The Heart of a Child

"Let the little children come unto me, and do not forbid them. For such is the kingdom of heaven." These are the very words spoken by Jesus to His disciples long ago!! This verse has had a profound impact on my life recently!

It all started when Jeremy found a penny. His immediate response was, "Mommy, look, this will help bring baby sister home!!"
Of course, my adult mind told myself, "Yeah, right... a penny is like '1/1 millioth' of what it will take to bring her home!" But of course as a mother I praised him for thinking of his sister and doing whatever he could to help out!
Later it was some friend's kids that started brainstorming about creative ways they could help "Join the Journey." One (Peyton) had been making friendship bracelets he wanted to sell, and the other (Cooper) decided he was going to sell some jokes... "People will pay me money, and I will tell them a joke" :-)!
At the "Join the Journey" night, I happened to see some girls writing stuff down on a paper. I asked them what they were doing, and they excitedly said, "we're coming up with some ways we can help!" Abby (going into 6th grade) had a whole list of things she was going to do/make in order to raise awareness and raise money!!
It was then through my dear friend's daughter Annika (5 1/2 years old) that I finally got it!!! When she heard we were in the process of bringing an orphan home from China, she immediately told her mom that she wanted to give all her piggy bank money for "Jeremy's sister" to come home.
When we handed out our "Join the Journey Chinese Food Boxes" to collect change, she went home and dumped her piggy bank money into it. It filled the entire box! I took it to the coin collector at our bank and it totalled over $45!!!
It was not the fact that a 5 1/2 year old was able to give $45 that struck me (although how cool is that!!!)... it was the fact that she gave it with no reservation! She realized that there was a need, and she could be a part of filling that need!!
I am utterly amazed at the fact that so many kids have decided to "Join the Journey" with no reservation! They want to do whatever they can!! Kids get "God's heart!!" They see people in need, and they want to help! They want to love, and they want to do something!!!
May I never stand in the way of these children!! Let them come!!  

Why International Adoption?

Many people have asked the question "why did you chose to adopt internationally?" That question often comes as a result of people sharing their heart about the Foster care system, domestic adoption, and/or the huge cost of International adoption.
I love and welcome this question because any time it's asked, it gives me an opportunity to share God's heart in regards to the orphans and adoption!!!
First and foremost, let me start out by sharing that God's heart is for ALL the orphans!!! He sees the hurting, He sees the need and He calls on His people to action!
James 1:27 says, "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and fautless is to looks after orphans and widows in their distress."
When I read this verse, and especially given the context of the book of James, I realize that this verse is truly a call to DO something. It is our faith lived out through action!
While this verse and many others call us to action, I also acknowledge that this verse doesn't mean we all need to adopt! (As a side note: we need to also ask ourselves what we can do to help the widows in their distress). There is so much we can do to support those who are adopting (not just financially). This is the very reason we have invited anyone who desires to "Join the Journey!!"
So back to the question, "Why adopt internationally?" To make it simple... We asked God to break our hearts for what He wanted for our family, and He broke our heart for China! Our daughter is in China, and we will work as hard as we can to bring her home!!
I also want to let you know that our hearts break for all the hurting and all those in the world that need a family!! There is much work to be done and so many children that need homes where the love of Christ is modeled so that they can come to know their Savior personally!! May we never settle until God's work is accomplished!
With that being said, I thought I would share some things that God has taught us so far during this process! First of all, in China, the gospel is not allowed to be shared without a great cost!! The chances of an orphan hearing the great message about the love of God is pretty slim! Second, in most countries, if a child is not adopted by the age of 16, they usually leave the orphange and are left to fend for themselves! What then ends up happening is that they turn to usually the only thing that can make fast money... drugs and prostitution... that breaks our heart!!
When God took ahold of our hearts for us to adopt, and broke our hearts for China, we asked Him to close the doors quickly if he had another place in mind that would be a better fit for our family. After starting the process, we thought the doors were going to close for us in China due to the strict regulations they place on adoptive families, but God miraculously kept them open! We also had no clue about the cost of international adoption when we started the process!!! We prayed and sought counsel and everyone we talked with shared that we shouldn't let money be the thing that stops us from adopting internationally, so we haven't! We continue to trust God to provide financially, and He has so far! We have a long way to go, but we know that we serve a faithful, loving God who is truly in control!
So, for a quick summary... Why internationally?.. God broke OUR heart for China, miraculously opened the doors (given the strict qualifications), and we are seeking to serve and follow Him in every aspect of our lives... so here we are on the journey!

Thank you to those who have "Joined the Journey!!"

What a blessing last night was to us!!! It was so neat to see so many come out to "Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless!!" What an encouragement to our family!
We cannot and do not want to be in this journey on our own! Thank you to those of you who have joined our journey whether it is through prayer, financial support, offering your services, helping raise awareness, fill a "chinese food box" with coins to "change an orphan's life, bought/sold lollipops... whatever you have done and will continue to do, it is needed and so very much appreciated!
I think what I love the most is just seeing so many young kids do what they can to help!!! One boy shared that they were wanting to run a lemonade stand... a group of girls were putting together a list of things they wanted to make and sell... others wanted to help sell lollipops and bracelets! I love seeing children get the heart of Jesus!! It is no wonder that He said, "Let the little children come..."
Thank you again! We are encouraged by everyone on the journey with us!!

Can We Do This?

My heart is so heavy right now, and I am tired of the tears! This has definitely been one of the most difficult things we have ever done!!!
I find myself getting to the unrational place of, "I can't do this anymore!!!!" It is when I come to this place that the struggle truly begins...How can we not fight for our daughter? How can we not beg for help? How can we not advocate for the millions of orphans around the world that need the unconditional love of a family in order to comprehend the unconditional love of the Father!!! WE HAVE TO!!!
I knew this journey would not be easy, but in the midst of it all, it is hard to keep our eyes focused on the goal!

To my future daughter,
 I WILL continue to fight for you!!! I WILL work as hard as I can to bring you home!! You are worth it!!! You are unconditionally loved already and we pray daily for you!!! I long for the day I can hold you in my arms and pour out my love on you!!! You are precious to us and we love you so much!!!

With love,
Your mommy :-)

As my sister recently shared with me... our adoption in Christ was the most difficult thing our Heavenly Father did!! It came at a HUGE price!!! The Father sacrificed His own Son in order that we might be called Children of God!!!
Our adoption for this little girl will not be an easy road, it certainly hasn't been thus far!!! There is a huge cost...physically, emotionally, mentally, spiritually... but we will continue to fight in order to bring her home!!

"Her Name"

I can't begin to share with you how excited our boys are about having a little sister!!

Drew (2) doesn't understand much about it yet, but he thinks it's cool cuz he's going to be a "big brother!!!"

Jeremy (5) is soooo excited because he is now the "biggest brother!!!!"

About a week and a half ago Jeremy was pondering all of this and excitedly asked, "Do we get to pick her name???" I said, "Yes, do you have any great ideas?"

He pondered awhile longer and said, "Well, this can't be her real first name, but we can call her... 'Princess!'"

He then thought a little longer and said, "I think her middle name should be 'Sweetie.'"

I remarked, "So you think her name should be 'Princess Sweetie Nielsen?'"

He said, "Oh Yes!!"

Well, I guess we'll have to ponder over that one...

Our "Announcment Letter"

                                                                                                                                         4/28/11 

Dear Family and Friends,

We are so excited to share with you that we are in the beginning stages of adopting a baby girl from China! We have recently been accepted into the China “Waiting Child’ Program through the America World Adoption Association. 

Our Family Story

            We have been blessed with two AMAZING boys! Jeremy and Drew never cease to amaze us with the unique personalities and gifts the Lord has given them! We have decided that we are done having children biologically, but still have a desire to have a girl. We truly believe that adoption is God’s “Plan A” for our family, not a last resort, or a “Plan B.” We are excited to embark on this crazy journey to bring our daughter home!

Why Adoption?

            We did not come to this decision lightly and definitely sought counsel before pursing it fully. Our question eventually became, “Why not adoption?” With 163 million orphans and only 9,300 international adoptions last year, we knew we needed to do something. We hope to be an inspiration to others and that our desire to adopt will become contagious to many. Adoption is our personal, tangible way to carry out Christ’s mission in helping orphans!

The following quotes are from the book Adopted for Life, by Russell D. Moore. This book is one of the many avenues that opened our hearts to adoption.

“We believe Jesus in heavenly things—our adoption in Christ; so we follow him in earthly things—the adoption of children…”

            “Adoption is, on the one hand, gospel. In this, adoption tells us who we are as children of the Father. Adoption as gospel tells us about our identity, our inheritance, and our mission as sons of God. Adoption is also defined as mission. In this, adoption tells us our purpose in this age as the people of Christ. Missional adoption spurs us to join Christ in advocating for the helpless and abandoned…”

“You have a stake in the adoption issue, even if you never adopt a child…For some of us, I hope this book changes the makeup of our households. For some of us, I hope it helps change our monthly bank account balances. For all of us, I hope it changes something of the way we say, ‘brother’ and ‘sister’ in our pews next Sunday and the way we cry out ‘Father’ on our knees tonight.”

Why China?

            When we were reminded about the “one child policy” for urban couples of China, our hearts broke. Parents want to have a son because this ensures their future care. A son is everything. If they have a girl first, most choose to give her away to life in an orphanage, or leave her abandoned in the streets. This means that at least 90% of China’s orphans are girls. Our desire is to rescue a girl from a life of orphanages! What a great way to have an “in” with a closed (to the gospel), communist country too! We will, in a sense, be bringing a piece of China to America to teach her about her Creator, in hopes that she will in turn win many others to Christ.

The Cost

            The cost of International adoption is not cheap! China’s adoption program costs anywhere from $26,000-39,000. Believe it or not, other countries are much higher. You might wonder why we did not choose local adoption via the foster program considering it is not very expensive. There are pros and cons to both options, and for our family, international adoption is the best route. 

How can you be a part of our adoption?

            We ask that each of you prayerfully consider what your personal “stake” is in the world-wide adoption issue! Is it to pray faithfully for the millions of orphans, or to pray for families who have adopted? Is it to provide money for those who need help adopting or organizations that help orphanages? Is it to become an adoptive parent? Whatever your role is, you are needed!

            Currently we are unable to proceed in our adoption until we have raised more funds. We need around $4000 upfront to really get the ball rolling now that we have already paid the initial fee and have been accepted into the China program. Our prayer is to raise enough money to help fund our adoption and to possibly raise above and beyond to be able to bless others who want to adopt. We also know there are probably many other families with a heart for International adoption that don’t have the money either. 

While we don’t own “the cattle on a thousand hills,” we know and serve a God who does! Would you consider being a part of our adoption by helping us finance it? If the body of Christ rises up and gives financial support to those who would like to adopt, then perhaps tens of thousands more people would adopt. We certainly don’t have $35,000 lying around. Although we are living within our means and doing well in our day to day finances, it would take a long time to save that much money on a Pastor’s salary. Part of us is glad that this whole thing costs so much. The reason being is, it requires us to trust God so much more. It also gives many people the opportunity to play a significant role in the adoption of our daughter. There are not too many more exciting things we can think of than for hundreds of people to have contributed to bringing a baby orphan China girl to our family!

How you can be praying

            Given the time frame of the International adoption process (usually 12-18 months), it is quite possible that our daughter is in the womb of her birth mother this very moment.

Would you please take some time to pray right now for our future daughter?

Would you also pray that the Lord will prepare our family for this new addition?

Would you also be praying that we would be able to raise the funds necessary to complete this adoption?

Please pray for continued unity for us and that the process of this China adoption will go reasonably smooth.

Where/How you can give financially

            1. Our agency, America World Adoption Association, has a program called the "Eternal Family Program," which enables family and friends to contribute toward the cost of our adoption. Of course, we present this to you as an opportunity, not an obligation. If you feel led to partner with us financially, America World will accept contributions on our behalf and will provide a letter or email to you which will substantiate that the funds have been received by AW. Regarding tax deductibility, America World suggests that the amount claimed as a tax deduction, if any, should be discussed with a tax professional.

            Contributions can be made either by credit card or by check and 100% of the funds will go directly towards our adoption.

Credit card contributions can be made online at https://www.awaa.org/forms/payment.aspx and the “Notes” section should be used to identify both the Eternal Family Program and our family (Tim and Tiffinie Nielsen).

            Checks should be made payable to America World Adoption Association (AWAA), and both the check and “Eternal Family Program” form:  http://www.awaa.org/downloads/development/EFP_Contribution_Form.pdf (a download warning might come up when you click on this, but it is safe) should be sent directly to America World Adoption Association, Attn: Accounting Dept. 6723 Whittier Ave., Suite 202, McLean, VA 22101

 

Stay Connected

            As we have done in the past, we will try to keep you updated as much as possible through e-mail! If you are not on our e-mail list because you have received this from a friend, please send your e-mail address to tim@fbclodi.org and we will add you to the list!

            Please feel free to forward this e-mail to those who you think might not be on our e-mail list, and/or who you know have a big heart for adoption! We know a lot of people, but the body of Christ is much bigger than we could ever imagine!

We love you all and are excited to share this journey with you!!

With love and thanks,

Tim, Tiffinie, Jeremy, Drew, and baby princess Nielsen 

           

Testing the "Blog thing" out

When we told Tim's parents we were adopting, one of dad's questions was, "So, are you going to start a blog about this?" I laughed :-)!! Most of you know that I am not quite the "internet saavy" person, and the fact that our parents know more about this stuff than I do put's me a little to shame!!

So, here I am, testing this whole "blog thing" out...it's taken me about an hour to get this far (no laughing) on my blog...

I'm sure there is a lot more that I can do with this blog (pictures, cool designs, etc.), but I'll do my best to just keep you all posted about our journey as best I can!!

Now, I suppose I have to logout and figure out if I can get back on to post another post :-)...stay tuned!!