UpCoMiNg EvEnTs

Upcoming Fundraisers

Tonight we worked on our "Have a Hand in Bringing Baby Chalos Home" fundraiser.  The canvas is all ready for your fingerprints.  20.00 donation FOR Light Green fingerprints and 50.00 donation for Dark Green.  You will also sign your name on a paper that will be placed on the back of the canvas.  The painting will hang in Baby Chalos' nursery.  Here are some pics of us getting the painting ready...

Priming the Canvas

Chad working on the trunk

A finished product - MINUS ALL OF YOUR FINGERPRINTS - We are SO excited!!!

Also don't forget the Adoption Arts and Crafts Bazaar is happening on November 5th from 8am to 5pm at Grace Place COG on Central Pike in Hermitage.  We have 18+ vendors and some yummy food.  This is a SUPER opportunity for holiday shopping.  Also on the same day, my school - ELZIE PATTON ELEMENTARY - is having an arts and crafts expo.  They have been incredibly supportive and asked us to be a part SO we will also have a booth at the expo.  At both fairs we are so excited to be selling Ugandan Magazine Necklaces.  They are BEAUTIFUL and go to an amazing cause.  Read more about them below...

147 Million Orphans is honored to share the story of our sisters in Uganda who hand make these necklaces from recycled paper. They roll the beads by hand, dip them in varnish, and thread them onto the string. Prior to learning how to make these beads, most of the women "picked trash" or turned to prostitution to provide for their children.
By purchasing these necklaces, you help a mother earn make a sustainable income to provide for her family. We are also proud to donate to Amazima Ministries' feeding program from the profits of these necklaces. The feeding program, run by Katie Davis, provides food to children and their families in the same area of Uganda. It is a beautiful, full circle story of the body of Christ.

Visit http://www.147millionorphans.com/ for more information.  They are an AMAZING organization!!!!

There are so many super fundraisers that we have the honor of hosting to bring baby Chalos home.  A MAJOR thanks to our friends who are the working hands behind these fundraisers.  Also, Thank you to the endless amount of friends, family, and even strangers who are helping us bring our baby home - whether it is through prayers, monetary donations, or labor during our fundraisers.  We have no words for the excitement that we wake up with every day - knowing that very soon we will be holding our sweet baby - knowing that they will soon be provided with all the meals, medical needs, and love that they need. 

Lots of Love,

The Chalos'

This is it...

I can't believe that I am writing this but -

TOMORROW IS OUR FINAL HOME  STUDY VISIT!!!!! 

WHAT?!?!?! We are so pumped and just truly overwhelmed by how this process is progressing.  God has had such a hand in this from the beginning and we are trusting him to see it through.  This is a major hurdle that we are about to leap tomorrow.  Many friends and family have asked - what happens after the home study? After our last visit - TOMORROW (Did I mention that???) - Our amazing social worker will begin to compile all of her findings about the Chalos family into one document.  It can be anywhere from 10-18 pages(even more for some families).  She then submits the document to a long list of people to read and adjust as necessary.  Once it is completely approved, we will then be submitting it to immigration for approval - along with other paperwork.  There are SO many other details involved in this process - like our international paperwork for Congo (also known as a dossier) - visa application - submission of the dossier to Congolese government - etc... 

CAUTION - THIS NEXT PART IS VERY TRULY AWESOMELY EXCITING....

Right now we are asking for your prayers because the next step is the most incredible so far - The next step is called "the referral" - that means we are waiting to be matched with our child.  We are waiting for the day when they call us and tell us that they have a match - and that they have pictures and we get to lay eyes on our child for the first time - I truly can't imagine what that day will be like.  We have waited for so long - OVER FOUR YEARS - for this perfect child that God has in store for us.  But God is working on us.  He is growing a love for this child inside of us that is indescribable. I already LOVE this child.  I do.  and seriously - you should hear Chad talk about this child that he doesn't even know - that he loves - more than it seems humanly possible. So as tough as it is some days, we will wait with a smile and a growing love for Baby Chalos.   The orphanage that our agency works with does have waiting children - so we may not have to wait long - or we may be waiting for quite some time - adoption is like that.  It requires a patient heart - make that TWO patient hearts.  We are working on that.

I have truly realized in the past several days - that God isn't just providing the Chalos' with the family that they have only dreamed of - he has placed a desire - a passion - on our hearts for the MANY children in this world that go to sleep hungry - lacking the love, compassion, and gentle touch that they deserve.  This desire and passion - I pray that it will never die.  I pray that we will never be satisfied with the numbers of growing orphans - who need food, clean water, life skills, a family to love them - to be Jesus to them.  God is so amazing.  He has such unconditional love that he would adopt us all into his family.  Oh that we could have SUCH love and courage!!! 

I feel really blessed that God has just allowed multiple people to walk into our lives who are on a similar road.  One of these couples just shared this adoption news with the world this week - and I want to share it with you.  They love Jesus ALOT - and they are going to be INCREDIBLE parents.  So if you get a chance take a tour of their blog - join them in prayer and if you can - help them bring their baby home. 

                                        http://lubiensadoption.wordpress.com/


Thank you for your unending love, prayers, and support!!! Don't forget - MARK YOUR CALENDAR FOR NOVEMBER 5th - and come join us at our adoption craft fair. 

Lots of love,
The Chalos'

Orphan Sunday

Looking over our past blogs, I am realizing that we have written a LOT about ourselves and adding to our family.  What we are doing - well - there is a child on the other end of this miraculous journey.  A child who is living with very little - who is getting less than acceptable medical care - who deserves a family to love them and hug them and provide a happy ending for them. 


Hope is Fading – Orphan Sunday from Allan Rosenow on Vimeo.





November 6 is Orphan Sunday.  Help us raise aware and make a difference.

The Next Step...

Hello friends, Chad here.  We are excited to tell you that our second round of paperwork has been submitted, and we are currently working on our next round.  We have also added a new feature to our site that we would like you to consider.  As you know, the adoption process can seem like a financial impossibility at first glance.  As an adoptive parent you wonder, how will I ever be able to bring my child home from a third world country where they have little or no access to clean water, food, and medical supplies?  It brings to mind images that we are all familiar with; malnourished children, scared and alone, with no parents or families and with little hope of a future.  It's a picture we've all seen and a heartbreaking reality to consider.  It's even more heartbreaking to know that right now, one of those children belongs to us.  When you look into those sad scared eyes you are looking into the eyes of our child. So here is my proposition to you.  On the right side of our page you will see a new Subscribe button with a drop down menu.  Just as you would sponsor a child from one of these aid organizations, we are asking you to sponsor our child so that we can bring them home and give them a life they could never have.  You can do this by selecting one of the three options in the drop down menu, typing your first and last name in the box below and then selecting the Subscribe button.  When the page refreshes, you can use your credit/debit card or personal Paypal account to make 6 monthly donations of the amount you selected.  This amount will then be automatically debited from your account once a month for the next six month. At the end of the six months the deductions will automatically stop. 

God has provided us with the perfect monetary amount at just the right times during this adoption.  We trust that he will walk with us and provide the next $10,000 by the November due date.  If you would like to be a part of this amazing journey you now have MANY ways to contribute.  You can use the Subscribe button to donate to our adoption monthly, you can use the Donate button to give a onetime amount, you can support us at our Nov. 5^th craft fair, or you can “have a hand” in bringing baby C home.  Either way you are making a difference.  You are giving a child a life they could have never imagined and helping us become the family that we have longed for these past 4 years.  Thanks for your continued support, prayers, and love in this process.