News and Information
 March 8, 2010
Please keep Hannah’s Home, a Christian Maternity Home in Mentor, Ohio in your prayers. This is a beautiful and safe facility where pregnant women between 12-25 years of age can reside, free of charge during their pregnancies. The facility has been blessed with the staff, volunteers and resources needed to run an outstanding program. Yet, there are no residents to serve at the present time. We pray that those who are in need of a wonderful place to stay will be lead to Hannah’s Home. www.hannahshome.org
This past summer, my husband Joe and I hosted two orphans, Valentina & Victor from Russia for 3 weeks in our home. Joe & I and our children were led to the same conclusion. We needed to make them part of our family forever. So, we are in the process of adopting them. On behalf of all of the families that will be adopting Russian orphans from last summer’s Journey to Joy host program, we hope that you can join us on Sunday, March 14th from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM for a Spaghetti Dinner at McCord Road Christian Church in Sylvania Ohio. All proceeds will help to offset the cost involved with international adoption. If you are not able to join us, we would appreciate your prayers for a successful fundraiser and God's hand upon the process to make the adoption process as smooth as possible for everyone.
May God Bless You Abundantly,
Joe & Tammy
March 1, 2010
Thank you, Julie for sharing your list of adoption books with us. This list can be accessed on the Forms, Tools and Links page by clicking on the words, “Step 6”.
Updates:
The expectant parents: T and J are doing well. Thank you for your prayers.
7 yr. old Amanda has been placed with a wonderful foster family. Praise the Lord!
His House Children’s Home in Florida helping Haitian orphans: click here for an update.
February 22, 2010
The Toledo Blade published the following article on February 21, 2010
New country, new family: Haitian tragedy sparks interest in international adoption
“Vini pou manje!”
That's Haitian Creole for “come to eat,” the call to dinner in the Frisch home in West Toledo.
It's also a taste of life in a family that has grown through transracial, international adoption — a topic that's been in the spotlight since an earthquake devastated Haiti last month. American families scrambled to protect adoptions that were in midstream, while other families — touched by heart-wrenching images of survivors — have considered opening their homes to a Haitian child.
“We are flooded with calls,” said Jane Bareman, executive director of Adoption Associates, Inc., a domestic and international adoption agency in suburban Grand Rapids, Mich., that has local ties through Spirit of Faith Adoptions in Sylvania.
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February 12, 2010
Dear SOFA Family,
Last summer my husband Joe and I agreed to host a Russian orphan in our home through the Friends’ of Russian Orphans Journey's of Joy program.
 We have four birth children and were excited to host a young 7 year old boy named Maxim in our home. After staying with us for three weeks, we had to say good-bye to him. It was so difficult. After much prayer and conversation, Joe and I, and our children agreed that we wanted Maxim to become a Grady and live with us forever! We have filed much paper work and just yesterday learned that we will be making our first trip to Russian the last week of February! We are so excited!
Please pray for safe travel, for our time with Maxim and that he would understand that we will be coming back (in a second trip) to take him home forever. Pray for Gretchen, our baby sitter and our four birth children, Nathen, Natalie, Mackenzie and Makayla, that God will bless and protect them and that God would bless Gretchen, a collage aged friend for stepping up. Also that Joe and I would be the sweet fragrance of Christ as we prepare, travel, visit Russia and return home.
Thanks and God Bless!
Wynelle and Joe
 God guided Isaac’s birth parents’ hearts to carefully and lovingly choose life and his adoptive family one year ago. We lift up little Isaac and his parents, both birth and adoptive as he begins his second year of his healthy, happy life.
February 10, 2010
Praise: Jessica and Dana are going to be shadowing Christa. Please pray for the hearts of the people that they will be meeting. Karen is going to be talking with pro-life advocates about her family’s adoption experiences.
February 3, 2010
Phillip Wurster was interviewed yesterday by NBC 24 in Toledo regarding the status of Haiti adoptions. Click on this link to view the clip.
February 1, 2010
Please pray for a baby boy to enter the World safely and in excellent health on March 10. He will delivered by C-Section. Please keep his birth mother in prayer as well.
Two expectant parents, T and J are in need of our prayers for God’s guidance, protection and love. Both are due in the next 3-4 months.
January 27, 2010
Please pray for a safe and speedy trip home from Georgia for a precious little infant and his new adoptive family.
Haiti update for January 25, 2010
From our Director, Phill:
Over the past few weeks, news coverage has brought national attention to orphans, specifically in Haiti. Please pray for those families whose hearts are burdened for these children and have been inquiring about adoption. Currently, the children that were identified for adoption prior to the Earthquake are having their cases expedited and will finalize in the United States as domestic adoptions. Those who are not matched, but have for some reason been transferred to the U.S. for humanitarian grounds fall in the category of temporary refugee aliens. It was asked during the conference call last week about the time frame of when these children would perhaps become available for adoption. The Government's current position is that a task force will be formed to review this situation. The first priority is to reunite families and the government will be very cautious to ensure that no mistakes are made by adopting a child out when they are not a true orphan, and a family member is still alive but just displaced somewhere. Therefore, I do not see any immediate path to quickly resolving the problem of children who were actually made orphans as a result of this tragedy and whether the same expedited process will also apply to them. Authorities made it clear that they will proceed as quickly as possible, but they need to focus on the current status of refugees that are in the adoption process before they can tackle the issue of new orphans. They are also aware of the potential of fraud and want to carefully review each situation. I suspect that determinations about adoptions for new orphans will not be rushed. We can help the orphans of Haiti directly by donating to a reputable charity of your choice that can provide for their most immediate needs right now.
For those interested in pursuing adoption, they can start the process, with the warning that the process and timing are uncertain. There will not be any quick answers. So my suggestion for those that want to begin the adoption home study process is to be prepared for a longer wait to receive a child than anticipated until the government figures out how, what, where and when. We will keep on top of this and post new information as it becomes available.
Please pray for the thousands of orphaned children all over the World and in the United States foster care system. These children are in need of loving, adoptive families in which to belong right now.
James 1:2727 Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.
The power of prayer is very real and is available to all who choose to use it. When two of you gather… in prayer, my Father in heaven goes into action. When two or three of you are together because of me, you can be sure that I will be there. Matthew 18:19-20
Please e-mail prayer requests and praises to prayer@spiritoffaithadoptions.org
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