A Christmas Blessing

We want to thank everyone for their loving and generous donations for our adoption. We can't thank you enough! The outpouring of love, support and prayers has shown us the love and care of our Heavenly Father. There have been  so many times people from our  church family would suggest resources for us to use for Luke;  fundraising ideas, adoption funding websites, sign language teachers, speech and hearing centers, etc. All of this shows us God's care for Luke and that we don't need to walk this road alone. So many times, even now, I still ask the Lord if he is sure that he wants us to do adopt this little boy. It is going to be so different and difficult at times. But the Lord always answers me with his reassurance of his deep love and care for the orphans, the least of these. If you want to see the kingdom of God, visit an orphanage, see the despair on their faces, and you will see God.

Recently, there has been a many robberies in the county where we live. It has been so numerous that our sheriff's department called everyone to make them aware of the problem. Now I started thinking about the mission trip that our church recently went on to Ethiopia to bring eyeglasses and shoes to the people in the Amhara region.
 They were so grateful, you would have thought they brought them a new flat screen TV. Many of them needed eyeglasses badly and the others had never worn a pair of shoes before. To put things in perspective, I started thinking about the robberies. No one would ever steal my shoes nor my eyeglasses. They would steal the things that we bought because we desired them and not because we needed them.
For the people in Ethiopia, for the orphan, for the people around the world without clean drinking water, etc. their needs are great.  We have so much in this country. We can live with less and give more!

Our Dear Pastor, Mark Spansel Writes About Our Adoption

Dear Friend,

One of the core characteristics of God is His Fatherly care over His children.  It is no surprise then that James calls caring for the fatherless orphan one of the truest expressions of religion (James 1:27).  Whether through hardship, war, abandonment, or death, there are millions of children who will never experience the tangible love of a human father.  Thanks to families like the Duryeas, yet one more beautiful child will not only experience that parental love and care, but will be taught of the Heavenly Father’s love and care.  I can’t tell you how much I admire David and Laura’s faith to trust God in the leadership of their home.  It is nothing short of a divine calling that they have from God and they are simply doing all they can to delightful obey what the Spirit has told them to do. 

Please pray for them, partner with them, and support them as God has provided you with the means to do so.  In the days we all have remaining here on earth, may we use them with the kind of purposefulness that this family is.  Let their example inspire you to greater faith as well!

By Grace,

Mark Spansel

Lead Pastor, Leroy Community Chapel

Meet Luke

We now have online approval!!!!!

Our dossier paperwork should be in China by the end of this year!

Next, we will be waiting for final approval.

Meet Luke, our new son.

He is three years old and deaf! He was abandoned when he
was two years old and has been in the orphanage for a year now.

Please pray for us, as we learn sign language,
and make preparations for this new little boy
that God has brought into our lives!

Learn to do right; seek justice.
   Defend the oppressed.
Take up the cause of the fatherless;
   plead the case of the widow.
Isaiah 1:17

Happy Adoption Day Rebekah Lu

Hosea 14:3 In you the orphan finds mercy.

 Rebekah Lu Duryea

from Chongyang Hubei Province, China

Born: December 9th, 2004

Adopted: October 25th, 2005

Once upon a time I held a child,

whose eyes did not match mine.

Its hair a different color,

Its smile was just divine. 

This child was not born 

from my womb,

but given by another,

For me to love and give a home,

to one day call me Mother.

No greater gift

will I receive

or cherish more than this.

Thank you Lord

with all my heart

for granting me my prayer.

James 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, that comes down from 

the Father.

Eric Ludy - Depraved Indifference

Dang Feng Zheng

We have some exciting news to share. We are adopting a little three year old boy from China. His name is Dang Feng Zheng. We are told he is very bright and wants to learn, even though his disability is deafness.We have been researching hearing aids, implants and sign language. We have signed our contract with our adoption agency and are moving forward with the next step which is the home study. Please continue to pray for us. If you would like to contribute to our adoption fund,  you can send a tax deductible gift to our adoption agency:

       European Adoption Consultants, Inc.
       12608 Alameda Dr.
       Strongsville, Ohio  44149
       Attention:  Duryea Adoption Fund

We would love to put his picture on our blog, but we need to wait until we have approval from China. As soon as we have approval than we will post his pictures.



       

adoption books

I would like to share some of my favorite books about adoption.They have given me insight into what life is like in the orphanages in China and have helped me to answer God's call of adoption.

"The Lost Daughters of China" by Karin Evans was the first book I read about adoption. I found it in our local library while I was waiting for our referral for Hannah. It gives you much insight into Chinese adoptions and the reason behind the one child rule. It helps you to understand why things are the way they are in China. It also gives you love and understanding for the Chinese people.

Another book I love is "Choosing to See" by Marybeth Chapman. It's about their adoptions, the story behind the tragedy of Maria's death, their hope and faith in Christ, and their assurance that they will one day see Maria again.  It's hard to get through this book without crying for the Chapman's. They are a beautiful family.

"Silent Tears: A Journey of Hope in a Chinese Orphanage" by Kay Bratt. Kay becomes a volunteer in a Chinese orphanage while her husband was working in China. It is her journal of everything she has experienced while living in China. This has so many sad stories of the plight of survival of the orphans.It's very hard to get through, so I found myself having to set it aside for a time so that I may meditate on the realities of life for these orphans, meditate on scripture and pray about what God is calling me to do.

"Saving Levi: Left to Die...Destined to Live" by Lisa Misraje Bentley. This is the true story of how a badly burned baby was left in a cornfield to die. An elderly man was the only one from the village who had the courage to bring him to his home and eventually to an orphanage. Eventually he was sent to the christian orphanage where Lisa and her husband were working. The story tells how Lisa miraculously got him to America for surgery on his badly burned body, how so many people of the body of Christ prayed and contributed the funds for his surgery and needs, and how they eventually adopted him.

"The Waiting Child" by Cindy Champnella is the true story of her adoption of a 3 year old little girl from China and how they eventually were able to bring home an orphan boy who she called her "baby". This little boy was so weak and pathetic he needed Jaclyn's protection and love in order to survive. After Jaclyn was adopted she was very worried about him and it was her persistence to save her "baby" that led Cindy down the path to getting him adopted by her sister. This book has given me real insight into life in an orphanage and how it is survival of the strongest. I love the Waiting Child poem at the beginning of the book. It encourages all of us to remember the older children who are left behind and are waiting for a forever family.

Here are a list of other books I recommend: Adopted for Life by Russell D. Moore, Loved by Choice by Susan Horner & Kelly Fordyce Martindale, and A Treasury of Adoption Miracles by Karen Kingsbury.