Friday, April 17, 2015

All Wrapped Up

Yesterday during my nightly devotions with Chase, the lesson was about worry.  Why do we worry when God created us and cares for us and meets all our needs?  During the reading (while I was trying to keep Chase from turning the pages), it gave a little trick about what to do when you are worried.

The trick was to imagine what you are worried about, placing it inside a box.  put a bow on it and send it up to God, releasing that worry from your mind and trusting God to deal with it.  I don't know if Chase was listening, but I sure was.  I don't worry often, but there are things that do weigh on my mind.  Most of the time these things seems to weigh on my mind for a while.  I do the right thing and say things like "God's got this" and move on.

Lately, however the final cost for our adoption has been weighing on my mind.  I know I can trust God to provide all that we need, but we need approximately $18,000 before we travel to China. Yesterday we got word from our agency that we are out of review and are not awaiting LOA.  This is a big step towards being able to travel.  It has brought the worry about finances to the forefront as it makes you realize just how little time we have until we may be heading to China.

So this morning, during my personal prayer time.  I took my worry about our adoption finances, imagined putting them in a box, putting a bow on it, and sending it up to God.  I was released of this worry and it was in Gods hands now.
You would think at this point I would have predicted the outcome, as God has been nothing but faithful through every step of our adoption.  But when Amanda called me this afternoon, I was speechless.  

"Did you know we were getting a grant from Families Outreach?" 

I am big enough to realize when God is moving.  He took a devotion with my 3 year old to remind me that He has got this, and that I don't need to worry.  Seriously, how many times do I need to learn this lesson?

While the check for $3,000 isn't enough to cover the balance of our fees, it is enough to remind me that He is ALWAYS faithful, even when I am not.  I love the little winks that the Lord gives us along the way reminding us of His faithfulness. 

Tuesday, April 7, 2015

Puzzle Fundraiser

It is time to launch our puzzle fundraiser.  Instructions for giving are at the bottom of this message. There are many different parts to this puzzle, in total we are hoping to raise $6000.  We are selling the puzzle in pieces and each piece that is purchased will get your name written across the back of the puzzle pieces so our kids can see who helped bring them home.  There are pieces available in everyone's budget so everyone can be involved.

Dragon
The focal point of this puzzle is the Dragon.  The Dragon is a great symbol of Chinese culture and I will go more into that in an upcoming blog.  Because of the amount of space in this puzzle devoted to the dragon we decided to break him up unto 3 sections.  The head, body and tail can all be purchased separately.  I understand some of these pieces are more expensive, but I also know that I have friends that can easily give these amounts and are hoping they step forward in support, or team up with each other to purchase these pieces together.

Dragon Support
The Dragon in the puzzle is just a puppet however, during a Chinese parade the dragon is actually controlled by a number of support characters.  There are 6 support characters represented in this puzzle.  Maybe you can't afford the dragon, but you can be support.  Much like adoption we need a number of support characters to carry the load.

Small Dragons
Maybe you want a dragon all too yourself.  Well you have that option as well.  There are three small dragons following the large dragon.  If you like the symbolism of the dragon maybe you should consider stepping up to one of these small dragons.  They come in three different colors so you can choose one of your favorite colors.  The small dragons are a great way to support adoption in a big way!

Stiltmen
Also following the dragon are the stiltmen.  These 3 characters are up on stilts for a good reason, with the small dragons up front, you wouldn't be able to see them very well if they were on the ground. You can choose to support us by having a stiltman of your own. To me the stiltmen represent people that are willing to watch over our adoption and pray for us through the process.  They keep an eye from a distance and make sure we are staying on the right path.

Palaces
Who wouldn't love to own a palace of their own?  These two palaces are representative of architecture in ancient China. We saw many buildings like this while in China and I was delighted to see these two buildings on the puzzle.  Depending on the style of palace you want you could be the first on your block to own your very own Chinese palace.

Filler Pieces
The filler pieces make up the bulk of the puzzle.  Much like adoption there are many big fees that people associate, but the ones that people don't realize are a large number of small fees along the way.  These can include things like visa applications, postage fees for paperwork, etc.  These nickel and dime fees really add up in the overall cost.  he filler pieces to me represent these costs.  They are the small pieces that hold the bulk of the puzzle together, the puzzle could not be complete without them.

How to Donate
To donate, go to the link at the bottom of this post to go to Village to Village's website.  There you will be able to enter the amount of the donation you wish to give.  100% of the donation will go to our adoption as Village to Village does not take anything for administration fees.  The donations are also tax deductible.   After donating you will get a receipt in the email.  Forward that e-mail to me at matthewvmeer@gmail.com with the piece that you purchased and I will add your name to the puzzle.

Thanks so much for your participation in our adoption.  We are so grateful to have friends that support us so generously.

Purchase your pieces here




Wednesday, April 1, 2015

Puzzle Fundraiser - An Introduction

April is here and with it comes our next fundraiser.  We have been working with Village to Village International and will soon be approved as one of the adoptive families that they support, meaning donations given to our adoption will be tax deductible when donate through Village to Village.  I love Village to Village because their concept is simple, they have a goal of having 1,000 people donate $10 a month towards adoptive families costs.  When the reach that goal they will have $10,000 a month to support adoptive families.  How awesome would that be?  Its something I know they will reach after chatting with them a few times this week I can tell they are passionate about what they do.

Our next fundraiser is going to be a puzzle fundraiser w/ a little twist.  Our goal with this fundraiser is to raise $6000.  The cost of the orphanage donation for one of our kids.  The puzzle shown below is a $1000 piece puzzle, so it would make sense that each piece would be $6 right... not this time.  Keep reading for the details.
The problem historically with puzzle fundraisers is that people that are able to give more than $6 might buy 10 pieces which is great, but they could likely buy 20 or more pieces if they were invited too.  So to solve this we will be selling chunks of the puzzle that surround different sections.  So for example you will be able to buy the dragon boat in the upper left corner, one of the smaller dragons in the lower right corner, different parts of the large dragon, etc.  What is left of the "filler" pieces we will also be selling in the traditional style of a puzzle fundraiser where each piece has a set dollar value.

When a chunk or piece is sold your name will be written on the back, once the puzzle is completed we will frame or display it somehow so our kids will be able to see who helped bring them home.

I will be blogging occasionally introducing new pieces of the puzzle.  This puzzle is rich in symbolism and I will be sharing the symbolism of each of the different sections.  We would love to have this puzzle filled before the end of April so please consider supporting us with this fundraiser. Once we get the go ahead from Village to Village you will be able to donate directly to them online or you can send in a check.

As Always thank you for supporting our adoption.