As Bryson and I  grow in our relationship with God, we are continually learning that true life comes when we give ourselves away.  This is exactly what Jesus did. Each day we humbly strive to look, act, speak, and live more like Jesus and have lives that simply reflect His life (though we often fail!). Over the past several months we have been asking God to break our hearts for the things that break His, to challenge us to step away from the ordinary and to open our hearts, hands, and abundance to God’s calling for our family. Anytime. Anywhere. Any cost.

He answered loud and clear.

Scripture tells us that among many things, God’s heart breaks for the hurting, the lost, and the fatherless. While the thought of the millions of people those words describe often overwhelms us and sometimes even paralyzes us from doing anything, we have come to realize we can make a difference for the life of one. After much research and prayer, we are excited to let you know that the Vogeltanz family will be adding another member to our family! We believe God is leading us to rescue an orphan from Ethiopia through adoption in 2009.

We are overwhelmed and humbled that God would entrust us with such an amazing responsibility but are confident that this is the next step for our growing family. As we look around our home we are daily reminded that we have more than enough space, food, and love to share with an orphan and make her a part of our forever family. We have always desired to have “a bunch of kids” and we are excited to be adding to our family in this way! Lord willing, in 12-16 months (the average timetable for adoption) we will be bringing home OUR baby girl from Ethiopia to Athens, GA!

Thank you for your prayers, excitement, and encouragement as we continue on this amazing journey to bring home our baby daughter! We know it is going to be a long journey… but are grateful to have incredible friends and family in our lives to walk through this with us!