Adoption of 2 Ukrainian Boys

          In the summer of 2016, our family went on a mission’s trip to Bridges of Faith – a ministry that hosts 10 Ukrainian orphans for a month in June, August and December. They get to experience a cultural exchange, hear the Gospel, and experience love from families and local churches. It was during our time serving these beautiful children that God struck our hearts with the reality that these children will face apart from adoption.           

           Ten percent of Ukrainian orphans who age out of the system will commit suicide within the first year of aging out. Over ten percent will end up in jail. Six out of ten girls will be forced into violent sex trafficking. After learning this statistics and seeing these incredible children who simply needed a family to belong – we knew we could no longer turn our eyes from the global issue of orphans.

            We met a sibling group of three, though we would learn they also have another brother back in Ukraine who was too young to travel. As a large family already, our hearts broke that this sibling group would probably not get adopted because of their size. We would also meet a teenager who acted as the mama to the group and knew we did not want to separate them. There was another young girl who kept coming up to our family and we knew she was supposed to be a part of our family.

            The reality of our adoption is that it will cost $55,000 to bring home six orphans. It is $30,000 for one child and by adopting more at the same time that makes the fee for each additional child $5,000. We will have enough to adopt one child by the time we fly to Ukraine this summer.

             We trust that God is going to provide exactly what we need for this adoption. We invite you to join with us to bring these children home. God commands His people to care for the orphans and widows as we see in James 1:27. God may not be calling all people to adopt, but we must all do something. Please help us bring home six Ukrainian orphans and make them sons and daughters – chosen, pursued, and beloved.

               You are welcome to follow our journey on our blog: www.branchesandarrows.com  We long to share the miracles God is doing in our journey and the wisdom He is providing along the way. We also share updates and struggles of this adoption journey. We welcome you to our journey.