Faith Of A Mustard Seed........

June 16th our family heads to EE to adopt Taylor!   

In this time trust and obey circle through my mind over and over as everything has been kicked up a couple knotches.  God is watching to see will we trust and obey and have the faith of a mustard seed.  As in our previous posts we thought our expenses needed were going to be $26,000.00.  Then we saw an increase in some expenses so it was bumped to $28,000.00.  Then once more our need was increased to $32,854.00.  WHY?  With un-forseen things out of our control we are traveling in the heart of the summer for travelers to EE and when the 2012 Euro-Cup event is taking place so the airline tickets have doubled in price.  What you would pay for a roundtrip is now a one-way.  With Joe's work he has to travel twice so we have to pay the heavty air fares for him twice.  So basically we have more travel with planes, trains and automobiles.  Sorry I could not resist I had to say that.  We are praying and not taking into consideration in the amount we need above the fact that we may get stuck in paying the large rates up to $800.00 for our apartment as we have been told may happen with the Euro event in certain parts we travel.  That is a whole nother story and praying the Lord will help us avoid this somehow, someway.  

We Have 2 Weeks To Raise The Funds To Bring Her Home!  

THE FANTASTIC NEWS:

With us now needing to raise $32,854.00 the amazing part is we have raised $5966.98 towards this amount to go adopt Taylor!  So we have $26,887.02 to go!  Joe, Kolya and I cannot thank you all enough for everyone's prayers, support and donations for us to bring her home.  COULD NOT DO THIS WITHOUT YOU!

If you would like to make a TAX-DEDUCTIBLE donation towards the adoption of Taylor please visit:

http://www.tenfororphans.org/?gallery=current-sponsored-orphan-taylor

Let The Countdown Begin! **UPDATE**

Precious Taylor!


PLEASE SEE BELOW FOR UPDATES!!!! 
WE HAVE A DATE! WE ARE FLYING FOLKS!!!

As of Friday (5/18) at 5:45PM our dossier update officially took off to Eastern Europe to meet up at with our already submitted dossier.  So by golly it is now an official countdown on when we can travel.  Although we sit here still fundraising for her adoption and yet being so close to leaving we still feel God telling us to push on and prepare basically the nest and our hearts to bring her home now and have everything ready to go.  Our dining table is full and ready for take off of everything we need.  As long as the Lord keeps opening the doors we will keep moving through them.  We are thankful they have been opened wide! 

We cling to these verses in our time of waiting to bring her home and also trusting in God that he can meet our financial needs.  We are still in need of raising $28,000.00 to bring her home.  If you would like to donate to her adoption fund for a Tax-Deductible donation please click on Project Hopeful Link, Reece's Rainbow Link or Eli Project on the right side of the main body of this blog.  Thank you for all your PRAYERS it is so appreciated and much welcomed!:  

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.  -Galatians 6:9 

Therefore, since God in his mercy has given us this new way, we never give up. - 2 Corinthians 4:1

"If ye shall ask any thing in My name, I will do it." - John 14:14

UPDATE 5/23/12: 
Our dossier just arrived into Eastern Europe for translation and will be submitted with our already turned in dossier.  We are told to expect to travel between June 7th thru June 11th for Taylor.  So folks here we go!  We have a long way to go in a short amount of time to raise the funds needed to get back to Taylor.  But once again I keep hearing the Lord say to me "prepare" and remember John 14:14 "If ya shall ask anything in My name, I will do it".  Joe, Kolya and I have been in prayer and are laying everything down at God's feet and surrendering to him, honestly we were too stubborn to do this before and leaned on our own understanding and funding with both Kolya and Sergiy. This time God is telling us.....not this time.  We are learning to trust that God will meet this need and we have let go.  As a dog trainer for so many years and Joe in the military we have learned to fight and never give up.  Do everything you can then let go...so were letting go and letting God we have no choice.  We believe this is right where God wants us.  A place we have not been before.
 
Our family would be so grateful for prayer in this time for Taylor and again her health with having HIV that she will remain strong and healed.  That she will not be re-located or moved until we can get there to her because of her HIV, she is of age to be moved (technically she should have been already).  For our family to continue to grow in our faith together in the Lord and for us to be molded and changed in this process into what the Lord is calling us to be and do.  For protection for Taylor is any discouragement she may feel at times not knowing she has a family on her way for her.  That the Lord gives Joe and I the wisdom and skill to be the parents she needs medically, emotionally and physically.  We feel very blessed God has chosen us for her.  Then lastly that the Lord provides the funding needed to bring her home ($28,000.00).   The Lord is in the miracle business and he is good at it.  We have faith in that!  

UPDATE 5/29/12: 
We are traveling!  

Our Appointment Date is 6/18/12! 
We leave 6/16/12 for Easter Europe.

Our remaining financial goal we need to meet is $25,000.00 to bring her home.
To make a TAX-DEDUCTIBLE donation you can go to the link below to take part in helping there to be one less orphan! Thank you to everyone that is helping by lifting Taylor and us up in prayer and donating to bring her home.  A special thanks to Ten For Orphans for sponsoring Taylor!
 http://www.tenfororphans.org/ 

I Got A Bug!

I got a bug....yes indeed I did.  Never did I think I would see the day.  I GOT THE GIRL BUG! I have ALWAYS been a boy kinda gal.  Even in all the years of working with youth if the girls weren't afraid to get dirty or they skateboarding in the skateboard ministry we started rock on but other then that it was it was like handing me a baby and walking away and I would say "Now what, High Five"?  Babies and girls are foreign to me.  Younger youth and teenagers I get but little ones I am good as lost.  

So daily I go into what is soon to be Taylors room and just stare at it.  It needed something.  I have the black rug and black curtains in there that was what was going to be part of Sergiys's decor.  It's one thing if we were bringing home a teenage girl but were bringing home a 7 year old.  Pink is the deal with our kiddo.  So I headed to Target and got her a pink rug and pink curtains to doll it up a bit and I even found a matching hot pink lamp!  I mean how can you go wrong?

Now it looks like a little girl room!!!!

Taylors Room!

So my Kolya turned 15 years old on the 15th!  I asked him what he wanted for his birthday and he said mum "I would like to adopt Tanya and go buy clothes for her".  So by golly we loaded in the car and back to Target and Kohls and hit up the clearance rack shopping with Grandma for Taylor and the kids in her boarding school.  I got heads up the kids love bubbles there so we loaded up on small bottles of bubbles and some outdoor toys for the kids to play with and lots of clothes for little ones.  So the table is piling up now with items to take back!  Grandma bought her a adorable little garden dress with ladybugs and flowers to wear to court should they not put her in a outfit.  Some schools do and some don't.  Rather go prepared then not. 

Kolya shopping for the little ones at Taylors school!

The dining room table filling up!

So I have officially been bitten by the girl bug.  Oh No!!!!

A BIG Thank you!

I want to send a BIG thank you to Don Sullivan and all the folks sending along words or encouragement and prayers and also a HUGE thank you from our family to yours to those helping donate so we can bring Taylor home!

Today I received an email with just short and sweet encouraging words from Don Sullivan.  He reminded me to hang in there and read verse Galatians 6:9.

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.  -Galatians 6:9 

This is now taped to her photo on our fridge!!!

Taylor Update!

A message from a friend in country adopting at Taylor's boarding school:  Saw your precious girl again today- jean capris and a bucket hat she was hanging it on her own today. Sometimes I think she is sad that there aren't any girls to play with.

This was a message I woke up to today but it brought a smile to our families face.   Although Taylor does not know we are adopting her she has a BIG brother here awaiting to play with her.  Kolya will be rocking playing barbies with her, teaching her to ride a bike like we taught him, playing outside and getting dirty catching lizards and frogs.  Helping mom and dad garden and plant.  If she could only know the hope that awaits her of a family that is already praying, loves and is coming for her.  She will soon.  We are trusting the Lord and chugging forward!

We are collecting lightly used or new baby clothes up to age 5 years old for a boy or girl.  We are taking a suitcase back of clothes for her boarding school.  So if you have any clothes to donate please let me know and we would be happy to take them back to the school for the little ones.

 

We Cannot Thank You Enough!

After writing my last blog post yesterday our family went into prayer seeking the Lord and asking him to show us his will for Taylor and our family.  Again there is no question in our minds whatsoever we are to adopt her but our prayer yesterday was different.  Not one of questioning if we are to adopt her but is this the right time.  Grantide the timing all lines up with our dossier in country, nothing expired everything ready to go.  TODAY our USCIS just arrived in the mail with all the right updates reflecting us adopting a special needs child to cover her HIV.  Homestudy should be here Monday or Tuesday then it all ships off to Eastern Europe to get a date to travel.  It is becoming surreal in how fast this is moving and we are mentally and paper wise ready to go but financially not.  So we prayed that if the Lords will is for us to go get her in 6 months or even a year so we have time to save then we will.  We want God to be in control of this and orchestrating it and not of our own will.  We are not ABLE to do this alone.  We can be muscle strong all we want but we are incapable of this adoption or raising Taylor without the grace of God.  Our hearts desire is to run for her now.  God has made the doors available and opened them so wide the hinges are busting off to make it clear for us to go but this is the one division between us and her....sadly money.  If someone where to slap 25K on the table in front of us we would be out the door before you could even blink.  So this is the struggle we are trying to be logical in that we cannot do a magic trick and pop these funds out of a hat but again God cannot be put in a box and he does not need magic nor a hat to make funds appear.  Where am I going with all this....after our prayer I melted myself into the bath tub in just quiet time and surrendering to the pain I endured riding my road bike for Taylor wearing my awesome Eastern Europe get up and realizing the butt padding was not that good.  But I was also in a just quiet space in my mind and feeling God telling us to push on even though we don't see what we need to get there and I just remember being so humbled by it all and not having a clue on how to process what I was feeling.  So God your telling me we don't have the money to go get her and we are willing wait to go get her in the course of the year if need be but praying she is not moved to an institution and your telling me to push on like it is all taken care of?

So last night I wrote a letter to my sister, Denise and my dear friend DeAnna explaining where we were at and not knowing but just surrendering it all to God because this is all so much bigger then us.  OK folks I am a Christian but also a jokester if you know me.  I emailed my dad asked him if he had any ideas how to raise 26K in a month without selling a kidney or drugs.  He was all out of answers on how to and he apologized.  LOL!  Love having a humorous father too.  I blame him for my wrong behaviors.  Anyhow I get an email this morning from my sister saying funds just deposit through Reece's Rainbow and you didn't have to sell drugs.  Sorry the humor runs throughout the family.  At this moment we do not know who has made donations towards Taylor's adoption but I will tell you this WE CANNOT THANK YOU ENOUGH.......with our prayer yesterday and just being lost and surrendering it all to God knowing we only had a $350.00 dent towards a 26K adoption for Taylor it may be seem small but it is large to us!  SO PLEASE TAKE OUR SINCERE THANK YOU WHOEVER YOU ARE who has made any donations towards her adoption.  We have a long ways to go in a short month but as long as God swings those doors on open we will keep moving forward to Taylor in hopes that we do not have to wait a year to go get her.  

AGAIN THANK YOU SO MUCH TO ALL THE FOLKS THAT ARE HELPING US MAKE THIS HAPPEN AND FOR YOUR SINCERE PRAYERS FOR US NOW AND IN ADVANCE WHEN WE BRING HER HOME! 

Why Should I Help Your Grow Your Family? Logical Question Hah?

Why should I help you grow your family?  Isn't this an awesome question?  This is a very logical one for those of you looking on the outside in of anyone adopting.  This question was brought up in an adoption meeting at our church as we strive to grow the ministry.  Why should our family help you grow yours...what in it for us and why should we?  You got to agree whether you are adopting or not this is a very good question.

My answer is this....as a body of Christ God has verse after verse in the Bible stating to help ones in need specifically orphans and widows.  Non-negotiable, non optional it is a commandment.  Does it say you have to empty your checkbook....NO not at all.  James 1:27 states Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. It even says widows not just orphans.  I am telling ya first hand I need prayer more then money taking on the mission of being an adoptive parent.  Parenting goes beyond needing the money to bring them home.  Once the child's adoption has been paid for your life becomes a full time mission.  Not a 6 month, 1 or 2 year or even 5 year term commission but a lifetime.  I say this because after adopting my own son and being a foster parent and working with at-risk you for over 15 years it takes everything you got.  When you raise your children in your home, with your rules and boundaries with your love and teach them to become and adult it starts from the time they take their first breath and you boot them or they leave openly at 18 years old.  The love they feel starts before they take their first breath, in their mothers belly.  They fell that love and desire to be wanted.  When you adopt just imagine VOIDING all of that.  When you adopt you go backwards before you can go forward to teach them what they should have known and had from the get go.  You cannot erase the bad in their life but help them heal EVERY DAY from the hurts and rejection.  After being dog trainer for over 12 years I see this even in rescued dogs.  You can adopt an incredible dog but you have to learn to teach them each day to heal from the neglect and abuse they may have experienced.  They are scared and they may heal but the memory never leaves.  They may never trust but they will have to try to learn how to learn to but the idea may never stick.  They may never let you all the way into their life in fear of being loved then rejected.  It is pieces of a puzzle that takes time...a lifetime to commit to.

Why do I say all this.....why should you help others grow their family?  When you look at this verse it does not mean to go out and save the world but I do believe God is calling us to help change one orphan or widows life...one at a time.  How can you?  By prayer for the families that are adopting, prayer for the foster families, prayer for the widows in distress.  Drop off food to a widows house, help her babysit her child(ren).  Stop by and bring her a coffee and just show her you care about her and talk or just listen.  Host a child that has never experienced love from New Horizons For Children.  Help by supporting financially a family that is adopting should you be called to donate towards their adoption.  Remember you are not donating to buy someone a new car you are donating to bring a child that has no family and is not wanted, needed, denied or lost their own family from causes out of their control into a family to love them.  Offer support to just be there for your friend who is adopting.  Go out and adopt yourself or become a foster parent.  God does not call us to go save the world by ourself but again but he does call us to not just sit and pretend we do not see the faces of the children in need.  When you reject those children in need of love and the love of a family YOU reject God.  Your creator, the one that gave YOU life.  You deny him.  So next time you see a face of a child in need which is all over the internet...don't just sit there, pray...do something!

Joe and I are one of those families that we know are called to specifically called to adopt so we are adopting Taylor. Our prayer is that she is cured of HIV, call it nuts if you want but God created it and he sure can take it away too.  We are in prayer that God gives us the wisdom & skill to be the parents she needs to grow and blossom into the young lady he has set aside for her future.  Then we pray God will provide the finances we need to adopt her.  I will admit...my nerves are rattled by the idea of how we can raise $25,700.00 in about a month to go get her.  And when I think do we just bail and walk away God reminds me one at a time and of everything he has put before us to lead us to her and all the amazing doors he has opened to show us we are called to go get her.  So I have nothing but to trust in him to meet our EVERY need.  So again most of all we ask for your prayer for the first and foremost obstacles...her healing and our commitment to being her parents and doing it the best to our knowledge lead under what God is calling us to be for her.  Secondly that he will provide the finances to bring her home.  

So my plea to you is it does not matter how you help an adoptive or foster family or widow...just do something and do not pretend you do not notice the need and the commandment in scripture to do something to help a child and/or family.  Adoptive, foster families, widows and children in need that have no voices need someone to step to the plate to do the Biblical commandment God has called upon US ALL.  Someone SHOULD be there to cheer them on, on the sides lines in whatever position God calls you to help.   

Check Out The Adoption Shirts We Designed To Help Fund Taylor's Adoption!

Check Out The Adoption Shirts We Have Designed To Help Fund Taylor's Adoption! Any Shirt You Purchase Will Help Us Get One Step Closer To Adopting Her!

Perfection Is In The Eyes Of The Beholder Tshirt by andthisonematters
See more Adopted T-Shirts

Chosen T Shirt by andthisonematters
Shop for other tee shirts from zazzle.com.

James 1:27 tshirt by andthisonematters
View more Orphans T-Shirts

Beauty Is In The Hands Of The Beholder T Shirt by andthisonematters
View other Adoption T-Shirts

Chosen Twice! Tee Shirts by andthisonematters
Create a personalized t shirt on zazzle.

I Am His! Shirt by andthisonematters
Browse His T-Shirts

Does Your Child Boy Or Girl Love To Skate Board? Want A Custom Skateboard For $5 BUCKS!

DOES YOUR CHILD, BOY OR GIRL LOVE TO SKATEBOARD?? THEN WE HAVE A DEAL FOR YOU!!!!!  KEEP READING!

Folks were are coming down the wire here to head to Eastern Europe for Taylor! Found out today our USCIS update is in the mail and on it's way to us NOW.  Our homestudy update is complete and in the mail to us NOW.  All will be submitted with our dossier next week!  So this means we can be flying ANYTIME because our dossier is already submitted, we are just updating it! 

So what does our family know how to do besides have fun and goof off with kids.....WE KNOW HOW TO SKATEBOARD AND BUILD BOARDS.....

Sample Board We've Made

SO WE HAVE A DEAL FOR YOU TO SAVE ON BUYING YOUR KIDDO A SKATEBOARD!   Don't spend over a $100.00 bucks at a store, come to us!!! For a $5.00 TAX- DEDUCTIBLE donation it will get you one entry giveaway chance to win one of our custom/personalized designed skateboards we make as a family.  CHECK OUT OUR MINISTRY AND BOARDS AT: www.fallenbutsaved.com.

Another Sample Board We've Made

YOU CAN BUY AS MANY ENTRY GIVEAWAY CHANCES AS YOU WOULD LIKE FOR A $5.00 DONATION EACH!!!!!!

Joe and I have been skateboarding for 13 years and the graphics on boards these days seem to be getting more inappropriate by the day....this is your chance to get your kiddo a one of a kind personalized boards with a design or graphic they would like (we will not design anything that is deemed inappropriate, sex, drugs, alcohol, etc.  This is a family ministry and my son designs them.)  

Another Sample Board We've Made

The mission it is to raise funds as fast as possible to bring our girl Taylor home!  We need to sell a minimum of 20 entry giveaway chances to break even on our costs to make a board.  SO PLEASE HELP US TUMBLE OVER THE 20 ENTRY GIVEAWAY CHANCES so we can raise extra funds towards Taylors adoption!   

REMEMBER YOUR DONATION IS TAX-DEDUCTLE WHEN YOU DONATE FOR AN ENTRY GIVEAWAY CHANCE!  YOU CANNOT BEAT THAT!  

Another Sample Board We've Made

Please donate to Project Hopeful (see below) on the "Donate" button and the funds will go right into Taylors account.  Please contact us letting us know you made a donation for the skateboard and the amount you donated and we will enter you into the drawling for each entry giveaway chance you donate to!  Just email us a copy of your donation receipt!  Contact us on the tab above that says just that "Contact Us".

What if you live out of state can you donate for a entry giveaway chance?  YES, we just ask that you pay for shipping.   THAT'S IT!

WWW.FALLENBUTSAVED.COM

      

 

 

Yeah! We passed the "PINK" test!

We are very grateful to know a gal in country right now adopting from Taylor's orphanage.  She is so wonderful in sending us updates when she see's her.  I asked Janice a couple days ago if she can see if Taylor seems to like a specific color.  Although most of the time clothes are chosen or just assigned and given to them sometimes they are able to wear a specific color they like. Today I got this news:

Got to see your sweet little one again today. Pink shirt, light pink pants. And hair in a double ponytail-- you know where they pull the top back and ponytail it then do the bottom and put them together with a scrunchie? She was spinning, backwards, on the merry go round. Seeming to be having a blast. 

So it appears we passed the official "PINK" test!  She likes PINK by golly!  Take a look at her bedroom Joe and Kolya designed before we even found her!  I think we may have done OK!

A Wonderful Gift From A Dear Friend And Sister!

A wonderful gift from a dear friend from my sister I believe I was separated from at birth.  I want to thank you Deanna for taking the time and energy to do this selfless act to help us bring home our girl!  LOVE YOU GIRL!

Please visit this link to visit her blog and ministry.....incredible ministry I pray the Lord expands for her.  Mother The World.

http://www.mothertheworld.org/2012/05/gift-of-mother-my-mothers-day-wish-for.html

 

 

Our Weekly Adoption Goal! Can You Help Us Meet This Weeks Goal To Help Bring Our Girl Home?

THIS WEEKS GOAL FROM 5/8/12 THRU 5/15/12 IS A TOTAL OF $4550.00 OR AIRLINE MILES FOR JOE, KOLYA & NICOLE'S FLIGHT AND TAYLORS RETURN FLIGHT HOME.  YES KOLYA IS GOING WITH! HE HAS WAITING SO LONG FOR A SISTER AND HE AIN'T MISSING THIS! 

We are breaking it down to weekly goals to meet in order to tackle one area at a time of the adoption.  Will you help us meet that weekly goal? Kolya's birthday is May 15th and he asked  us to adopt "Taylor" and bring her home for his birthday! Can you help us make this happen?

 We want to share with you the remaining expenses we have left to fund Taylor's adoption.  We want everyone that helps us and her by being in prayer and/or makes a tax-deductible donation to follow us every step of the way.  We could not do this without you!

We have already paid for the complete dossier and again it is submitted in country.  So we have no time to loose!  We are in need of raising a total sum of $26,000.00 to bring her home.

If you would like to make a tax-deductible donation towards our weekly goal for our travel to bring Taylor home please click on either image or "donate" button below.  WE CANNOT THANK YOU ENOUGH! 

 

Grab This!
Be sure to right click on the box below and then select all.
<center><a href="http://reecesrainbow.org/37364/sponsordewberry"><img width="100%" src="http://i1215.photobucket.com/albums/cc502/ReecesRainbow/fspdewberry.png"></a><br><a href="http://www.andthisonematters.blogspot.co.uk/">Grab This!</a><br></center>

SHOP & LOOK GORGEOUS WHILE HELPING SUPPORT BRING TAYLOR HOME!

HOW CAN YOU HELP BRING TAYLOR HOME AND BE FASHIONABLE AT THE SAME TIME YOU ASK???

Our passion at Noonday Collection is to connect you with the lives of artisans struggling for a better future while styling you along the way. Fashion and design are a vehicle for opportunity and change. You, too, can be a voice for the oppressed!

Noonday Collection provides jobs that create a pathway out of poverty for families. A stable income means a family is less likely to abandon their child.

With each purchase you make for one or more of their lovely items it with help us bring our lovely girl home!

This is how you can view the gorgeous items that are made all over the world in order to help support bringing Taylor home:

1)  Order directly through: www.kristinharvey.noondaycollection.com

2)  At the top of the checkout page, select “Kristin Harvey” from the ambassador drop down box.

3)  At the bottom of the checkout page, in the box after FOR AMBASSADOR USE: TRUNK SHOW type in “Dewberry" so the funds are specifically sent to the Dewberrys for Taylors adoption.

TAKE A PEEK BELOW AT SOME OF THEIR BEAUTIFUL ITEMS NICOLE WEARS DAILY TO HELP SUPPORT NOONDAY COLLECTION AND WHAT THEY REPRESENT!

Why A Child That Is HIV+ And There Are So Many To Adopt Without???

Today I was mailed actually an email by a concerned individual in regards to us adopting a girl we know that has HIV.  The woman was not unpleasant at all and I so appreciate her concern for our family in us diving into adopting a girl with HIV.  

For those of you who ask why would we adopt a girl with HIV when there are so many children to adopt without. 

Here is my answer......

We're jumping either way to Taylor.  God divinely called us to adopt her SPECIFICALLY.  We tried negotiating our way out of adopting in Ukraine again with God and well it did not work.  Everytime he pointed us to her we backed up to make sure if was not our own desires of feeling specifically lead to adopt this girl.  Again God won that one too!  God lead us to her....period.  I use to work with children with HIV and am very well aware of the losses because I did loose a girl I worked with that had AIDS when I was in high school.  But our lives do not have a timer...God will take us when he takes us HIV positive or not.  We cannot negoicate out of it.  There are orphans all over the world why should I be the one to say because they have CP, DS, HIV, AIDS, TB they are not worthy to be adopted.  That is not my call.  Didn't God the creator allow these diseases to surface to begin with.  I think he's looking to see who will step up to the plate to adopt these special needs children.  Another way I look at it is I would rather adopt a child and give them the love they deserve and desire then not risk to adopt and love and they die alone.  Plain and simple.  No matter how you flip this coin of us adopting Taylor her chances of survival if we do not go are grim.  She is medicated now and doing well.  Her future is an institution with no chance of adoption once she arrives there.  If she should be released and on her own she will have a stipend and medication to make it.  But you give a 16 year old kid and tell them to take their medication and let's see how long that kid and that medication stay together!  She will either "Feel OK" and not take it and could loose her life or sell it to make money to eat beacause she will be unable to find a job because not only is she labeled as an orphan but also and orphan with HIV.  Then she is broke and in trade school living in a hospital turned into a dorm with no supervision nor anyone to make sure she takes her medication and again this is if she is released to trade school and not living her forever life in an institution now what does she do?  A nice gentleman shows up and sees this pretty girl and offers to care for her.  Before she knows it she is in over her head either being sold into sex trade or becomes a prostitute.  So no matter again how you flip this coin....she gets moved into an institution, she goes to trade school and does or does not take her meds her future is GRIM.......Grim to nothing.  So do we take that chance of adopting her knowing perfectly well we are adopting a girl the Lord very well could take away from us.  YES!  No ones time here is negotiable. 

We refuse to walk away from a child because of their diagnosis.  Should God take take a child we adopt, I would rather him take them in our arms with the love of a mother, father and brother then not to feel that at all.

It's worth it!  Our loss his gain!

WHO ARE THESE DEWBERRYS....?

The Dewberrys live to surround themselves with the lost and forgotten youth. Joe and Nicole have been in youth ministry working with at-risk youth together for 13 years and Nicole for 18 years. Nicole from a young age new she was always called to adopt when she married. Thankfully God put that upon her heart because once they met and married they were unable to have children of their own. So they became foster parents and poured their lives into children in need of guidance and also helped families that came to them in search of help with their children. At their church when they lived in California they started a skateboarding outreach to reach out to the local kids in the community with the kids from their church.

Once they settled in North Carolina God made it clear and lead them into a ministry called New Horizons For Children which is where the met their now son, Kolya from Eastern Europe. They hosted him over Christmas 2010 and fell in love not only with Kolya but also the program. They soon went to Eastern Europe and adopted him and also became Volunteer Regional Directors for the program in Central, NC. Nicole is now on the Board of Directors and actively travels to Eastern Europe to reach out to the orphans with the New Horizons For Children team in search of children to bring to America for hosting in hopes of finding them a forever family. Right now the Dewberrys are working with New Horizons For Children and stretching the ministry to do outreach for the timing out children in Eastern Europe that leave the boarding schools with no where to turn. Their hopes for training is to teach the children about Christ, job, social and life skills and help them locate work. Also the plan is to hold Christian camps during the year to reach the children before they reach the timing out faze to teach them about Christ, give them hope and love on them. The have located a property and are in the process of building the ministry.  Kolya and Nicole love helping with another orphan hosting ministry locally called Redline United working with the orphaned kids of Eastern Europe, teaching them about Jesus and loving on them every other summer here locally in North Carolina in hopes that they also find their forever families.

The Dewberrys loves skateboarding and are a bunch of large children. With Kolya’s amazing artistic talent and their love for skateboarding and the lost youth they have started a local ministry www.fallenbutsaved.com. They build and design custom Christian skateboards to reach out to the kids in their community, love on them and teach them about Christ.

Why are they adopting again? When Kolya was 5 he was separated from his older brother and sister who was then 3. She was adopted by an Eastern European family and there was never a good-bye or let’s stay in touch. It is just an empty void in Kolya’s heart for his little sister. His brother, Dima on two different occasions when he was 10 years old ran away from the orphanage they moved him to in search of Kolya and his sister. Thankfully after 8 years once Dima was on his own he finally found Kolya and they are still in touch. But their sister was never to be found. But Kolya has always wanted a little sister and has a soft spot for the little ones.  On one of the New Horizons For Children interview trips Nicole met a boy named Sergiy. They hosted him Christmas 2011 and completed their homestudy/dossier ahead of time in order to adopt him should he want to join their family. He said “Yes”! So they flew in February 2012 to adopt him. He was a timing out teen (15 years old) but he knew his freedom was knocking at the door and he had also met a special girl that stole his heart in just a month of us all being separated. The adoption disrupted and Joe and Nicole started to head back to the US and then he asked them to come back for him and they turned right around and went back for him to only have him not be ready to leave her or his freedoms. When Sergiy was with them the family all talked about adopting a girl when they got home stateside. After a month of recovering this loss of Sergiy because it was like a death to the family they started their homestudy locally in North Carolina to adopt a girl. They had no funds even if they wanted to return to Eastern Europe because of the expense of both Kolya and Sergiys adoption. Even though Sergiy’s adoption disrupted they still have incurred the adoption fees and travel expenses.  They used all their stocks, retirement and equity loans to get the boys. So there was nothing to take from to support another adoption adoption. Although Eastern Europe is like their second home to them there was also now hurt associated with it after losing Sergiy and always that looming risk they could be rejected once again with an adoption. Their homestudy got completed in the US and every girl they looked at either got adopted or they just could not meet the child’s needs so they were at a bit of a stand still which was OK.  They knew God would bring the right child when his timing was right. 

Nicole’s sister who is a very BIG advocate for RR has been trying to get Nicole on RR for 8 months and Nicole nor Joe would just sit down and look. Denise indicated RR had children with HIV & other special needs we might want to check out. Nicole in High School was certified as a foster parent baby-sitter to care for “Special Needs” children. One of the little girls she worked with daily had AIDS. This was back in the day that there was not much knowledge of it and how it was spread  The medication was not what it is now either to help lengthen if not give children a normal life span. You wore gloves when you whipped their noses or touched any sores. It was expected Bianca would live until 3 years of age no longer. The AIDS was passed down from her mother. Bianca was a trooper and made it to 5 years old when she lost her battle with life. After that Nicole closed the door on going down the road of HIV/AIDS because of the loss. BUT on 4/26/12 Denise and Nicole were looking on the computer at kids Nicole had interviewed and met in Eastern Europe and were also in search of photos of the boy Denise and her husband are adopting. Denise hood-winked Nicole into getting on RR page and that is where she found “Taylor”. Nicole new instantly she was done looking any further for a daughter. Although the words HIV positive was right there Nicole knew she has found her girl. She went to Joe and amazingly he said start moving forward. They were and are in prayer daily for the curing of Taylors HIV. They were also in prayer everyday to not mistake their own feelings for what God was calling them to do. Nicole jokes this is kind of the trailer before the horse scenario because they are document ready (dossier complete), physically and mentally ready to go get her but they financially are not. With the last two adoptions even with the disruption, again they used everything they had to bring the boys home, they had a safety net and resources. This time they have to jump and pray God will catch their fall. This is the biggest leap they will take trusting God to meet their financial needs and lifting Taylors health up to him. They are reminded everyday when they look at their fridge that has a saying on it “If God will lead you to it, he will lead you through it”. Also that God does not make mistakes.  God leading them to Taylor was no mistake. God continues to make it abundantly clear they are called to adopt Taylor and they just need to trust him and jump. They have jumped and made this commitment to adopt Taylor!

With the Dewberrys just being in country with the disrupted adoption of Sergiy their dossier is complete and ready, sitting in the SDA office. So with a few minor updates they should be in the air flying shortly To Eastern Europe. One thing Nicole was also reminded when she found the property to build this orphan ministry in Eastern Europe was “You cannot put God in a box”. God cannot be limited. So they have chosen to tear down the walls of the box and not limit God to the miracle of him bringing them to Taylor and God being able to financially provide them the funds to bring her home.

The Dewberrys thank you for all your prayers and any donations as you feel called to help them bring their girl home!

One, Two, Three....JUMP! WE'RE ADOPTING TAYLOR!

This is our li'l peanut when she was younger....

We jumped......Oh My Gosh....we jumped......I feel like jumping because we jumped!  We went from prayer warrior to guardian angel to Taylor's adoptive family!  Yes you are reading this right....Taylor's Adoptive Family! 

God has made it abundantly clear to us that he is calling us to adopt Taylor even when it looks to us impossible to meet the financial needs of this mission in such a short amount of time.  Why a short amount of time?  Our dossier is in country already submitted to the SDA from our disrupted adoption of Sergiy.  So with minor updates to mend which are already in process we could be flying in a month or two to go get her.

There are so many reason why God has made this clear that you cannot help but to see his hands on this little girl and on us.  Again Joe and I had prepared to adopt on the US side and are almost done completing our US homestudy.  We actually are done and just awaiting the FBI results that take several weeks to come back.  In this time of waiting we had been looking for a "future" daughter and there was no matches.....until we found Taylor.  We had no intention to go back to Ukraine because of finances and of course the hurt of losing Sergiy.  So finances were just never a concern.  We had used all our financial resources to bring both the boys home.  Although we did not return with Sergiy we did have almost all the expenses of a complete adoption.  So we are tapped out.

So here is everything to show us clearly God is and was in control from the second we found Taylor.......

Thurday April 26th - My sister Denise lures me onto the internet to look up kids I know and to try to locate Andriy the boy she is adopting but hood-winked me into getting onto Reece's Rainbow in search of more "kids I might know" from NHFC interview trips.  I go under the HIV link on Reece's Rainbow and there she was.  Almost instantly I felt this is "her", this is your little girl you said you would NEVER have.  I say this because I said I would "never" have a daughter.  You know how God laughs at that word "Never".

Friday April 27th - Joe and I talk about Taylor and we are both almost in a trance knowing this is something.  He said to look further into finding more information about her.  Meanwhile I email Andrea with Reece's Rainbow and request the "Other" photos.  Denise and I jump in the car and head to "Together For Adoption" to represent New Horizons For Children to find more host families and get the word out about the program.  We get to the event and have dinner with all the representatives of other organizations to wind up meeting volunteers like us that work for Project Hopeful.  In all the years I have been to adoption events I have never seen an organization representing adoption/advocating of HIV kids, resources to families and support.  I sit down next to a gal at dinner turns out she has an HIV son.  Right then all the photos of Taylor start rolling in on my cell phone of her.  I am laughing, crying and melting all at the same time.  This gal and I started talking and she looked at me when I said we just found an girl with HIV and I am basically dumbfounded and she said "Your going to go adopt her".  Never met the lady before in my life.  She said "Your gonna go get your girl".  Then she said we needed to pray first and foremost about the healing of HIV in Taylor.  This was crazy because that was exactly what we were praying for Taylor.  Then she went on to tell me about how she has an HIV son but after his return home after she thought she was actually going to loose him on the plane ride home he was cured of HIV.  He is on no medication and it is un-detectable.   Then she grabbed my hand and said "Can I pray for You"?  She had me grab my sisters hand and she prayed for us and Taylor.  Then she introduced me to two other incredible gals that also have HIV children and again volunteer for Project Hopeful.  It was truly an amazing weekend to meet these ladies and see the HIV resources and support (FIG Program) we have along with the awesome medical for HIV at Duke but most of all the friendships made.  Going to coffee with her and my sis next week!

Saturday April 28th Until Now-    From Saturday on...major blur....LOL!  We have had a couple organizations come along side us offering to help us fundraise which we NEVER had with either boys adoption in to help us try to raise funds for her adoption.  So I am taking all this in...Joe and I still on that ledge not jumping and taking that plunge yet praying everyday for Gods guidance and will not ours.  Kolya of course chomping at the bit because he is ready to jump and bring her home.  He has been a huge prayer warrior for her.  Joe, Kolya and I prayed and asked as we had everyday since we found her for God to make it abundantly clear we are to take this step to adopt her.   And everyday he answered with some amazing "Something".  Meanwhile we decided to become her prayer warrior on Reece's Rainbow and her Guardian Angel in order to find her a forever family even if it was not us and start cycling and running to help her future family with the adoption costs.  Again we wanted God's to be done.  So I am guessing with all my million questions I had been asking poor Andrea with Reece's Rainbow and inquiring how to work the adoption out because we have basically everything done she assumed we were jumping to adopt Taylor.  So we get done praying and I go to check on the website to see the listing for Taylor and I noticed her photolisting was not where it was before.  I had a little happy panic but also nervous at the same time.  Did someone adopt her?  Oh my how could I be sad although I hoped it would have been  us..... this is so awesome for her.  So then I just stuck in her website link to see if I could find her that way and she showed up under "My Family Found Me"?  Now I am on the phone with my sister and telling her, someone grabbed her!  She's being adopted by someone. This is sad yet so cool all at the same time.  Right then I saw the donation amount she had of $90.00 go to $120.00.  Again I was so excited.  Then I get an email from Nancy (all this is going down while I was on the phone with my sister while we were trying to still figure it out) who does the Reece's Rainbow facilitation on the US side telling me all the things I need to get to her for Taylor's adoption.  Us, We, Taylor.....What???  Right then Joe and Kolya walk in the office and I have the email open and the phone stuck to my head and said "congratulations it's a girl, were adopting Taylor".  So how do you like them beans..... We asked for clarity and God gave it to us!  We were moved to adopting her when we never said we were officially.  How cool is that!  So since then Joe and I have been still standing on the ledge just watching everyday almost every hour God do something amazing to show us....LOOK WHAT I CAN DO and your suppose to adopt her and trust me.  Shortly after she was moved to us adopting her with Joe and I still dumbfounded and excited all at the same time my sister emails and says there is a lady at Taylors orphanage adopting right now and said whoever is adopting her if they would like to talk about her to reach out to them.  Denise sent me over her contact information because I could not yet get into that Reece's Rainbow FB page.  I emailed her....are you ready?  I KNOW HER!  Turns out she helped with the Redline Hosting kids here in Raleigh shortly after Kolya and I returned from Ukraine and we worked with the kiddos for 2 weeks.  She and I had met on the zoo outing.  So she is adopting in the orphanage that Taylor is at and she only lives a little over an hour away from us here in NC and we know each other.  Can't call this a coincidence.  No such thing......So daily God is showing us we can jump and although we may be squinting and squealing on the way down it WILL BE AN AWESOME JOURNEY and he will catch our fall.

Yes we have $26K to raise in a month to two months to go get our girl but I still remember hearing God say to me when we found the property for the orphan outreach in Ukraine "Nicole you cannot put me in a box, don't limit me to a box".  And by golly I couldn't and the ministry is funded we are just ironing out the paperwork.  Working for NHFC I have seen miracle after miracle and my whole life I have seen God lead me from one thing to another and with that I am also reminded if he will lead you to it, he will lead you through it.  And indeed he will.  We are jumping!

If you would like to help us jump by being in prayer for our precious girl and us or by helping us by donating a tax deductible donation to any of the following non profits helping us bring Taylor home below.  We would be so forever grateful for any support you feel lead to do. 

To Donate A Tax Deductible Donation Through Reece's Rainbow:

http://reecesrainbow.org/37364/sponsordewberry

OR

you can mail a check made payable to Reece’s Rainbow and mailed to PO Box 4024  Gaithersburg, MD 20885.  Please make sure to indicate the donation is for "Taylor" for the Dewberrys adoption.

To Donate A Tax Deductible Donation Through Project Hopeful:

https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=RS39DTYPZX73W