“I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.” - John 14:18 Today is the first day of National Adoption Month! We can’t think of a better way to kick off the month than to celebrate James’s adoption! James was part of our advocacy program for several years. He has Apert Syndrome, which is a congenital disorder characterized by malformations of the skull, face, hands and feet. Due to this, it took many years for James to find a family. We are grateful that many people

This is part one of a two part series featuring adoptive parents Nathan and Lindsey Williams. Connected Hearts had the pleasure of helping the Williams pay for costly medical procedures for their sons Ethan and Oliver. Oliver was born with a rare birth defect that affects various organs. Because of the severity of his needs, Oliver was abandoned at 7 days old. Ethan was abandoned at age one, when his family found out he had heart failure. Both boys are thriving with the Willi

"Whenever we follow Jesus near to the world's hurt, brokenness and beauty become intertwined." - Christian Alliance for Orphans _________________________________________________________ Today's guest blog post is written by Sarah Schmidt. Sarah is an orphan advocate, and has adopted two children with special needs. Connected Hearts Ministry had the privilege of helping Sarah's family raise funds for both of their adoptions. Sarah's article is an honest look at the real life

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.” - Proverbs 3:5-6 “Adoption has always been something Cameron and I wanted to do. We had it all figured out. We would have two biological children and then adopt a third child to complete our family of five. Little did we know, God had other plans. It all began on a Saturday night with a movie called Lion. For those of you who are n

Guest post by Allie Bestwick Donate Now to Help the Bestwick Family Bring Home Rosie! CLICK HERE TO DONATE NOW! ___________________________________ ADOPTION IS FEARLESS. ADOPTION IS LOVE THAT KNOWS NO BOUNDS. BECAUSE WE BELIEVE...WE'RE GOING BACK. See this cutie? She has a heart condition called HRHS, Hypoplastic Right Heart Syndrome. That means she was born with half of a heart. We are a BIG family - try 7 going on 8 - in a little house.We believe with all of our hearts that

Challenge Goal: 100 People to Join Give 1 Help One by Giving Tuesday _________________________________________ “And He looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury, and He saw also a certain poor widow putting in two mites. So He said, “Truly I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all; for all these out of their abundance have put in offerings for God, but she out of her poverty put in all the livelihood that she had.” - Luke 2:1-4 ________

A year ago this week we were frantically doing our last minute packing and laying in a supply of groceries for the kids who were staying behind.  We started our 28-hour trip to Xiamen, China, almost exactly a year ago. Monday is Leo’s “Family Day;” the anniversary of when he was first placed with us, his forever family. All three of our adoptions have been different.  Our initial time at home with the two girls was spent on various medical appointments, especially for Lybbi,

Did you know that, for the price of a cup of coffee, you can help bring a child home to their forever family? There are millions of orphans around the world who need and want a family. There are also many loving families who want to adopt, but cannot afford it. You can help bridge this gap by joining the Give 1 Help One campaign. For just $1 a week, you can provide funds to help a family adopt and give a child a loving home. Through your support more orphans will become treas

Congenital heart disease was one of the special needs that I never felt we could handle. It was “too serious,” among other things, and I couldn't imagine exposing ourselves to the potential heartbreak of losing a child. We hadn’t been looking to adopt again, but when I saw her picture, I had an unexplainable feeling that she was our daughter. The girl, who was known as “Gabriella” on the Waiting Children list, had a severe congenital heart defect. When her picture and bio fi

.....and help him find his forever family Little Joshua is a happy, gentle little boy! Joshua is happiest when he’s with others—he gets along well with adults and other children and always seems to be making everyone laugh! He is a playful child and especially likes to build blocks and play hide-and-seek. This smiley boy is a joy to his foster family and to all who meet him. Joshua was born premature and was abandoned when he was 8 months old. Joshua a hearing impairment and

Who would have thought that one day I’d be working for a non-profit and writing an adoption blog? If there ever was any doubt about God’s sense of humor, that should do a lot to dispel it. It’s been quite a ride, going from being a single 20-something who wasn’t at all sure that kids were something of interest at all -  to being a dad of five, three of which were adopted internationally, with special needs to boot - to leaving a secure career in state government for the non-p