Josh and Hannah experienced something recently that was heartbreaking! The kind of thing that makes you question where you went wrong or how did you not see this coming? It makes you stop and question if you should continue on the journey to adoption or maybe this isn’t meant to be. Emotionally it’s hard, but also financially it’s hard too.

Josh and Hannah had saved and fundraised for a long time in the hope’s of becoming parents through adoption, just to have that money lost by someone who was scamming them the whole time. Read firsthand here the blog post Hannah wrote during this time on her personal blog Thistle Harvest and join us in helping re-coupe a portion of what was stolen from them here as we continue our March Madness Basketball inspired fundraiser for the Briggs family.

“As many of you may know by now, we heard the heartbreaking news last week

that our adoption match was a scam. I couldn't believe my eyes when I read the

email informing us of the FBI investigation, telling us to reach out to some

lawyers that we had never spoken with, to receive more information. We had to

find the hard facts out for ourselves and determine if this birth mom we had

spoken with on the phone was a figment of our imagination.

After some investigation, we were told (and proved it to be true) that our birth

mother and baby were completely fabricated and that a woman was hired to

speak to us on the phone on different occasions to make us feel safe and secure

about the placement. I told this crooked social worker and her accomplice (our

"birth mother") how excited we were to be parents, how I was purchasing things

for our little girl, preparing her nursery, and that I prayed for them every single

day. "Birth mom" even asked me if I was excited to find out that it was a girl and

our gender reveal video was shared with our social worker who seemed

genuinely excited for us.

I know it is difficult for others to understand, but this was the closest we had ever

been to becoming parents. We have been through many fertility treatments but I

haven't ever had the privilege of carrying a baby, even for a short amount of time.

This baby girl was very real to us and had already taken hold of our hearts. We

called her by name and dreamt of what the future held for the three of us.

I will never fully understand why we were chosen to walk this path. Our trust has

been severely broken. There have been times that I have cried so hard that it's

been difficult to breathe. We had to close the nursery door for a few days so that

we would not be reminded of the deep pain we both were feeling.

We have taken some time to grieve our loss and while we are still fighting the

gross injustice, heart-wrenching pain, and breach of trust, we are trying to move

past this nightmare and fulfill our dream of having a family. We won't let this

horrible act discourage us from pursuing our child. God never stopped pursuing

us and we refuse to give up. We want our children to know someday without a

shadow of a doubt that we loved them fiercely and pursued them with everything

we had. Throughout this whole ordeal, I am constantly reminded of the Father's

love for us and how He pursues us and loves us with a perfect love. We are his

children and He will never stop fighting for us.

Our plan now is to fight for justice. To do everything in our power to get our story

out there when we are able to speak out and advocate for adoptive parents, for

birth mothers, and for their unborn babies. No one should ever take advantage of

some of the most vulnerable people in the world and if they do, they should know

that they will pay dearly for their crimes.

We are fighting to try to recover the devastating financial blow that we have been

dealt. We are desperately trying to get our money back so that we can continue to pursue adoption.

We know our baby is out there and at times we have become so discouraged that this circumstance has delayed our journey to find them.

Just the other day, I was speaking with Josh and I was frustrated that we were

going to be delayed in our adoption and didn't know when we would finally be

able to add to our family. I felt like the Lord spoke to both of us in different ways

but revealed the same truth: that His delay wasn't a denial. Nothing catches Him

by surprise. We fully trust in His sovereignty. Everything He places in our lives is

divinely orchestrated by the God of the universe. He makes no mistakes. Even

these unfortunate circumstances and the timing will lead us to the baby that He

has always meant for us to have

.

We are stepping out by faith and our continuing our adoption journey. Please

pray for us, pray for our baby and birth mother, and pray that God would restore

what evil men have taken. “

Come back for part 2 of this story next week! It’s gonna be a good one!

This is Lisa and Fred. We got connected with them through Facebook when Carrie’s friend Karen saw the launch of the foundation. She thought they might be a great family to help and we think so too! They are an amazing couple that is matched with a sibling group of 3 children ages 4, 6, and 7. Two girls and a boy. They are adopting these kids from the foster system, which means the children’s biological parents’ rights have been terminated and the children are ready to find a forever home. May is also national Foster Care month and so this is also very fitting:-) We immediately fell in love with Lisa and Fred, their hearts, and their story. It is VERY rare that people are open to siblings, especially 3 kids that are a little bit older. They will get to grow up together as a family which is so awesome!

Adoption, especially of a sibling group isn’t for everyone, but, ANYONE can get involved and be a part of Lisa and Fred’s dream to become parents and give these kids an amazing family.

Lisa and Fred's home is a 1390sq ft 1958 bungalow. They need some help turning into a more accommodating space for 3 growing youngsters! What they are going to do is turn their 1.5 car garage into a master bedroom so that the 2 girls can share what was their room, and the boy can have his own room.

They need to raise $5,000 for the renovation and that’s where we want to help!
There is a big DONATE button on our site or you also can mail a check to the Promise Love Foundation: PO Box 47432 Tampa FL 33646

It doesn’t matter if you have $1 or $1000 every little bit helps and 100% of the proceeds are going to this project. It’s also a tax deductible donation for you!

You can also meet Lisa and Fred at the No More Event THIS Sunday 5/18 at Baylife Church. They will be joining us as we support this awesome event! We can’t wait to show you their finished space and their new family!!!!!

Here’s their story:

How did your story begin?

Our story began almost 20 years ago when we met, fell in love and decided to build a life together! We figured that once we built our foundation, we’d include children to our family and live happily ever after just like in all of the fairytales. In life, all tales aren’t so grand and free of complications. We weren’t able to successfully bear children of our own due to infertility issues, so we sought the alternative to adopt!

How did you and Fred grow up?

Coming from a large family, I’ve always been blessed to be surrounded by children, their laughter, their cries during accomplishments and triumphs and their infectious thirst to learn daily. I get great satisfaction of being privileged to share those experiences with them. We have volunteered at Metropolitan Ministries, Paint Your Heart Out, HCSO, BBBS (Big Brother and Big Sisters), and Medical Reserve Corp within our own communities throughout the years. We both come from loving and stable families, our Parents have been married for over 40 years, although Fred’s are both deceased now and we understand commitment in healthy relationships. Through good communication, we always talk out our problems, come up with solutions and work past it.

Tell us about you and Fred?

I love watching Fred when he’s helping children with completing a task, showing them various sites at amusement parks, teaching them about history or just having a moment to discuss life with them. He lights up as they recall how they saw or experienced something that he has shared with them and I always catch his eye when he is in the midst of having his heartstrings tugged by a child.

He often tells me that he knows that children like me because I’m very ‘motherly’ in my job of working with Mentally Ill Adults as well as with all of the children that we’ve been blessed to have in our lives. However, I remind him of what a big ‘kid’ he is and loves to play! Fred not only loves children, but he is affectionately nicknamed, ‘Ace Ventura’ due to his extreme love of animals. If Fred could live in a big open land filled with children and animals, he’d be in his glory.

I am completely a ‘City Girl’. Fred grew up in New York and I grew up in Chicago. He visited his Godparents and other family during summers in Puerto Rico.

We both have a very strong relationship with God and plan to introduce that to our children as well so that they’ll know, they’re never alone. We want to build strength in them so that they can turn those obstacles into positive experiences and allow it to help with their moral character and spiritual walk with God.

What do you want to share with these children who will become part of your family?

Though it’s been a real blast being ‘babysitters’, we long to have our own children to teach and show about how wonderful life can be, despite their previous obstacles and challenges. Our hearts spill over with love that we can give to children that will thrive in a stable, loving and positive family!

What do you look forward to most becoming parents?

We look forward to tucking them in at night, reading bedtime stories, listening to how their day in school went, what field trips they want to go on, watching their eyes glow when we take them to Busch Gardens, taking the dog for a walk with them, shopping for Christmas gifts for them, eating dinner together, helping with homework, so many things and EVERYTHING! We want to instill in our children a strong work ethic, and that they have the opportunity to do amazing things and make a difference in this world.

In 2 sentences why do you want to adopt?

I’d have to say, “I want our children to know what it’s liked to be loved in a healthy way and give them a chance to know that they DO MATTER! Most foster care Children express that they feel ‘forgotten’, ‘unloved’ and other negative feelings that just aren’t true at all.

Why did you decide to adopt from the foster system?

We want to adopt children, specifically a Sibling Group since we’d like to give multiple children a chance to stay together, remain a family and grow in a loving, and nurturing environment.

Want to be a part of making Lisa and Fred's dream come true and giving these kids a forever family?

DONATE on our site or you also can mail a check to the Promise Love Foundation: PO Box 47432 Tampa FL 33646. All gifts are tax deductible and 100% of proceeds will go to this project!