I wanted to share the letter we have composed and sent to some of our friends and family, if you would like a hard copy we will be glad to mail one to you.
Dear friends and family,
As most of you know, for the past eight months, we
have been working tirelessly through the process of adopting a child with
special needs from China. We are currently in the final step(s) of adopting our
son Noah through a wonderful agency called Heartsent Adoptions Inc. The entire
adoption process will take 11 months total and is a journey of faith each stop
of the way. As
we researched and prayed, we began to feel God lead us towards international
adoption specifically Noah and the chance to rescue an orphan and make him our
own.
At this point Noah is 3 years old and living in an orphanage with 1,200
other children in Zhengzhou, China. It
is estimated he was abandoned at 3 months old (January 2, 2011) outside of a
chemical plant. We do not know why Noah
was abandoned by his birth parents. We
do know that he has albinism and low vision.
As you can see his skin is very pale, his hair is white and his eyes are
blue. Because of the albinism he is
considered special needs which makes a child less likely to be adopted; that
all changed when we saw his picture, read his story and knew it was him that
God wanted us to adopt.
There are still many unknowns with this adoption. What we do know is this: Noah has never
known the warm and loving embrace of a mother, or the joy of a piggy-back ride
from a father. He doesn’t know what it feels like to be tucked in and kissed
goodnight, warm and safe in a caring home. He has yet to receive full medical attention,
proper, nutritious food, a childhood that allows him to be a child and an
environment where he can thrive and flourish and reach his full potential. He needs a loving family the most.
We cannot wait to bring him home, to hold him in our arms, and always
provide a hand for him to hold as he grows. No words can capture the true joy
and excitement we feel as we anticipate the blessing of his presence in our
home. Our children, Ella and Beckett are
just as equally excited to welcome Noah into our family and we feel blessed for
them to gain a brother through adoption.
At this point our greatest need is financial, as
the adoption will cost around $30,000 total. We have already paid more than
$15,000 of which we were able to raise approximately $3,000 thru t-shirt
fundraisers and a yard sale. We recently
received a grant but we still have additional in-country expenses of roughly
$13,500; that includes miscellaneous travel expenses (air fare and hotel),
government fees, a medical exam for Noah, and finally his Visa and one-way
ticket home.
We are greatly depending on family and friends to help
with the remaining adoption expenses. Therefore, we would like to extend an
invitation to you and your family to joyfully partner with us financially to
help bring home our son. While not everyone is called to adopt a child, we
believe (and hope!) many will join us on the journey to rescue an orphan and
make an eternal impact on Noah’s life.
You can make a donation on the blog via PayPal, mail a check or we
would gladly pick up any spare change you have.
J Please contact us if you have any questions,
need alternative methods of contribution, or would like to hear more about Noah.
We would absolutely love to hear from you!
Thank you for taking the time to let us share our
journey with you.
Sincerely,
Luke and Stacy Hopkins
“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
