Update June 2011 - Only 2 of the 2010 Grant Families have their children home.  The rest are waiting patiently with the ever changing world of adoption.  We are praying that they all welcome their children home soon.

November 11, 2010
The Titus Task is giving a total of $25,000 worth of grants to families this year.  The 7 families were informed today of their gifts.  Thank you Titus Task Community for your generosity that we are passing on to NWA adoptive families.  More information coming soon - as children arrive home to their forever families.  In this years grant families there are children being adopted from the US, The Democratic Republic of the Congo, India, Ethiopia, and Rwanda! 

 


















The Moreton Family

How does one measure the miraculous impact one life can have on many? Though we’ve tried to package our sacred journey to Scarlett into a neat, orderly experience, it simply is not. Instead, it was a life-altering encounter with God and His will for one family and one little girl born half way around the world. After three heartbreaking miscarriages, God blessed us with two beautiful children, but our family did not seem complete. We knew God’s heart was passionate about the orphan and that many children needed families. There was no doubt we would approach the People’s Republic of China, where hundreds of precious baby girls needed forever families.

However, as state-side missionaries, the cost of adopting internationally caused us to pause. We had witnessed God’s provision for us year after year, could we not also trust Him for the resources to adopt? For the next two years, we prayed, sought wise counsel from close friends, prayed more, and decided to take a step of faith and begin the adoption process. We embraced God’s faithfulness, believed it, and began living it for our adoption.

Our paper-chase – gathering all the documents needed for international adoption – began in August, 2005. For six months, we filed notarized documents, had our fingerprints taken, completed a home study, paid fees, and began sharing our dream with friends. Many supported our adoption financially and our confidence grew. In February 2006 our dossier was sent across the sea to China. We were officially waiting! It would be about nine months before we would be matched with a daughter and travel to China to meet her.

But adoptions through China began to change. Nine months of waiting turned into 12, then 18, and by late 2007 we were doubtful our turn would ever come. In the midst of the difficult wait, God blessed us with a beautiful baby boy. Our family had grown, but not in the direction we had thought. Our step of faith to adopt became not only about affording it, but being capable of raising a fourth child. We prayed, sought wise counsel, prayed more and decided to continue our step of faith. Miraculous events happened over the course of the next few years that reminded us we were on God’s journey and that His plan wasn’t to be thwarted. We stood in awe of His hand in our lives, revealing Himself, His concern for us, His plan for our daughter.

One providential event during the wait was our daughter Ava meeting Lily Tugwell during their first year of preschool. We reveled in the Tugwell’s beautiful family and took hope from their journey to Lily and their impending adoption of boys from Haiti. And because of their journey, the Titus Task and its first 5k race to raise funds to support families adopting was planned and completed. It was a joy for us to be a part of this spectacular event! Then, it was completely humbling to be the first recipient of a Titus Task adoption grant. God was making one piece of our adoption journey complete, and He had used the life of a little boy and the Tugwell’s love for him to bring it about.

Our waiting continued, and we continued to hold on to God and to His adoption dream. But it was hard. We doubted. In fact, in November 2009, we were at our darkest time. Adoption had become the “cause du jour” in many Christian circles, and many leaders were charging Christians to take action and care for the orphan. We were trying to do just that but couldn’t seem to get past the ever-changing landscape of Chinese adoptions.

Little did we know that God was moving. Just a few weeks later, in the early afternoon of December 2, 2009, we unexpectedly received a call from our adoption agency: Wan Lele, a 9-month-old baby girl living in southeast China, had been matched by officials in China to the Moreton family! Six weeks later, in the hallway of a Nanchang hotel, orphanage officials handed our beautiful and frightened daughter to us. Wan Lele became Scarlett Lele – a Moreton!

As we reflect on our five-year journey to Scarlett, as we watch her adjust, bloom, and join the fabric of our family, we are continually amazed at God’s provision, and we are particularly grateful for the Titus Task and pray that it continues to help orphans and adopting families for years to come.