Addition to the Fam!

To our dearest prayer warriors,

Hello from gorgeous North Carolina!! We hope that this letter finds you all doing well! Please know that if you are in need of a little vacation get away, our door is ALWAYS open! As the summer season simmers to its’ end, the leaves will soon change into the boldest and brightest shades of fall that you could ever imagined! It is a sight that you don’t want to miss!! Come and see us and our beautiful city! We would love to see you and spend some quality time with you!

As we are enjoying the beauty of the upcoming fall season, there is another life change that is so greatly anticipated that it makes each day seem as though it is a lifetime of WAITING! Several months ago, God began speaking to us loudly about putting into action the commitment we had made a few years ago concerning the international adoption of a child. Although this is not the time that WE deem the most convenient or conducive for adoption, God continues to reassure us that HIS timing is PERFECT! So, we are trusting Him with all of our hearts and leaning not on our own understanding, but in everything we are seeking to acknowledge Him as He directs our path.

Over the course of the last few months, we have spent much time in prayer. A few of our major prayers have been:
· God direct us toward the adoption agency you would have us to use….His answer came to us through some wonderful friends, Trevor & Keva, who recently adopted a baby through the Gladney Center for Adoption. After having dinner with Trevor & Keva and then researching Gladney on our own, God confirmed that Gladney is the organization for us! They are super personable, helpful, and family friendly! www.adoptionsbygladney.com
· God show us the country from which we should adopt….this matter took us several months of seeking God’s face and heart before we confidently knew His will. During this time, He spoke to us through numerous circumstances, people, dreams, and His word to show us that we are to adopt a little boy from Ethiopia!! http://www.adoptionsbygladney.com/html/ethiopia/index.php The baby should be between 6-12 months old when we travel to Ethiopia to pick him up. We are required to stay in Ethiopia for 10 days during this time! WOW!! We are so excited!
· God please show us how to pay for this adoption.....I mean, we couldn’t help but ask ‘Why now?’ In our finite understanding, taking on such a financial task as adoption while we are still in school, makes no sense financially. However, God has reminded us that He is our Jehovah-Jireh and He has already started answering this request as well. His answer has come through a variety of means. God has provided Dustin a part time job at Thales Academy (where April teaches school) facilitating the after-school program. He has also brought a few private tutoring opportunities into April’s path. So, both of us now have 2 jobs and are doing our very best to pocket every penny possible for this adoption! Through research, we have found there are many adoption grants, scholarships, and no interest loans. However, we cannot apply for these things until we have completed the Home Study (lots of paper work regarding our family and its’ inner workings as well as interaction with a social worker who will grant approval for us to proceed with the adoption) portion of the adoption. We are grateful that God has provided thus far and are even more excited to see how He decides to provide in the future!

Please know that we are so ecstatic that there will soon be a new member of our family! It makes our souls smile to think that this little one who will soon be born into a desperate and hopeless situation with no family will one day, not too long from now, be introduced to the most loving and caring family and friends in the world---YOU!!! Thanks for being such a support to us!

We want each of you to be a part of this journey with us so we will promise to keep you all updated. If you have any questions, concerns, thoughts, or anything in between, please feel free to call us anytime of night or day!
Home – 919-761-8563
April’s Cell – 919-215-2892
Dustin’s Cell – 919-215-2852

Love you lots,
Dustin, April, & Hollis