Rauch Adoption Update

Dear Friends and Family,

Many of you may know that we have been praying about adoption for some time now.  We have always considered adoption as a real option for our family.  We got serious about it when Jon’s sister, Beth, and her husband adopted three awesome kids about ten years ago.  However, we quickly had Elli, Ethan, and Elisha close together, which put adoption on hold until recently.  Over the past few years our church has gotten really involved in caring for children around the world, and that began to stir this calling in us again.  We felt moved as we saw what God was doing through Asia’s Hope (a ministry our church has partnered with to rescue orphans), as we read books and articles about the orphans of the world, and as we heard stories from those in our circles of friends who had adopted.  Last January, we started praying for direction and began to talk with many friends who had adopted to hear about their different journeys.  Through that process of seeking God and counsel, we began to pursue adopting from the country of Ethiopia.  However, this spring we became aware of a need through the Adoption Support Center in Indianapolis, where they currently have more birth moms making an adoption plan than families ready to adopt. This great need for adoptive families right now and right in front of us seemed like an open door we could not turn away from.  That brings us to today.  We have taken all our classes, passed all our background checks and home study, and are approved to adopt as soon as we have all of our finances in order to pay for the adoption.  Once we have all the funds in place, Adoption Support Center will begin to match us with a birth family.  This process will begin the real “wait and see” period of following God’s lead.  We know of some adopting families that currently are waiting months to be matched and we know of some cases that only took a few days! 

To help us pull together the rest of our money, we have the really cool privilege of partnering with Village to Village International, an agency that seeks to help families overcome the prohibitive costs of adopting children.  Our adoption will cost around $24,000, and this agency is allowing us to raise $10,000 through friends and family.  By donating to Village to Village, your gift will be tax deductible at the end of the year, and they will give us 100% of what is given in our account.  We realize everyone has costs associated with having and raising children, so we have been working hard to save all that we can personally.  This boost will give us what we need to realize our goal.  A gift as small as $10 will go a long way if we can get enough people to give.  Of course, those who can give larger gifts will allow us to move ahead quicker.  Thanks for considering us for this need, and thanks for your continued prayer as we move forward in this direction.  This is a huge adventure, and we are thrilled to be walking with Jesus’ help on it.

To give online and to track our progress, go to http://www.villagetovillageintl.com/the-rauch-family-family-47.php or you can also make a check out to Village to Village Intl. and send it to 5046 N Troy St #2 Chicago, IL 60625.  Be sure to include our names on a note with your gift.

We will keep you updated so you can continue to pray as we keep moving forward in the process.  Thanks, again!

Because Jesus Loves Kids,

Jon and Tara—Elli, Ethan, and Elisha