Our "Official" Letter!

Dear Friends and Family:

We have exciting news! We are in the process of adopting a child from Russia. This is a crazy letter to write, I have already erased about three paragraphs worth of writing, because after you say that- what else can you say? Every single person we are sending this letter to, whether you are part of our immediate family, extended family, circle of friends, member of our youth group, or dear brother or sister in Christ through churches of our past or present, we love you and thank you for the instrumental part you have played in our lives. It is with that spirit of friendship and connection that we send you this letter.

As many of you know, we recently celebrated our 9th year of marriage on January 8th. For those of you at our wedding- you watched a 20 year old girl and a 22 year old boy make a lifelong commitment to each other. I think about how young we were; I guess “they” said the odds were stacked against us. I don’t know who “they” are, but I feel safe to say “they” were wrong. With God as the cornerstone of our marriage, the mortar holding us together has been firmly sealed in Him. For those of you who know us from our ministry in Waycross, Georgia you saw us truly “grow up” without the safety net of home and family. At times, I’m sure it was like watching a train wreck- a phrase you can identify with because of all the trains that run through the city both day and night. For those of you “Spartanburgers” who know us now, in the present, you have known us in some of the best times of our lives. We cannot believe how God has blessed us. And our family, you have known us from the beginning and fostered in us the ability to love and trust immeasurably and without boundaries. Throughout those years of absorbing blessings beyond measure, we feel like we are about to burst! It is in that spirit that we want someone else to experience the joy, grace, mercy, and love we have been shown so freely.
“God decided in advance to adopt us into His own family by bringing us to Himself through Jesus Christ. This is what He wanted to do, and it gave Him great pleasure.” Ephesians 1:5
So here we are. On January 22nd we met with an adoption counselor at C.W.A. (Christian World Adoption) Many people from all over the county use C.W.A. because of their expertise and Christian emphasis on adoption. Our good friends and fellow pastors, the Hastings, adopted their son William from Ethiopia through C.W.A. After checking out several agencies, our hearts were clearly with C.W.A. from the start. To our delight, their National headquarters are in Flat Rock, North Carolina- 45 minutes from Spartanburg! Carol, the adoption counselor commented on how nice it was to “see a family” wanting to adopt, not just look at a picture of them. So far, God has cut a path for us, literally. After our application was complete, I printed out about 200 pages of the “getting started” manual the next day. I’ll admit, I panicked with every page spitting out of the computer. I read a few pages and started to cry. I prayed. Then I stacked it all up, turned it face down (in a true childlike attitude that if you can’t see it, it doesn’t exist) and started to write this letter because we can’t even start this process without your help.
We need your support. We need your prayers, your listening ears, and your financial help. We are overwhelmed, emotionally and financially, but at the same time we have a peace about the entire process and feel certain that we are in the center of God’s will in bringing home our child.
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths.” Proverbs 3:5-6
Please visit http://www.cwa.org/ and find out more about this journey. If you would like to make a contribution directly to our adoption, you can visit the financial aid section and make a tax deductible donation in our name online. 100% of all donations go directly into our adoption account if you list our names in section 2 of the online form. Or you can call 1-888-97ADOPT and talk to someone in person. As you may or may not know, Russian adoption costs between $30-$35,000. Many people wanting to adopt see this as a “deal breaker” and quit. To be honest with you, it totally freaks us out too! But we are trusting that no matter what, God is in control of every aspect of our lives and he is going to see us through this. He is faithful.
In these past few weeks, we truly understand more than ever, what it means to pray without ceasing. Most likely our child, our forever child, is being carried in someone else’s womb right this minute. Or maybe they have just been born into this World, thousands of miles away into an Orphanage where they are hopefully being loved and receiving their most basic human needs. Please join us in praying for our precious child, Russia, our child’s mother, the caregivers, and the unstable government that will ultimately decide our fate as a family.
“Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress” James 1:27a
With your help along this path, we are eagerly anticipating the day we can say-

“I prayed for this child, and the LORD has granted me what I asked of Him.”
1 Samuel 1:27
With eager anticipation and much love,

Chad and Sarah Deetz