Adoption Assistance for the Stuart Family

We are two faithful Christians (Catholic), mother and father of one adopted son. Almost two years ago, we got "on the list" to adopt baby number two. You cannot imagine our elation, nervousness, and emotion when we spoke with an expectant mother a few days ago about adopting her child. She only asked us for two things: to be there with her when the baby is born (her mother is deceased and most of her family is in another country) and to see her child when he or she gets older.  We're doing everything we can to honor these simple requests, but the expenses associated with this phase of the adoption are beginning to mount up.

This young mother is really remarkable. She fled from the extraordinary violence of a war-torn country some time ago. As a legal refugee in the process of becoming a permanent resident, she doesn't yet qualify for medical coverage. The hospital is working to get the costs of prenatal care as well as labor and delivery down and we are working to find a pro-life doctor who might work the case as a way of honoring the courageous choice this young woman made. But we’ve been told to expect the hospital bills to range from $6,000 to $16,000. We won't know the final cost until after the delivery.

We’ve already used as many airline points as we can scrounge to book flights, so those will probably be covered. We'll also need to pay around $4,000 to cover housing and a rental car for about a month, which is how long we anticipate it might take for her to deliver the baby and for us to wait upon the courts to tell us we can bring the baby home (this is an inter-state adoption). We have already placed the housing and transportation expenses on our credit card as we prepare for a March 20th departure...unless the baby comes early.

In the midst of all these rapid changes, we are overjoyed, nervous, and a little stressed (not only because of the financial strain…but also because of the financial strain). Sensing this, our friends stepped in and asked if they could set up a GoFundMe so that friends, family, and neighbors could share in our joy and show this baby from the beginning that he or she (we don’t know yet!) is part of a community that stands together. We would be most grateful for your prayers and really humbled by any contributions. The first things they’ll go to are the medical expenses for the baby and mother. Only if there’s anything left after that would we humbly accept help with our expenses.