Won't You Be a Part of Our Journey?

We want to invite you to be a part of our journey. To help bring Zack home. To be like Jesus to the least of these. There are many ways you can be a part of this journey, including prayers, supporting our fundraising efforts, sharing our story, and financial contribution. '

It’s no secret that international adoption is very expensive. It is not “buying a child” and I don’t believe others are actually profiting from the fees. The fees go toward paying those people who are working hard to manage the paperwork, navigate the system, making sure that the children being adopted are legally up for adoption and that the families and children are safe while traveling. The fees also include travel expenses covering a two-week stay in China with a 24-7 in-country guide/interpreter to ensure the safety and well-being of the families and children. The total cost is estimated to be somewhere between $30,000 and $40,000, probably on the lower end because Zack is a “special focus” child and the adoption can happen pretty quickly. Depending on how fast we gather our documents, complete the paperwork, and of course make the payments that are due at various phases of the process, we could possibly bring him home in 2015. With that said, it’s going to take a miracle to raise this much money in such a short period of time. Mountains will need to be moved! We have made adjustments to our household budget and plan on saving every extra dime to put toward this adoption and we will be applying for grants, but the reality is that we will have to raise most of the money through fundraising. We need your help! And we need your prayers! There is no doubt in our minds that we will raise this money. We believe that when God calls you to live out his purpose, he makes miracles happen. We have witnessed these miracles time and time again in our lives. We’ve already experienced our first financial miracle on this journey. The first, we know, of many to come. You need at least $5000 just to begin the process, which of course we didn’t have just lying around. However, after meeting with our CPA a couple of weeks ago, we got some very good news—we owed significantly less for our January quarterly estimated tax payment than we had saved for. So, we had enough money to begin the process. Praise the Lord! We've officially applied, reviewed Zack's file with a medical professional, and we are accepting the referral. Next step is to begin the home study. We'll keep you posted as we progress along.

If you would like to help and be a part of this journey and a part of Zack’s story, there are several ways you can do this.

1.) Prayers. Lots and lots of prayers!

2.) We are kicking off our first fundraiser-a puzzle piece fundraiser. It is the largest fundraiser we will be doing and will be ongoing until we travel to China to bring Zack home. Read about it below.

3.) We will also be selling various handmade items as ongoing fundraisers. Consider purchasing one of the items and/or spreading the word to help us sell the items. Details to come very soon!

4.) We will be holding at least one garage sale to raise money for the adoption. The date is to be determined. If you are cleaning out your closets and getting rid of anything, especially larger items (furniture, electronics, exercise equipment, etc.) please consider donating the items to our garage sale. If you don’t live near us, consider holding your own garage sale or list the items on craigslist or eBay to raise funds for our adoption. Email me if you have something to you’d like to donate.

5.) We will likely be holding other events to raise funds throughout the year and will inform you of these events as they are being planned. You can support the events by sharing the information with others or by helping with the event in some way.

6.) Consider hosting a fundraising event at your church, work, or in your community to help us raise money or if you have a talent, such as photography, baking, or crafting, consider selling your goods or services to donate a portion toward our adoption.

7.) And last but not least, share our story with everyone you know! You never know who might feel compelled to help us provide Zack with a family.


Puzzle Piece Fundraiser
The first and largest fundraiser we want to share with you is our Puzzle Piece fundraiser. Every person who donates to our adoption becomes a part of our story; a piece of our puzzle. Here’s how it works:

We have purchased a 1000-piece puzzle (We were looking for a 500 piece puzzle, but the one I loved had 1000 pieces) Here it is below. Isn’t it beautiful?

Each piece costs $10. You can purchase one piece or multiple pieces. Maybe your small group, book club, co-workers, etc. want to chip in a dollar or two and purchase a puzzle piece together. Or maybe each one of you wants to buy a puzzle piece on your own. For every piece purchased, we will write your name on the back. The goal is to get all 1000 pieces purchased so the puzzle will be complete and we'll be $10,000 closer to raising the money we need to complete our adoption.

This isn’t going to be easy! 1000 pieces is A LOT of pieces. We won't get all 1000 pieces purchased unless the word gets out! So please help us by sharing this with friends and family. Share via email or Facebook or any other social media outlet.

When the puzzle is all put together, we will frame it in a double-sided glass frame and hang it in “The Mayor’s” bedroom. And one day, we will take it off the wall and read to him all the names on the back and tell him how God’s love was shown through all of YOU who gave so generously to help bring him home to live with his forever family!
We’ll post pictures as the puzzle comes together so you can see how this beautiful story unfolds.

To purchase a puzzle piece and become a piece of our puzzle, you can email me at tararoof@gmail.com. Let me know how many pieces you would like to sponsor and the names for each. You can then mail us a check or donate using the PayPal button on the right hand side of this blog. Please note that there is a 2.9% + $.30 service fee that is taken out of each donation when you donate through PayPal.

Also, very soon, we will have an option to make your payment through America World’s Eternal Family program so that your donation can be tax deductible.

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3:5-6