Trades of Hope Holiday Sale

I just wanted to let everyone know that Trades of hope is having a great holiday sale, today and tomorrow!!! : ) I just love Trades of Hope because I know I am helping women around the world with every purchase-and the products are just BEAUTIFUL!! :)  I am having an on-line holiday open house! Please share with others. With every purchase through this link, you will be entered to win a $20 gift certificate.  Thanks for your support and help, changing the lives of women in poverty!
 Don't forget to contact me if you have any questions or would like to join my team and become a Compassion Entrepreneur for Trades of Hope. It is a GREAT way to raise money for your adoption or help others raise money for their adoptions! www.mytradesofhope.com/parties/2170.
Be sure to like us on Facebook, too: Jenna Lewis-Trades of Hope
Thanks for you support and for helping to change lives!! :) Please feel free to SHARE!!

Exciting News X 2!

We have super exciting news....Yesterday morning we went to court to finalize Joy's adoption and she is now OFFICIALLY our beautiful daughter, Joy Noelle Lewis! I can hardly believe it!  It was 13 months to the day when Joy left the comforts of her life in the Philippines to become a part of our family. We love our spunky little girl! She is absolutely a "Joy" to us and adds a lot of spice to our lives. I am so glad it is finally official and I can post all the pictures I want! :) Look for  a new design coming soon on my blog, full of lots of pictures of my family.

We have exciting news X 2! The second part is that I am starting a business venture.  I have decided to join the team at Trades of Hope in selling items handmade by women around the world in poverty. If you have never heard of Trades of Hope, you can check them out here: www.mytradesofhope.com/jennalewis.  I am not a sales person and, being an introvert, I typically HATE home parties; however, this opportunity is so different from any of the other types of home businesses out there. I feel good about being a part of something bigger than myself and the products are AMAZING! The website and catalogs do not do the products justice! With Christmas right around the corner, I want to encourage you to purchase gifts with a purpose this year.  Through Trades of Hope, you can help empower women in poverty, while getting beautiful gifts for family members and friends.  Also, if you would like me to host an on-line (or home/church party for those in the Louisville area) so you can earn free product and be a part of helping these women, I would love to set one up for you.  It is minimal work for you to do an on-line party-Basically just getting the word out there through e-mail and social media, with a link for your party. 

 

If you are interested in becoming a Compassion Entrepreneur, please contact me at violetsgirl@bellsouth.net.  There is very little investment to get started.  I am super excited about the beautiful handmade products, and I cannot wait to be a part of this wonderful missions-minded company. I am also excited about having a way to help raise money for friends who are adopting and for other missions projects.  Trades of Hope also provides adoption grants, so if you are interested in that information, please let me know!

Priceless

Preliminary application fee: $550
Home Study Preparation Fee: $2600
Dossier Preparation Fee: $500
US Adoption Fees: $3500
Philippines Country Fee: $6300
US Paperwork (I800A and Fingerprinting): $840
Passports: $260
Numerous miscellaneous expenses: $500
Adoption training conferences/classes: $300
2 roundtrip tickets to the Philippines: $2600
1 one-way ticket home from the Philippines: $900
Hotel, food and other travel expenses: $1200
Post Adoption interviews/paperwork: $750

Changing an orphan's life forever: Priceless

The smile on my daughter's face when she found out she has a family: Absolutely Priceless


The cost of adoption is high. The sacrifices we make are many, but the end result is something there is no way we can measure in dollars. I can't wait to share with you the smile we've seen in the pictures of our little girl when she found out she FINALLY, after almost 7 years of waiting, has a family to call her very own.

We are doing our VERY LAST fundraiser to help us get our daughter home. Would you jump on over to www.give1save1asia.blogspot.com and watch our adoption video and give $1 to help us get Joy Noelle home? Pass it on to a friend or two. Keep spreading the word.  We hope to travel in September!

Can $1 REALLY make a difference?

What can you do with $1? You can't really buy very much with just $1.  You can get a cheesburger from McDonalds or a pack of gum or a large soft drink. You might be able to pick up something useful from the dollar store, but one dollar is not really much significance by itself. However, $1 added up with $1...and another and another makes a HUGE differnce toward our plane ticket costs to bring our daughter home from the Philippines! Will you be the one to start the giving with just $1 to help us bring our little girl home? I think some of you out there are not even bothering to give...NOT because you don't have a dollar or because you don't care, but because you don't believe $1 can really make a difference.  We have only had one person to this point give only $1.And it was from someone I don't even know!  Everyone else who has given to this point has given MORE than $1 and we are very grateful for that. I am very thankful for EVERY dollar given. Every donation, big or small, truly makes a BIG difference!! I'll be honest with you, I sort of felt silly giving only $1 to the previous featured family, so I made it $2 instead.... but I don't want you to not give because you feel $1 is not enough. I have over 400 friends on facebook; $1 each makes $400; if they each pass it on to 5 friends and some of them give $1, it just keeps on growing!!!

Let's see what we can do together if we EACH give $1! I can't wait to see what God is going to do through give1save1 this week!

Adoption is a beautiful picture of the Father's love for His children and God's people working together to change the life of  one.  Will you be a part of our adoption story by giving just $1 to help us bring Joy Noelle home? View our video at http://www.give1save1asia.blogspot.com/, give $1 and pass it on to a friend or two!!

BY THE WAY....including a large donation yesterday, our total is at $798.00 for day one!!! This is AMAZING!!!!

Thank you and God Bless!

BIG NEWS!!

We have BIG NEWS....no, we don't have a visa appointment or travel date yet. Sorry to disappoint you! Our big news is that our family has been chosen to be featured on give1save1 to help us raise funds for our adoption! Our adoption video is being featured starting today! It is just an incredible blessing to us and I hope that you will help us out! Go on now to http://www.give1save1asia.blogspot.com/ and watch the Lewis Family Adoption video. Help us share it with friends, family, neighbors, everyone you know! Let's make this go viral!  We still need an estimated $3,000 to help cover the post adoption expenses and balance of our travel costs! We don't know how much the plane tickets will cost, but they are averaging about $1200-$1300 each right now. If everyone just gives $1 it will go a long way in bringing Joy Noelle home (hopefully very soon!!!)

We have been incredibly blessed along this adoption journey and God has provided every step of the way! There have been so many family members and friends who have followed God's direction to help us financially. We cannot even begin to thank you enough.  If you have already donated, please do not feel obligated to give even another dollar! Instead, please share this link with 5 or 10 family members or friends and help us get the word out. http://www.give1save1asia.blogspot.com/

God bless you as you help us be the the hands and feet of Jesus Christ to a little girl who has lived in an orphanage for almost 7 years! She is going to know the love of a real FAMILY for the first time in just a short few weeks and hopefully will come to realize the love Jesus has for her in a whole new way. YOU can be a HUGE part by helping us bring her home!

PS....if you are on an adoption journey, I encourage you to contact give1save1 for an application! They want to help you raise your funds. They have a separate site for Carribean adoptions, domestic adoptions, Asia adoptions, Europe adoptions and Africa adoptions!

I Give Up!

I have to be honest with you. I'm frustrated. I am a planner. I like to have everything prepared. I'm a doer, a "Martha", per say. I NEED to be working, serving, doing something! I have difficulty "giving up", basking in God's presence, and trusting Him to take care of me. I have trouble being "Mary" sitting at His feet, worshipping Him, without a worry in my mind of all things that need to be accomplished.  God asks us to "serve", "do", and "work" to accomplish His purpose; however, at this point in our adoption journey, I  feel God telling me to "give up", rest at His feet and simply trust Him.

 I've spent the last few weeks scouring the internet to find adoption grants, filling out the application paperwork, laying awake at 1:00 AM wracking my brain for effective fundraisers, sending out letters to family and friends, listing items on e-bay and NONE of it is getting us anywhere close to where we need to be.  We are only $40.00 closer to our goal (Thank you to the 4 friends who donated $10 each through facebook! We do appreciate your effort and every bit of support helps!!!) We have cut back on our personal expenses, given all our tax refund toward our adoption, and prayed for inspiration. We've literally done all we can do. So, I am giving up. Yes, we may get a call any day and need $6,100.00 at the drop of a hat. No, we don't have $6,100.00 in the bank and I  don't want to go into debt to pay for this adoption. There will be numerous expenses once the adoption is complete, including medical bills, additional furniture for the new child, and of course the day to day expenses. It doesn't make sense to go into debt and I don't think that is God's will for us.

 Is it easy to sit back, trust God and not worry about how we are going to pay for it? Not at all! I am struggling with the overwhelming stress of it all, but I know He is guiding our steps. Since God has called us to this adoption, He is going to take care of every aspect of it, including the finances.  Sometimes, we just need to "give up", sit at His feet and TRUST Him to take care of all our needs. Sometimes we need to spend time basking in His presence, worshipping Him without worrying about how His plan is going to come together and remember that He can make it happen-without our help! "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths..." Prov. 3:5-6

Fundraisers: We need your help!

We are still waiting....I feel that this waiting time is our time to prepare the funds needed when we get the referral, so we have a couple fundraisers going on, lots of prayers and faith that God knows what we need! Many people have helped us get to this point and we are so very thankful for that; however, we have also sacrificed much of our own funds and our savings account is basically nil.  It seems like every time we save a little, an unexpected expense arises. (for example: air conditioning out in my car in middle of the 100 degree weather; several doctor visits for various members of the family; etc!) I KNOW that God is faithful and He will help us have the funds we need when we need it. We have a $4,000 Show Hope Grant and my boss at work recently told me that my employer will donate $1,000 toward our travel! Praise the Lord! That should cover our travel expenses in full!

My immediate concern is the $6,100 that will be due less than 2 weeks after we recieve the official "referral". (Which could be any day!)  This money goes to the Philippines to provide the visa, medical exams, orphanage donation, and paperwork for our child to come home. We have very little in our account toward this expense, so we are working on some fundraisers: 1) My friend Stephanie Lush is doing a scentsy fundraiser for us. These are wickless candles-and they are amazing! The initial investment is a little more than candles, but the scented wax is less costly than candles...and the commission is donated toward our adoption! Check out http://www.stephanielush.scentsy.us/ and click on the Lewis Adoption Fundraiser to order on-line. 2)  Also, over the next couple weeks, we will be putting various items on e-bay. Check out the seller "revsnoopy" and all items will be going toward our adoption. 3) We are doing a $10 friend donation on Facebook. My friend suggested if each of our facebook friends donated just $10, we would be at our goal!

If anyone has any other great fundraiser ideas for adoption, please post them here! We need your help!!! This is one of those things that takes the body of Christ working together for a common good and we appreciate all of you who continue to support us through prayer and finances! We can't wait to see this come together in His perfect timing!!!