Idoni Family Adoption Fund

Campaign Created by: Heather Idoni

Goal: USD $25,000
Raised: USD $ 8,334

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Thank you for taking the time to read our story.

My name is Heather Idoni.  My husband Jim and I have been married almost 32 years.  From the earliest years of our marriage, we believed that one day we would be adoptive parents.  After raising 5 biological sons, that dream became a reality when we brought home our first 3 adopted sons from Ukraine, ages 12, 16 & 17.  After a few months' home, Jim and I realized there was nothing else we would rather do in life -- in fact, we felt a calling from God to return to Ukraine and adopt 2 more sons, ages 11 and 14.  While there for their adoptions, we met 2 MORE deserving boys, ages 12 and 15 -- and the rest is history!  After adopting 7 sons from Ukraine, and then an 8th son (age 20, who cannot yet come to the U.S.), we are working hard to finish the adoptions of our 14th and 15th sons (#9 & 10 adopted, ages 13 and 18).  This last journey to adopt has had many trials, but we have also seen many miracles!  Jim and I love our boys so much... and we can't wait to be united as a family together in Michigan.

But we need your help.

International adoption has many expenses, including airfare, U.S. immigration fees, translation costs, help with documents within the country, and much more.  Each successive adoption also adds to at-home expenses.  As you can imagine, with all of our adopted sons being pre-teens to young adults at the time of adoption, their needs are greater than those of young children.  By God's grace we have been meeting their needs, but that leaves little left to save to adopt again.

That is where you come in!  Over $87,000 has been donated to and fundraised for us through loving friends, local churches and grants since 2013.  Our expenses to adopt our 8 sons have been well over $170,000.  But God has provided for all our needs over and above!  However, we still need more.  Our current adoptions have had many extra expenses and additional trips required.  With all the unforeseen costs, we are still short about $25,000.

Anything at all you can give will be so appreciated.  No amount is too small!  We are also welcoming friends (or strangers!) to pledge matching fund amounts.  Help with fundraising is always needed, too.  Please let me know your ideas or how you want to help.  Every bit counts!

Money is not all we need.  We really need friends committed to praying for us.  Right now, I am going through a very trying time physically and I don't have the energy I've had previously to organize and do the work for local fundraising.  I could really use help with that, especially if you live close.  Please contact me if the Lord puts something like this on your heart.

Thank you again for reading our story...  This is the "short" version, but it would take a book to write out all we have been through and to describe all the hundreds of amazing miracles the Lord has done to get us this far!

The photo above shows 12 of our sons.  We were so blessed to have them all together for my 3rd son Angelo's wedding this past summer.  We love being Mom and Dad to our boys and we are trusting God for the completion of what we believe to be our final adoptions.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR HELP... AND THANK YOU FOR SHARING OUR NEED!

Heather Idoni

UPDATES

Preparing for a Wedding!
May 7, 2019
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Last summer our son Angelo got married... and this summer (June 2nd) our son Carman will be married!  It is an exciting time of our lives.  Very shortly after Carman's wedding, Alex should have the required documents to be able to begin the U.S. Embassy process to come home to us.  As of today, May 7th, 30% of our needed funds have been given/raised.  The slow down in Alex's adoption (due to a changed court venue) has bought us some extra time to raise funds, but that time is also ticking down.  We have more fundraisers planned, so please pray for me to be able to work steadily on them!  This past week a garage sale benefit was organized by friends and we barely had to lift a finger.  It is so nice to have friends who care and are willing to come alongside, as so many of you have.  We feel so loved and completely supported!  Thank you for that love.  And thank you for continuing to pray and share our need.

Why We Adopt...
February 17, 2019
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I shared our "why" on Facebook back in 2015.  It is still true today.

Why We Adopt
July 16, 2015

https://www.facebook.com/notes/heather-idoni/why-we-adopt/10153512508973934/

For many people, adoption is about growing a family.  Perhaps they have dealt with infertility or have other reasons to pursue adoption of children.
 
For me, it was never about growing our family.  In fact, it was precisely because we HAD been blessed with wonderful children.  We felt complete and lacking nothing!  Our family was grown -- and nearly grown up -- and everything was right with our world.
 
Our decision to adopt was built from a pre-marriage discussion 29 years ago.  Jim and I always just knew we'd adopt someday, but Jim was settled it would most likely be after we had mostly raised biological children.
 
Then in 2013, after 26 years of marriage, we knew the time had come.  We knew we were "settled" and that we had so much more love to give.
 
Our adoption "because" became our life.  We had an abundant, unending supply of love to share because God was continually filling us to overflowing with HIS love.  It was never about money or space -- it was about "if OUR child is out there waiting for us -- we need to give God permission to lead us to him or her".
 
Now we have realized it has always been about the children.  They simply are WORTH IT.  Before we knew our new sons, we loved them.  Now our love has grown into precious relationships and our lives have been changed at least as much as theirs have.  What an amazing opportunity to love -- AND BE LOVED -- that can be so dismissed by the world.
 
I cringe when someone tells me "these kids are so lucky to have you".  Well, yes -- I AM a pretty awesome mom -- but no.  It is Jim and I who praise God every day for these awesome kids we now call our own.  We just sit here dumbfounded sometimes that we might have missed this calling.  This amazing rollercoaster of privilege to parent someone else's natural born children.  This chance to show them how precious and dear to God they really are.
 
My heart is constantly bursting with love for ALL my boys.  I love how our biological "first" family have embraced their new brothers.  I was adopted as a baby and now we have our own adopted "babies" -- yes, I tell them constantly they are my babies!  I tell them how I wish I could have been there in the beginning for them.
 
God's heart is for the orphan.  God's heart is for those like us who are reading this to experience what we have.  A total surprise in our "old age".  Good work for us to do... and miracles to behold.  Each of our new sons is a miracle in the making.  God's amazing redemptive power in full color.

https://www.facebook.com/notes/heather-idoni/why-we-adopt/10153512508973934/

 
Why do we adopt?
 
Because every child deserves a family ... all over the world ... and our children are WORTH what it takes to do it.

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