Exciting Update: Moving Right Along!

Sarah & Derek had their home study Friday morning & are now officially approved for adoption! Praise God for a smooth process thus far & for His provision!

Many of you have asked for an update on where they are in the process & what their upcoming financial needs are.

Now that they've received approval & their contract can be drawn, Sarah & Derek will be given donor family profiles to review this coming week. Once they receive & review these profiles, they will Lord willing select a donor family to send their own personal adoptive family profile for approval. 

Please join Sarah & Derek in praying over these decisions, these families & these little ones! The Lord sees & He is faithful!

This big & exciting next step brings with it additional financial needs. In the coming weeks, the following fees will be due:

-$5,000 in attorney fees

-$1,000 in embryo coordination fees

-$2,0000 for embryo shipping/transportation fees

For a total of $8,000.

There will also be an estimated $4,000-$6,000 in medical expenses associated with the actual embryo transfer. Sarah & Derek are still waiting to see what insurance may or may not cover related to this procedure. They will share a detailed update once the specifics of the procedure & insurance coverage are finalized. 

May the Lord bless & keep them!

"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope."

Background:

After many months of prayer, waiting, & hard news, the von der Hellens have found themselves in pursuit of growing their family via embryo adoption! This is not the story they anticipated, but their faithful pursuit of God's call on their lives is evident as they are trusting Him & putting their hands to this plow.

What is embryo adoption?

Couples who have gone through the process of IVF have the option of creating an adoption plan for any remaining embryos.

As Derek & Sarah believe life begins at conception, adopting one of these couples' remaining embryos would allow these tiny image bearers a loving home in a covenant household, give Sarah the experience of carrying their child(ren), & allow both she & Derek to bond with the baby over the 9 months of gestation!

Their goal will be to choose a couple with 2-3 embryos total to adopt & then transfer each embryo one at a time for Sarah to carry!

How can you help?

-Pray! "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God."

-Encourage them. Derek & Sarah are not alone in this. Let it be known we are in their corner!

-Give financially. As is the case with any adoption, embryo adoption comes at a high cost when combining agency & medical fees. If you have means to assist financially in bringing home baby von der Hellen, please prayerfully consider doing so! Any amount is a blessing & a help. You may give anonymously if you so choose.

The agency Derek & Sarah are using estimates a total expected cost of $24,000. Some of these expenses are dependent on details that are currently unknown & are subject to vary. We will update as we have that specific information & as specific financial needs arise.

The most immediate financial need is a lump sum due at the end of the month (January 31). The initial agency fees plus the home study fee come to a total of: $8,225.

$5,170 is taken care of which leaves a $3,055 deficit due before Feb 1.

Derek & Sarah are happy to share & answer any questions you may have. Please feel free to reach out to them, DeeDee von der Hellen, &/or Eddie & Kelly Wiggs.

May God be glorified in this & in all things!