Meet Josh and Thalia Parr. Josh is a farm manager and Thalia is a stay-at-home mom. Earlier this year, they stepped up to adopt Baby Leo, a relative of Thalia’s due to be born in Kazakhstan in October. When the Parrs made this decision, they expected that the child’s father would provide for the full cost of the adoption and their associated life changes. Sadly, he didn’t follow through, and now they need our help.

Let’s go back to June 2025. The Parrs are renting a one-bedroom apartment on the farm Josh manages. Their daughter is 8 months old and they have another baby on the way in November. The apartment is small, but they’ve decided they can make it work for their growing family. The plan is to save money to buy a larger home before a third child comes in a few years. That was their plan.

Then, Josh and Thalia get a phone call from Thalia’s mom: a single relative of Thalia’s has conceived a child through IVF surrogacy; he decided he would not be able to raise the child; the child will be born in Kazakhstan. Without missing a beat, the Parrs step up to give this baby a home. In the height of the farming season, the Parrs start spending all their limited free time talking with lawyers on the phone and searching for a home for five that they can afford. They find and buy a diamond in the rough: a four-bedroom house walking distance from their church. Sure, it needs work, but that's what puts it in the right price range! And now there’s room for Baby Leo.

Complex details emerge, but they don’t back down. To retrieve Baby Leo and get him U.S. citizenship, Josh will have to go to Kazakhstan for two months and miss the birth of his own second child. Thalia’s mom went with him and sacrificed two months of income to do it. Back home, Thalia did give birth to baby Edmund without Josh, but with the help of her father, who took care of her firstborn and also did a ton of work in their new home. Josh got home with Baby Leo just in time to celebrate Thanksgiving . . .with their three kids.

There’s still so much to do, all with associated costs. There are legal and adoption fees, home repairs, and help needed to care properly for two infants and a toddler. These expenses were itemized early in the process but, unfortunately, as soon as everyone arrived safely in the United States, Baby Leo’s biological father decided to stop further contributions. He decided not to pay for:

• $13,000 in remaining legal fees directly associated with the adoption

• $5,000 for a home study, background checks, and other adoption fees

• $10,000 for a deposit on a used car. (They only have one car, and it can't fit three car seats. They can't drive anywhere as a family at the moment)

• $20,000 for two years of a live-in nanny stipend. (The Parrs now have three kids aged one and under!)

• $15,000 for outstanding loans. (Increases disposable monthly income by $200, a plus for the adoption home study which scrutinizes finances.

• $26,000 for some essential home improvement projects, including HVAC replacement, dishwasher, floor repair and siding replacement.

So, all told, they need $89,000 -- just a fraction of what it costs to raise a child in a good home today.
My wife and I have known Joshua and Thalia Parr for years, and they are among the most decent, charitable people we know. Without a second thought, they agreed to an international kinship adoption, and now they need our help. Please consider helping them. They could really use it. And know that your generosity will ensure you will be held in prayer by this beautiful family of five. (And if you can’t afford a gift, please keep them in your prayers! Thanks!)