Matching Grant

We are so excited to announce that we have received a matching grant from a non-profit to help with our adoption costs! This is a huge blessing and we are humbled by God's grace and mercy.

There are over 147 million orphans worldwide,120,000 children currently in the U.S. foster care system, and about 800,000 orphans in DRC. The biggest challenge isn't opening our hearts and home to another child, but it is finding the finances to make this happen. The estimated total cost for the adoption is $35,000. That’s certainly money we don’t have, but we know God is faithful and is leading us to trust Him. By God’s grace we've been able to pay the initial $12,000. Honestly it’s a little difficult (because of our pride) to make our needs known to the body of Christ but realize it is biblical to do so. Your friendship is appreciated, and we would like you to pray and consider helping us in one or two ways with our adoption.

1. Please pray God would tenderly care for Abijah in DRC until we are able to bring him home; that God would prepare our kids at home for the upcoming changes to our family; and that God will give us wisdom, discernment, and insight as we raise Abijah.
2. Lifesong for Orphans has committed an Adoption Matching Grant of $2500 to help pay our adoption expenses. Will you please consider making a tax-deductible donation to help us meet this matching grant and cover the remaining $23,000 adoption expenses to bring Abijah home? Our matching-goal date is October 30th, but funds will be accepted towards our adoption until the child is in our home and/or our adoption is complete.

Please make checks payable to “Lifesong for Orphans. In the memo, note “Wolfe/#3912” to assure it goes to the correct account. Please mail to Lifesong for Orphans, PO Box 40, Gridley, IL 61744. Lifesong has been blessed with a partner that underwrites all U.S. administrative and fund-raising costs (TMG Foundation and other partners). That means 100% of your donation will go directly to the adoption.

Another option is to give online. Just click HERE. Complete the online form and fill in “Family Account Number” and “Family Name” Fields.

Thank you for investing in the Kingdom through prayer and finances—it will be an investment with an eternal return! We’ll give you an update with a pictures of Abijah and details as we receive them. Please pray this entire process will glorify God and fulfill His purposes.

In following IRS guidelines, your donation is to Lifesong for Orphans. This organization retains full discretion over its use, but intends to honor the donor’s suggested use. Individual donations of $250 or more and yearly donations totaling $250 or more will receive a tax-deductible receipt. Receipts for donations under $250 will gladly be sent upon request. Lifesong is a 501(c)3 tax exempt organization.

New Photos from DRC and Maine

We recently got some new photos of Abijah and also went on our first family camping adventure. Just before we left to go camping we stopped by our friend's home to care for their animals and garden while they were on vacation. K caught a frog, M enjoyed some zucchini and summer squash, and Abijah dug into his rice and beans. Enjoy.

Just chillin'

Mmmm Yum!

Gotta love the beans!

Nice frog K!

M loves her veggies!

Munchin' on a zucchini.

Playing in the tent.

Playing at the lake.

Lounging at camp.

I have a story to tell.

I have one story that I want to tell. I have been wanting to tell this for years but it is so painful that I cry each time I think about it still. It is about a little girl with creamy brown skin and two big beautiful brown eyes that keep you and hold you there...forever. It is about a girl with long skinny brown legs and arms that love to hug and be held. This was the first child that I deeply loved.
 When I lived in India, before I was married and before I had children, I met a child named Gudiya. I saw her everyday as I spent every day at her orphanage. I was working on a painting for the director of the orphanage who was in hiding due to serious threats made to him for helping the orphans. I ate with the kids, played, worshiped the one true God with them, cried with them, watched parents drop their children off and cried with the parents, prayed with them when there was no more water...oh the crying and the blessings I saw first-hand that summer. Gudiya was my first baby. She was probably about 3. She clung to me. To be honest, I clung to her too because I adored her and loved her. I had never loved a child like this before. We did not talk about when I was leaving India because it was too painful. But the day did come. It did, and my heart feels so heavy now, as I type this and remember what that day felt like. I dreaded saying goodbye to these children, and to my Gudiya. We talked about it the days leading up to it to prepare the children, and for my heart too, but it did not help. That last evening came, and it was time to say goodbye.

The driver was waiting at the gate. I said goodbye to everyone, but no Gudiya. I searched the orphanage for her. I started to feel hurt that she was not there to say good bye. I searched the childrens' room again and found six thin little brown bodies as close to each other as possible, lying on a mat on the floor sleeping. I knew the one in the middle was my little Gudiya. I talked to my Indian friend about waking her up so that I could say goodbye, and then I heard sobbing coming from below. I looked down at the little sleeping girls and every body was shaking from their cries. I started to cry and of course am right now as I type this and relive the pain I had when I realized they were only pretending to be asleep so that they wouldn't have to say goodbye. They didn't want to say goodbye again. They had learned how painful goodbyes were. This is to this day one of the most painful moments in my life. This is one of the moments I think of any time I feel discouragement in this adoption. These children need us and they need us to step up for them and love them. They have had to say good bye to their mommies and daddies, to their families. To their hopes and dreams. They need someone to look them in the eyes and tell them that they are important, that they are wanted, and that they were made by a creator who loved creating every part of them. They need someone to hold them and tell them that they have a God who will NEVER leave them.

This story is what drives me to make my children feel LOVED. They are so precious and I want them to feel that way. There are definitely hard moments being a mom. (a dad too of course) But the love for these kids and the precious moments more than out-weigh the hardships. I love M's sleepy eyes, big smile and messy hair when she wakes up in the morning. I love how her days are full of dancing, running and getting dirty from playing outside so much. And I love how much K loves stories about Jesus and reading and playing with his toy tractors. These kids love it when I look them in the eyes and tell them that I love them and that I think they are so special. When I kiss their faces and hug them I watch them smile, because they feel so wanted and loved. Every child in EVERY part of this world needs this.

Abijah Moses

We have a referral! We are proud to introduce you to Abijah Moses Wolfe! Many orphans are assigned a name at intake at the orphanage. We have decided to name him Abijah, meaning "my father is Yahweh" and Moses, meaning "drawn from the water".

We have been so grateful for your support and prayers. It's a new/old feeling to get a referral. It's our first adoption but we are having "proud parent" feelings that remind us of when K and M were born. We just can't stop looking at this picture (the only one we have right now, more to come in June hopefully). There are so many orphans in the world and they all need a forever family. These little ones (like Abijah) deserve people to step up for them. They deserve to be fed, bathed, clothed, and loved. They deserve family! Our heavenly Father has graciously placed this sweet little guy on our hearts and in our lives.

Now we begin a process of filing legal documents and waiting for approvals from the government. This process could take as long as 9-12 months since there is much to do and we are working on "Congo Time".

We will have to pay close to $10,000 in the next month or two for court/lawyer fees. Then we will have to cover all of our own travel when the time comes to go get our little cutie. This is where you come in. Please prayerfully consider helping us with these costs. If you would be interested in helping us bring Abijah home, we would be forever grateful. Any amount would help. There is a Paypal "donate" button to the right or you can send it via the mail to 464 East Waterman Rd., Auburn, ME 04210. Checks can be made payable to "Wolfe Adoption Fund".

Beyond the finances, we would ask everyone to pray for Abijah and for us throughout this adoption. Thank you!!

Multi-Generational Farming

I love reading about families who are farming. More than that though, I love hearing of children living on and working the farm with their family. Joel Salatin wrote a book that I have read several times over entitled
"Family Friendly Farming: A Multi-Generational Home-Based Business Testament". In it he sets forth an idea, not a model, for creating a farming business that has buy-in from every member of the family. He says we must romance our children into loving the farm and all its ups and downs, successes and failures.

Joel's grandsons Travis and Andrew have started farm enterprises this year on their family farm in Virginia, Polyface Farm. Travis is raising Ducks and Andrew is raising sheep. Travis is only 9 years old and has his first business. What better way to "romance" your kids into a life of farming than to give them ownership of an enterprise of their choosing? Good luck Travis and Andrew!

Some Great Advice

Today I was reading over some posts on Facebook and came across a great link to a great blog. The post is titled "Supporting and Understanding the Adoptive Family" from the blog The Kitchen Is Not My Office.

I wanted to share it with you all because it is one of the most tactfully and graciously written responses to the way society responds to adoptive families.

"Often the questions adoptive families and their children are asked are based on misconceptions and lack of knowledge about international adoption. Though the way people respond to us as an adoptive family can be inflammatory, our response must go beyond the inflammation and be rooted in love, truth, justice and grace.

Many adoptive families give written advice and suggestions to friends and family prior to the new child's arrival to help ensure a smooth transition. I didn't do this because I felt like it would be too difficult to put my wishes and feelings into words without sounding too harsh or controlling and honestly I did not really even know what to say. However, after being home for almost a year and a half, it is clear that most people have great intentions but that they want and need suggestions for what they can do to help our adopted children integrate into our family and into the community. Here are a few thoughts about supporting an adoptive family. Most pertain to families who have adopted internationally and also to those who have adopted through the domestic route. It was compiled based on our experience and also on the the experiences of a few dozen other adoptive parents who contributed their ideas and suggestions." ~ Ashlee

We must do our best to respond with the same compassion we have for our children. Our children, who don't know everything, though sometimes they think they do, act from where they are at developmentally and how they perceive the world. We don't judge or condemn them for that, we respond graciously and teach them in love.

I was challenged by this blog post to have the same kind of attitude towards those who mean well but don't get it right when it comes to supporting and understanding us as an adoptive family. So please take the time to read the blog post I linked to above. Thanks.

Pasture Raised Chicken

K loving on a chick

The Brooder

So we are disciples of Jesus first and foremost, but after that I would consider myself a disciple of Joel Salatin of Polyface Farm in VA, farmer and author; then Elliot Coleman of Maine, farmer and author. Both of these men have shaped my farming worldview and planning through their writing and speaking, as we embark on our family farming journey. We want to fill our bodies with wholesome, homegrown, un-processed foods as much as possible; and these guys know how to do it.

Back in the 80’s Joel started raising poultry on pasture in a way that both protected the “chickeness of the chicken” as Joel says, and his investment in the birds, by using a moveable, floorless, pen. Joel raises beef also, which we do not have. So in his model, the chickens follow after the cows, pecking and scratching up the cow manure allowing it to be incorporated faster into the pasture and eating the bugs too. He uses a 10’x12’x2’ pen for 75-100 chickens.

We ordered 50 2-day-old chicks from Freedom Ranger Hatchery in PA and couldn't be happier! Sometimes chicks will die during shipping so FRH sends 1-2% extra to compensate. We had no losses, so the 52 chicks we received are still with us. I made 1 chicken tractor, 8’x12’x2’, to house our 52 chickens for the remainder of their pasture lives. The lids that go on top are in the background (chicken fence covered) and foreground (metal roofing covered). My dad asked if we were concerned about predators getting in the lids since they are not fastened to the pen, just laid on top. Raccoons are about the only chicken predator smart enough to figure out that all they would have to do is lift the lid. But they are not an issue after the chickens are older (2-3 weeks from now), if a raccoon comes by in the next 2-3 weeks, the young chickens will all rush under the metal end you see on the right side. This will cause the raccoon or other predator to try and dig under the metal end. Because we move the pen every day to fresh grass, the predators never get a chance to dig long enough to make it under. The real issue is when the birds sleep up against the wire chicken fencing. When they are young they sleep in clusters and the birds on the outside of the cluster often are right up against the fencing. This makes for "easy pickin's" for opossums, foxes and owls. They will reach in through the wire fence and wound the birds, sometimes ripping off a wing or a leg.

We have our tractor set up between the house and the raspberries and will be moved daily

The Chicken Tractor with lids off

(one tractor length at a time) along the side of the house toward the barn, and then back in a parallel, adjacent path... hence the name, chicken "tractor". The birds eat the grass and bugs and fertilize as they go and grow. We are and have been feeding them non-medicated feed (weeks 0-3: starter feed, 4-7: grower, 8-12: finisher). Each type of feed is balanced for each stage of the chickens life.

If all goes as planned we will have our first batch ready for processing at the end of July, before it gets really hot and humid here in Central Maine.
These 52 chickens are 21 days old and growing like gangbusters! We put them out two days ago. This morning they were happy and chirping, eating and drinking. Haven't lost one yet!

M loving life and K helping me put the chicks in the tractor

K was proud to be allowed in the tractor with me

K petting the chicks

He loves taking care of these chickens!!!

Why "A Royal Lineage"

I have received a fair number of inquiries regarding the name of our blog. So here is my response.

There is an adoption theme throughout the whole Bible, Old Testament and New Testament. In the OT, Abraham is promised to be a great nation and it is his offspring that will become that great nation, Israel. They are referred to as the Children of God. Everyone who was not born into the Jewish faith was a called a gentile. To convert to Judaism, one had to be circumcised and was at that point no longer called a gentile.

Throughout the OT we also see prophecies and promises from God that HE will send a perfect King to rule over Israel and restore her to a place of perfect relationship with God. This King will be the Messiah.

Along comes Jesus, in the NT. He is perfectly sinless and is sacrificed as atonement for the sins of the world, thus making a way for gentiles to receive repentance and forgiveness for their sins. I grew up hearing this concept referred to as "being grafted in" as in vineyards or orchards, becoming part of the body of a different plant. The reality is that this is more of an OT concept that is continued in the NT through Jesus' ministry and sacrifice. But it was not until recently that I began to see this concept as adoption in its purest form.

Jesus is our King. When we accept Him as our King, we become part of the Royal Family. We become joint heirs in the Kingdom of God. So, in actuality we are adopted into the family of God. Our lives are changed for greatness, not our own greatness or because of who we are, but because of HIM and who HE is. We now have an inheritance that is everlasting and can know the Love of our Abba Father and our Creator.

Adoption has been perfectly modeled for us by our Heavenly Father and therefore we are compelled to model it in our earthly lives. Galatians 3:29

Our Home Study Experience

The home study is one step of many in the adoption process. It feels more like a necessary evil than a joy, but is necessary nonetheless. The process goes something like this. If you are adopting internationally you will have two agencies to work with, one in your state and one that works in the country you are adopting from. The agency in your state is called the "supervising agency" and  determines your eligibility to adopt. They are the gatekeepers so to speak. They also handle your post-adoption studies if you are required to have them.

The home study (HS) is a narrative written about you, telling about who you are, where you come from, where you work, how much money you make, why you want to adopt, your preparedness for adoption, etc. It feels like a total invasion of privacy but is no more invasive than applying for a mortgage. The HS is completed by a Social Worker by means of interviews and home visits. Then is translated into the lingua franca of the country you are adopting from. It must meet your states requirements as well as the requirements of the country you are adopting from. This is no easy task, especially for the SW.

Our first meetings with our SW were rough. She didn't know us and we didn't know her. We really resented her questions at first but after some time we began to realize that she was really the best for the job. She got us thinking in ways we had not before, encouraged us and challenged us where appropriate, and by the end of the whole process, we really came to appreciate her. God was in it from the beginning, calling us to do this, even the hard parts, and without Him we would have given up after the first meeting.

Several close friends who have adopted and also had served in the military likened the home study process to Basic Training. BT is not so much about where your physical breaking point is but more so about where your mental breaking point is. Do you have the mental stamina and resolve to keep on keeping on? These words rang so true for us in our HS process, as did the promises of our Savior, to never leave us nor forsake us, that He will never give us more than He has equipped us to handle, and that we can do all things through Him who strengthens us.

We are happy to be finished with our home study in only 5 meetings, and now just waiting for the home study to be written up, reviewed, and then certified, so it can be translated. What a relief to have that behind us. Now we can focus on our I600A and gathering all the documents we will need for our dossier. Once our I600A is approved and we get FBI fingerprinted, we can accept a referral!

You may ask... Is it worth it? Worth the money? The time? The stress? The social workers? The disruption? The scrutiny? I would ask you... What is the value you place on a life? A life that could be changed forever by love, family, hugs and kisses?

Jesus said, 'Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn't he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ Luke chapter 15 is one of my all-time favorites. In it we see a triptych of parables reminding us how far our Heavenly Father is willing to go to have us be in His loving care, abiding in Him. If He did that for me, the least I can do is follow His example. Our son or daughter is worth it!

800,000 Minus 1

Why adopt from the Democratic Republic of Congo?

When David and I were trying to decide which country to adopt from we began researching. We considered several regions of the world but continuously circled back to Africa. At one point we had even narrowed it down to a different African country. However, as we researched the DRC more and learned about the decades of conflict and the immense need there, the more we felt we needed to adopt from there.

To be honest, before researching this country, I had no idea of the atrocities and horror that has been taking place there for so many years. As I read about stories of children's mothers hiding them in the woods at night so that they wouldn't be found when rebels and other intruders came, and story after story of rape and torture, I couldn't help but cry for all of this suffering. As a mother, every time I read a story about a child who lost his/her family to war or sickness, or who had been forced to join the rebel army and kill their own family, I think of these stories being the stories of my little girl or my little boy, and again, I just want to weep. I wish we could fix this. I wish we could help these people and take away all of their pain, trauma and loss. But I can't. We can't. Not in its entirety at least. One thing we can do is help the children that have suffered and now do not have a mommy or daddy to hold or protect them.

An image that I think about often is a picture of a mother nursing her twin babies. Her breasts have no milk due to malnutrition and perhaps other illnesses. I cannot imagine not being able to provide for my babies like this. It makes me feel sick to think about it. I am sorry if any of you feel offended or that this picture is inappropriate. I feel it is time we are honest with ourselves about what is truly happening in our world. The media that so many rely on for world news is not reporting these things. Please read about the Congo and the stories of the Congolese and spread the word.  Pray about how you can help, and please consider helping us to help an orphan have a forever family.

Some DRC facts:

 In 2012, UNICEF estimated that 15% of the population in the Democratic Republic of Congo were orphans. That's 800,000 orphans! The decades of conflict in this country have left more than five million people dead, over a million displaced, and many more living in fear for their lives. This has been the deadliest war since World War II.  More than 90% have not been killed in combat, but have died and are dying from diseases that are both preventable and treatable (malaria, diarrhea, pneumonia and malnutrition) aggravated by displaced populations living in unsanitary and over-crowded conditions that lack access to shelter, water, food and medicine. Forty seven percent of these deaths have been children under five!

Learn more about the DRC.
Learn more about orphans in the DRC.

... and so it begins.

Our paperwork for our supervising agency here in Maine is complete and has been sent to our agency. Now starts the wait. Not the really hard one but one of the many little passing waiting periods that only give us a glimpse into the myriad of emotions we will feel when we begin the big wait for a referral. We signed many documents releasing information to our agency so they can better determine our eligibility to be adoptive parents. Now our agency will send out these documents and wait for the respective departments, agencies and offices to respond. Once all those responses come back, and if we are then found fit to adopt, we will be assigned a social worker and schedule a Homestudy.
Though we are not yet officially waiting for a referral, this wait is part of the whole adoption process and therefore is, for all intents and purposes, the wait for our children we have not met, who have been separated from us, and we are leveraging our lives and every penny we can scrape to rescue and to reunite them with us.
This is the first time in this journey that God has stirred in me a pining to get my children safely home. It is quite a strange thing to feel a longing for children I do not even know yet. All I can think about when I reflect on it is this... "My children are out there somewhere in an orphanage and are not receiving the love, comfort, care and attention that I can give them as their father." Maybe they are not even in the orphanage yet, maybe they are crying themselves to sleep out of pain from malaria in some slum after a long day with no food and a host of mistreatment.