Nothing Fun about Fundraising Letter

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