He Provides: The Casper Family

Our final family in the He Provides series is the Caspers. 

I have recently gotten to know Lauren and 

am so grateful for her fresh and honest look at the life God has given her to live. 

You can follow their story at Traded Dreams.

If someone had told me four years ago that we would need to raise more than $60,000 in less than three years time ... from scratch... as a single income ministry family... while my husband was in grad school... I would have laughed.

If someone told me that I would fly to Africa four times in less than three years... I would cross the Atlantic Ocean eight times... I would have hyperventilated, crawled in bed, and pulled the covers over my head until it was all over.

That's such a big number and it seems so unattainable. Flying is so scary to me and I hadn't stepped foot on a plane in years. But I learned a valuable lesson in the last few years. When God is in it -- when he's writing the story -- he will provide.

We started our first adoption process in the fall of 2009. We had enough in our savings to make the first payment that came with signing on with an agency and after that we had to rely on fundraising. I had plans, though, and while I was a bit overwhelmed I wasn't worried.

I knew the money would come through if I just worked hard enough. I had mapped out each payment and the cost of travel. I had figured it all out and as long as I could keep our fundraisers on track it would all go as planned. Except that in adoption nothing goes as planned.

 In March 2010 we received a phone call from our adoption agency. Ethiopia changed their laws regarding travel and adopting families. We were now required to make two trips instead of one. This added another $5,000 at least to the adoption fees. I was so discouraged and there were many well meaning people in our lives who urged us to back out now. But we couldn't do that. We knew our son was waiting for us there and we told ourselves that in the grand scheme of things $5,000 was nothing. Another trip. Another flight. Another transatlantic flight. I constantly reminded myself of the reason I was doing this.

Then October 2010 came and the phone call that changed our world. A little face appeared on our computer screen and we "met" the little boy we'd already grown to love so deeply. Suddenly I knew it wouldn't matter if we had to make six trips to Ethiopia -- we'd find a way. A peace came over me that God loved this little boy far more than I did (as hard as that is to imagine) and he would get Mareto home to us. And he did. The body of Christ came together in such a beautiful way. God blessed our fundraisers and people felt led to give so generously to our adoption funds. Two weeks before we boarded our first flight to Ethiopia in January of 2011 we were fully funded. If I had things my way we would have had our funds all together months in advance -- but God provided so perfectly in his timing. I feel like I got to witness so many miracles as people gave of their time, services, talents, and finances to bring our little guy home.

And when it came time to board that plane God once again provided. I was scared to death and my palms were sweating like crazy - but I put one foot in front of the other and by God's grace I made that trip over the Atlantic. And then the next one over to Africa. And then the two flights back home. And then the two flights back to my boy. And the the two flights to bring him home forever.

God provided grace, strength, and peace every time. Just in time. So when it came time to start all over again in the winter of 2011/2012 we had a confidence and peace and a view that we hadn't had the first time. Once again we got to watch miracles unfold as all the funds came together to bring our daughter home in less than a year. Ten flights later I carried her through our front door and marveled at the goodness of God.

"And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:19