Monday, August 6, 2012

INTRODUCING CHRISTIAN'S FOREVER FAMILY!!!!

Guess what?!?! I FOUND OUT ON FRIDAY THAT CHRISTIAN’S ADOPTION PASSED COURT IN GHANA !! AHHHHH!!!! WHOOOOO HOOOOO!! This means I can now finally introduce you to his forever family!!!!

When I first met Christian, the verse that God gave me to define his life in Ghana was this one ~ For my father and my mother have forsaken me, BUT the Lord will take me in. ~ Psalm 27:10. This family is how the Lord has taken him in. Surely Christian’s adoption is the evidence that the Lord was always right there, carrying him through his abandonment, and weaving together a perfect plan for his life. Christian’s forever family screams compassion and ACTION. Meet the Litzke’s, from Ohio….their family photo gives us all a glimpse of Jesus’ triumphant love for us….it’s a REDEEMING LOVE…

















Bet you didn’t expect that did you?! The Litzke's have 15 children, 13 of them adopted from many different countries – and now Christian will be coming soon and will make 16!!! And oh just wait, there is so much more to their amazing story! First, some words from Mandy Litzke regarding their adoption of Christian passing court:

A huge, huge heartfelt THANK YOU to ALL who have "joined the journey" with us! So many have prayed, supported in raising funds and encouraged us! God has used every single effort and response to bring glory to Himself-- exactly where ALL the glory belongs. We are merely the broken vessels that get to be a part of this ride in this life we've been given. I say it often, but we truly almost feel selfish in that it brings such joy--- such joy into our own lives. Humbly and forever HIS!

And now, so cool, I HAVE A VIDEO OF MANDY SPEAKING AT AN ORPHAN SUMMIT! Watching this video is the perfect way to introduce you to the Litzke’s! Once you watch this and hear the own personal story of redemption in Mandy’s life, you will see how God has used her life path to give her and her husband such determination to care for orphans. The kicker: Mandy herself was as an orphan in the foster care system as a small child. You MUST watch this video and hear how the Lord protected her, revealed Himself to her, and gave her not a heart of bitterness but a heart of compassion for the motherless and fatherless. This video is about 30 minutes long so you’ll want to carve out some special time to take it all in....


Mandy and her husband also began Safe Harbor Adoption Ministry to help advocate for orphaned children and to share God’s heart for the orphan, widow, and the oppressed. You can check it out here: http://safeharbororphancare.org

Now that they have passed court, the Litzke’s will wait for their court documents to come in and then they can file their I-600 form. At this stage of the process the next big chunk due is another $4000 to finish out the rest of their adoption fees. They continue to trust that the Lord will provide a way for them, as he has done in the 13 adoptions before this one, and as He did to get them through court!  If you feel led to contribute to the Litzke's adoption of Christian, his GRACE fund is still up and running – and it will be until the end of the process. You can make a tax-deductible donation online by clicking HERE. Once on the donation page you simply need to select “GRACE Fund” under the donation designation section and then write “Christian” in the blank spot below. You can also make a donation by phone by calling the AAI office and asking for Kathy and letting her know that the donation is for Christian: 360-452-4777. As always, you can also hand deliver or mail donations to Jake or I and we will get them to Christian’s fund.

One GIANT step closer to bringing you home buddy!!!!!!!!!!!!!



2 comments:

Renee said...

I will have to watch the video later. I have been wondering...how did the Litzke's find you (and Christian)? Or did you find them? Just curious!

Janel said...

I can't believe I forgot to include that detail in my post! Duh! :) We actually partnered with our adoption agency - Adoption Advocates International - for Christian's placement into a family. So they 'found' the Litzke's. At the same time AAI presented Christian's case to the Litzke's, God had already put it on Mandy's heart that they would be adopting again....so a pretty cool timing thing that gave them confirmation Christian was to be the one!