PA

We received PA- Pre Approval- from China yesterday! The boys are ours!  They are precious little boys and our family is so excited to hear the news from China.  We still are unclear on travel dates as we are anxiously and patiently waiting for many different people to look over our information.  However, we do know that Alec and Anderson are ours!!!!!!  Please continue to pray for our family.  We always can use support through these months of waiting to get our children.

How to Be A Part of our Ministry

There are many ways we are asking for support in this process.  They are:
1)  Pray for our family and the 147 million orphans in the world.
2) Buy necklaces and bracelets from John or Maryann for $24.  They make excellent gifts and support our ministry and ministries around the world.
3)  Buy coffee at www.justlovecoffee.com/pledger
4)  Donate to our ministry by clicking on the link on the right.  The link will connect you to Paypal and Lifesong.  This is a nonprofit organization that supports families like ours.

Thank you so much!  We are thankful for how God is using everyone for this calling in our life.

With Love,
Maryann and John

Lifesong and China

A little over three weeks ago, John and I wrote two letters to China.  We wrote these "care plan" letters on two specific boys.  We have been patiently waiting and praying that China sends us a PA-Pre Approval- which will put these boys on hold until we get formally approved with all our paperwork. As we round the corner on three weeks, please include us in your prayers as we are eager to hear from China.  We know we have to rely on the Lord and His beautiful timing.

In the meantime, we have been speaking to specialists and the local school to discuss plans for our boys once we get home.  We want to get the information now rather than spend our time on the phone when we get home. We are feeling very confident in the resources available to us in our city and with the community that is wrapping their arms around our family.  We have so many people showing grace to us and being supportive of our family. 

On another note, our family adoption ministry has received the status of a nonprofit through Lifesong.  What this means is that if you donate to our ministry you will get a letter to include in your taxes so it can be a "write off".  God calls some people to give and others to do.  We are doers at this point in our journey.  I ask you to pray and seek God's plan for your life.

Our Calling From God

“Train a Child up in the way he should go and when he is old he will not part from it.” Proverbs 22:6.  We are school teachers by profession.  John is a teacher at MBJH and coaches the 9^th grade football team.  I am an adjunct professor at Samford where I teach English to the International students.  We both felt called to be teachers/coaches, but had not realized that God had a bigger plan for the two of us and our family. 

My first year of teaching I taught and coached at Chelsea Middle school and it was at Chelsea that God began revealing His plan for us.  There are many group homes for children in Chelsea and therefore, I taught many of these children.  At this time John and I were engaged and we began inviting one of my students to spend holidays with our families and soon became a visiting resource to him.  Eventually, DHR sought us out to become foster parents and the young man came to live with us.  He was the beginning of our journey.

During that time, we married and had two beautiful healthy children who are now 5 and 3.  John changed schools many times in order to pursue his coaching career.  He was DC at Oak Mtn., Foley High, and Homewood High for the Varsity teams.  Into his second year at Homewood, the Head coach resigned and John was faced with finding another job.  We had just moved to Mountain brook from Chelsea at this time so he could be closer to his job.  And of all places, he was hired at Chelsea as the DC for the Varsity team.  We could not understand how this could happen and at this point we had just had our third child.  However, once again God had a greater plan.

During his year at Chelsea, we both felt a calling from God to adopt.  We were hesitant to adopt because of the expense and at the time I was a stay at home mom.  Therefore, we thought we would silence the calling by doing foster care again.  We then began the long journey of working to become licensed to foster care and more importantly we are licensed for therapeutic foster care.   At Chelsea, John taught Driver’s education and he soon realized he had many students who were living in group homes as well.  One of the teachers asked John if we would consider fostering one of the girls.  We discussed it and decided we would do it.  Today, I am proud to say that that young lady is our daughter and has recently graduated from Mountain brook high school.  John’s time at Chelsea was short-only one year-but we know God used John so that Lauren could experience the love of a family- specifically a mom and a dad, a brother, and sisters but more importantly learn about God’s love for her.  After a year at Chelsea, John got a job at MBJS.

Three months after Lauren moved in with us, the Director of the English Language program at Samford contacted me on facebook and asked if I was interested in teaching.  I had not turned in a resume or applied for any jobs.  Within a week, I was back at work part time working with the Chinese students.  I thought I would be teaching speaking and listening in the English language but soon realized my job entailed so much more.  My Chinese students are interested in knowing about God and they will use class time to ask me questions-this job has been very different than working in public schools.  One question I get asked frequently is “How do I know God exists?” The only answer I know to give to prove His existence is my family.  I tell students about what God is doing in our family and how he has guided us through our lives so that we would be equipped with the right tools to parent these children and then it is only through God giving me strength each day that I can keep up with my kiddos.  My students spend a lot of time with our family.  They come over on holidays, and eat dinner with us, and enjoy seeing the different attractions in Birmingham.  It didn’t take long for me to realize that we could not keep ignoring God’s purpose and calling in our lives.  We both knew we were supposed to adopt.  We knew we had to be faithful.  We just still needed a little more push because we were afraid of the expense.  One Sunday, Dr.Barnette was preaching about some people being called to give and other’s to do.  He said, if you are a doer then God will provide.  John and I looked at each other and we knew that message was for us. 

We knew for many years we were teachers, parents, and coaches.  However, we had no idea that God would call us to this ministry.  Ephesians 3:20 tells us, “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us.” We never imagined we would have so many children.  We never imagined the length we would travel to obtain our children.  But we are so glad that God planned this for our lives and prepared us as well as our children for this work.  Our children have been called to this ministry without a question in our mind.  Specifically, our son, Ayden.  Ayden shows God’s love to every child who enters our home.  He is a great example of love. 

Over the course of our six year marriage, we have had three biological children, fostered three children, took in at least three others for short periods of time, and now plan to adopt TWO boys from China.  We are excited to be called to this mission to share what a Christian family looks like and teach children from different socioeconomic and cultural environments who God is.  We are more than humanitarians because we share the gospel with these children during their time with us, and to other families through our work whether on Facebook, in the grocery store, or at work. We share God’s work in our lives and give hope to others.  We are committed and hope to build a Christian foundation in these children’s lives so that when they are older they will not part from it.