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