Introducing the Hammett Family

I'm excited to introduce you to the Hammett family.  They will be the recipients of our June fundraiser.  Brent and Cassie were married in 2006.  Brent is a graphic designer and musician.  He is the creative director at Numana Inc., a hunger relief organization.  Cassie is the Founder and Director of The Hub: Urban Ministries and Purchased: Not for Sale.  The Hub is a Christ-centered, non-profit organization that reaches out to those in poverty, providing them hope, friendships, and community.  Purchased is a ministry designed to locate, love, and motivate women in the sex industry and victims of sex trafficking.  They love them like Jesus would, teaching them their worth, and guiding them into full restoration through Christ.

In 2012, Brent and Cassie adopted their daughter, Liv, from the DR Congo in Africa.  Now the Lord has laid it on their hearts to adopt a little girl from China.  They will be naming her Esther.

If this family doesn't inspire you, I don't know what will!  Will you join me in helping them bring their daughter home?  We have designed a necklace in honor of Esther.  Half of the proceeds from each necklace sold will be donated to The Hammetts.  The necklaces are $25 plus shipping and can be purchased by clicking here or selecting shop from the drop-down menu above.

If you would like to make additional donations, you can do so by clicking here to visit their Pure Charity site.  Donations made through Pure Charity are tax-deductible and are sent directly to their adoption agency.

If you would like to follow along on their journey, please visit Cassie's Blog. 

Also, if you would like to learn more about, serve with, or donate to The Hub or Purchased, please visit the sites below.

www.thehubministry.com
http://thehubministry.com/purchased/

Headed to Hattie

Our first family to support is the Wood Family.  I have known Jason and Traci for a long time and even had the privilege of photographing their wedding in Las Vegas.  I was so excited to hear that they were in the process of adopting a little girl from China.  Here is what Traci had to say about their journey...

"Jason and I have always discussed adoption from early on in our marriage and it honestly seemed like one of those things we would get to, "one of those days." Well, here we are in those days! In December of this last year (2015), we finally nailed down that this is what we wanted to do. Although one of us may of had to be a little more coaxed into it than the other (you know who you are). I had already felt the Lord leading me to China through different stories and people He had placed in front of me that few months before. And since we are already blessed with our two sweet boys, we knew that a girl would help round out our little family. It honestly has seemed that since the moment we said, "YES!" to the Will of God of this in our life, that He has consistently opened door after door of encouragement, resources, and financial help. Sometimes Jason and I sit and talk about it and find ourselves at a complete loss for words at how amazing it all is! And the crazy thing is is that we have NO idea of exactly what we are doing until we do it! Thankfully, the Lord has given the two of us some unique talents that have helped us along the way (Jason is the organizer, stable one and I am the flit arounder, making mountains out of mole hills). Together we seem to balance out and manage to get things done! We are taking each moment in stride and doing our best to trust God along the way. Our verse that we've chosen to focus on through this journey is the one at the top of the blog, "Behold, I am making ALL things new.." We chose this verse because we believe through this journey the Lord is going to make our family new, our spiritual walk new, and most of all the life of our sweet girl new! Please join us as we continue on this incredible journey and finally get to the day where we get to bring Hattie Jane home with us!"

For only $25, you can help this sweet family bring home their baby girl by purchasing a "He makes all things new." necklace from our Etsy shop.  Just click here or select "Shop" from the dropdown menu above to make your purchase.  **This necklace is a PREORDER and will be shipped in 3-4 weeks.

Also, if you would like to provide additional support to this family, please click here to visit their Pure Charity fundraising site where all donations are tax deductible.

Bringing Home Hai-Leigh Joy

Hey Friends.  I know things have been quiet around here, but all for good reason.  In November of 2015, we were matched with our precious daughter, Hai-Leigh Joy.  She was 8 months old at the time, and this was the first picture we saw of her sweet face.

From then until the end of December, we worked extremely hard to raise the remaining funds to bring her home...setting up booths at local craft shows, boutiques, and schools.  In January, we sold the home we lived in for the past eight years and temporarily moved into a little apartment behind my parents' house until we begin our next chapter.  In February, we traveled to China to bring our girl home.

In March, we had the honor of celebrating her first birthday with her.   It was a beautiful occasion but also one filled with many emotions.

We have spent the last few months getting to know our girl and adjusting to our new normal.  She has brought so much joy into our lives, and we feel so incredibly blessed to call her ours.

However, our hearts are still broken for all of the little ones that we had to leave behind.  Sadly, funding can be a huge obstacle for families who are adopting.  It is one of the things that slowed down our process, and the fear of the financial burden is something that can cause some families to say no to adoption even when they really want to say yes.  However, when we let our faith be bigger than our fear, God works in miraculous ways.  I know from experience! He provided a way for us when it seemed absolutely impossible.  You would not believe the number of times we received the exact amount we needed when we needed it...even down to closing on our house just before we traveled and being able to use the equity to pay for the remainder of our adoption.  Granted, we need to pay back as much of that as we can, but if we hadn't had that money, we would not have been able to bring her home yet.  I had heard stories of this before we began the process, but let me tell you, Friends, to witness it first-hand is an incredible, humbling experience.

We are currently working to pay back our adoption funds and add to our inventory, but in the mean time, we want to start helping others also.  We will begin by selecting different families to support.  We will ask them to share their story with us along with a scripture that is near and dear to their hearts.  We will design a necklace with that verse to sell and 50% of the proceeds from that necklace will be donated to that family.  Our first two families we've chosen are currently in the adoption process, but we are open to helping with other financial needs as well.  You can help too by purchasing these necklaces.  I don't know about you, but I love a purchase with a purpose!

Please follow our blog,  Instagram, and Facebook page for information on these new products and ways you can be involved.

Also, if you know of a family you would like to nominate for the upcoming months, please share their story and need with us at Contact@bethelightproject.com.  While we know we will not be able to financially help everyone of these families, we can definitely lift each one up in prayer.

Thank you, and God bless!

Andrea 

The Power of Prayer

 One year ago today, this scene was taking place in my yard...

Friends, family, and complete strangers gathered together in prayer.  Prayer for our Little Boy.  They knelt down in our driveway, sang songs of worship, huddled up in his room, and laid hands on his bed as they lifted our sweet Hayden up in prayer.  It had been nine long, hard, emotional weeks since he was first diagnosed with his brain tumor and this was the eve of his 3rd and biggest surgery.  He had already undergone three difficult rounds of chemotherapy at St. Jude.  And as this was talking place back home, we were sitting in an ICU room in Memphis, preparing to hand our son over to the doctors, and trying not to think about the possible complications associated with this surgery...loss of vision, speech, balance, seizures, loss of short-term memory, etc.   As terrifying as that was, we were surprisingly overcome with a peace that definitely surpassed all of our understanding.  And the next day we witnessed the power of prayer and an absolute miracle. God showed up in a big, big way and answered those prayers!  We were told the surgery would last around six to eight hours.  They were finished in three.  We were told it could be days before he spoke.  (The last surgery, we waited 13 hours for his first words.) Friends, within minutes of them allowing us to see him in recovery he spoke the words, "Do you want to see my muscles?" and "Did they got that bobo out of my head?"  He was able to speak, but we were speechless.  And in awe of God's goodness, grace, and mercy! Hayden recovered miraculously from his surgery, finished three more rounds of chemo, endured six weeks of proton radiation, and is now eight months cancer-free!!!
 

We believe wholeheartedly in the power of prayer.  We have witnessed it first hand.  I'm sharing this with you, because we want you to know the heart behind Be the Light Project.  We have gone through some very difficult and dark times, but even during those times, the light of Jesus still shone down on us.  He answered prayers, performed miracles, and placed people in our paths that helped us through these times.   Our eyes have been opened and our hearts transformed.  We now know that life is so much bigger than ourselves and this world that we can so easily get wrapped up in.  God used Hayden's brain tumor and Deacon's unexpected diagnosis of Down Syndrome to create a fire in our hearts.  We have a burning desire to share the light that we have experienced with others.  We still don't know what this looks like.  We are constantly praying, talking, and dreaming about what direction this will go.  But what we want you to know is that we are not at all about just selling a product and making money.  We are about making a difference.  And even if we can do nothing else for you, we want to pray for you.  We care about you and what you are going through.  We want you to share your stories and your heart with us, and we want to love on you.  You who have lost a loved one.  You who are going through a divorce.  You who are battling an illness or have a child who is sick.  You who are struggling with addiction.  You who are struggling financially.  Whatever it is that you are going through, we want you to know that you are not alone. Isaiah 42:10 says, "I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. These are the things I will do; I will not forsake them." Deuteronomy 31:6 says, "Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you."  Jesus loves you, and He cares about you.  And we do too.  Will you let us pray for you? Send us an email at contact@bethelightproject.com or message us on Facebook.  Send a direct message on Instagram. Leave a comment.  Let us know if there is any way we could help you or how we could lift you up in prayer.  It would be our privilege.

God Bless,
April

Be the Light

What does it mean to BE THE LIGHT and why did we choose this name?

Sadly, the world we live in today is full of tragedy, sin, and darkness.  There is not much about this dim dwelling in itself that gives us as a human race much hope.  To the contrary, there is our Lord, Jesus Christ, that is our light and salvation.  In Him is where we find love, grace, hope, and restoration.  Jesus said, "I am the Light of the World.  Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but have the light of life." (John 8:12)  We live in a dark place, but are given light  when we choose to follow Jesus.

The question we had to ask ourselves was...is this enough?  Is it enough to just follow and receive the gift of life?  It used to be for us.  God had to bring us each through separate trials that brought us to places of complete brokenness before we were able to crack down the walls of our old selves and let His light shine through.  Be the Light Project's name was inspired by Matthew 5:16 which states, "Let your light so SHINE before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in Heaven."  You see, God doesn't just want us to receive His light, he wants us to BE THE LIGHT!  It's a daily choice to shine and do good works for His Kingdom.  

We created this little shop in hopes that it would be a means for us to reach out and do something for others when we see a need and also to help fund an adoption.  We give it completely over to God and pray that He will be glorified in each decision and product that is made.  We are excited to see where He takes it!

"For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord; walk as children of light.  For the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness, and truth." (Ephesians 5:8-9)

Love, 

Andrea & April