Father of the Fatherless and Protector of Widows

This past Saturday the 26th, we along with several volunteers from our church had the privilege of ministering to 2 widows in our community who needed some help on their houses. We were partnering with Lifesong for Orphans and Both Hands Foundation (one hand for the orphan, one hand for the widow) as a way to raise money for our adoption expenses while serving these widows. Our volunteers sent out sponsorship letters to their friends and family, similar to a charity golf event or 5K run. All the donations are tax-deductible and go to Lifesong for our account there. Then we found these 2 widows who needed help. It's a living out of James 1 :27, "Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction...".

Project #1-- Grandma Sugar... her porch and stairs were old and in desperate need of replacement. Her family wouldn't even go out onto the porch because it was unsafe. Here are the "before" pictures:

taken April 2nd

We are thankful for the 7 men who took this project and ran with it (who had the knowledge and skills to complete it too). Here are some pictures during all the work:

tearing it down

Grandma Sugar was entertained by watching it all

ready to go to the dump!

new stairs and railing

They worked all morning and all afternoon, and here's the final result:

It turned out great, and Grandma Sugar loves it!

Project #2-- Helena needed her basement cleaned out and insulation installed in the rafters to keep her main floor warmer. The rest of us who volunteered went to help with this project since it did not really require any skills. =)

the basement

the rafters that needed insulation

1 load to the dump in this trailer...

sorting through it all at the dump

6 loads to the dump in this truck!

Although we didn't clean out the entire basement, we were able to clean out 6 truckloads and 1 trailer full as well as insulating underneath her entire main floor!

one of the cleared out areas

the insulation!

me and Helena

If you would like to be apart of this great project that blessed these widows and is raising funds to help us bring our kids home from BG, you can click on the yellow "donate" button on the right sidebar, or visit our project page at http://www.bothhandsfoundation.org/tim-cindy-abbott.aspx , or you can mail a check with "preference Abbott adoption #2708" in the memo line to:

Lifesong for Orphans

PO Box 40/ 202 N. Ford St.

Gridley, IL 61744

All donations are tax-deductible.

"Father of the fatherless and protector of widows is God in his holy habitation. God settles the solitary in a home." Psalm 68:5-6a

USCIS Approval!

We received our USCIS approval letter in the mail today! This was the last piece of documentation (and the most important) we needed to complete our dossier! We are thanking the Lord for moving this particular part of the process along smoothly. Now we just mail this letter to Juneau for apostilling, which won't take long at all. We are very close to submitting the dossier to our agency then on to BG!

Fundraiser Results!

Thank you to everyone who took the time to participate in this fundraiser-- those who donated the gifts as well as those who donated money. We are very grateful for your love and support. In the past 2 weeks, a total of $1760 came in to either our paypal account through the Chip-In box or to our Lifesong for Orphans account. God is providing $1 at a time, in His perfect timing, through people like you. Thank you!

Ok. Now we get to the part you want to see. These winners were chosen randomly through an online automated number generator.

Winner Gift #1 ($200 gift card of your choice)-- Faith White
          You can contact me through FB to tell me your choice. =)

Winner Gift #2 (2 nights at George Washington Inn)-- Colin Bodell
           We will inform the owners that you won, and we will email you with the info.

Winner Gift #3 ($250 Amazon.com gift card)-- Trisha Priebe
          We will give the donors of this gift your contact info.
           Sorry you can't buy a plane ticket to Alaska with it. =)

Winner Gift #4 (4 Guest Passes, the Creation Museum)-- "Our Adoption Journey to Eastern Europe"
           I will email you with the contact info of the gift donor. =)

Winner Gift #5, (Handcrafted lighted church, 2 "Simply Love" shirts,
           and Kisses from Katie hardback bk)-- Garth and Becky
           I will contact you. =)