thing and that the agency was on our side, but I guess I had to experience it myself.

 

It got me thinking about how I so easily define my experiences by what the world says they are supposed to look like.  When I catch myself playing this comparison game or telling myself lies about what the world can offer me, I need to, through His spirit, remind myself that Jesus is better.  Because of this truth, I am filled with an unmovable peace and an eternal perspective.  “Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.”  Colossians 3:2

 

So you’re probably wondering why the title Jen?  Well let me explain…

The only home study comparisons I had were those from the movies in which a crotchety old woman grills you to death and is out to get you.  Anyone familiar with this description I’m playing out?  Just like most things in life, the movies inaccurately portray everyday life.  Luke and I felt an instant bond with our case worker that went way beyond our paperwork, an eternal one.  Our God handpicked her to walk alongside of us.  I am consumed by the sovereignty of our Lord.  Sovereignty can be defined as “one possessing or held to possess supreme power or one who exercises supreme authority.”  When we confess with our lips He is a sovereign God, we can apply that to the big things in our world like the daily rising of the sun, to life’s details, like the countless steps and papers that fill our adoption journey.  He is King of it all.  I’m sure days will go by where I am walking in this truth wholeheartedly while we wait, and others where the ways of the world get me down and I need to be reminded of the freedom in these truths.

 

We are pleased to have the home study complete, as this is a big hurdle to cross in the adoption process and we will now send in our 1-600 to be approved by the United States government to adopt and allow the child to enter the US.  Then, we will continue with more and paperwork to complete our dossier which is sent to Ethiopia for translation and approval.  Then…the true wait begins.  It varies, but the average length of time we will be waiting is about a year before we receive a referral of our child.  We ask for your prayers that we can wait well.

 

One last thing I want to encourage you with is this:
If you or your family have ever felt that you may be called to adopt, but didn’t think you could either because of financial reasons or because you didn’t think your home was adequately equipped, we would love to share more with you.  We have been in utter awe of God’s provision and faithfulness to us through the whole process.  We thank you for your shared joy, love, and prayers.  Merry Christmas from our family to yours.  All our love.

 

 

Jen & Luke

Schwoch-a-bye Baby Adoption Garage Sale

 

Wee morning hours opened in prayer and ended in ceaseless praise.  Leading up to the garage sale, Luke and I thought we had a pretty good idea of about how much we thought we would raise based on the amount of stuff we had.  The Lord, through friends, family, and mere strangers completely blew us away in His provision and graciousness.

 

Not going to lie, garage sales are A LOT of work & I think the week leading up to it the words “I’d be fine never having a garage sale again” left my lips.  Looking back, I can see the fruits of the countless hours we spent preparing and also what an amazing fundraiser idea it is for families pursuing adoption.  Why?  Luke and I had the opportunity to share our hearts and souls with shoppers who were curious as to why we were doing what we were doing.  In a way, even just by shopping, we were inviting them to come alongside of us in the process.  There was one woman who drove down from a city north of Austin because she saw our ad in the newspaper and was thrilled to shop with all the proceeds going to baby Schwoch.  A few people and events stand out, but the list could go on and on…

 

 

-To Luke’s best friend Mark who drove down from Houston and woke up with us at 5 a.m. and also helped to design and donate the sign “Help us adopt by adopting our stuff” which attracted tons of shoppers to stop by

 

 

-To a precious couple in Grant and Gretchen’s small group in Brooklyn who have never even met us and chose to financially support our family and care for the orphan because they felt called

 

-To a handful of shoppers who handed us a dollar, five, ten, or even twenty to pay for their items and said “keep the change for your adoption”

 

-To our sis, Gretchen, who design the LOVED tee for us, these shirts pretty much rock

 

-To all those who we call family, friends and even those we just met, thanks for shopping and for purchasing a t-shirt and those of you that gave way more than the shirts costs, we hope you enjoy them and sport your shirt all around town

 

-To ALL of you who donated items, you are the ones that made the sale even possible

 

-To those near and far who have joined us in prayer over the sale and our adoption journey in general, it is so amazing to see family in a whole new way, God's family may not all look the same or see each other often, but is eternal!

 

 

 

-To my grandmother who has blessed us in more ways than she will ever know for opening up her house to us as our current place of residence and the place where our garage sale took place

 

-To our Schwoch-a-Bye Baby team who woke early, baked goods to sell, hung clothes, conversed with customers and were there for us

 

 



Our child is already so LOVED!  If you are interested in a t-shirt we still have some, let us know.  To see the breakdown of the earnings from the 10/19 sale check out our youcaring at: http://www.youcaring.com/adoption-fundraiser/schwoch-a-bye-baby-adoption/79828

A full album of all of the photos taken for the garage sale will be coming to Facebook soon!

Love you all,

Jen & Luke Schwoch

Jesus loves the little children, all the children of the world

I recently attended a newborn class at a local hospital with my sis and mom.  I was there both to learn the ins and outs of infant care and for moral support.  I have yet to carry a child or have a babe to call my own to tend for, but the term “paper pregnancy” is something I have felt and has become so real in my life as we dig deeper into this adoption process.  My child and his/her biological mama consume my thoughts and prayers on a weekly, daily, even hourly basis.

The class covered everything from irregularities in babies immediately following birth to feeding logs to umbilical cord care to swaddling, etc.  Shortly into the class I found myself in tears.  As confident and joyful as I am in the Lord’s call on our life to begin to grow our family through adoption, I couldn’t help but think of all the “firsts” we will miss out on in our babe’s early life.  What will the birth experience be like?  What will our child’s first cry sound like?  Who will be the one to cut the umbilical cord?  These are just a few of the many questions that began to flood my head as I aimlessly participated in infant bathing and swaddling.

As despairing as these thoughts and questions may be for me as my child’s earthly mom, I feel an overwhelming sense of peace and hope in the sovereignty and comfort that comes from Christ.  Luke and I may miss out on some monumental events in the life of parenthood, but our child’s heavenly daddy not only won’t miss out, but has been in our child’s presence since He himself marked that being into life.   When I reflect on the many characteristics and names of God, I am overwhelmed in amazement.  God the Creator is one I am reflecting on as of late.  Specifically, in the book of Psalms, chapter 139 describes details of our existence.  “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.  I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full and well.  My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place.  When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body.  All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.” (Psalm 139:13-16)

Although these are verses I have read many times before, they seem to come alive to me now in a whole new way.  David describes the intimacy in the creation of life.  God, the creator of the universe, who made the planets that orbit and the tallest of mountains, is also the creator of every being that walks this earth.  To think of the details and the preciseness (and not to mention the anatomical factors) that goes into the intricacy of our bodies leave me in awe.  Even the smallest of details are His workmanship.

Every country and agency are different as far as the specifics of the adoption process.  In Ethiopia, and specifically with our agency, West Sands, there is an opportunity to meet the birth parents once the adoption is finalized assuming they are living and willing.  I could see, from an outsider’s perspective, how the adoptive parents could have some negative feelings towards the birth parents and wonder questions such as why would you want to give this precious child up for adoption?  For me, this is not the case at all.  I may not know my child’s birth parents yet, but I love them and pray for them already.  I see them as people who were created in God’s very image.  I praise God everyday that the birth mom chose life for our babe and that He predestined this specific child for our family.   I have never carried a child for 9 months, but I can imagine it to be an exhausting yet beautiful thing.  She will carry our child.  For this I am grateful.  Circumstances will be different for each child and many investigations are done, but children are put up for adoption due to abandonment, the mom dying during the birthing process (in Ethiopia specifically that is a 9:1 ratio), or the birth parents lacking resources and wanting their child to experience life to the fullest.  There are, I’m sure, many questions that will never get answered, but for now I will pursue this call like crazy and continue to dream of the day baby Schwoch is in my arms.

I LOVE adoption

“Why do you want to adopt?” This is one of the most common questions that Jen and I have gotten over the last 3-4 months. One of the things we have loved the most in the beginning stages of adoption has been the fact that no matter which way an adoption conversation goes, it’s impossible to not talk about God and His love for us in Him. So many Christians feel uncomfortable, scared or nervous to talk about their faith, and I can relate, but God has broken down those barriers and given us an avenue to talk about Him daily.

Back to the original question: why do you want to adopt? In the time that Schwoch Talk has existed and evolved into our adoption update blog, you’ve heard from Jen as she has poured out her heart for adoption and our family’s vision. I thought it would be a good time to share my heart for adoption and how I got to where I am today. Growing up I didn’t know anyone that had adopted or had been adopted. I didn’t have any adopted friends and never heard any of the churches I attended talk about adoption. Jen told me about her love for adoption at an early time in our dating relationship. I never thought much of it, just assumed we would have biological children because that was all I knew. I wasn’t against adoption in any way, just extremely uneducated.

Jen had been praying for my heart for years, I finally began to pray asking God to speak to me and show me how he wanted our family to grow. Over the course of many years, God slowly began shaping my heart to the point where now I cannot see our family without an adopted child. I began to learn the theology behind our adoption in Christ. The following verses began to speak to me very loudly about my identity and blew my mind thinking about the fact that Jesus not only died and forgave our sins, but God made us His children and we share in His inheritance with Christ: John 1:12 – “But to all who believe him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God & Galatians 4:4-6 “But when the right time came, God sent His Son, born of a woman, subject to the law. God sent him to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law, so that he could adopt us as His very own children. And because we are His children, God has sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, prompting us to call out, “Abba, Father.”

A couple weeks ago I was sitting at our church, Austin Stone, listening to Jeff Mangum preach a sermon on prayer. I never expected Jeff to start talking about adoption during a sermon on prayer. I mean, what do adoption and prayer have to do with each other? Jeff went on about his experience watching families love on their adopted children in the exact same ways that they love on their biological children. If we are in Christ, we are His adopted child. We don’t let this soak in enough. Romans 8:14-17 says “For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs – heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.” Jesus tells us how we should pray in Matthew 6, verses 9-13. He starts with “Our Father in heaven…” and continues through the rest of the Lord’s Prayer. How many of us begin our prayers with “Dear Father” and if we do, do we really understand what we are saying? This is the essence of adoption and it has everything to do with prayer. As I sat there and listened, I couldn’t hold in my excitement and the only thing I could think about was the fact that I LOVE adoption and cannot wait to bring our forever child home!

I look back at the past couple years and see how God has shaped my heart and I am so thankful. I am thankful that Jen and I get to display His love for us in a very real and apparent way. I am thankful for every one of you that reads our posts, prays for our child and its mother and supports us financially. I am thankful that each and every one of you will be tied to our family for the rest of our lives by helping us live out the gospel and bring our child home. But most of all I am thankful that God has revealed His love for us and given us a heart of love for the orphan.

Adoption Update:
I am going to start giving updates on where we are at in the process and how things are coming along. Jen and I recently sent in our Home study information packet and have been assigned a case worker. We will begin interviews with the case worker towards the end of October and hopefully finish up in November. We will then fill out more adoption paperwork with our agency, make the first of 3 agency payments, and then compile the paperwork along with the home study report into what is called the dossier and send it off for review.  Please pray for the process and that we can continue to be patient and continually be reminded that God is in control. We ask that you pray for our child (most likely unborn) and its mother wherever they may be and that God keeps His hand over her and protects her.

Our fundraising efforts have gotten off to a strong start. So far we have a raised $3,765 through our You Caring site. We are in the process of having some shirts printed that were designed by my amazingly talented sister-in-law Gretchen (stay tuned to Facebook and this blog for shirt updates) and we have our adoption fundraising garage sale coming up on Saturday October 19^th – Stop by for some breakfast, shopping and fun!

If you have not been to our You Caring fundraising website, I have included the link below.

http://www.youcaring.com/adoption-fundraiser/schwoch-a-bye-baby-adoption/79828

Why Ethiopia?

Below is a video that we created about how and why we chose to adopt from Ethiopia.  More to come soon.

-Jen & Luke

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KiciciTRapo