April 4, 2013
Dear Family and Friends,
There is some exciting news we want to share with you! We are adopting a child! We’ve prayed about this a lot and did not come to this decision lightly, but are excited for where this journey will take us. We feel called to live out this Gospel story to the world around us, a story that imitates what God has done for us in Christ, a story that reminds us that we are all adopted by our heavenly Father.
We feel the Lord leading us to adopt from South America. We will be working with an agency called Lifeline Children’s Services because of their commitment to placing children in loving Christian homes to ultimately show them the love of Christ. We understand there are orphans all over the world, including America, but we feel strongly and have heard the call… now it’s time to answer.
We are writing this letter asking for your support: First, we ask that you keep us and the journey we are about to embark on, in your prayers. We need to be lifted up in prayer for wisdom in our decisions, and for God to make our paths clear while we wait. We ask that you would also pray for the agency we will be working alongside, and the child that God would lead them to place in our care. Pray God will let them know they are loved, and wanted, and are being pursued! Pray that we would be parents that would raise a child that is pleasing to the Lord and that this entire process would speak of God’s amazing faithfulness and perfect timing! We are eager to see how God will use our family in this time, to grow our church body to look more like the Body in Heaven.
We would also like to humbly ask for your financial support, if you are able to give. Adoption can be quite expensive and we are committed to not create any new debt as we go through the process. The total cost of our adoption process is estimated between $25,000- $30,000. Yes! It’s expensive…but so was the price that He paid for our adoption through His work on the cross! We are confident that God will provide, as he always does, for our journey. We’ve opened an adoption savings account and are watching God grow it. We have a few fundraising ideas planned for the next few months which include: designing and building cutting boards to sell; selling t-shirts we made, hosting a garage sale, applying for grants, tax credits, cutting spending, and many other ideas. We realize this is a huge task, but our God is much bigger!
There is a calling on all of us as Christians, to care for widows and orphans. Not everyone is called to bring an orphan into their home, but it is our job to do what we can to care for them. There are many ways to do this, but God has shown us that this is his plan for growing our family. We would ask you to prayerfully consider partnering with us on this journey as we follow His call. If you feel led to support us financially, you are welcome to send your gift to us at the address below. If you choose, you could even give through our online fundraising site at www.gofundme.com/nickandjennadopt. Please know that every little bit helps. We also are in need of items to sell at our garage sale which will be at our home on Saturday, May 18th, with all proceeds going toward the adoption!
Our adoption journey has already begun: we have turned in the initial paperwork, been approved through our agency, and spoken with the adoption social worker who will be working with us throughout the process. We now are beginning our home study and the adoption certification process. Knowing that God already has a child in mind for us is so comforting. We don’t know if they will be a boy or a girl, a set of siblings, young, or old, we just know that they belong in our family, and we need help to bring them home. We have created a blog to help us document our journey so feel free to follow us along the way at: www.expectingheartsopenarms.blogspot.com
We believe deeply in this calling, and we ask boldly for your prayers and financial support. Thank you again for considering joining us in this journey! We will be blessed to count you as a part of it in any way!
With love,
Nick and Jennifer Sanjines
7513 Kerri Way
Knoxville, TN 37909
“For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will” Ephesians 1:4-5
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