Letter

(The following is a support letter that we have mailed to our friends and family. We thought we'd put it up for any of our online friends to read.)

Dear Family and Friends,
“A father to the fatherless…God sets the lonely in families.” --Ps. 68:5-6
We have great news! Our dreams are coming true as we have the opportunity to adopt an infant. Most of you know by now that we have felt called by God to adopt a ‘fatherless’ child into our family. We are adopting a little baby from Ethiopia. It breaks our hearts to hear that so many children struggle to just survive without a loving and nurturing home. God’s Word has also been a powerful lesson in our call to adopt:
"I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.” --Matthew 25:40
“Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress…” --James 1:27
The one part of adopting that is difficult for us, other than the waiting, is the expense of it all. We estimate that the total cost for adoption fees, document preparation, home study, airfare, travel, attorney fees, etc. to be $18,000. We certainly don’t have $18,000, but we’re trusting in God’s provision to see this adoption through.
Honestly, it’s a difficult thing to make our needs known to our friends and family, but we also know that we can’t do this without the loving support of you.
Recently we learned of Kingdom Kids Adoption Ministries, an organization that helps families raise funds for adoptions. Interested people can make a tax-deductible donation to Kingdom Kids Adoption Ministries on our behalf. This money will be used toward adoption expenses. All contributors receive a tax receipt for their donation. And, we will keep you updated on our progress and send you specific information about our new baby as it comes to us from Ethiopia.
Please call or email us with any question you may have regarding our situation. We are happy to talk about this wonderful adventure. Also, the Kingdom Kids staff is available to you Monday to Friday, 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. (Pacific Time). Please contact them at (509) 465-3520 or email them at Ministry@KingdomKidsAdoption.org Their website is www.KingdomKidsAdoption.org
We are excited about what God is going to do in our lives through this child. The process is long and not without obstacles but we are ready for the challenge. When our child arrives home to us, we will contact you with our happy news. Thank you for prayerfully considering us in your giving this year.
Sincerely,
Jesse and Ashley Haynes
(208) 875-0680 or (208) 301-1816
Jnahaynes@turbonet.com
P.S. If you decide to assist us in our fundraising and wish to do so by check please DO NOT include our names anywhere on the check. Internal Revenue Service regulations do not allow for a tax-deductible donation to have any name other than the tax-exempt organization written on it. Please enclose a note with your check to indicate that you wish you donation to
go toward our grant. Thank you so much. We covet your prayers as we walk through this journey.

Through wisdom, a house is built, and by understanding it is established; by knowledge the rooms are filled with all precious and pleasant riches. Proverbs 24:3,4

Smile!

Mya offically has 4 teeth! She got her first one December 30th and her 4th one yesterday. She is much happier now!

Homestudy

We received our homestudy paperwork in the mail today. Looks like we'll be busy for awhile filling it out! I think if we take it slow maybe it won't be too overwhelming. Jesse and I both have to write autobiographies. This will include things like how were you parented? How were you disciplined and when? You siblings, marital status/children and where they reside? How often do they visit you? Where did you attend school? Where have you worked? Describe yourself. Your goals. How do you handle stress? How long did you date before marrying? Guardianship of adopted child. They give us an outline of what they want--it is 2 pages! We have to write up our family emergency evacuation plan, take 10 hours of adoption training, have a Dr. fill out a physical examination form, get our criminal history fingerprinting done along with a whole pile of other things!

Sunday Afternoon

Here is Jesse out making an igloo for the boys. We also had fun sledding and a snowball fight, but I didn't have the camera! Oh what fun it is to play!

There are so many pictures I want to post. If only it didn't take so long with dial-up....maybe someday we can get wireless internet!!!

NEWS!

YEAH! We're moving forward! I am currently printing off our application for our homestudy! I can hardly believe that we are actually starting the paperwork process. It will be exciting and I'm sure a lot of work. It feels like our dream is starting to become a reality! And the awesome part is that our homestudy will cost less than we were planning on.
There is so much to be done....we have to make appointments to get our criminal history fingerprinting done, fill out applications for AWOP, Hope, and for our homestudy.
Once we get our homestudy in progress we can start applying for grants. Everything takes so much time. Pray, research, compare, pray, talk about it, research some more...and on the process goes. It is fun and overwhelming all at the same time!
Well, I'm off to go start on some paperwork! Thanks for reading!Ü

Faith that bleeds

"The dying, the crippled, the mentally ill, the unwanted, the unloved--they are Jesus in disguise... [Through the] poor people I have an opportunity to be 24 hours a day with Jesus. Every AIDS victim is Jesus in a pitiful disguise; Jesus is in everyone.... [AIDS sufferers are] children of God [who] have been created for greater things. (1/13/86, Time) Mother Teresa

In Matthew 25:40 Jesus said, "Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was me--you did it to me." Was he truly saying that we will find him in the lives of the poor? This is a rich mystery.
We shouldn't be surprised. Our God is indeed a God of mystery. Isaiah 55:8-11 says,
"I don't think the way you think.
The way you work isn't the way I work."
God's Decree.
"For as the sky soars high above earth,
so the way I work surpasses the way you work,
and the way I think is beyond the way you think."

What if all Christ-followers lived the Red Letter words in the Bible--Jesus' words? What if we offered the hungry something to eat, gave one of our many coats to someone who was cold, and truly loved all our neighbors as ourselves? How radically different would our lives be? How different would our world be if Christians were really living as little Christs?

Abortion...A big deal!

Here is part of an article written by Randy Alcorn. He says what is in my heart! I hope what you read will impact your life!

Check out this website: http://www.tinyurl.com/ywcrzb for a beautiful slide show of living unborn children at various stages of development.
In contrast to these, go to http://www.abort73.com/HTML/I-A-4-video.html to see what an abortion really does to children. Warning: these are not made up photos; they are not exaggerated. They are real. This is simply what abortion is. Uncloaked, uncovered, unimaginably horrible.
If, like many, you get upset about the fact that people would post these pictures or that I would give a link to them, I suggest you reserve your outrage for those who defend the right to commit such atrocities against children. it is not the photos that are immoral--it is the abortion that is immoral. The photos only tell the truth most of us don't want to see.
No, if you are "prochoice," I'm nearly certain you won't go to the slide show showing what an abortion is. My question is, "Why would it be hard for you to watch something that you defend as being okay?" If you are willing to stand up for the legal right to do something, shouldn't you be willing to look at what that something really is? We hate the pictures because they tell the truth--that abortion is not merely a word on a page or in a debate; it is a horror inflicted upon children.
God's Word says of the innocent, "Precious is their blood in his sight" (Psalm 72:14). He sees their blood, even if you and I turn away from it.

Randy Alcorn
Eternal Perspectives Ministries
39085 Pioneer Blvd., Suite 206
Sandy, OR 97055
www.epm.org