Wooten Family Adoption
Donation protected
Greetings Friends & Family,
10 years ago while we were going through the process of adopting Zoe, we wrote the idea and prayer of a 4th child, another daughter, on a pillar during the construction of the expansion of the kids’ area at our church. We told God in that moment that we would adopt again if he called us to it.
We traveled to China and adopted Zoe a few months later, but then life happened: Job losses, struggles, new China regulations that steered us away from the idea of a 4th child in our family.
Fast forward to May 3, 2014. Me, the non-runner, 0.0 sticker on my car kind of gal, was training for my first ever race, a half marathon. I was listening to a message I had missed at church some months before where our pastor, Chuck, was telling the story of their daughter who was a bit of a surprise gift. God gave me the vision that day of a daughter. I wrote in my journal that night: “I wonder if our trip back to visit China one day, will actually be a mission trip to pick up our daughter (not sure how!)”. I didn’t tell Jim, I just wrote that down and honestly, didn’t give much thought to it again.
How fitting that on May 3, 2015, exactly one year from the journal entry I wrote, Jim came home from a retreat with Zach confirming that we should move forward with adopting again. We gathered as a family that night and told Him we are in. In our family, we say yes to brave adventures.
As I look back on this past year, I can see clearly how our family was being prepared for this unbeknownst to us. I was having doubts because we are older now, I feel more tired and have been thinking, how will I go back to toddler years? God gently reminded me that he physically trained me for this last year through running, and got Jim in the best shape he’s been in in years. He moved us to us a house with more room in a crazy way (ask me that story sometime). He softened my heart to the idea of 4 kids through watching every season of Parenthood this year (seriously, Hollywood can be used for good). Chinese regulations were lifted this year that had kept us from adopting. I could go on and on with examples.
Our adoption application is in and has been accepted for the China special needs program. The adventure has begun. And we need you. There was no plan in our minds for this. We are hearing go and so we are going. This part of this story is scary for us. We’ve never fundraised for anything, but we aren’t able to do this on our own. We are asking for you to partner with us. Whatever that may look like. We’d love prayers. We’d love you to contribute financially if you are able. We almost said no to this idea when we learned how much fees have risen since we adopted Zoe. The total cost will be $40,000. We are trusting God that we will be able to save up $15,000 on our own, and expectant to see how the other $25,000 will come. Jim was reminded by some wise men on his retreat that all we need to do is say yes, but the burden is God’s and He will work out the details. We trust Him.
If you would like to partner with us financially, there are 2 ways to give:
1) GoFundMe. This account will be used to help with expenses paid to our international adoption agency, as well as other expenses such as US Immigration, background checks, passports, homestudy fees, airline tickets, orphanage fee, etc.
**If you are interested in making a larger donation, we have a tax deductible option that can be used for a portion of our expenses. Contact us directly for more info.
2) Donation of airline miles or hotel points. Contact us directly if you'd like to help in this way.
If you ever want to hear more of the story in person, we’d be happy share it over a glass of wine on our deck. Just say the word.
Love,
Jim, Kristin, Zach, Ben and Zoe
10 years ago while we were going through the process of adopting Zoe, we wrote the idea and prayer of a 4th child, another daughter, on a pillar during the construction of the expansion of the kids’ area at our church. We told God in that moment that we would adopt again if he called us to it.
We traveled to China and adopted Zoe a few months later, but then life happened: Job losses, struggles, new China regulations that steered us away from the idea of a 4th child in our family.
Fast forward to May 3, 2014. Me, the non-runner, 0.0 sticker on my car kind of gal, was training for my first ever race, a half marathon. I was listening to a message I had missed at church some months before where our pastor, Chuck, was telling the story of their daughter who was a bit of a surprise gift. God gave me the vision that day of a daughter. I wrote in my journal that night: “I wonder if our trip back to visit China one day, will actually be a mission trip to pick up our daughter (not sure how!)”. I didn’t tell Jim, I just wrote that down and honestly, didn’t give much thought to it again.
How fitting that on May 3, 2015, exactly one year from the journal entry I wrote, Jim came home from a retreat with Zach confirming that we should move forward with adopting again. We gathered as a family that night and told Him we are in. In our family, we say yes to brave adventures.
As I look back on this past year, I can see clearly how our family was being prepared for this unbeknownst to us. I was having doubts because we are older now, I feel more tired and have been thinking, how will I go back to toddler years? God gently reminded me that he physically trained me for this last year through running, and got Jim in the best shape he’s been in in years. He moved us to us a house with more room in a crazy way (ask me that story sometime). He softened my heart to the idea of 4 kids through watching every season of Parenthood this year (seriously, Hollywood can be used for good). Chinese regulations were lifted this year that had kept us from adopting. I could go on and on with examples.
Our adoption application is in and has been accepted for the China special needs program. The adventure has begun. And we need you. There was no plan in our minds for this. We are hearing go and so we are going. This part of this story is scary for us. We’ve never fundraised for anything, but we aren’t able to do this on our own. We are asking for you to partner with us. Whatever that may look like. We’d love prayers. We’d love you to contribute financially if you are able. We almost said no to this idea when we learned how much fees have risen since we adopted Zoe. The total cost will be $40,000. We are trusting God that we will be able to save up $15,000 on our own, and expectant to see how the other $25,000 will come. Jim was reminded by some wise men on his retreat that all we need to do is say yes, but the burden is God’s and He will work out the details. We trust Him.
If you would like to partner with us financially, there are 2 ways to give:
1) GoFundMe. This account will be used to help with expenses paid to our international adoption agency, as well as other expenses such as US Immigration, background checks, passports, homestudy fees, airline tickets, orphanage fee, etc.
**If you are interested in making a larger donation, we have a tax deductible option that can be used for a portion of our expenses. Contact us directly for more info.
2) Donation of airline miles or hotel points. Contact us directly if you'd like to help in this way.
If you ever want to hear more of the story in person, we’d be happy share it over a glass of wine on our deck. Just say the word.
Love,
Jim, Kristin, Zach, Ben and Zoe
Organizer
Kristin Alden Terry Wooten
Organizer
Cincinnati, OH