Ellis Adoption Fundraiser
Donation protected
Dear friends and family,
Hello!! Thank you for visiting our site and showing an interest in what has moved our hearts.
Over the past year, in the quiet of our home, we have begun a new journey. We have opened the way to adoption and the reality of welcoming another child into our lives. As we have studied, talked, and prayed, we have become convinced that we are to expand once again by becoming a "forever family" to a child across the ocean.
Because we have personally experienced God's extravagant love and believe He desires for every life to be cherished, we are committing our "yes" to the command to care for the orphan.We know that we are a part of God's family and that this belonging came to us by no merit of our own. We were "grafted in" by the grace and mercy of God the Father.
We believe this love is the model for adoption. Out of great love and at great cost, He adopted us as sons and daughters. And so we have asked ourselves, will we now graft in a child who is not our own? Will we receive the gift of extravagant love and then reply in thanksgiving by opening our arms wider still?
In March of this year we said "yes" - not knowing the future time-frame, journey, or outcome. That month we were quickly connected with a little girl in China. After studying her file and meeting with friends and medical professionals, we decided to work to bring "Molly" home. Within weeks, our hearts moved from a possibility to a real child with a face and name. We imagined her here with us and spoke of her while looking at pictures and videos. Her birthday is in late November and we hoped to bring her home by her 2nd birthday. Weeks later, we discovered we were expecting another baby of our own, due also in late November.
After agonizing, we trusted our agency’s direction and experience to guide us. We painfully decided to let Molly's file go, allowing another family to potentially find and adopt her. We think of her daily. She gave the multitudes a face and a name. (There are currently 147 million orphans in the world.) As we imagine her days passing by in a large welfare agency, our sense of urgency to care for "just the one" has increased tenfold. We cannot offer a home to every child but for the one, it matters!
Our newest baby will arrive in just weeks as Molly turns two years old somewhere in China. God used her to prepare our hearts, showing us how real the worldwide orphan crises is, as well as how excruciating the journey to a child can be. We have gained what, we believe, was the necessary time to study, become educated on adoption realities (pre and post), pray more specifically, and prepare ourselves and our children for what will come. A real part of us still aches specifically for Molly but we trust how this story is unfolding. We trust that God loves her more than we ever hoped to.
As the holidays and the birth of our fifth child quickly approach, we are working diligently with Lifeline Children’s Services based in Birmingham Alabama. We have nearly completed our home study and will begin the daunting task of piecing together our international adoption dossier (doss-ee-ay). Our hope is to be logged in (LID) with the China Center for Children’s Welfare and Adoption (CCCWA) as soon as possible, matched with a child by late spring, and preparing for travel at summer’s end. We have also learned to be open and amenable to any variation of our own plan!
The cost of this entire process will total nearly $30,000 and, at this time, we have funded a third of that cost on our own. Our goal now, is to raise the remaining funds. These funds will cover the nearly-endless requirements including: agency fees, remaining homestudy costs, medical appointments, international paperwork costs, in-state travel, pre-adoption education/training, post adoption follow-up, and finally our travel to China.
We have been very impressed by Lifeline’s transparency, professionalism, guidance, and leadership thus far. We encourage you to look into their organization as well as China’s record as a Hague Accredited adoption country.
Friends, our arms are full. Our timing is odd. Still, we believe all is as it should be. And so, it is by faith that we will continue to move forward. This process is lengthy and includes many unknowns. We would treasure your partnership, in any way, as we prepare, fundraise, and (literally) make room.
Would you join us? We are so excited about this next step and would love for you to be a part of it with us!
We have chosen a special picture of a child and created a large 200 piece puzzle with her image.
Would you sponsor one puzzle piece?
For any amount you are moved to give, we will place your name on the back of a puzzle piece. As the pieces are sponsored, we will piece the image together. When it is complete- and when our new child comes home- we will hang the image in her room as a reminder of this journey, of God's faithfulness, and of YOU, the lavish community who helped to bring her home. Your name will literally be written on our walls for years to come.
We have met many adoptive families who have shared miraculous fundraising stories. We have heard wild stories of provision and we are praying for the same. We so believe in your generosity and we believe even more in God's desire, as a Father, for every child to know the love and dignity of a family.
We believe He spares no expense.
Thank you for your time. Thank you for your unique and irreplaceable friendship over the months and years. Thank you for partnering with us to change the life of just one child- forever.
Please feel free to contact us with any questions. We will do our very best to answer or direct you to the appropriate venues. We desire to be as transparent as possible while advocating for both the orphan and the family. Please feel free to share our story and link with anyone who may deisre to join us.
Grace and peace to each of you in abundance!
Please remember our family in your prayers.
With gratitude and a hope that won’t fail,
Todd and Abby Ellis
Hello!! Thank you for visiting our site and showing an interest in what has moved our hearts.
Over the past year, in the quiet of our home, we have begun a new journey. We have opened the way to adoption and the reality of welcoming another child into our lives. As we have studied, talked, and prayed, we have become convinced that we are to expand once again by becoming a "forever family" to a child across the ocean.
Because we have personally experienced God's extravagant love and believe He desires for every life to be cherished, we are committing our "yes" to the command to care for the orphan.We know that we are a part of God's family and that this belonging came to us by no merit of our own. We were "grafted in" by the grace and mercy of God the Father.
We believe this love is the model for adoption. Out of great love and at great cost, He adopted us as sons and daughters. And so we have asked ourselves, will we now graft in a child who is not our own? Will we receive the gift of extravagant love and then reply in thanksgiving by opening our arms wider still?
In March of this year we said "yes" - not knowing the future time-frame, journey, or outcome. That month we were quickly connected with a little girl in China. After studying her file and meeting with friends and medical professionals, we decided to work to bring "Molly" home. Within weeks, our hearts moved from a possibility to a real child with a face and name. We imagined her here with us and spoke of her while looking at pictures and videos. Her birthday is in late November and we hoped to bring her home by her 2nd birthday. Weeks later, we discovered we were expecting another baby of our own, due also in late November.
After agonizing, we trusted our agency’s direction and experience to guide us. We painfully decided to let Molly's file go, allowing another family to potentially find and adopt her. We think of her daily. She gave the multitudes a face and a name. (There are currently 147 million orphans in the world.) As we imagine her days passing by in a large welfare agency, our sense of urgency to care for "just the one" has increased tenfold. We cannot offer a home to every child but for the one, it matters!
Our newest baby will arrive in just weeks as Molly turns two years old somewhere in China. God used her to prepare our hearts, showing us how real the worldwide orphan crises is, as well as how excruciating the journey to a child can be. We have gained what, we believe, was the necessary time to study, become educated on adoption realities (pre and post), pray more specifically, and prepare ourselves and our children for what will come. A real part of us still aches specifically for Molly but we trust how this story is unfolding. We trust that God loves her more than we ever hoped to.
As the holidays and the birth of our fifth child quickly approach, we are working diligently with Lifeline Children’s Services based in Birmingham Alabama. We have nearly completed our home study and will begin the daunting task of piecing together our international adoption dossier (doss-ee-ay). Our hope is to be logged in (LID) with the China Center for Children’s Welfare and Adoption (CCCWA) as soon as possible, matched with a child by late spring, and preparing for travel at summer’s end. We have also learned to be open and amenable to any variation of our own plan!
The cost of this entire process will total nearly $30,000 and, at this time, we have funded a third of that cost on our own. Our goal now, is to raise the remaining funds. These funds will cover the nearly-endless requirements including: agency fees, remaining homestudy costs, medical appointments, international paperwork costs, in-state travel, pre-adoption education/training, post adoption follow-up, and finally our travel to China.
We have been very impressed by Lifeline’s transparency, professionalism, guidance, and leadership thus far. We encourage you to look into their organization as well as China’s record as a Hague Accredited adoption country.
Friends, our arms are full. Our timing is odd. Still, we believe all is as it should be. And so, it is by faith that we will continue to move forward. This process is lengthy and includes many unknowns. We would treasure your partnership, in any way, as we prepare, fundraise, and (literally) make room.
Would you join us? We are so excited about this next step and would love for you to be a part of it with us!
We have chosen a special picture of a child and created a large 200 piece puzzle with her image.
Would you sponsor one puzzle piece?
For any amount you are moved to give, we will place your name on the back of a puzzle piece. As the pieces are sponsored, we will piece the image together. When it is complete- and when our new child comes home- we will hang the image in her room as a reminder of this journey, of God's faithfulness, and of YOU, the lavish community who helped to bring her home. Your name will literally be written on our walls for years to come.
We have met many adoptive families who have shared miraculous fundraising stories. We have heard wild stories of provision and we are praying for the same. We so believe in your generosity and we believe even more in God's desire, as a Father, for every child to know the love and dignity of a family.
We believe He spares no expense.
Thank you for your time. Thank you for your unique and irreplaceable friendship over the months and years. Thank you for partnering with us to change the life of just one child- forever.
Please feel free to contact us with any questions. We will do our very best to answer or direct you to the appropriate venues. We desire to be as transparent as possible while advocating for both the orphan and the family. Please feel free to share our story and link with anyone who may deisre to join us.
Grace and peace to each of you in abundance!
Please remember our family in your prayers.
With gratitude and a hope that won’t fail,
Todd and Abby Ellis
Organizer
Abby Ellis
Organizer
Williamsburg, VA
