Meet the Kimmels

Tiffany and I have always known that part of God’s plan for our lives was adoption…a huge part.  So when we finally started the process over two years ago there was much excitement, nervousness, but no hesitation because we knew this was God’s plan.  We were a couple that wanted children and wanted them now!  Our daughter Kennedy came six months after our first anniversary. When she turned two we started the adoption process. While we had hoped to have our next two children home with us by now, we trust in God’s timing.  That’s right, our next “two.”  We are in process of adopting siblings from Ethiopia and while we are open to bringing home one child, our prayer is for siblings.  Our daughter Kennedy is now going to be five in September and she can’t wait to bring home her brother(s) and/or sister(s) or both.  The process of adoption has been a growing experience to say the least.  We definitely have learned about patience and God’s timing and how to grow as a family in the midst of all of this, but we’ve also seen how God, through is grace, opens new pathways and provides more ways for our family to achieve the calling of adopting, which has been amazing to witness. The biggest blessing is getting to see that ‘where God guides, God provides.’  We thank you for the support and prayers as we continue to walk this road.  Please do not hesitate to contact us with any questions!!

Ryan, Tiffany and Kennedy

Meet the Creasys

The question we get asked often is why do we want to adopt? the answer is simple..God told us to !  With that said most people don't realize what our past is. We talked about adopting when we first got married but figured we would see. Then as life went on we were able to get pregnant but I would get extremely sick. Every pregnancy got worse and worse. We had everything from possibly having to choose between the baby and Renita, being told to abort the pregnancy, and even delivering our stillbirth daughter at home. We strongly feel God was saying we have "pushed the limit enough".

We started looking deeper into it while I was pregnant with Tayaun, as we were told it takes up to 5 years or more. The more we dug the more frustrated we became. Then one day we found this agency based out of California that really took the time to talk to us and walk with us step by step. Since then our adoption has gone from 0-60. We thought it would be a while before we could get moving on this. There was no way we would be able to get the funding anytime soon. We prayed and said God if this is what you want us to do it's all on you! Then God flung open the doors! The agency was doing a program to reduce the cost of adopting we applied and were given the grant to move forward. God has provided every step of the way! We know God has our daughter out there just waiting for us. None of this would be possible without God. We have always stood by this but we stand in awe of the process God puts us through. We are very exited and can't wait to extend our family. If you would like to know more, please ask 

The Creasy's

Meet the Longstreets

Kevin and I met in college.  We worked together and became friends years before we began dating.  When we married 3 years after our first date, we didn't plan on having children.  We enjoyed spending time together biking, camping, playing tennis, spending time with friends, and traveling.  About 3 years ago, God began to reveal to us that we would grow our family through adoption.  We started the journey by sponsoring a beautiful baby girl from Albania.  She was, in fact, an orphan.  We were unsure how to proceed, so we inquired as to whether we would be able to adopt her.  In that time, we discovered that adopting her would be beyond a long shot and, as it turns out, she has since been reunited with her mother.  Praise God!  We began to pray and seek God's guidance on where he would lead us in our adoption journey.  He lead us to Ethiopia.  With excitement, we completed our homestudy and filed all the paperwork.  We sent our dossier to Ethiopia in November 2010.  Then, the wait portion of "hurry-up-and-wait" hit us.  We have been waiting 20 months to be matched with our little angel from Ethiopia.  At times, it has been difficult to understand why it has taken so long, and why so many roadblocks have been placed in our path.  Here and there, God shows us a piece of His plan.  In the last 20 months, we have become increasingly involved in the life of our church.  We have built amazing relationships with fellow Christians and adoptive families who continue to walk alongside us through every step of this journey.  I have had the blessing to move from a chaotic retail management schedule to a regular Monday-through-Friday, family-conducive schedule. When I look back on the last 20 months, God has been there every step of the way.

A few months ago, God revealed another piece of His plan to us.  As I was looking at the beautiful faces of the waiting children available through our agency, God spoke to me concerning an adorable little 7 year old boy from South Africa.  Adopting older children had also not been a part of our plan.  It seems backwards to start with an older child, right?  I shared this message I received with Kevin.  After discussing it, we talked to our social worker to learn more.  At the time we thought that he was from Ethiopia and that we might be able to process the adoptions together.  The fact that he was from South Africa meant starting everything over again, in every aspect.  New paperwork, new fingerprints, and a new financial burden.  Coincidentally enough, as all this is racing through our minds, God was speaking to us through our sermon series "Faith Is...".  Our pastor said "God will not bless you until you after you step out in faith" and that was exactly what he was asking us to do.

In a whirlwind of events, God has rocked our world once again, and we couldn't be more excited!  Hebrews 11:1 says "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see".  We have faith that God will enable us to bring these children into our family, even though we cannot see the path before us.  We face a tight deadline to come up with the funds to bring him home, but desire to travel as soon as possible (Hopefully we will leave for South Africa in October) so that he can experience the love, compassion, happiness, chaos, struggles, and pure joy of having a forever family.

We are not able to share pictures of "N" until he's home, but come see us at church!  He's a real cutie!!!

Meet The Smiths

It was November 11, 2010, when Princess Keke (2 3/4 yrs. old from Haiti) came into our family.  Our adoption journey has been anything but typical.  Before our adoption could be completed, our sweet girl (4 yrs. old) was required by the government to return to Haiti this past January 5, 2012 (she was in the states on a medical visa for her heart condition---we praise God she is doing well!).  These last months of fighting to move our adoption along and bring our daughter back home have been challenging.  We feel like we are literally in the fire and God is molding and shaping us to be more like him (it is painful, but worth every tear!). We have visited our precious girl in January (shortly after her return) and March, and Jeanne and her mom will be going for a week in July (14th-21st).  We covet your prayers as we pray for the Haitian government to expedite our adoption case before big changes happen with their adoption policies (as they are on their way to become a Hague country, which would require some of our paperwork to be redone).  Also, please continue to pray for Kelencia's physical heart and her emotional heart as she navigates these months without her mommy, daddy and sister and brother (Katelyn and Elijah).  We know God will be glorified in all of this even though it's hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel.  We choose to trust!!!

Follow The Call Adoption Fundraiser

Hello Everyone!!!

The Not Forgotten team is putting together our first-ever fundraiser to support the adoptive families of Corinth.  There are lts of ways to get involved!!!  You can:
1.  Sponsor a family/families
2.  Ask friends and family to sponsor you in order to sponsor a family/families
3.  Wear and/or sell our Not Forgotten "Follow the Call" tees (only $12!)
4.  Pray for the families and their little ones

The details are posted in the flyer below.  Questions?  E-mail lklongstreet@gmail.com.  We hope to see you there!!!

Keep watching the blog for bios on the families looking for your support!

Check out our favorite links :)

Be sure to check out the links on the right side of this page for great information and resources!

Here is the latest update from the Orphan Ministry Alliance of West Michigan, including their next meeting date and info about the upcoming National Orphan Summit in southern California.

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Dear Orphan Ministry Alliance, Happy New Year (a little late) from OMA! Our team is excited about what God has done and is doing through OMA and the churches and organizations of West Michigan in the way of orphan care and adoption. Our quarterly meetings have proven to be an excellent way to encourage one another and help keep the inspiration and momentum going in our ministries. Currently we are seeking future meeting locations and even considering the possibility of a stable venue for OMA Quarterly meetings. If you believe your church or organization would be a good place for one or more meetings and would be willing to help facilitate the scheduling, please reply to this e-mail. We are looking for a location fairly centrally located in the Grand Rapids area (at least close to major highways) with a rent-free space for our use. Let me know if you need more details. Looking forward to seeing you  soon! Many blessings to you all, Jodi, for the OMA Team PLEASE JOIN US! Orphan Ministry Alliance Quarterly Meeting Tuesday, February 28, 2012, 7-9pm Madison Square Church Rm 305/306 Come in main doors off Madison Ave. Meeting room is located on the 2nd floor. Please join us for this opportunity to share what God is doing through your ministry and others throughout the area, express need for support and encouragement and talk about opportunities to partner together. Save the Date for additional 2012 OMA Meetings Details TBD: Tuesday, April 17 Tuesday, September 18 Tuesday, November 13 ADOPTION TAX CREDIT PETITION: As many of you know, the adoption tax credit is scheduled to phase out and then go away in 2013. The tax credit has been an important way to encourage and help families adopt. Please click here to sign a petition to make adoption costs fully refundable in the 2012 & 2013 tax years. ORPHAN SUMMIT VIII: Adoption. Foster Care. Global Initiatives. The Christian Alliance for Orphans’ annual Summit has become the national hub for what Christianity Today recently called, “the burgeoning Christian orphan care movement.” May 3-4, 2012. Saddleback Church, Southern California. Visitwww.summitviii.org for more information and to register. Like OMA on Facebook  Forward to a Friend Contact the OMA Team:  Chris Bennett, Vision Facilitator and Prayer Director Jodi Lewis, Networking and Communication Marc Andreas, Marketing Charlie Nunez, Training and Events Krista Harmon, Meeting Coordindator Lisa Fox, Post-Placement Initiative Coordinator

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