If you remember, we wrote a couple weeks ago about our decision to begin the adoption process for a child in Kazakhstan. As we mentioned in our last post, this will cost between $25,000-$35,000 and could take up to a year after the funds are raised. We decided rather than wasting time, we would begin the fundraising process right away while we searched for a great adoption agency that works with Kazakhstan.

As a result, we have opened a bank account and PayPal account dedicated strictly to our adoption in Kazakhstan.

We are asking you to pray about it and seek the Lord, and then come alongside us in changing the life of an orphan in the next year. You can do this in a couple ways.

1. Please pray that God will give us wisdom to move forward and favor with an excellent agency.
2. Please pray that we will have fortitude and courage to carry this process through to the end. This is a REALLY hard process! Everyone tells us that it’s more pain than we could ever imagine, but so worth it.
3. Please give to our adoption fund. You can donate on PayPal by sending your donation to adoption@stephen-miller.com

Thanks guys!

Grace and peace,
Stephen Miller

For almost a year now, we have been discussing, praying through and seeking wisdom about what our family’s next step is. Last year around this time, we were seriously considering adoption, but as we began to learn more and more about foster care we started considering pursuing that as well. So we took the class to be certified, filled out the paperwork, and all the other things that we needed to complete before we would be able to have children in our homes to care for in the absence of their parents. There was only one problem. We weren’t sure how long God would have us remain in Houston. And with that, we decided, for stability’s sake, that we needed to delay until God had us in a more permanent location.

August of 2009 came and went, and we had left Sugar Creek where I was on staff as a worship pastor. God was moving us on to itinerant worship ministry for a season and we were going to be moving back to Austin. This was it! The moment we’d been waiting for! We could now start foster care! We took our CPR and First Aid classes, finished most of the paperwork, got our fire inspection, etc. and were practically ready to pull the trigger, but still weren’t at peace. I knew that at some point God was wanting us to be foster parents, but just wasn’t sure if NOW was that time. I genuinely felt like the Lord was saying wait a little longer. Amanda and I discussed it and prayed together at length and she let me know she had been feeling the same way, which was a major confirmation. The more we prayed about it, the more we felt that foster care wasn’t going to be just a short season in our lives. We don’t want to do it for 6 months or a year and then then move on to other things like adoption, but rather we see foster care as being more of an ongoing mission in our lives. Something that once we start, we continue for quite some time. That being said, we have also felt strongly about adopting internationally for several years now. To take a child from a different country, different culture, different religion and make them our own. It’s such a picture to the world of what God has done for us. So what now?

It has been over a month now since we began praying about adoption again. This is something that has always been on my heart and mind to do. But more specifically – we’ve been praying about international adoption lately. Amanda had been saying how badly she felt that God was leading us to adopt from Kazakhstan. Honestly, I thought we would adopt domestically first. The more I prayed about it in secret, and we prayed about it together, the more the Lord began to sway my heart that He was passionate about international adoption for us. We want to have an inter-racial family to display with our lives that God is the God of all nations and skin colors and languages and that we are passionate about what He is passionate about. We also want to adopt from a nation where the gospel is scarce and our child would otherwise not have had a chance to know Jesus Christ.

And so here we are, completely and totally surrendered, ready for what the Lord is getting ready to do in us that will completely change our lives forever! We want to adopt! We believe the Lord is calling us to adopt! So we’re adopting. And Here’s why:

1. Because God has put it in our hearts to have another child.

2. Because God set the example for adoption by adopting us and making us His sons and daughters when we were not His, and even still, heirs with Christ! (Rom. 8:15, Gal. 4:5, Eph. 1:5)

3. Because God desires the hope of the Gospel to spread to all nations through international adoption, displayed by Jesus shedding his blood to purchase for Himself people from every nation. (Rev. 5:9)

4. Because God loves the orphan and has given us the gift of adoption that we might care for him. (James 1:27, Deut. 10:18)

5. Because in caring for the orphan we care caring for Jesus Himself. (Matt. 25:40)

6. We want to be a walking display of the Gospel and an encouragement and inspiration to all who watch our lives to adopt as well, that God would get all the glory from His bride embracing mercy and loving justice.

Certainly there are many obstacles, but mainly regarding the cost. This adoption is going to cost somewhere in the ball park of $25,000-$30,000, and will take about a year to complete once our funds are raised. But I believe that God is in this. That He began this work in us and He will carry it to completion. I believe that because God cares about the orphan and about His church standing up for justice and adopting orphans that He will provide the money. At some point very soon we will begin the fundraising process and I would ask that if God lays it on your heart to give, please do. However, right now, our biggest need is prayer. Please come alongside us and pray that God would continue to guide our path with the light of His glory. That He would continue to give us wisdom and discernment. And that He would order our steps and teach us His will in this. We will keep you posted along the way.

Grace and Peace,
Stephen and Amanda Miller