New Family of the Week - The Hatfields

Hey guys,

Today I'm going to let Mom and Dad share a little about their situation. And stick with me, because there's a giveaway going down. Remember those fantastic Gingermelon dolls that I blogged about last week. And last year, for that matter. Well, Shelly, the darling creator of Gingermelon has a soft spot for Africa. She was born and raised in South Africa! How crazy is that?! And she made this doll for us (thank you Shelly, you are the sweetest!). One of you is going to win it! I'll draw on Sunday evening at 8pm. All you have to do is comment. Tell me you donated or leave a word of encouragement for the Hatfields. Or do both, that would be awesome. Here she is, the Angel of Hope...

And now, on to say hello to our family of the week, the Hatfields, who are adopting Malachi and Mercy from Africa. It looks like they've got a pretty sweet family to come home to. :)

From Paul:

In 2003, our family left everything and moved to Boise, ID to start The Pursuit. We had no idea what God would do in and through us as we stepped forward in obedience. It appears that 2012 is going to be another defining step of faith for us.

Angela and I have always talked about "maybe adopting a child.” When I went to Uganda in March of this year, I went to two different orphanages. While visiting them, God made it clear that it was time for us to adopt and startled me when He said, "Don't stop at one."

Upon my return to Idaho, we met with a blessed family who has adopted from Africa, and we committed to adopting two children from the same place. On April 4, Angela and I walked into an adoption agency to begin the process. Then, on May 12, Angela received a call that a 3-year-old boy who could be our son had just arrived at the orphanage. On May 20, we received a call that a two-year-old girl had just arrived at the same orphanage. Their pictures grabbed our hearts, and we knew they were ours.


From Angela:

The journey since has not been easy. On June 16th, we received a call telling us that M&M were sick with malaria and typhoid and in the hospital. When your children are 8,423ish miles from you and you find out they have life-threatening illnesses, you are reminded of your complete dependence on God. We asked everyone to pray, and on June 21st, we got the call that all of the children in the orphanage had pulled through and were on meds and recovering.

What is it like to live in their city? Here is an excerpt from an article I found: “Violence is everywhere. Extreme deprivations due to the collapse of the formal economy and State institutions have created a underclass of demoralised and impoverished citizens. People there suffer from hunger. Children are starving from malnutrition or disease.”

Our children live in a orphanage with no running water or electricity. However, they are being fed and cared for medically by precious caregivers. We are so thankful to those who are laying down their lives for our children for this time.

We have learned that Mercy has a huge bright smile and is friendly with the other kids. Malachi appears very healthy and is fun too. They both loved the photo books we sent, and they enjoyed showing their friends their new family.

If we moved to Africa today, Malachi and Mercy would legally be Hatfields! We are so anxious to go pick them up and bring them home, but we have to wait for all the legal paperwork to go through before we can do this.


From our family:

We are so excited to bring these two beautiful children home. We have been so blessed by the love and support from our friends and church family. We want to give you the opportunity to join us in making a difference in the lives of these two orphans.

The first thing we would ask you to do is pray faithfully for Malachi and Mercy. Pray for their spiritual, emotional and physical health. Pray that they will already be attachinging to us as mom and dad through pictures and that God would be preparing them for the trip to the U.S. and their arrival in our home. Pray for our patience as we anticipate traveling there in October.

So guys, we know what to do, right? Donate your dollar (or more, whatever), and don't forget to leave me a comment so you're entered into the giveaway for the sweet Angel of Hope by Gingermelon! Then tell your friends. :)

***So far you guys have donated $1,886 to Mercy and Malachi's adoption***