THE STEGER FAMILY NEEDS YOUR HELP

CURRENTLY WE ARE WAITING FOR CHINA TO RESUME ADOPTIONS

On March 6, 2005 Jason(my husband) took me to a Steven Curtis Chapman concert for our Anniversary. He had prayed for God to help him get these tickets and God miraculously provided the funds. Steven shared about his family’s adoption from China and also about Shaohannah’s Hope. I had never thought about adoption, but my heart began to stir with compassion for these orphan children in that moment. Jason and I checked a box to receive more information about adoption because I was curious.

On March 22, 2005 America World sent us adoption information with a video of the Chapman’s adoption story.

On December 31, 2005 I picked up the Shaohannah’s Hope brochure I had saved from the SCC Concert. There was a picture of the Chapman family in it and I was thinking that maybe I should get my hair cut and colored like his daughter Emily. When I began looking at it I began to feel something I can’t really explain, and I put the brochure down. I decided to watch the DVD again of the Chapman’s story to see if I could see Emily’s hair better. Little did I know, God was leading me to watch it for a much different reason. I had seen it 3 other times, but this time as I sat by myself I found myself filled with emotion in a way like never before. I cried throughout the whole video. I knew God was speaking to me without a doubt and that he was calling us to adopt a little girl from China. I began to picture myself and my new daughter, and the love I knew I would have for her. He spoke to my heart that day and told me He had already chosen a little girl to be a part of our family! This experience was like nothing I had ever had happen to me before. That very day I wrote a prayer in my journal and asked the Lord to protect her, and keep her healthy and safe until she could be in our family(at this time we had 1yr old and 3 yr old boys).

Everywhere I turned orphans, adoption, and Chinese girls were everywhere. Every time I heard something about them I was overcome with emotion and would cry. I was drawn to every little Chinese girl. I read every Shaohannah’s Hope newsletter. Over the years I had always told our boys that someday they would have sister. As time went on the Lord spoke to my heart again that we were to name her Eva (pronounced Ava) because Eva means “life” and she will bring life to all those around her.

On March 21, 2019, after waiting 14 long years of many prayers, and shedding many tears for when I would get to hold my daughter, the Lord told me there was a child waiting for me in east Asia and it was time to go get her! I was not to worry about how or when and that He would make it very clear to me and confirm it in many ways.

In the meantime, the Lord was encouraging me to take huge leaps of faith.

On May 20, 2019 as I was sharing my longings to the Lord in prayer for my daughter, he spoke back to my heart and said that she too is longing for her mother.

On May 24, 2019 Jason told me he wasn’t ready to begin this adoption journey with everything he has going on. Normally I would get frustrated but the Lord had given me such a peace about this that I looked at him and said, “I need you on this journey with me and if you’re not ready we’ll wait until you are”.

May 30, 2019 was the last day of school for our boys and I woke up feeling really down. Jason asked me what was wrong and I started to cry and said, “I’m feeling depressed because I have a daughter on the other side of the world and I can’t go get her and it’s making me feel sick.” He then said, “If I’m the one standing in the way of what God is doing I’m going to get out of the way.”

Jason went to work and I went to the America World blog to sign us up for emails. Before I could do that on the first page of the blog it said, Advocating for Ava. I started reading and watched the video they had about Ava.

I saw 3 things in this video- They call her Ava; she is on the waiting child list(which God had put on our hearts to adopt from through the years); and Ava said in her own words that she too longs to have a family of her own- which God told me 10 days earlier.

I called Jason right away and said, “I don’t know if this is our daughter but I need you to watch this video and call me back.” He called me back and he couldn’t talk. When he was able he said, “when I got in my car this morning, I prayed and told God that if this was his plan I need him to show me my daughter and make me fall in love with her.” Then he started sobbing, and I started sobbing, because if he was responding this way I knew God had just done something in his heart and that she was our daughter. 

Jason has been running faster than me after this girl now and we both can’t shake the feeling deep inside that she is our daughter and that she has been our daughter for the last almost 14 years. She was born the very month and year that the Lord solidified in my heart He was giving her to us and I prayed that prayer for her!

WE IMMEDIATELY WENT TO WORK AND FILLED OUT THE INITIAL APPLICATION AND PAID THE $300 FEE TO AMERICA WORLD TO PURSUE AFTER ADOPTING AVA.

WE HAVE NOW BEEN ACCEPTED INTO THE CHINA PROGRAM BY AMERICA WORLD AND HAVE SINCE FILLED OUT ALL THE PAPERWORK FOR THE FIRST PART OF THE PROCESS AND ALSO FOR THE HOME STUDY. NOW WE ARE AT A STAND STILL AND NEED HELP. WE HAVE TO SEND IN $2728 ALONG WITH THE PAPERWORK TO AMERICA WORLD AGENCY AND $3350 TO THE HOME STUDY AGENCY TO CONTINUE MOVING FORWARD. 

THIS IS A TOTAL OF $6078 WE NEED BY WEDNESDAY JULY 3, 2019.

THE TOTAL ESTIMATED COST FOR THE WHOLE ADOPTION IS $40,000.

FUNDS RAISED WILL COVER:

-AGENCY/HOME STUDY FEES

-DOSSIER SUBMISSION & REFERRAL FEES

-INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL EXPENSES & POST ADOPTION FEES

This is way out of our reach and too big for us. We are continuing to lay this in God’s hands and share our story. Would you please pray for us and for Ava, and if the Lord has moved in your heart, would you please consider helping us to continue to move forward in this pursuit and to bring Ava into our family. WE NEED TO CONTINUE TO MOVE QUICKLY AS SHE NEEDS TO BE ADOPTED BY CHRISTMAS OF THIS YEAR BEFORE SHE AGES OUT OF THE SYSTEM.

THANK YOU SO MUCH for taking time to read our story!

God Bless You!

Jason & Marsha Steger Family