It was God's Word that inspired us to pursue adoption. James 1:27 says "Pure and lasting religion in the sight of God our Father means that we must care for orphans and widows in their troubles." Since God has shown us mercy in that "while were yet sinners, Christ died, we wanted to be obedient to God's Word, as well as show mercy to a child in need. Rom 5:8

My husband and I have been burdened for orphans since 2004.   In 2005, we began the process of adopting a little girl from Mexico. We didn't get very far when another family was chosen instead. However in January 2006, I became pregnant with our son, and we understood God had a different plan. Then in 2008, God blessed us again with another baby boy! As we were enjoying all the blessings (1 girl & 2 boys) God had graciously given us, we still thought of adoption, but felt we were too busy. In June 2009 we met Traci from Project HOPEFUL. I asked her, "How does a family know when they are ready to adopt?" Her answer stunned me. With enthusiasm she told us, now is the time!

Soon after, she sent us a link of children waiting with special needs. We were both drawn to an 8 year old HIV+ girl. She then put us in touch with Carolyn the Founder of Project HOPEFUL. We had so many questions, and were so anxious to talk to someone who knew about HIV. Even though I have an RN degree, I knew very little about managing HIV on a daily basis. I remember the first time I called Carolyn on her cell phone. I was a complete stranger to her, and I was bombarding with her one question after the other, yet she was patient and attentive. Talking with her was like talking with a long time friend. During our conversation, we were having car problems and were stranded in the Walmart parking lot. Carolyn and her husband offered to come and help jump off our car. That blessed me so much. I couldn't believe they were willing to drive that far out of their way to come help people they had never even met. I will never forget their kindness.

We learned we only live 15 minutes from one another, so Carolyn invited us over to talk further about adopting children with HIV. We talked for hours sitting around their pool, and when we left her husband said," You came as strangers but you are leaving as friends." It was so neat to see how God was placing people in our path to help us and teach us that HIV is manageable. It's not a death sentence nor is it a danger. Carolyn also recommended we attend a seminar at the University of Chicago where we learned more and were able to ask an Infectious Disease doctor specific questions. Afterwards, we felt at ease and totally comfortable with moving forward to adopt our daughter. Project HOPEFUL's mission is to encourage, educate, and enable parents to adopt children with HIV, and that's exactly what they did for us. If Project HOPEFUL did not exist, we would have never adopted a child with HIV because of our ignorance. That's why they do what they do, so precious children that God created will have a future. The time Carolyn and her family have spent with us and countless more is all voluntary. Their reward is to see children united with families and fears of HIV dispelled.

We have been home now with our daughter for about 6 weeks. There have been some really hard times, and situations we didn't know how to handle, but we have been blessed with support through the families of Project HOPEFUL. Being a part of this community is like having a new family, and I wouldn't have wanted to miss this for the world.