Download pdf - Katelyns Newsletter 8pg:Katelyns Newsletter 8pg, page 1-12

Making a difference...One child at a time

March 2009

Where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, Maker of heaven and earth.

Psalm 121:1-2by Sheila De Jong

Upon returning from the Christian Alliance for Orphan Summit, I have been contemplating what God spoke there and is continu-ing to speak to us. It was amazing to be in the midst of other believers who are passionate about orphans and collectively ask-ing, “what can we do?”, “who will help?”, and “how do we tackle this huge problem?” I am filled with both great excitementfor what He has done, is actively doing in church bodies across the country and throughout the world, and filled with evengreater burden of what His opponent is doing as well. God is bringing new awareness and help to the children who are waiting,and families are sensing His call and moving forward with opening their homes or their hearts for support. He is showeringchurches with new passions in their leadership for the least of these, He is using these united efforts to cause the secular worldto examine what we are doing, and why we care, and ultimately He is transforming lives through His people.

I was struck by what Pastor Sergey Demidovich shared at the conference. He said, “Only God can use the body of Christ tochange the destiny of a child”. Wow, that is powerful. It is a visual reference and testimony to where His word tells us that,“through Him all things are possible” (Matthew 19:26), and “He is able to do immeasurably more than we can ask or imagine”(Ephesians 6:20). That is both exhilarating and comforting to think about. There is so much for all of us to do as we tackle thebig statistical number of the orphan and yet remembering that like the shepherd He is to us, we know His deep love and con-cern for each one. Then how do we make an impact? How do build His kingdom and glorify Him? How do we love and helpthese precious kids after they are home? The building of the Christian Alliance for Orphans has been an amazing thing to be apart of and witness, just as it is with more and more churches taking His calling in caring for the orphan more seriously and ex-amining what that looks like for their church bodies.

Even with this unity, it is clear that our dependence on Him is critical. We cannot solve this problem or others without Him. Sim-ply said, we are not able, He is. This point is convicting to me that in 3 places He shares that to man it is impossible but withHim all things are possible (Matthew 19:26, Mark 10:27, and in 1 Corinthians it talks about in our weakness He makes thingspossible). It is so refreshing to be in a body of believers that we can grow with as we try find better ways to serve families, tohelp children heal, and to continue to bring more awareness to those around us. My heart has been heavy for families, as theyare working through the healing process and transitions with their children, wondering and crying out to Him, as they struggleand wait on Him. God promises that He will never leave or forsake us. We are not alone, He is constantly with us and againour dependence is clearly on Him.

I am so thankful that there is more godly counsel and support available now than in previous years. There are many wonder-ful resources for families and much support can be found within the adoption community. This is invaluable, to have others thatcan genuinely walk with you, support and love you, and most importantly pray for you. It is exciting to me to see the mask ofself sufficiency and pride come off and hearts letting go of the resistance to try and cover up the need of support. We pray thatwe (Katelyn’s Fund ministry teams) will share genuine love and support to those around us. We know the financial grants thatwe give to families are a big part for them and a visual part for many, but we have said from the conception of the ministry,

June 2010

Katelyn’s Fund1327 Third Ave SE

Sioux Center, IA 51250www.katelynsfund.orgJoin us at our support

meetings!

Sioux Center Support Meetingmeets the 2nd Thursday of the month

(Sept - May) 7:00pmat First Reformed Church

Fireside Room, 160 Tenth Street SESioux Center, Iowa

Sioux Falls Support Meeting meets the 3rd Thursday of the month

(Sept - May) 7:00pm at Prairie Hills Covenant Church

2500 South Powder House RoadSioux Falls, SD

Anyone is welcome to attend!

Katelyn’s Fund Board Members:Kelly and Sheila De Jong Monique SchieboutMatt SchuitemanJean Vander PlaatsMark VermeerWayne VermeerTammy Zevenbergen

Katelyn’s Fund Support Team Members:Sherri LangtonJulie PostJill SchutHeather Van Es

(continued on page 11)

"Learn to do what is right! Seek justice, encourage the oppressed, defend the ca2

The Rasmussens

Eric, RachelAnna (8), Samuel (2)

Calvary Free Lutheran ChurchFergus Falls, MN

New Addition: Micah (3 months)

Eric and I have been married almost 12 years. Eight years ago God blessed us with the birth of our biological daughter,

Grant Recipients

(continued on next page)

The Roberts

Jeffrey, JenniferEllie (11), Morgan (10), Rebekah (8), Zechariah (6), Caleb (5)

Hope in Christ ChurchBellingham, WA

New Additions: Faith (3 1/2) and Grace (2)

When you have a large family and God decides to make it larger, everything is a grand adventure. And I mean GRAND!We were a family with 5 children, now we have 7. We used to have extra space in our suburban, now we don't. Weused to think that our family was big, but now that it is bigger, we know of families that are larger than ours. We seeourselves as kind of a medium size family now. See what I mean?

A few years ago we started our journey and due to employment considerations needed to wait, then 17 months ago westarted again. This time stuff began moving. We knew we were right in the center of what God wanted us to do but westill didn't know how we were going to cover the adoption costs. Like many families we knew that once the kids werehome, everything would work out fine on a monthly basis, but coming up with the adoption fees is a real stretch. I am apastor, my wife stays at home with the kids. That gives us a lot of flexibility, but not always a lot of money.

Then came the referral. Two young sisters, but neither one of them was in the waiting child program we had hoped toadopt from. (The waiting child program has stipends and grants associated with it.) As we prayed, we felt God leadingus to accept these two girls, seeing how they would fit perfectly into our family, but I couldn't quite figure out the fi-nances for it.

God is gracious and was and is completely in control. He sent us a grant from Katelyn's Fund and our local churchhelped out as well. The timing was perfect, within days of needing to write out all the checks, everything arrived and offwe headed to Ethiopia to meet our girls, Grace and Faith.

We have been home for 6 weeks now and things are wonderful. I continue to be amazed at how easily the girls have fitinto our home and our family. I continue to thank God for the girls and the things I am learning about God's love forus, as I love them. I try to remember a day without the girls and I can't, they seem like they have always been part ofour family. It has been a blessing, thanks for helping us get there.

Ellie, Morgan, Rebekah, Zechariah, Caleb,Faith, and Grace Roberts

Anna, Samuel,and Micah Rasmussen

3e cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow and the orphan." Isaiah 1:17

Grant Recipients


Anna. We assumed that we would be able to have more biological children, but after several years we realized that Godwas leading us in a different direction.

We feel privileged and blessed that God has allowed us to adopt not once but twice! Our boys are such a joy and bless-ing to our family. The process of adoption can sometimes be a difficult rollercoaster of ups and downs, but God has con-tinually proved faithful. He has strengthened our faith, marriage and family throughout the process and has shown usthat He is always in control and has the best plan for us.

Our second son Micah was born on March 20th, 2010 and it was such a beautiful moment when his birth mom placedMicah in our arms. We are so thankful that she chose life for her baby and had the courage and love to place him in ourfamily.

Through adoption we understand a little better the deep love God has for us and the great sacrifice He made when Hesent His Son to earth to redeem us so that we can be adopted into His family.

The financial cost of adopting can be so overwhelming, but we watched in amazement the different ways God has sup-plied the funds we needed. We are so grateful to Katelyn’s Fund for the grant we received to help with our adoptioncosts. We also appreciated the time of prayer we had with the interview committee and knew that they would continue touphold our family in prayer during our adoption process.

The Timmermans

Jim, DeAnnDaniel (15 months)

First Christian Reformed ChurchHull , IA

New Addition: Benjamin (6 months)

We are the Timmermans family from Hull , IA. Jim is a teacher at Hull Christian School and DeAnn is the owner/opera-tor of L’il Friends Daycare in our home. We have been married for almost 7 years and hoped to have a whole housefulof kids. We had talked about adopting before we were even married, we really felt led to add to our family by adop-tion. After several heartaches and miscarriages, we felt that God was leading us to start the adoption process. Like mostfamilies, we wondered how we would afford it, but we knew that if it was God’s plan, everything would fall into place.Our adoption journey is a little different than most, but it definitely was God’s hands at work.

In March of 2008, we met Heidi from New Horizons Adoption Agency. Two days later we were at an informational meet-ing and filling out paperwork to begin the process. We began filling out applications, having background checks done,making a profile book, having our home study visits, and of course, waiting. In December 2008 our home study wasfinished and approved and our wait officially began. We were so anxious to become parents. Every time the phonerang, my heart began to race and I wondered if this was “the call”. December came and went, and DeAnn’s birthdaywas fast approaching at the end of January. We went out for dinner and a movie on January 24 for DeAnn’s birthday,and of course we turned the cell phones off during the movie, and didn’t think to turn them back on afterwards. Whenwe got home there was a message on our answer machine, and all it said was “call me”. We recognized the voice, andthen checked our cell phones; of course we had messages and even an e-mail. It was too late to call Heidi back so we

Jim, DeAnn, Daniel and Benjamin


Grant Recipients

The Gitlins

Micah, SarahJulianna (4)

Correctionville Assembly of GodCorrectionville, IA

New Addition: Andinet (3)

We are so thankful for the support of Katelyn’s Fund in our adoption. This organization has shown the love of God soclearly to our family and has played a major role in enabling us to go forward in bringing our son home. We areoverjoyed to be heading to Ethiopia in the next couple of months to meet our new addition and bring him home!

Our adoption story began when God placed a seed in our hearts before we were married, sprouting a desire to ex-pand our family by adoption. After two years of marriage, our daughter Julianna was born and we discovered ourlove for parenting! Two more years passed and we came to the conclusion that getting pregnant wasn’t as easy forus as it had been before. Since we both still had the desire to enlarge our family, as well as having the desire toadopt, we decided to use this time God was giving us to start the adoption process. Two years later, we are on thethreshold of welcoming our 3-year-old son home!

What an absolute joy to follow God’s heart in this way and to be able to enrich our family through the miracle ofadoption.

had to wait until the next morning. That was a very long night. We called her right away the next morning and she toldus about a little boy in Mississippi . We were on the road to bring Daniel home 3 days later. What a wonderful birthdaypresent!

Our story doesn’t end there. Fast forward to the end of December 2009, the agency in Mississippi called us and saidDaniel’s birth mother had another little boy and would like them raised together if we were willing. Of course we werewilling! We had planned to start the adoption process again when Daniel was a little older, but God had other plans. Wewere quick to say yes, but all the while wondered how we would afford it. We knew this was God working, so we trustedthat the financing would fall into place. We started all the paperwork and home study visits all over again. While wewere waiting for all the paperwork to go through, we started applying for grants, and of course the Katelyn’s Fund grantwas the first one we filled out. We have been attending Katelyn’s Fund support group for almost a year, and the supportfrom all these people was amazing! We are truly blessed to be a part of this wonderful group. Finally, we were ap-proved to leave and go get Benjamin and bring him home. We left for Mississippi on February 11 and met our littleman on the 12th. What a sweet little boy Benjamin is, we are so blessed to have him be a part of our family! We camehome with him on February 19. Life has surely changed for us but, with the love and support of our family and friendsand the Lord’s tremendous grace throughout this whole process, we will be able to raise Daniel and Benjamin in theknowledge and understanding of the Lord.

We are extremely grateful to receive this grant from Katelyn’s Fund. Their ministry, prayers, and grant monies havebeen a huge blessing to us, and we are so very thankful for all they do to bring families together.

Micah, Sarah, and Julianna Gitlin

Andinet Gitlin

Daniel and Benjamin

Benjamin Timmermans


Grant Recipients

The Bodes

Robert, Dorothy John (13), Leah (11), Jesse (10), Josh (9), James (7), Lydia (6), Noel (5), Lily (4), Joe (3), Jerry (2)

Bethlehem Baptist ChurchMinneapolis, MN

New Addition: Isaac (6 Months)

“Two, four, six, eight…ten?! You have ten children?!” This was a common response that strangers often had when ourfamily ventured out in public. In December 2009 we upped that number and broke the stranger's counting by twoshabit when our family suddenly expanded again to include the newborn sibling to our son, Joseph. Isaac (that 11thtreasure) was born just a few days after our homestudy was rushed to be approved, two days before Christmas, and amonth before our family relocated across the country. Nothing like a little stress to make sure that we were utterly de-pendent on God’s provision in all things.

A financial grant from Katelyn’s Fund was a significant part of that provision. Not only did the committee brave horribleweather to meet and interview us over the phone, but they prayed over our family the prayers for peace, rest, and utterdependence that we needed so desperately in that transition season. Our family says, "THANK YOU" thirteen times overfor the part Katelyn’s Fund had in Isaac’s story!


The Fashuns

Christopher, Jessica

Parkview Evangelical Free ChurchIowa City, IA

New Addition: Eliana (4 Months)

Let me begin by saying that this year I celebrated my first Mother’s Day! Praise God, Praise God, Praise God!!!!! I’m 39years old and it is my very first. Words cannot express the joy that I feel when I realize that I AM A MOTHER! My dearhusband Christopher and I are parents! Pure bliss. Finally. It’s real. Our God has answered us! Baby Eliana Gracecame home with us from the hospital on February 2, 2010. She is now four months old and absolutely the most pre-cious gift and biggest blessing we believe we’ll ever receive. We begin this little note to you by giving God all the gloryfor how He has immaculately worked out every little tiny detail, for how He has provided for us in this adoption, andalso thanking our family and friends for the support and love that they showed pre-adoption, during the process, and asI write today. We would also like to thank Katelyn’s Fund for their part in this. Our first phone conversation with thecommittee was such a blessing to us. We were cared for, prayed for, and supported that night back in February. Wewere so very thankful then and continue to be today.

Here’s a little of our story:My husband and I are so in love with each other, with God, and with the life that He has planned for us. It was very dif-

Eliana Fashun

Robert, Dorothy, John, Leah, Jesse, Josh, James, Lydia, Noel, Lily, Joe, Jerry,

and Isaac Bode

Christopher, Jessica, and ElianaFashun


Grant Recipients

Never hestitate for a moment if you hear God’s

call to do something.

ficult for many, many years to understand why we could not have a child of our own. There was nothing medicallywrong with either of us, we were financially stable with two great teaching jobs, we LOVE kids, we both felt that beingparents was our heart path. But even so, we couldn’t have a child of our own.

We had moved to Iowa City, IA for Christopher to get his doctorate in the fall of 2008. When we arrived I decided to stepback from teaching vocal music in the schools and take a job at our new church instead. I also began to nanny for awonderful family that I randomly found on a job site. This family was instrumental in our decision to adopt because theyhad adopted a beautiful little girl through the foster care system and were also fostering her two older siblings. We gotto see God’s love daily through this beautiful family. In the spring of 2009 we decided to try a few fertility treatments atthe University of Iowa; they failed. After this, adoption was at the forefront of my mind, but I knew from earlier conver-sations that Christopher was not ready yet. I talked it over with Christopher and he agreed to going to an informationalmeeting at our agency in August of 2009. I prayed that his heart would be open to what he would hear at that meeting.My prayers were answered, but much earlier than August. We took a walk one summer evening in July and he told mehe was really excited about the meeting and that he was ready. He had let go of the idea that a child of our own couldalso be a child that was not from our seed. This is a very hard thing to let go of, and each of us that does not first havechildren of our own seed or cannot have children of our own goes through our own process. We grieve the loss of some-thing that we never had, it’s a difficult thing, I could write a book. Our story is both long and short. I will cut to theamazing part! No sooner had we gone to the meeting at our agency did we find ourselves meeting Kayla, a birthmom.We had barely even finished our home study yet and we found ourselves meeting our birthmom! She chose us that day,I believe it was November 14, 2009. In December, Kayla came and lived with us for a week, unprecedented for ouragency, but happening nonetheless. And she even came again in January. We had a great time getting to know herand vice versa. Then the big day, January 30, 2010. Eliana Grace was born! 8lbs. and 3oz, very healthy! We were soproud of Kayla for taking such good care of herself and we were thrilled to be at the hospital with our own room. I gotto feed Elie her first bottle and begin to mother her the moment she came out of the womb. So amazing! Three dayslater we brought her home. So in less than 5 months, we were called to adopt, chosen by a birthmom, and had a babygirl placed in our home. Totally amazing and totally unexpected!!!!

While we were thrilled beyond belief to have the process go so quickly, it did not allow us to do much fundraising.Everything in adoption is a process, everything takes time and is on a specific timeline. When I applied for grants, Kate-lyn’s Fund being one of them, we thought we were too late. But I wrote a special letter about our circumstances and wefound ourselves on the phone with the committee just after the new year.

Adoption is a complex thing. It can also be an expensive endeavor. It was for us. We had no idea how we were goingto pay for the entire adoption. But we were called, and so we trusted God and he answered EVERY single prayer weprayed. I seriously could write for days about all the little details! I remember very distinctly living with the burden ofknowing that we had some big bills to pay, and the looming stress of not having parental rights terminated, or knowingif someone was going to tell us that we had to give Eliana back. It was so very difficult. I also very distinctly remembersitting on the floor changing a diaper and Christopher handing me the phone. It was Sheila from Katelyn’s Fund callingto tell us that we were going to be recipients of a grant from their fund. I remember instantly exhaling with relief, I re-member my eyes filling with tears, I remember thinking, “How is this possible, that every little thing is just being takencare of for us? How?” But it was and it is. God is good all the time. We are so very grateful to each and every personwho supports Katelyn’s Fund. We would not been able to do this without the grant money. Never hesitate for a momentif you hear God’s call to do something. If you have the means to support someone going through an adoption, do it! Ifyou don’t know someone specifically, support Katelyn’s Fund, it’s an amazing ministry. We are so grateful, we are sovery, very grateful!

We chose to name our new baby girl Eliana Grace. We were sitting in church one Sunday before we had even been(continued on next page)


Grant Recipients


The Hostetlers

Douglas, AmandaMadelyn (10), Lydia (8), Naomi (6), Elynore (5), Isaiah (4)

Good News FellowshipFerndale, WA

New Additions: Graham (2), Silas (2)

"Taste and see that the Lord is good!” Psalm 34:8. Since our family first stepped out into the magnificent world ofadoption in 2005, we have tasted more and more the goodness of the Lord!

Our call to adoption began as a total surprise to us in 2005 when the Lord spoke to us, clearly, one early Novembermorning and said, “My pattern for you is to adopt.” Through countless amazing confirmations, we became convincedthat, in fact, the Lord was calling us to open our hearts to our precious Naomi, born in China. Naomi’s adoptiontaught us so much about the heart of God and it was the furthest we’d ever stepped out in faith. Adoption wasn’tever on our radar (we thought it was wonderful, just inconceivable for us given our life and situation.) But wetrusted Him, followed as He lead and we experienced the Lord in a new and dynamic way. Naomi’s adoption taughtus to trust the Lord, in faith, not just in word, but in deed.

In 2007, we were delighted to receive the call from the Lord to once again pursue a precious one from China. Isaiah,at that time our only boy living at home, turned our world upside down with love and energy! On Mother’s Day,four-year-old Isaiah came up to his Momma, put a bracelet he made on my wrist then kissed my hand and said, “Ilove you my Momma.” Through Isaiah’s adoption the Lord taught us that He loves to delight us with his magnificentplan. The thought of being without these two precious blessings in our family, simply makes the heart stop.In 2008, we surrendered to another call on our life; to live and serve in China. Our love for the people, our heart forthe orphans, and our experience with the Lord through the past two adoptions “strengthened our hands” and gave usthe courage to dive into His radical plan for our lives. We gave away all that we had to leave our comfortable life inAmerica . . . but oh, what we have gained in following Him!

Then in November of this year, very suddenly, we felt strongly that the Lord was once again speaking to us aboutadoption. But how could we? We did not have any finances to pay for an adoption, our income would not qualify forChina’s requirements and according to the regulations, we had too many children in our home! But, we know ourShepherd’s voice now, and we follow Him when He calls. In a few short days we knew that a young boy, from the or-phanage in the city where we serve, was to be our next son. We knew that we could trust the Lord to provide whatwe needed.

Then just two and a half months ago we became aware of a second little one here in our local orphanage. His timewas running short, our agency was about to lose his file, and he’d been passed over by other families. How insane

Douglas, Amanda, Madelyn, Lydia, Naomi,Elynore, Isaiah Hostetler

Naomi’s adoption taught us so much about the heart

of God and it was the furthest we’d ever stepped

out in faith.

matched with a birthmom and we heard an announcement about a baby girl that had been recently born who had thename. We looked at each other and knew immediately that we would use the name if we were blessed with a girl. Afew months later, I looked up what the name meant. The Hebrew for Eliana translates as, “My God has answered me”.How perfect. How perfectly chosen. To think that God orchestrated this whole thing is mind-boggling and reassuring.We must trust God because He does answer. Thank you dear Father.


Grant Recipients

Rahel Manta

Zelalem Manta

Don, Ruth, Daniel, Anna Ruth, Timothy, andBenjamin Manta

The Mantas

Don, RuthDaniel (15), Anna Ruth (13), Timothy (11), Benjamin (9)

Amherst Baptist ChurchAmherst, NY

New Additions: Zelalem (19 Months), Rahel (5 Months)

We are the Manta family. We have been married for 17 years, and we have 4 biological children: Daniel 15, AnnaRuth 13, Timothy 11, and Benjamin 9. We are missionaries to the 5,500+ international students who come to theBuffalo, NY area every year. We feel so privileged to minister to those God has brought here from around the world,and it is a joy to be able to do much of the ministry as a family - our kids love the students and are very involved inthis ministry.

As full time missionaries, we are always aware of and grateful for God’s provision in our lives. However, 1 ½ yearsago, our hearts were even more full of gratitude and thanksgiving to God for all the blessings that He had provided.I remember waking up in the morning, with a heart full of thankfulness to God for the warm, comfortable bed I hadto sleep in; the beautiful home He had given us that protected us from the weather; the bountiful produce God hadprovided from our garden; and more importantly the love of our family and God’s incredible love and redeemingwork in our lives. I began to ask God, “What more would you have us to do with the blessings that you have given tous?” (We already supported several missionaries, had a Compassion child, tithed to our church, gave to local min-istries, and tried to be generous people to those around us.) God answered in a very unexpected way, He asked usto adopt 2 children who did not have the things that we had. He asked us to share our home, our family, our love,our faith, and all of our resources with 2 children who had none of this. About a year before this, we had an “Adop-tion Sunday” at our church. My heart was very moved, but I rationalized it away. After all, I already had 4 childrenof my own and we were very busy with ministry. I did not feel that I had the time or the energy or the resources toadopt any children. Additionally (I rationalized) we were ministering to the elite from the countries around the worldto make a difference so that there might be less orphans in their countries. One year later, though, God blewthrough all of our rationalizations, spoke directly to our hearts, and we chose to obey Him. And, in choosing to obeyHim, God also placed a deep longing in our hearts to adopt 2 orphans into our family.

We have been on our adoption journey for 1 ½ years. We are pursuing adoptions of 2 children from Ethiopia, one ofthe poorest countries in the world. It has been one of the hardest journeys that we have ever been on. We have had


was this idea . . . "twin" (the boys are only 1 week apart in age) two-year old boys!?!?! Powerfully and undeniablyJesus confirmed that it was His plan again, what so many would see as absolute foolishness. "For the foolishness ofGod is wiser than man’s wisdom." I Cor. 1:25

We thank God for Katelyn’s Fund who captured the vision with us and affirmed what He was leading us to do! Thelate evening the Board stayed to interview us on SKYPE and then PRAYED for us passionately and personally . . . wewere so blessed! There have been many difficulties and delays with the boys’ adoptions, but He has encouraged us injust the moments we have needed it. Through the devotion of the volunteers at Katelyn’s Fund and the generousgrant, we KNOW that God is “doing it,” and that our boys are fatherless no more!


The Vander Werffs

Justin, Miranda Lydia Marie (3)

Sioux Center United Reformed ChurchSioux Center, Iowa

Laiya Naomi (4 months)

Even before we were married in 2005, we had discussed the possibility of adoption at some point down the road; wejust didn’t know how short God’s road would be for us! We were blessed with our first child, Lydia, in early 2007. Sheis a wonderful, fun, and loving little girl. However, after Lydia we had difficulty having more children. After our sec-ond miscarriage, we realized that God was leading us to adoption as His means for our second child. We have greatcomfort knowing that He is in control of all things!

It has been an enormous blessing for us to have the support of Christian friends and family as we waited for the childthat God had chosen for us. Katelyn’s Fund was and continues to be a big part of that support. It is wonderfully reas-suring to have the prayerful support and encouragement of brothers and sisters in Christ through such an organiza-tion as Katelyn’s Fund. God has used the spiritual, emotional, and financial support from Katelyn’s Fund to reassureus in our decision and to strengthen us throughout the adoption process. We pray that God will continue to use thisministry to bring children into covenant homes!

We started the adoption process by looking into different agencies before we decided on our agency. It took less thanfour months after our home study for us to be matched with a baby girl due in February. Laiya Naomi was born onFebruary 2, and we were able to take her home from the hospital on February 3. We are humbled and awed by theLord’s amazing providence throughout each step of the adoption process. We are thankful to Him for handpickingLaiya to be a part of our family!

Grant Recipients

disappointment after disappointment, delay after delay, hurdle after hurdle. There were times when we wondered ifwe had been mistaken about God’s calling and God’s leading. Then, 2 weeks ago, we got the call that we had beenwaiting for, there was a baby girl and a toddler boy that they wanted to refer to us! We were ecstatic! Little Rahel(meaning Rachel) was only 5 months old, and Zelalem (meaning “Eternity”) was 19 months old. We have acceptedthe referral, and now we start the next leg of the journey, waiting for the court date (for the Ethiopian courts to de-clare that these children are officially ours) and then several weeks later, the Embassy date, which is when we go toEthiopia to bring home our 2 children.

God has taught us and grown us so much already in our journey of adoption. He has taught us about His Sovereigntyand trusting in Him, His love for orphans, His sacrifices in adopting us into His family, and about His provision. In Hisperfect timing, God provided a grant from Katelyn’s Fund to (almost) cover the cost of our first in-country fee. Wehad just received our call about the 2 children that were available for us, and the next day we got an e-mail fromKatelyn’s Fund asking us for a phone interview! This was such a blessing and a confirmation that God is in controland that His timing is perfect, and that He will provide. It was also a huge blessing to have the Board of Katelyn’sFund pray with us during our phone interview. We were brought to tears as we heard people, whom we had nevermet before, pray so earnestly for us and for our children who were still in Ethiopia! Thank-you, Katelyn’s Fund. Youhave been God’s source of blessing to the Manta family in many ways!

Justin, Miranda, Lydia, and Laiya Vander Werff

Laiya Vander Werff


All About Godby Heather Van Es

I’m a stay-home mom who doesn’t depart from the normalcy of life too often. In the last week ofApril I found myself preparing for an adventure, though – 3 nights away in Minneapolis withsome adoption-realm friends at Summit VI, the Christian Alliance for Orphans annual session. Ad-mittedly, as I loaded the van with a suitcase, snacks, and GPS – leaving behind a countertop full ofnotes, agendas, and itineraries for my family – I thought, “This better be worth it!”

In short, it was. It was SO worth the preparation, the hassle, and the venturing outside my com-fort zone. While the focus of those two days seemed superficially to be on orphan care and adop-tion, I realized quickly that the overarching theme was really all about God. And why did thatsurprise me? Isn’t adoption, at its roots, REALLY ALL ABOUT GOD? Didn’t He first adopt us, graftus, make us co-heirs with His Son?

Orphan care is a calling that is dear to the heart of our Father. Because of all He’s done for us, we seek to pay forward His blessings to “the least ofthese”… because it brings Him glory, it honors Him, and it enfolds others into His kingdom. At Summit VI we were reminded that adoption is one way Hecalls to care for the orphan, but there are so many more avenues we can take as believers. Faith is a prerequisite and sacrifice is a stipulation, but the re-ward of obedience to God is so worth it.

For more information regarding the Christian Alliance for Orphans visit their website at: www.christian-alliance-for-orphans.org

If local families wish to learn more or view session DVDs, please contact us at: [email protected].

Terry, Brenda, Caleb, Dillan, and Mitchell Baartman

Grant Recipients

The Baartmans

Terry, Brenda Caleb (13), Dillan (11), Mitchell (4)

Maurice First Reformed ChurchMaurice, Iowa

We are Terry and Brenda Baartman and we live in Le Mars, Iowa. Terry works with a sanitation business whileBrenda stays at home and does part time daycare. We started talking about adoption several years ago but Terrynever felt that it was for our family. The Haiti earthquake changed Terry’s heart. After listening to radio programsthat addressed orphans, he felt God pulling him in the direction to open our home. We started pursuing an adoptionthrough Haiti but found out that God was leading us in a different direction. After pursuing other options, we arenow in the process of adopting a little toddler girl from Ethiopia.

In March, 2010 we began our journey and currently we are “officially” waiting for our referral. One of the hurdlesfor Terry was the financial part to provide for our family and yet bring our daughter home. Katelyn’s Fund has easedour burden and encouraged our faith walk to believe that God will take care of our needs if we trust in Him. It hastruly been a blessing and great support to know that others who have adopted and who are also in process of adopt-ing are walking beside us.


that the prayer and emotional support are what we feel so challenged and called to do for families. Just as we can’t immediately help 143 million orphans, our teamscan’t meet each need instantly, but our prayer, with His help, is that we can love and serve through Him greatly. We have found great joy with one another, havewalked through difficult parts of the journeys, and have had sweet times of prayers with one another. Romans 12:12, “Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, andfaithful in prayer” encapsulates what I desire to see the ministry do, to greatly celebrate and offer the hope we find in Him, walk through the affliction with one an-other authentically, and be in steadfast prayer.

We want to welcome anyone to our support meetings, family fun nights, and annual picnic coming in August. Everyone is welcome, if you have been a part of theadoption community for a long time, or if you have never come, please accept our invitation. We know it is not about Katelyn’s Fund, it is about Him working and lov-ing people through His body. I love what Pastor John Piper shared from Hebrews 11 about the ways we walk by faith and that through that we walk faithfully withone another. Also, that even in the midst of struggle, hardship, and adjustment, that He is more than able and He is forever “on our side”. He will be victorious overall things and in Him we can claim redemption and strength. “Your word, O Lord, is eternal; it stands firm in the heavens. Your faithfulness continues through all gen-erations.” Psalm 119:89-90

So where does our help come from . . . in the blazing need to help 143 million . . . where does our help come from . . . to the hurting and healing child waiting forfamilies and adjusting within . . . where does our help come from . . . as we ask for Him to ignite His fire within our churches for response . . . where does our helpcome from . . . as our hearts break with the child trafficking that is so unspeakable . . . where does our help come from . . . as we earnestly try to walk genuinely withone another . . . where does our help come from . . . as we ask Him for more financial provision so we can pour this out to families . . . where does our help come from. . . "our help comes from the Lord, Maker of heaven and Earth." (Psalm 121:1-2)

(continued from page 1)

Special Thanks to ourHonorary Donors

Tom and Carol Van Den Boschin honor of Benjamin John

son of Jim and DeAnn Timmermans

Kevin and Sandy Hoekstrain honor of Elijah

son of Tim and Rochelle Vande Hoef

Joe and Heather Van Esin honor of Owen, Ellison, and Kaichildren of Nick and Amy Van Es

John and Jean Wirickin honor of Michael Gothro

Chad and Erica Robertsonin honor of Erica's mom Marilyn Niemeyer

Mike and Kim Adamsin memory of Katelyn De Jong

being in Jesus' arms for 5 years

Sue Tammingain memory of Till Van Voorst

•••

To make an honorary donation, please see the mailing address

and information below.

Donations to the fund can be mailed to:Katelyn’s Fund ~ Orphan Ministry

1327 Third Ave SESioux Center, IA 51250

All donations are tax deductible. If you would like to make an

honorary donation, please indicate the child/family in

honor or in memory of.

•••

Join us at our support meetings! The 2nd Thursday of the month

(September - May)7:00pm

in the Fireside RoomFirst Reformed Church, Sioux Center

Anyone is welcome to attend!

Making a difference...One child at a time

www.katelynsfund.org

Newsletter reaches big and small, like the impact ofyour donation, and your prayers . . .

Mariah, daughter of Trevor and Kim, peruses her family's copy of the Katelyn's Fund Newsletter. Our heartfelt thanks to all those who make precious moments like this possible through your donations, prayerand support.