Liam
Being adopted by Gerald & Tori Lee
From: USA
Born: October 31, 2017
Special Need: Severe Autism, Non-verbal, Global Developmental delays; approximately 2-3yrs of age developmentally, Macrocephaly, MCAD, Low Carnitine
Additional Before Pictures
Adoptive Family Bio
It has been over 18 years since Gerald and I were called to adoption. As we organically grew our family biologically, and have 5 beautiful children ages 11, 14, 16, 20 & 24. However, we remained open to every opportunity of expanding our family like God expanded His. Whether that be sibling groups, children with special needs, or the neighborhood kids just needing a place to call home for a few hours, our’s was available. As a couple bound by the love of Christ, we believe that “Healing Happens in Families”. This belief stems from our personal calling into the family of God, and has changed the direction of our lives forever.
Throughout the years we have never said no when an opportunity presented itself to walk into the realm of adoption. We began our process through the foster care system with both feet in. We’d like to say that every door opened and led us straight to a match for our family, but that wasn’t the case. We’ve gone over hills and through valley’s as we’ve walked in Faith, leading to open doors that would eventually come to a close. Even though these situations weighed heavy on our hearts, we pushed harder into the Lord, knowing we were on the right path.
Gerald and I were recently presented with the opportumnity of growing our family through adoption once again. It started with sharing the story of a unique little boy called “Leo”, who was needing to be matched with a family through adoption. Given the uniqueness of Leo’s life and the challenges he has faced, with the recent passing of his birth Mom & Grandparents. As well as the obstacles he will continue to face having autism and currently being non-verbal; we knew it would take a unique family to provide the love and support he needed to thrive. The more I shared his story with others, the more I just couldn’t help but feel in my heart that WE were the unique family that could give him the loving home he desperately needed.
Stepping out once again in Faith, we remind ourselves that God doesn’t call the equipped, he equips the willing. After much prayer and petition, Gerald and I chose to pursue being a possible match for Leo. Without overthinking the situation we began filling out paperwork and sharing our story. Needless to say, in a very short time we have become officially matched with Leo!! We have met with his biological father and have begun working closely with the adoption agency managing Leo’s placement.
As we navigate through tons of paperwork, continued meetings, background checks, finger printing, and the home study there is one aspect of the process that we are reaching out to the community for prayer and assistance. Leo’s adoption is considered a private adoption which adds a few layers of expenses that we were not anticipating; as we have always walked the road of adoption through foster care.
The preliminary breakdown of costs including placement costs, attorney fees, home study, finger printing, background checks, travel costs, and the length of time we will need to remain in Leo’s home state before we can bring him home, is estimated at $17,000. This number gave us a slight sticker shock as it was more than we had saved, but we know that God is bigger than this obstacle. Although we are doing everything in our power to chip away at the overall expense, the money we have saved will only cover the immediate expenses.
Gerald and I humbly come before our community asking if God has placed it on your heart to donate in hopes of raising the funds to bring Leo into our home, we would greatly appreciate it. If you can’t we would be eternally grateful for prayers over our family as we navigate these waters and hitting the share button so our story can be shared with others.
We want to thank you in advance for your prayers and support. God is gracious, He is loving, and He is kind. We keep thanking God for this opportunity, for Leo’s life, and for the opportunity to give Leo an incredible Family.
CHOSEN • CALLED • REDEEMED
