Who We Are

Associates

Matthew & Stephanie Bass

Alabama Associates (Email)
Our biological daughter was born in 2001 and after much prayer and consideration, God made it clear that we were to add to our family. Through divine circumstances, after listening to Steven and Mary Beth Chapman’s testimony during a marriage conference in 2003, we were both convicted that God had called us to adopt a child.

We started researching different agencies and international programs and ultimately chose America World. The entire process for us at that time was about 13 months. We brought our daughter home from China in January 2005 and our lives have never been the same. Even though we could have had another biological child, we desired to care for and love a child who needed a family. God has given us a ‘real life’ picture of what our spiritual adoption in Christ is, through our daughter, and He has changed our views on family, parenting and faith, along the way.

We recently returned home in October 2010 with our second adopted daughter from China, DanNi. She will be 13 years old in May. Even though the process and the adjustment for this adoption has been quite different from the first, we are humbled that God has chosen us to be the parents of three beautiful daughters. He has carried us through some difficult days and we rejoice each day with progress that occurs at home.

We are eager to talk with you about adoption, to share how faithful He has been to us, and to encourage you as you seek His will for your family.

Alisa Martin

Alabama Associate (Email)
Grace! I am Alisa Martin. My wonderful husband, Vince, and I have been married almost seven years. We met in Shreveport, LA but currently reside in Birmingham, AL. After a career in health care, I am now a stay-at-home mom. Vince is the Singles Pastor at a church in Hoover, AL.

God first planted the miracle of adoption in our hearts in the Hong Kong airport in 2005. As we were headed on a mission trip to southeast China, we ran into15-plus families returning home with their precious Chinese baby girls. Over the next several months to come, God began to reveal that adoption was His plan for our family as well.
After much prayer and research, we applied to AWAA in November 2006 to adopt a little girl from China (DTC 7/07), and in December 2007 we submitted our application to concurrently adopt a child from Ethiopia. We saw our son’s face for the very first time on 11/25/08—and we brought Micah Yoseph home March 2009.

Through the miracle of adoption God as taught us much about our own adoption into His family, as well as the compassion in His heart for the fatherless. I am honored to serve as an associate with the AWAA family, and we anticipate beginning the paperwork to adopt another child from Ethiopia this fall!!

Please, contact us with any questions—you will never regret serving as Christ’s hands and feet for “the least of these”!

He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? Micah 6:8

Pam Freeman

Arizona Associates (Email)
My name is Pam Freeman and my husband is Brian. We have been married since 2002 and we live in Tucson, Arizona. Brian is an artist and I am a Children’s Pastor. God placed international adoption on my heart when I was 14 years old. After struggling with infertility, God reminded me of my desire to adopt and we began the journey.

We now have four children. Benjamin was adopted in 2006 from Russia. Libby and Abby were both adopted from Russia in 2008. Our youngest and “home made” child is Gideon and he was born in December 2009. Life with four young children is a bit crazy, but God blesses us with patience. Our children are an amazing blessing and we thank God for bringing each little miracle into our lives.

Our daughter Libby was a special needs adoption. She was born with a birth defect and now has a prosthetic that allows her to walk, run, jump, climb and any other thing a child wants to do. We had not expected to adopt a child with a limb difference, but God has provided everything we need to care for her. Seeing her take her first steps with her first prosthetic leg was beautiful.

AWAA was an incredible blessing throughout the adoption process. Adoption can be a challenging process, but the love and support we received through AWAA made it easier. They truly have a love for orphans and want to see these children placed in loving families.

Lon & Kara McMillan

Arizona Associates (Email)
We have been blessed with six wonderful children; three beautiful grown daughters and two sons, and one daughter from China. If someone had told me before Kara and I married that I’d someday be writing the previous sentence, I would have told them they were crazy. As God placed the desire to adopt first on Kara’s heart, then Lon’s – we asked, “God, are you sure this is what you want us to do?” Through prayer and His providence, He made it clear to us that our children were waiting in China to be brought home. In retrospect, we can see that God’s plan for our family was made in eternity past – we simply had to be faithful.

As we watched God work in our lives and in the lives of our children we made two trips to Hunan province; one in 2006 and one in 2008, to bring our sons home. Our final trip was completed in 2009 when we brought our daughter home from the Fujian province.

Our experience with America World has been outstanding, a true partnership - a partnership in which we can feel Christ’s love at every step of the way. We would love to speak with you to answer any questions you might have and to offer encouragement as you consider adoption.

"...in you the orphan finds mercy." - Hosea 14:3

Mark & Elizabeth Gividen

California Associates (Email)
We are Mark and Elizabeth Gividen from Tehachapi, CA. We just celebrated our 19th wedding anniversary and our 1 year “Gotcha Day” anniversary with Linsey. Mark and I are both teachers and absolutely love what we do. We have 3 beautiful kids (and one on the way!): Nick (16), Amy (15) and Linsey (2). Linsey YaMei came into our family on December 27, 2004, in Hunan, China. On this glorious day we were given a glimpse of just how much our Heavenly Father must love us. It is a love that is indescribable (but we’ll sure try!)! We hope to be returning to China in the Spring of 2006 to bring home our son Luke (2) from Haikou SWI in Hainan, China.

America World has been with us every step of the way. They truly have a heart for the world’s orphans and the families that want to be a part of bringing these precious children home. We are so excited and honored to be a part of the Associates team. The miracle of adoption is truly one we want to share with anyone that will listen. Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions or need encouragement.

"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." James 1:27

Jason & Melody Lietzau

California Associate (Email)
I am Melody Lietzau. My wonderful husband, Jason, and I have been married almost eleven years. We have two biological sons and a beautiful daughter we adopted from China in March of 2010.

The Lord put adoption on both of our hearts shortly after we suffered a miscarriage. Our church was announcing a new adoption ministry and spoke on the passage in James 1:27 that says "Religion that God our father accepts as pure and faultless is this; to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." We both walked away from church feeling the Lord speaking to our hearts. We talked over lunch about what we had felt and taken from the message and began to pray. For several weeks We prayed and talked, and met with some dear friends who adopted. They shared their experience with us and we felt so encouraged. After much prayer and research we decided we were ready to take the next step and applied to AWAA . Our friends had used America World and said nothing but great things. We could not agree more. They were such a blessing every step of the way. It is an honor to be working for them.

Patrick & Kacie Van Winkle

California Associates (Email)
My name is Kacie Van Winkle and my husband's name is Pat. We live in Orange County, California with our three beautiful children. Trent is six years old, adopted from South Korea. Diana is four years old, adopted from China. Taliah is 18 months old, adopted from Ethiopia.

The Lord placed adoption on my heart at a young age. In high school I used to say that I wanted a Rainbow Family, one of every color! Pat had the desire to adopt when he was in college.

Pat and I have been involved in many medical missions trips to Nepal, China, Ethiopia, El Salvador and Cambodia. The Lord definitely placed on our hearts a burden for orphaned children. We are so thankful He did because that is how He chose to build our family.

Our children are the greatest blessing the Lord has ever given us outside of our salvation. We also think, as do all parents, that our children are the most perfect in the world and that they look just like us!

We love AWAA and the heart of the people who walked us through our adoption. AWAA definitely sees their work as ministry and not just a job. We are excited to be a part of the team.

Tom & Amy English

Florida Associates (Email)
Tom and I have been married for almost 15 years now. We tried to have our own family early on in our marriage and struggled with infertility. We then decided to become foster parents in hopes to foster to adopt a child. In March of 2004, we became foster parents to 2 beautiful girls. We had created our own little family. Little did we know that this was not Gods plan. In December of 2004, the court system sent them to be with their birth parents, and we were devastated. But we still longed for our own family.

We have followed Steven Curtis Chapman’s story for years as he adopted Shaohannah Hope, Stevey Joy, and Maria Sue. We went to a Steven Curtis Chapman concert in April, 2005. America World Adoption Association (AWAA) was there and I told Tom that I was going to go and ask them a few questions. Normally, I would have expected Tom to say something like, "why", or "what are going to ask" or something, but he said "OK". (I should have known God was working on this at that point) So I went to ask some general questions and they answered them and gave me a flier for an AWAA seminar in Atlanta in a few weeks. I slipped the flier in my purse and went back to the concert. A few days later, I noticed the flier in my purse and asked Tom if he would like to go. He said "Yes" (again God was at work here). So on May 14th, 2005, we went to the AWAA seminar. We left with a packet of information. On the way home I told Tom that I was interested in doing this, but I was not going to push him. I wanted to make sure we made the decision together. He needed to let me know if he wanted to do this and I let it go into God’s hands. Later that evening as I was watching some TV, I went into the kitchen to find Tom sitting at the table filling out the application. I said, "Are we going to do this?". He said "YES". We were so excited. We called all of our family and friends and advised them we were adopting a little girl from China. We realized that this was not a secondary plan to have a family. We realized that this was God’s plan for our family. It just took us 12 years to figure it out.

We started the paper process and were logged into the China system on 11/22/05. After a long wait, on September 4, 2007, we received the referral of our precious daughter. We left for China on October 23, 2007 and on October 29, 2007 our lives changed forever as our daughter was placed in our arms. Our dreams come true. She has been a blessing and I know God picked this child to be ours. She is perfect for our family and a true gift from God.

We are so excited to be a part of the America World Family. We have such a passion for adoption and helping the worlds orphans come home to their forever families.
My adoption life verses:

Hebrews 11:1
"Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see."
Ephesians 1:11
"In Him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of Him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of His will."
Jeremiah 29:11
"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

DTC 11/04/05
LID 11/22/05
Group 239
DOR 09/04/07
DOT 10/23/07
a.10/29/07
Home with Emily Grace Kai English 11/07/07
Emily's Adventure

Hank & Cheryl Miller

Florida Associates (Email)
We are Hank and Cheryl Miller from Orlando, Florida. We passionately love Jesus, each other and our family. We have four children...three by birth and one through the blessing of adoption. Kelsey, our oldest daughter is 19; Torey is in the hands of our Heavenly Father; Kennan, our son is 15; and, our precious Kylie Grace is 3 ½.

Have you ever thought that some of the chapters of the story of your life were complete? A few years ago, we would have both told you that our “family chapter” had been written. Little did we know of the incredible blessing that was in store...God still had a little editing to do! Now as we have the benefit of looking back, we can see some of the ways that the Lord was starting to “plant the seed” of adoption in our hearts. Although we have grown up and lived our entire lives in Florida, God has put a love of other cultures and lands in our hearts. In the fall of 2006, we felt that God was asking us to travel to Mongolia and be part of an outreach team. In fact, it was through that journey, literally to the “ends of the earth”, that God revealed his plans to grow our family. We truly had the opportunity to see the face of Jesus in the children at the orphanage. He was challenging each of us with “What Now? What will you do with what you have seen?” We watched Kelsey and Kennan get down on the floor and play with the children. God caused a place in my heart to open up that had not been there before...it was a place that was full of love just waiting to give to a child…our child. He told me that this child might not be what I would have expected...what exactly did that mean? Hank couldn’t get off his mind that although they had decent living conditions and food, that at the end of the day they didn’t have a mommy and daddy to love them. There had been so much to take in and we were constantly on the go, falling into our beds in the evening. This didn’t leave much time for us to talk with each other about the deep things that were stirring in our hearts...but, I believe there was purpose in that waiting. So, as we left the land of gers and yaks, we traveled to China for a bit of exploring. God continued to plant seeds. As we returned home and began to de-brief from all that we had seen and experienced, we began to realize just how God had placed the same dream in our hearts. He wanted us to grow our family through adoption...we knew that without a doubt.

So, that began the journey to our daughter that was directed every step by our Heavenly Father! We first applied to AWAA for the China Healthy Child Program in the fall of 2007. Very quickly, our hearts were intrigued by the Special Needs/Waiting Child Program...we were drawn to it although we didn’t know much about it. We just had a feeling that we would receive our child through this program. So, this was what God meant when he told me our child might not be what I would have expected. He caused an excitement in our hearts to grow for a child that was a bit older...that had some special needs!

And now for the best part, in December of 2008, we all traveled to China to welcome Kylie Grace into the Miller Family! A few words to describe our experience...humbled, grateful, joyful, blessed, inspired and loved. Our lives have been forever changed in a wonderful way. We have been blessed beyond what we could have ever asked or imagined!

Jack & Patrice Young

Florida Associates (Email)
We are Jack and Patrice Young, Associates originally from Virginia and now from the Orlando, Florida area. We have been married for a wonderful 31 years. We have four older children. The youngest, a daughter, asked to have sisters. God works mysteriously. After a period of hesitation, research, and prayer we decided to adopt from China. Soon after making that decision we were asked to serve our last few years of military service in Japan. Our only question was, how long to get the paper work completed before we moved? We had it all worked out and were waiting for the home study within a couple months. Mia became a part of our family in Sept '02. Mia lived on Okinawa for about nine months before we rotated back to Woodbridge, VA. It was a very short time after returning to the States that Patrice and I realized we had room in the nest for one more. We really didn’t want Mia to grow up all alone so, about 9 months after returning home, we were in China again to bring our Lilly home. We as a family have been blessed in ways we could never imagine through the miracle of adoption. Our lives and the lives of our children and close friends have been enriched beyond measure by the presence of these two young ladies. We thank God we listened when He whispered.

Petrie Montgomery

Georgia Associate (Email)
I am Petrie Montgomery and I live in southwestern Georgia in the Albany/Leesburg area. My husband Jay and I have been married for 22 years and we have three children from China, ages 7, 6, and 3. We began our relationship with AWAA in 2003 when we applied to the China program for the first time.

In 2004 we travelled to China to bring home our beautiful 14-month old daughter. In 2005 we again applied to the China program, but this time we chose to adopt a child from the Waiting Children list. While we were preparing our dossier, we received a referral for a 16-month old boy, and within months we were again in China to bring home our son.

In 2007 we felt our hearts moved once again to adopt. We applied to the non-special needs program and sent in our dossier in record time, but after several months we knew God wanted us to consider another child with medical needs. We applied to the Waiting Child program once again, updated our home study to reflect the changes, and waited. After eight months, we received a call regarding a child with several very serious heart defects. We knew the severity of the defects meant that she might not be able to survive, even if she was able to have surgery. But we stepped out in faith and knew that God had us where he wanted us. We brought her home in January 2009 and have been blessed with the most precious gift of deepened faith than we ever expected! God has gone on before us and prepared the way throughout her surgery, difficult recovery, and continued life with heart disease.

We know that she will never be cured, but God has given us a greater trust in Him. We cherish every day we have with her as she laughs, plays, swims, dances, and sings as if God alone were her audience. We cannot imagine life without her, and we are so thankful God gave us the strength to say “yes” when saying “no” would have been so much easier.

We can honestly say we understand the verse “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” I advocate for special needs adoptions, especially heart babies, and would love to encourage and help anyone who is considering opening his or her heart and home to these children, “the least of these.”

Kim Scheil

Georgia Associate (Email)
My husband, Mark, and I discussed adoption before we were married when we talked about what our family might be. We wanted a large family and I did not want to do any fertility treatment if there were to be difficulty conceiving. As it was we did not have difficulty and Mary was born on Christmas day 2003. Stress and owning a business kept us from getting pregnant again when we were ready. We began researching adoption and felt drawn to China and America World. We filled out the special needs application before we received the acceptance form AWAA and then forgot about it. We believed we were paperchasing a healthy child and had prepared our hearts for a long wait. Just three months from our log in date (Jan 2007) we received our referral for RuZhuo. She had an hemangioma on her face but was otherwise healthy. Another three months, (July 2007) and I was traveling with my sister and daughter to get Ru. Ru had had three surgeries, which we were unaware of, while in China and was essentially past the majority of her treatment for the hemangioma. Our plastic surgeon suggests that she may need cosmetic surgery later in life to clean up the scar but otherwise he is very happy with her progress. Our third child Sarah was born on July 4th, 2008 and we are now pursuing a second adoption.

Saiman & Amy Kusin

Idaho Associates (Email)
God stirred our hearts over several years toward adoption. It started in 2004 when our oldest was about 4 months old. We attended a Steven Curtis Chapman Concert where he shared God’s heart for adoption. It was so moving, yet Saiman felt that having our own child, why adopt? Over the course of 2 years God continued to show us His heart for adoption. After our second son was born we had a couple of encounters that put us on the path to adopt. The first was a change of heart for Saiman. We saw again Chapman’s story about adoption. We felt that we were not done growing our family. God simple asked Saiman, “Would you let me chose?” Meaning would you let me chose how your next child came to you. We then went to an adoption informational meeting. Walking way we knew that our next child would come to us through adoption.

We began searching the different international adoption agencies for one that shared our heart for adoption and found America World. We felt led to pursue adopting from China. Through a two year process of paper work, home studies, and waiting we brought our daughter Yei Hue home. There were so many ways that God made himself evident through the process. One of the most significant was that our daughter was born 9 months after Saiman said yes to God. We knew that He had handpicked her to be in our family. She is such a blessing. Like our boys, we cannot remember life without her.

Chet & Ann Evans

Illinois Associates (Email)
Our journey of adoption began after a rough road of infertility treatments. As devoted Christians actively serving God, we were praying fervently for God’s will. Should we remain childless and devote our energy to serving God? Our home and marriage was a happy one. Our hearts overflowed with love that we wanted to bestow on a little child.

The Lord led us to foreign adoption-especially children with special physical needs. How could a child be denied a home because of a physical need? After all “we are fearfully and wonderfully made” (Ps. 139). God had created that little one just the way he was.

We adopted our first son “Matthew” from China in December 2008. We named him “Matthew” because it means “gift of God”. He is truly a precious gift. He had a cleft lip and palate.

We brought our second son “Luke Davis” home from China in August 2010. He too has a cleft lip and palate. His middle name means, “hearts child”. He truly is the child of our hearts. It is our desire to continue adopting these precious “special needs” children from China. We are truly blessed to be called to adoption. It has been one of the greatest joys of our lives! We love telling our story to try to encourage everyone to consider the great blessing God may have for your family through adoption.

Jay & Amy Langfelder

Illinois Associates (Email)
Hello. We are Jay and Amy Langfelder and have one daughter, Mya Elizabeth. Jay and I celebrated our tenth anniversary as we were en route to pick up our daughter from Hubei, China during March, 2005.

Our journey for Mya began in the midst of infertility treatments. As we were going through an infertility cycle we had comfort knowing God had special plans for our future but what we didn’t know is His plans for us included a special blessing that was left by a bridge in Hubei, China.

Currently, Mya will be two years old on January 7, 2006, and the insurmountable love we have for her is the love that we receive from our Heavenly Father. We are so thankful that he chose us to be her parents. Through our thankful hearts, we are being led to pursue adoption ministry. We do not know what lies ahead of us in this ministry but we know God has special plans for us in this area. We hope we can be an inspiration to others as others have been toward us during this amazing journey for Mya Elizabeth.

“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” -Jeremiah 29:11

Todd & Cindy Sheetz

Indiana Associates (Email)
It was a typical week in mid-August. The weather was hot, school was starting, and we were about to board a plane for China to bring home our little girl, Hannah Lu, from Heifi City. Before we could do that we had to move our oldest son, Nick, into his dorm room for his freshman year of college and get our youngest son, Adam, ready for his junior year of high school. Two years later we did it all again! This time the typical week for us began on the fourth of July. Nick was off working to save for his junior year of college, and Adam was working to help pay for his freshman year of college. As for little miss Hannah Lu, she was excitedly awaiting the arrival of her little brother, Samuel Cao, from Nanjing City.

When we got married almost 28 years ago we thought someday we might adopt but never in our wildest dreams did we imagine it would be at the age when all our friends were enjoying the freedom that comes when you have raised your kids and they are off living their own life. Fortunately we serve a God that has dreams for us that reach beyond what we can dream and in doing so He has blessed us with a family so rich in His blessings and love that we could not possibly imagine our life any other way!

AWAA has been a huge part of God's dream for us. It started with the "international adoption" Google search. They always came up at the top! Once we read that they were a Christian group, and how and why they do adoption, we were sold. They are such a part of our family. Our family is what it is because of the encouragement, support, prayer and love that this organization extended to us throughout both our adoptions. We would love the opportunity to show you what AWAA can do for your family if your heart is open to adoption!

Christin Grant

Iowa Associate (Email)
We are the Grant Family from Iowa. My name is Christin Grant, and my husband is Jim. We were both born and raised in Iowa where the corn grows tall. My husband and I have two biological sons, Andrew (16) and Chas (12). We also have two adopted daughters, Peiton (8) and Meilin (5). After being blessed with two wonderful children, my husband and I answered our calling to adopt. We were first blessed with the adoption of Peiton from China in 2002. Instantly, we knew we would return to China to adopt again. Meilin was adopted in 2005. Our hands are very full raising a family of four, yet we still feel the need to help spread the word on adoption. I feel the need to educate people of the joy of adoption. We are very happy to join the AWAA team!

David & Gretchen Haugh

Kansas Associates (Email)
Blessings! We are David and Gretchen Haugh from Olathe, Kansas. We are the proud parents of 6 fabulous children. Our three older children; Arthur, Austin, and Lillie are biological, and our younger three; Anna, Grace, and Faith were adopted from China.

After having our biological children, we were done being “fruitful and multiplying”. But God had other plans for us, and began to whisper ‘adoption’ into our hearts. After much prayer, we took a leap of faith and started the adoption process with America World.

One of the scriptures God drew us to during our adoptions was:

Isaiah 45:2-3
"I will go before you and will level the mountains;
I will break down gates of bronze and cut through bars of iron.
I will give you the treasures of darkness,
Riches stored in secret places,
So that you may know I am the Lord,
God of Israel, who summons you by name.

With each adoption, we trusted that the God, who had summoned us, would go before us and prepare the way. We trusted that He would give us the treasures of darkness, which were stored in secret places. He is faithful. Each day we are blessed with the treasures of Anna, Grace, and Faith. We are thrilled to be part of the America World team and would love to visit with you about the miracle of adoption.

Chad & Karen Bowman

Kentucky Associates (Email)
Ever since we married in 2002, we had always been open to the idea of adoption. Feeling that the Lord gave us a heart for Africa and the needs of children around the world, when the time came to expand our family, we felt led to adopt internationally. Our daughter Natalie was placed in our arms in March 2009 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. We've never been the same! We have been blessed to be a part of the America World family and hope to be lifelong advocates for adoption and orphan care.

Zack & Rebecca Caldwell

Kentucky Associates (Email)
Hello! We are Zack and Rebecca Caldwell and are so excited to be Associates for AWAA and to share with others the great miracle of adoption. We have been married for a little over 5 years and currently make our home in London, Kentucky. Zack works as an educator for a non-profit community agency and I currently stay home at home with our precious son, Caleb.

God began working in our hearts toward adoption about three years into our marriage. As an adopted child, I always knew I wanted to experience adoption as a parent and Zack had been given many ministry opportunities in his life that placed him in orphanages throughout the world. We also believed adoption to be a wonderful and Biblical way to show God's love and to grow a family. We began praying about adoption and God led us to AWAA, which we are so grateful for. In July of 2007, we applied to AWAA's Ethiopia program, and a year later we saw our son's picture for the first time! We were blessed to spend Christmas that year meeting our son in Ethiopia. It was definitely a Christmas we will never forget! He is such a blessing to our family and brings indescribable joy to our lives.

Jonathan & Angela Wells

Kentucky Associates (Email)
From the time we started dating, we were confident that adoption was God's plan for our family. We were married in 2001, and our sweet Caleb was born in 2005. What we didn't know at that time was on the other side of the world just 9 months earlier Caleb's older brother was born, and 11 months after his little sister entered the world.

We traveled to Ethiopia in February 2010 to meet and bring home our precious Jeremiah and Rachel. Adopting siblings or even a 3 and/or 5 year old is not on every person's radar. However, we encourage others to consider the possibility. Even with the challenges of adopting a late toddler and older child, we have been nothing but blessed! Our God is so very faithful!

Through the miracles of birth and adoption, we are family! We are forever changed and overwhelmed by God's goodness, provision, and heart for the orphan. It is our desire to advocate boldly and passionately for adoption and orphan care. We are absolutely thrilled to represent an organization that operates with the utmost integrity and bows to the authority of Christ. America World truly shares our hearts - the very heart of God - to see the lonely set in families.

Please contact us anytime. We are happy to answer questions, share our personal experiences, and pray with you throughout your adoption journeys.

Allen & Danise Smith

Louisiana Associates (Email)
We are Allen and Danise Smith from Shreveport, Louisiana. We were married in August of 1986. We were blessed with our first son, Adam, in 1990. During that pregnancy Danise had a dream that she had a little girl with Asian eyes. It was such a vivid dream, but a mystery at the time. Our other sons, Andrew and Jordan, were born in 1993 and 1996. Our home was full of love and precious blessings. We thought our family was complete, but God had other plans for us.

In December of 2004 God spoke to our hearts about adopting a little girl from China. We were amazed as He opened those doors widely and provided the way, both financially and spiritually. God had prepared our hearts for our daughter seventeen years earlier in that beautiful dream. Our sons were thrilled and we began praying together for God’s adoption plan in our family. God sent us to America World’s special needs program in China. Catherine Grace Yunying Smith, born in September 2005, Guizhou province, joined our family forever on January 21, 2008. We are so glad that we followed the Lord’s heart all the way to China. What an incredible blessing she is to our family and to everyone she meets. Her sweet smile just lights up a room! Our family prayer time now includes another sweet voice lifting up others to her Heavenly Father. Can you see His big smile?

America World made the process very smooth for us. It was a blessing to have an agency that prays with and for the orphans and your family. What a joy to see the Lord put families together even across the ocean! We are honored to be AWAA Associates. It is a great privilege to help others in their special journeys. We invite you to share in our adoption journey at Journey to Catherine Grace.

“And those who know Your name will put their trust in You, For You, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek You.” Psalm 9:10

Mike & Tonya Davis

Maine Associates (Email)
Greetings from the beautiful state of Maine! We are Mike and Tonya Davis and have been married for 14 years. We have two daughters. Robin is 13 and is our daughter by birth. Noelle, our 1 year old, was born of our hearts. Mike is a steel detailer and works from his home office and I am blessed to be a stay at home mom. Robin attends our church's school and will be entering the 9th grade this fall.

I had wanted to adopt for many years but it wasn't until May 2006 that the Lord totally changed Mike's heart. Through a series of short America World videos shown at our church and a consequent Spirit of Adoption seminar God began to soften Mike's heart towards adoption. After a few weeks of seeking the Lord's direction we were confident that the Lord was calling us to adopt a child from China.

The thoughts of an international adoption seemed daunting to us as we didn't know anyone with experience in this area plus we had never traveled overseas. One night after we were approved and welcomed into the China program it hit us, how humbling it was to be called to adopt a child from the other side of the world. What had we gotten ourselves into? How do ordinary people like us with little money adopt a child overseas? We learned early on that with God all things are possible!

It was such a blessing to work with America World because of their foundation in Jesus Christ! It gave us peace knowing that we had people continuing in prayer for us and our new daughter. They were wonderful throughout the entire process from helping us prepare our dossier to planning our amazing trip to China!

Finally on January 21, 2008 we were united with our 16 month old baby girl Noelle. Until now she had been well cared for at the Fuzhou Social Welfare Institute in Jiangxi Province. She is such a blessing to us and we are honored that the Lord chose us to be her parents. We are anxious to start the process again just as soon as we can....January, 2009!

We are thrilled to be a part of the America World family and to serve as associates here in Maine. The Lord has put a passion in us for international adoptions and orphans around the world. We are very excited to help families in any way that we possibly can.

“....I will exalt You and praise Your name, for in perfect faithfulness You have done marvelous things....” Isaiah 25:1

If you feel the Lord pulling on your hearts to adopt but are fearful in any way, just take one step at a time and trust the Lord. He’s not going to call you to adopt and then not provide everything you need. Where God guides God provides!

" ... Once our eyes are opened, we can't pretend we don't know what to do. God who weighs our hearts and keeps our souls knows that we know, and holds us responsible to act ..." -- Proverbs 24:12

Steve & Barbara Szewc

Maine Associates (Email)
Our adoption journey began in 2004. At that time, we had three children; two at home and one in college. As a military family, life is not always predicable. We did not see ourselves as a family in a position to adopt. That year we had begun homeschooling and as part of the curriculum we were reading a biography about Amy Carmichael and her work in India. Barbara’s eyes were opened to the plight of different people groups. She began to pray, "Here I am, Lord. Send me… (Isaiah 6:8)," not knowing how God would use her but being open to His will. The seed for adoption was planted. Steve was more resistant to the idea of adoption. It just didn’t make sense to him. During a Steven Curtis Chapman concert in October 2007 there was a ticker in the corner of the screen; every 18 seconds the number changed and one more child was orphaned.

We have often compared adoption to financial investing by saying, "There is never a good time to invest, just like there is never a good time to adopt." By the fall of 2008, four years had passed since we first thought of adopting. We had endured multiple deployments, a move, added two children to the family, and had another move on the horizon. This definitely was not the time to adopt, but God had other plans for us. In January of 2009, as a family, we prayerfully made the decision to live out our faith, trust God, and adopt a child. We decided to partner with America World on this journey. They were an established reputable company, and at the time we only lived about 40 minutes from their home office. Considering our "Advanced Maternal Age" and the dynamics in our home we chose to pursue a child with special needs. Unknown to us, God had already chosen this child for us. He was born on September 9th, 2008, five days after the birth of our first granddaughter!

At the beginning of our paper-chase we already had orders to move to Maine. We rushed to get our home study done in Virginia before the move, and then delayed sending it in until the addendum for the new house was done. While we were 'homeless' and living with friends, we received our referral for a nine-month-old boy with cleft lip/cleft pallet. The referral pictures we received showed a 10 lb, seven month old boy, who could barely sit. There was no hesitation in accepting the referral, and little did we know, the lip and pallet had been repaired the month prior! Not yet connected to a local church, we initially turned to our friends and family to help us raise the funds we needed to go through with the adoption. There was overwhelming support from them both in prayer and financially. We also received a generous grant from Show Hope, and were able to participate in AWAA’s Eternal Family Fund. As the spring of 2010 rolled around and we were waiting for our travel approval, our two teenage daughters decided they wanted to share the burden, and did a benefit violin concert at a local café. Again, we were blessed with the response and the financial gap was almost closed. A few weeks after the concert we received an unexpected check for $2,000 in the mail. The check was from the bank for overpaid escrow! It was an amazing experience to witness God’s hands and feet coming together as our needs were met.

That summer we flew to China and on July 12, 2010, in a crowded Civil Affairs Office, we met our 22-month-old son for the first time! Benjamin Enyong is truly a blessing; a beautiful precious gift! Over the course of the next few days we held him, and we cried with him as he grieved the loss of his foster family. At times we have felt selfish for wanting him to come home with us, but reality was and is, our family is built by God’s design! We thank our God upon every remembrance of friends, family, Show Hope, and AWAA helping to bring home "one."

Bill & Toni Benton

Maryland Associates (Email)
Bill and I married in 1995 and started thinking about adoption in 1999. For more than a year, we sat on that application - only God knows why. Finally, in June 2000, we filled it out and wrote our first check. In March 2002 we adopted the lovely Theresa Lin (born March 2001). As soon as we could, we started working on our next adoption and received the beautiful Abigail Grace in February 2004 (born January 2003). I met the amazing Faith Elizabeth (born June 1993) on an AWAA mission trip in July 2004 and God moved many, many mountains to bring her home in January 2006.

When we started all this, we just wanted a baby. We'd had enough of the infertility roller coaster and just wanted our baby. A friend recommended AWAA (then ACAA) and here we are. But since then, it's more than just wanting a baby. We want them ALL home and are excited about the many opportunities to help spread "The Spirit of Adoption" with America World. We can't adopt them all, but we can tell, encourage, and help others experience the miracle of adoption. And who knows, perhaps God has more for the Benton family too.

We live in Southern Maryland and we also have a fantastic son Johnny, who has run off to college in Colorado.

How can we help you along the wonderful, amazing, God-ordained journey called adoption?

John & Donna Cole

Maryland Associates (Email)
We are John and Donna Cole, and we live in the Baltimore County, MD area. Donna is a part time math tutor at the community college and full time mom. John is a regional manager for a wireless provider. We are both very active in our local church. We are also in the process of adopting our second daughter from China. We adopted our first daughter, Grace Xiao Ying, 6/21/2000 from the Guangdong province of China. She was 11 months old then. She is home schooled. She loves karate, playing piano & reading. We have worked with AWAA through both adoption processes.

For years we have had a love in our heart for the Chinese people. After years of infertility we have learned that adoption from China truly is God’s “plan A” for our family. We enjoy helping other families travel the adoption journey as we travel ours.

Matthew & Kathryn Clover

Michigan Associates (Email)
We are Matthew & Kathryn Clover from West Michigan. We have been married for 11 years, and are the very blessed parents to our two-year-old son Amanuel, who we adopted from Ethiopia!

Adoption was something that we had always talked about throughout our marriage. During our first nine years of marriage, we were able to go on many international missions trips. On many of these trips, we worked with children in third world orphanages. We will never forget meeting a group of brothers in an orphanage in Portugal who were about to age out of the orphanage. They had no hope, and no real possibility of a future off of the streets. God used this and other experiences to truly break our hearts for orphans. As a result, on our seventh wedding anniversary we realized that God was leading us to go ahead and begin the adoption process.

We chose AWAA based on several recommendations from friends, and were accepted into the Ethiopia program in November of 2007. We received our referral for our son Amanuel in April of 2009, and he came home on July 4, 2009 at six months old! Throughout our process to bring Amanuel home, we were continually appreciative of AWAA's integrity and their balance of the needs of Ethiopian children and also prospective adoptive parents. We're very passionate about adoption, and we're excited to share with other couples about God's heart for orphans.

We decided to expand our family through adoption again, and have begun the process to adopt another child from Ethiopia through AWAA. We're excited about what God has in store for our family!

You are welcome to view our Adoption Blog

Bryan & Heather MacPhail-Fausey

Michigan Associates (Email)
Hello, we are Bryan and Heather MacPhail-Fausey, AWAA Associates for southeastern Michigan. We have four children: Xavier, 16; Alex, 14; Ian, 8; and Rebekah, 7. God first placed the thought of adoption on our hearts about 10 years before He brought it to completion. From the early thoughts of adoption, God carried our family to west Tennessee, where our third child Ian was born. Due to complications during birth, we were advised against having any more children. Not long after, we moved again to east Tennessee, and just as we were getting settled, God took us to Germany for three years. As we approached the end of our time oversees, God continued to grow in our hearts the thought of adoption. ithin a few months of returning to the US, adoption just started laying itself before us. By the end of 2004 we were seriously investigating and by March, when we began the paper chase, it was simple obedience to what God had laid on our hearts. We knew that God wanted us to adopt a young girl between the ages of 3 and 10.

We first met our Rebekah Ling on January 15, 2006 in Fuzhou, the capital of the Fujian Province of China. She had been living in Xiamen, which is a coastal city very close to the island of Taiwan. All of our children have been a blessing, and sometimes a challenge, to us and the addition of Rebekah has strengthened our family. We are thankful to God for this blessing and the things that we learn from Rebekah even as she learns from us.

Jeff & Shannon Walker

Michigan Associates (Email)
We were married 2/7/87, and have 5 children: Joshua 16, Robby 15, Bryan 12, Aaron 10, and Brooke 4. Jeff is a Police Officer with the City of Auburn Hills in Michigan since 12/15/86. Graduated from Oakland Community College in 1988 with a degree in Criminal Justice. Currently, attending Rochester College (a Christian College) hoping to graduate in 2006 with a Bachelors in Business Management. Shannon currently works part-time at Auburn Animal Hospital and part-time at Beaumont Hospital as unit secretary. We were both saved at an early age, and currently attend First Missionary Church of Clarkston.

Our beautiful daughter was brought home to be a part of our family November of 2001. We spent months researching and looked at many different agencies before finding our home here with AWAA.

Guy & Christine Pinkman

Nebraska Associates (Email)
We are Guy and Christine Pinkman from Lincoln, NE. We have been married 22 years and have 5 children ranging in age from 17 to 4. We have always thought that adoption might be something that we would consider but after 3 children life already seemed so crazy and we didn't know how we would ever be able to pay for it. Well, God had something else in mind for us when he started tugging on my heart to adopt. It took some time and prayer for Guy to agree that this was something the Lord was calling us to do. In 2005 we brought our daughter, Isabel Hope, home from China. She is such a blessing and we are so thankful for her life!

While we were still in China I knew I'd like to adopt another child. We had everything all planned that we would adopt another little girl. It just made sense that Izzie could share a bedroom and we would already have little girl clothes. Well, God had other plans for us. After about 1 1/2 years of waiting for our daughter the Lord started working on us that maybe we needed to change our application to indicate boy or girl, expand the age range, and also put down special needs. Exactly one week after we changed our application we received a referral for a precious 2 1/2 year old boy. Levi is full of life and has brought much joy and laughter to our family.

We are so thankful for the blessings all of our children bring. It's hard to imagine what we could have missed if we hadn't listened to God's plan for our family. After having been through two adoptions we are passionate about helping orphans and helping others that desire to help them or experience the blessing of adopting themselves.

"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the LORD. "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts." -Isaiah 55:8,9

Matt & Heather Selinger

Nebraska Associates (Email)
We are Heather and Matt Selinger from Omaha, Nebraska. We have been married thirteen years and have two boys (ages 11 & 5) and two girls (ages 9 & 1). We returned from China with our youngest daughter, Claire, in February 2006.

We are excited to be able to share our story of adoption and offer encouragement to anyone considering adoption. Our story is one of a husband and wife who did not agree on adoption. Heather has always had a desire in her heart to adopt and I never had an interest – in fact I felt strongly that we shouldn’t because we were able to have children by birth. I have come to realize that the plan for growing families includes adoption no matter if you can have children by birth or not. I can’t image our lives without Claire in our family. Neither can Heather or our three older kids. I am so thankful that I was educated about adoption (what does God say about adoption?).

Our experiences could be of help to you if:
• You and your spouse disagree on adoption
• You are just not sure adoption is something you should do
• You are not sure adoption is something you can do

During our journey the Lord placed Hebrews 11:1 in front of us over and over again – "Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." This verse summarized our greatest need to trust God.

We are thankful to have worked with America World and are excited to have the opportunity to partner with them now to share how God has blessed us through the miracle of adoption.

Duane & Andrea Tweeten

Nebraska Associates (Email)
We are Duane and Andrea Tweeten, and we live in Stromsburg, Nebraska. We have 5 children: Micah, 16, Caleb, 14, Jadyn,10, Kendall, 5, and Zoe, 2. Adoption has always been close to our hearts. Duane felt God tugging at his heart over 20 years ago to adopt a little girl from China. We have talked about adopting since before we even got married.

In the summer of 2004, we felt God telling us this was His timing for us to begin the adoption process. On September 19th, 2005, Kendall Rene Pan Tweeten was placed in our arms. We chose AWAA as our agency because it was a Christian agency, and we wanted an agency that supported our Biblical view of adoption.

In 2007 we felt God leading us to adopt again, and through many steps of faith, we were led to Taiwan, to adopt our daughter Zoe, through an independent adoption. We saw God clearly work through both girls adoptions, and we felt our family was complete.

God began working in our hearts again in early 2010, and we felt God calling us to adopt a young girl from China who would age out of the system soon, and no longer be available for adoption. We clearly saw God work miracles as He opened doors we did not think could be opened, and we were allowed to move forward with the adoption of our daughter Hannah. She will be 13 next month, and we can’t wait to bring her home!

We are so excited to be AWAA Associates and assist AWAA and families down the most amazing journey of their lives. We have learned so much about God’s love for us, His faithfulness to us, and His adoption of us into His family, and are excited to share that with other families.

Heather Koby

New Jersey Associate (Email)
My husband Eric and I have come to a place in our lives where we desire to serve God where His heart is. He has called us according to James 1:27 to look after Orphans and Widows. This has become my life verse. I have been so fortunate to be able to spend my days serving Him in this way.

Our daughter Julianna is 5 years old and is from Krasnoyarsk, Russia. Our journey bringing her home in 2006 was an amazing one and AWAA was with us every step of the way. We also have a son, Elias James from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. He is now 2 and the happiest little boy i have ever known. Go has blessed our family greatly with this precious gift. Our third journey for our little girl from China has just come to a close. Aimee Grace is 22 months old and absolutely amazing. We know God will reveal even more of His plan and glory in our lives through the gift of adoption. So, we wait patiently on Him.

During my days as a mother, I enjoy serving the Lord through our church, with a nursing home ministry that I run where we visit and build relationships with the elderly who are at a point in their lives where often they have no one to give them hope. I enjoy sharing with them the hope of Christ. I also spend time in high schools speaking on adoption where I can tell young people of the miracle that has become our destiny in hopes to plant a seed in their hearts for the future. I am also a Child Ambassador for World Vision.

I am excited to be a part of the AWAA staff family. Serving families looking to adopt is a wonderful gift. It is an honor to be part of such a mission.

Andie Monteleone

New Jersey Associate (Email)
I knew I wanted to adopt since I was a little girl. When I met my husband, Chris, I made sure he was OK with the idea before we married. We decided to "have one & adopt one". The birth of our natural born daughter, brought dangerous complications and near death for both my daughter and myself. Afterward, I was told not to have any more children, as I was too high risk. This naturally led us to begin our adoption, a year later, and God led us right to AWAA and to China.

3 days after mailing our dossier to China, I discovered I was pregnant. We notified our Family Coordinator and suspended our adoption for six months, so I could give birth. Now filled with the fear of losing the baby and more complications, friends began to pray Psalm 40:3 for us: "He hath put a NEW SONG in my mouth..."

After a difficult pregnancy, I gave birth to a healthy, very plump baby girl. Just 2 weeks later, AWAA called to tell us we had been matched with Olivia! After receiving her bio in Chinese, we learned the translation of her name: "NEW SONG!" This was all the confirmation we needed that she was our daughter.

Faced with a unique situation, (traveling to China with a newborn) our Family Coordinator took us under her wing, and lovingly helped us every step of the way. She filled in the details and supported us during the whole process.

We arrived in China and were received by guides that treated us like family. The Chinese people graciously helped the "Laowai" with 2 babies, 2 strollers and 2 diaper bags, every where we went. They showed love to both our daughters; natural born, and super-natural born!

We are forever grateful to the staff at AWAA for helping to bring our family together!

Walt & Marilyn Pieschke

New York Associates (Email)
Greetings from Walt & Marilyn Pieschke! We are the proud parents of five beautiful daughters and seven wonderful grandchildren. God is still in the miracle business as HE has blessed our family with Anna Min, our newly adopted daughter from Chaoyang, China. Anna Min became part of our family in November of 2005, and has just turned three years old. It is our heart's desire to help other Christian families start their journey through the adoption process. From our own adoption experience we know that “where God guides, HE provides.”

Have you ever wondered how GOD could ever love anyone of us as adopted sons and daughters as much as HE loves Jesus, His own Son? We now understand in a new way that this is possible, as from the first moment we held Anna Min in our arms there was the same love for her that we always had for our other children. The Lord is always present as we go through the challenges life will present; we have discovered that HE will be with those who HE directs to adopt some of HIS cherished children.

“When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.” -Isaiah 43:2

John Raymer

North Carolina Associate (Email)
My name is John Raymer. I'm a pastor, a husband to my beautiful wife Dottie, and a father of 5. Even before my wife and I married over 10 years ago she told me that she wanted to adopt. I was not really against the idea but was not really that interested either. After about nine years of marriage, raising 2 children, and many years of ministry, God began to move my heart toward adoption. I wasn’t sure how we would go about adopting and frankly I was still looking at adoption as something as a matter of course. Adoption was something my wife wanted to do and something I was not opposed to so why not do it. Truly at this point all I really knew was that this seemed to be what God was leading us to do.

We began looking into adoption and soon came to the conclusion that our children were in Ethiopia. It was always amazing to see God was working at every turn of the adoption. As we worked through the adoption process, it was laid on our hearts to adopt not just one but 2 children. During this time our agency was just starting a waiting child list for Ethiopian children. The first 2 boys on the list were there for about 5 minutes as my wife and I knew that they were our boys and immediately called our agency. Almost a year after starting the paperwork we were truly blessed to go to Ethiopia to get 2 boys ages 5 and 6.

After about a year from bringing our boys home from Ethiopia, my wife saw a 14 year old boy on our agency’s waiting child list and she knew that he was our son. I wasn’t quite so sure. After all, we were still paying for our first adoption. I asked her for some time to pray. A couple of months later (and still paying for the first adoption and with literally no money to pay for another one) we went out to lunch and I casually told my wife that I had filled out the adoption application. Nearly a year later, we welcomed home our new son.

Words cannot really express the feeling that one has when picking up their child and instantly knowing that they are yours and nothing will change that. In all my years of ministry and theological study, I have never learned as much about God's love as I have going through adoption. I know of the sacrifices we made (time, finances, emotions) and yet they pale in comparison to God's sacrifice for us. I also know of the tremendous joy of bringing these children home and I now believe I have some understanding of what God feels when one of His children come home.

It is my heart's desire to give the gift of adoption to as many others as I can. I want to do all I can to encourage others to take this journey. It is one of the greatest journeys you will ever experience. May the grace of the Lord be with you.

Candy Tennant

North Carolina Associate (Email)
I've been married to my husband Rob since 2003. We currently live in North Carolina where my husband serves as Pastor of our church and I stay at home with our children. When we were dating we discussed adoption and both agreed it was something we would do. After attending the AWAA seminar in November, 2003, we knew the Lord was leading us to adopt from Russia. In 2005, we brought home our son Igor. In 2008, we adopted Henry from Ethiopia. We are looking forward to adding another child through adoption! God has brought us great joy through our children and the miracle of adoption.

Adoption is an amazing journey filled with every emotion possible. The greatest joy is to see our children as God sees us when we become His.
We look forward to sharing the adoption journey with others by being AWAA Associates.

Tim & Jennifer Gampp

Ohio Associates (Email)
Tim is a librarian at the public library and also works as the youth minister at our church, where we met and got married. I am a stay at home mom and babysit part-time in our home.

We began the adoption process for our daughter, Zoe, in the Fall of 2004 and brought her home December 2007. This was the greatest thing Tim and I had ever been involved in together!

I have a passion for finding mommies and daddies for the orphans of the world and look forward to sharing the Spirit of Adoption with people seeking out God's plan A!

Kevin & Karen Krantz

Ohio Associates (Email)
Kevin and I were married on May 26, 1995. We have 3 biological children. Rachael and Ryan are 13 and Nathan is 10. We attend Grace Christian & Missioanary Church in Middleburg Heights. We are very active in the church and our children's activities. We felt led to adopt from China after seeing a Steven Curtis Chapman concert on April 16, 2005. After waiting over 3 1/2 years for our precious daughter we felt the Lord calling us to consider adopting a special needs child. We prayed and decided that we could accept a child in our home with either repaired or unrepaired cleft lip and palate. Three weeks later we got the photo and we knew immediately that this was our baby! We traveled to China over the Christmas season of 2008 with our entire family which was a special blessing. We met Lillian Faith on December 22 in Nanjing of the Jiangsu province and our hearts just melted with love when we held her for the first time. We have been home for a joyous, busy and wonderful 8 months now. It has been such a priviledge to have this special daughter and to see how she has blessed so many others with her joyful and charming spirit.

Steven & Melonie Smith

Ohio Associates (Email)
Our names are Steven and Melonie Smith and we live in Grove City, Ohio. Our magical journey to adopt our daughter began 15 years ago when my husband made a fleeting comment that he had a place in his heart for the little girls in China (God planting the seed). We had just met then and soon after became college sweethearts. After a 10 year courtship we became engaged, then married in May 2001. We spent the next few years getting our nest ready for a family. When we had decided that it was time to start having children, I made the comment that perhaps we should adopt a baby from China instead of trying to have a biological child. My husband’s immediate response was, “YES!”

Our beautiful, independent, spirited daughter officially became a part of our family in December 2005. She was more than we could have ever wished for. We know that God intended for her to be ours from the moment she was conceived, she is a miracle! We were lucky enough to have my sister-in-law and father-in-law travel to China with us. We just fell in love with China...it’s a trip of a lifetime. Within the next year, we plan to begin the process again. After seeing the number of beautiful children in China that need a family to love them, we feel that we are meant to expand our family through adoption.

My husband works in hospital administration and I work part-time as a buyer and designer for a local boutique. Our daughter Tapie Eloise Yu Han Smith works hard at learning something new each day and will turn 2 years old in January, 2007. There are not words to describe how blessed we feel to have met the wonderful people at America World. We feel that they are truly doing God’s work!

Paul & Beth Lyman

Oregon Associates (Email)
Hello from southern Oregon! Beth and I have been married for 23 years and have been blessed with 4 children, from 21 years old to 14 years old ( three boys and one girl), and one daughter in-law. Through association with crazy friends and a series of God-orchestrated events, we were linked up in December, 2004, with AWAA and followed God’s lead, culminating with an exhilarating trip to travel to Wuhan, (Hubei Province), China to meet our new daughter, Sophie Ann Fuqing, in March of 2006. We are happy and blessed with the opportunity to serve alongside of AWAA as Associates, and look forward to helping other families experience the same gift God has given us through serving Him in the adventure of adoption.

Jerry & Diana Stitzel

Oregon Associates (Email)
We're Jerry and Diana Stitzel and we live in Troutdale, OR the Gateway to the beautiful Columbia River Gorge! We were married in 1984 and we have two beautiful daughters, Sarah Faith 14, and Gracie Li Hope 2 1/2 years.

We have been the lead pastors at Columbia Life Church since 1998. Gracie Li Hope became our forever daughter on October 26, 2009 in Guangxi, China through the AWAA waiting children program. She is such a joy and we marvel at how God has blessed us with such a wonderful little girl who has long eyelashes just like her big sister!

It was through an AWAA Spirit of Adoption Seminar that God really touched our hearts and convinced us that adoption was not only possible, but actually His plan for us. It has been a pleasure to work with AWAA through the adoption process and we are excited to be working with them as associates to share the blessing of adoption with others.

We invite you to take a look at our Adoption Blog.

Jennifer Mehosky

Pennsylvania Associate (Email)
Our names are Mike and Jenny Mehosky. We have been together for 21 years now 15 of which we have been married. Mike’s dad worked for the government while my dad was in the military/army. We both had similar childhoods since we were both moving around all the time. We met in high school in Wiesbaden, Germany our freshman year. Both our dads received orders to go to Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD at the same time. We started dating the summer we returned from Germany which was before our junior year in high school. We had always talked about adoption even in high school as a way to build our family. After having three boys we continued the talk. But, when it finally came down to it, Mike was pretty unwilling to move forward. I felt certain it was God calling me to do it. And I have to say without God intervening it might never have happened. I bugged Mike enough to get permission to look into it. I watched a homecoming video of a family adopting a baby girl from China. The song in the background was “Draw Me Close.” We sang the song all weekend long. Thinking he would watch the video and be ready to jump in with both feet I pushed him to the point where he threw up his arms and said “You have to stop talking about adoption! You’re driving me crazy and you’re pushing me further and further away from wanting to do it! You’ve got to stop!!!!” So….I very calmly said “Fine, if they play that song tomorrow at church then you’ll have to submit to the idea that we’re going to get our little girl.” I didn’t mean to say it – I didn’t even think about it – it just came out. Sure enough, as we slid into the row of chairs at church the next morning Mike found the song “Draw Me Close” typed on the bulletin. As if that wasn’t enough, Pastor Kris Ann talked about going to other nations and adopting children into God’s family. She used the word adoption several times that morning. Needless to say, we were dumbfounded. We walked out of church, Mike looked up to God and said “I hear You loud and clear.” We got home that day and while he was working in the yard he came in and said “I think this isn’t just about us, I think it’s about leading others to adopt.” Amazing how God can change your heart from one extreme to the next in just a split second. We were blessed enough to have God speak to us two other times during our wait to get Emma. One that lead us to special needs and another to calm our fears. Very powerful moments that neither of us will ever forget.

We’ve had Emma almost 9 months now and it’s just amazing how she fits into our family. She is a treasure, a blessing, a sweetheart and we thank God every day for leading us to her.

David & Katherine Dennis

South Carolina Associates (Email)
Katherine and I had never discussed adoption or thought we needed to after 16 years of marriage and 4 beautiful children. That was in 2005, before we went into the Christmas holidays and were seeking to go deeper in our relationship with the Lord. In His faithfulness and to our surprise, He began changing our hearts for the fatherless, specifically for our daughter who was in China. By the end of January 2006 we were racing to complete our dossier in hopes to be united with our daughter somewhere in China by the end of the year since the project waiting time was around 8 months. About that same time is when the China program started slowing down and the waiting time for non-special needs continued to grow; so much so, we went through seasons of doubt and questioning God’s call we so clearly heard.

To make a long, anxious, and lesson filled story shorter, we traveled to Jiangxi, China in July 2010 and meet Kirby Katherine Dennis on July 26th for the first time. She was 9mths old and an angel sent straight from heaven. This little girl who was spiritually born in our hearts 4 ½ years earlier, finally we were together. I cannot begin to describe the pure joy she has brought to our entire family and everyone who has the privilege of meeting her. There is still not a day that goes by, when I look at Kirby and think of what God sacrificially did for me by adopting me into His family, I cry tears of joy and thankfulness.

Our oldest child was in seventh grade when we began our journey, she is now a freshman in college and was home for just one week after we returned from China with her new sister before we all help move her into her dorm. In addition, we have 3 boys still at home ranging from 13 to 17 years old. It has been one of the most beautiful and unexpected blessings as parents to see how all of our children have embraced, accepted and love Kirby so much. God changed us and our circumstances a great deal during the journey, but He never change His mind.

It is now hard for Katherine and I to go back and recall the times of doubting and questioning God’s call during the long wait. But if not for the wait, it could not have been Kirby who is so obviously divinely chosen to be our daughter. We are once again reminded that God’s timing is always perfect and the wonderful Christian life we have the honor to live, is as much about the journey as it is the destination. If you are interested in learning more about our journey, we welcome you to visit our blog "God Writes The Best Stories"

In HIS Strong Love,

David & Katherine Dennis

Jonathan & Tara Nalley

South Carolina Associates (Email)
My name is Tara, and my husband Jonathan and I have been married since 2006, and we live in Simpsonville, SC.

God started laying adoption on my heart as a young girl, sort of the "adoption gene" you could say. For as long as I can remember I wanted to adopt a child, but I wasn't sure when or how that would take place. During the early years of our marriage Jonathan struggled with a decision to adopt. At one point Jonathan said he would like to take the issue to God in prayer and after two weeks he was 100% certain that God was leading us to adopt a child as a "Plan A" for our family! Both Jonathan and I have been adopted into the family of God and once we understood the theology behind adoption, our hearts were even more certain that God wanted to take us down this road. An AWAA seminar that we attended in mid-2009 was one of the defining times in our process as we heard many families speak and explain their experiences.

America World has been like family to us and has literally gone down this road with us and helped us through every step of the process! Because of our respect and love for AWAA we are thrilled to be a part of the team! We have a passion for orphans and a passion for adoption! The two go hand in hand.

In May 2011 we met our daughter in Krasnoyarsk, Russia for the first time and we brought her home on August 31, 2011! Adoption is an amazing dream come true and we are loving every moment with our new daughter! God has blessed us so much and we want to spread encouragement to others that are considering adoption or are perhaps already in the process.

Quint & Debbie Elkins

Tennessee Associates (Email)
Our names are Quint and Debbie Elkins and we were married on May 7, 1988. Like many couples we developed a time line for our family. God however, had different more perfect plans. By 1997, we had suffered through five years of infertility and finally turned our family plans over to God. We researched adoption and decided whatever path God chose for us to start a family was up to him. We were then blessed with two biological sons when Gehrig was born in 1998 and Graham followed in 2001. Our family was complete or so we thought! God had other plans and stirred our hearts leading up to 2005 when we answered his call on our lives to both adopt and become advocates for the “Miracle of Adoption”. On December 17, 2007 we received an early Christmas gift when an 11 month old bundle of joy named Sophia was placed in our thankful arms in Nanchang, Jiangxi, China. After spending the greatest Christmas ever half way around the world, we returned home understanding clearly that God’s plan is always perfect for our lives.

"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." - James 1:27

Brandon & Sarah Battle

Texas Associates (Email)
We met at Christ for the Nations Institute in Dallas, TX. I [Brandon] say I fell in love with Sarah the moment I saw her, and prayed that someday she would be my wife. That prayer was answered. We have been happily married for over eight years. Those years of marriage were not without their challenges though. In 2001, after years of praying that we would someday be blessed with children, we were diagnosed with infertility. That night we went home from the doctor and wept in prayer together before the Lord. Was this the end of our dreams of a family? No way, only the beginning! God had a definite plan in the works! He led us to pursue adoption! In 2004, after we both reached the age of 30, the minimum age for international adoption, we pursued adoption of a child from China through America World. Less than a week later, unbeknownst to us, a beautiful little girl was born in Hubei, China named Li Jia Yi. After a year full of paperwork and patience, Li Jia Yi turned one year old, and two days later in Wuhan, Hubei, China, she was forever united with her new parents! Our prayers for a family were answered beyond anything we could ask or even think! Our life is a testimony now to what God can do: take a seeming unplanned tragedy and reveal to all what it really was: a planned triumph! Rebecca (“Becca”) Catherine Jiayi Battle is now a happy & healthy toddler and has been with her new mommy and daddy, since March of 2005!

We enjoy being Associate Pastors at The Lord's Glory Church in Humble, TX, founded in 1995 by my Mom and Dad, Tom & Schar Battle, who are today the Senior Pastors of the church and the proud grandparents of Rebecca Catherine Jiayi Battle. Becca’s other proud grandparents, Harry and Jean Mattson, reside in Aquilla, TX. We also enjoy spreading the word about the joys of international adoption as Associates for America World.

To find out more about our journey to China to adopt Becca, go to our adoption site.

Josh & Julie Ezagui

Texas Associates (Email)
We have been married 15 years and are blessed with four children, three biological and our youngest child born in Russia brought home in April of 2009.

After our 3rd child was born we thought our family was complete. Then in December of 2005 we attended a Steven Curtis Chapman concert, heard his story in person and both knew we had to explore adoption. We researched, prayed and talked about it for the next year and knew this is where God was leading us. We moved back home to Texas to be closer to family to start our adoption process. Josh actually started his job in Texas the day our Russian son was born!

We officially started our adoption paperwork in July of 2007 with America World. During this journey there were ups and downs, times of joy, and times of sadness. God has taught us many things about love, faith, and perseverance. We have been blessed and want to share with you the blessings of adoption.

Our story is not over; we are in the beginning stages of another adoption through AWAA. We are looking forward to our journey and the opportunity to share the Spirit of Adoption as Associates for AWAA.

Doug & Cristie Martine

Senior Texas Associates (Email)
Our journey began with a very soft whisper from the Lord. I was pregnant with our second child, a baby girl we would soon name Dakota Michele. Doug and I were new to San Antonio, Texas and attended a Steven Curtis Chapman concert. During the concert, both Doug and I were captivated by the beautiful almond eyed little girl on the big screen named, Shaohannah. That perhaps was the first time that what seemed the impossible … adopting a child from half way around the world was made possible. We were taken back by the story he told of their family journey and we held on to that idea in our hearts from that day forward.

Over the next two years the seed the Lord planted began to grow and the Lord watered and nurtured that seed with many circumstances and people. The Lord knows that I have a hard time hearing “whispers” and used many people, including a newly made friend and her beautiful adopted little girl from the Hunan province to show me his plan.

In October of 2004, Doug and I came to a fork in the road when we were trying to decide if we would conceive a child of our own or move forward into the unknown world of international adoption. While the first route seemed more sensible in every aspect, the Lord continued to show Doug and I that he had a beautiful child waiting for us in China. On November 10th of 2004 we took a leap of faith and applied to AWAA to begin the process of adopting a baby girl.

Today we are blessed to have added to our family Maliah Jade Xu Martine. She was placed into our arms on September 4, 2006 but she grew in our hearts from the moment the Lord birthed that first seed. Our journey to adoption was full of many lessons from the Lord and he has continued to show us even now that the spirit of adoption is not just about the blessing of a child, but the blessing of walking in obedience with Him. We have truly never seen the face of the Lord so clearly as we did during the two year journey to Maliah.

We still call San Antonio home and are proud parents of a son, Canyon (6/23/00), a daughter, Dakota (5/20/02), and Maliah Jade Xu Martine 11/03/05. On July 26, 2010, we began the adoption process again for of a son we will name Levi from Ethiopia. We are excited to once again see what the Lord has in store.

We are proud to serve in the capacity as Texas Associates for the San Antonio area and we pray that the Lord will use us as a vessel to spread the spirit of adoption to any family who is being called. We'd love to hear from you. Please feel free to contact us to know more and if you live in the area, we'd love to meet you and introduce you to San Antonio's amazing adoption community!
Journey To Maliah
Lead Us To Levi

David & Sheri Walling

Texas Associates (Email)
Howdy from Texas! We are the Walling family of seven. We have five children, with ages 13 to 5. Our last two children were adopted from China in 2004 and 2008. We have been married 17 wonderful years and have lived in Texas for the last 9.

We weren't born in Texas, but we got here as fast as we could. Most of our extended family is in Louisiana. Therefore, we make frequents trips to see "the grandparents." When he's not chasing or playing with the kids, David works full time running our Educational Technology business. Sheri is a full-time mom and keeper of the calendar.

It is our passion to see orphans placed in loving Christian homes. We are honored to be able to share with others the blessing of adoption that God allowed us to walk through, twice. Our lives are very full and very busy, but we always have time to talk about adoption and the joy it has given us.

Essen & Cathy Daley

Virginia Associates (Email)
We are Essen and Cathy Daley. Our family lives in the beautiful Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. Essen is a pastor and I stay home to care for our family of six. In 2005 after lots of prayer and numerous conversations with other families who had adopted internationally, we began to look into international adoption.

We looked at AWAA’s website and literature and saw expressions of the gospel throughout. We were led to China by our children’s love for anything Asian. Our oldest daughter had an Asian birthday party ending with six little girls praying for China. We had visited D.C.’s Chinatown, ate dim-sum and always ended up in the Asian art sections of museums. We were all drawn to China.

The scriptures also unsettled us. Were we taking care of the orphans and widows in our world? Why would we not adopt?--except for the finances. But couldn’t God supply? Hadn’t He done that for us in the past? We stepped out in faith and applied to AWAA and the very day we were accepted, a friend gave us a $2,000 check. This was just enough to get our “paper pregnancy” started! Over the course of our paper chase, God continued to provide so that we could bring our new little girl home.

On June 4, 2007, a beautiful 14 month old from the Hunan province of China was placed in our arms. Lydia was born with a cleft palate and with my background in Speech Pathology and Audiology it was such a perfect fit for our family! Her cleft palate was repaired soon after we came home and we are so amazed at her beautiful and quick recovery from the surgery. We can't imagine life without our dear little Lydia Chen! We have had an incredible journey and we are so excited to be AWAA associates to share the Adopted by Design message and encourage others in their calling to adopt.

Peter & Andrea Kidd

Virginia Associates (Email)
We are Peter and Andrea Kidd from Leesburg, Virginia. We love living in Northern Virginia and are blessed by our 3 children, soon to be 4. When we have completed this current adoption, we will have two girls and two boys, two of them biological and two of them adopted from Ethiopia. After our second child, we knew God had more children for us, we just needed to look to Him for the where, the how, and the when. We feel so incredibly blessed to have been chosen to follow not only a path to adoption, but a path to Ethiopia, and a path to becoming passionate advocates for the orphans of this world.

After what we thought was a journey to adopt from China, God showed us indeed our next children were awaiting us in Ethiopia! After researching and learning about the orphan crises and getting some real answers as to why our soon-to-be children may end up needing a forever family, our hearts began to transform. Then we traveled to Ethiopia, and witnessed first-hand a beautiful country, with beautiful people, filled with a rich culture. At the same time, our hearts were broken for good--for the orphan.

Since that time, our consistent prayer to our Father was this, "To use us, to expand our territory, and to allow us to be His hands and feet to help the orphans and children in need." We knew our calling wasn't to adopt 10 kids, but to find a way to support others in their pursuit of adoption, as well as supporting those we feel we leave behind after we travel to Ethiopia each time. America World Adoption has been such an integral part of our story and journey and we are so blessed to be a part of the associate program, allowing us to share our story and the pure and true love that surrounds adoption. We also work very closely with Children's Hopechest and sponsor an orphanage in Ethiopia called Look Development. Pete has recently been called to begin a web site dedicated to the support of adoptive fathers. He realized through our first adoption that mom's had so many resources and blogs where they could find the support they needed, but there wasn't much addressing the fears, concerns, and needs of father's. So, he begun a web site called AdoptionFathers.com to address this need, and to prayerfully reach more dads with the message about the beauty and gift of adoption and orphan care.

Carla Lewter

Virginia Associate (Email)
Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.Psalms 37:4

Hi, I am Carla Lewter and my husband is Jay. We live in southeastern Virginia with our two amazing gifts from God, Ethan and Charlotte. Jay and I will celebrate our 10th anniversary on August 8, 2008 and feel blessed everyday by this wonderful journey of life. Ethan was born on February 12, 2001 and is a wonderful boy who loves baseball and his little sister. Charlotte joined her forever family on November 5, 2007 in Guangdong, China.

After several fertility treatments and a failed IVF, we realized that the child God had chosen for our family was actually waiting in China. We began the paper chase in May of 2006 and 19 months later we were on our way to bring our little angel home. Charlotte was born with a Cleft Lip and Cleft Palate on June 25, 2006. Since being home she has already had one surgery and has another scheduled for the summer of 2008. She is an amazing little girl, full of energy, spunk and very independent. We can’t wait to see how God will use our little Sha Sha in the future.

We are so excited to be Associates for America World and we pray that the Lord will use our story to touch other families considering the miracle of adoption.

We hope you will follow our adoption journey at Journey To Charlotte

Mark & Tamara Flippen

Washington Associates (Email)
We are Mark and Tamara Flippen from Spokane, Washington. We just celebrated our 20 year Wedding Anniversary and are blessed with 5 great children. Two through birth and 3 through the miracle of adoption. Amber (18) and Joe (16) are our two biological children. Annabel (5) was adopted from China when she was 16 months old and has been with us for 4 years. Jacob (7) was adopted from China when he was 4 years old and has been a part of our family for 3 years. Sabreana is 19 months old and was adopted through foster care.

We attended a Steven Curtis Chapman concert in December 2005. Prior to that concert we felt our family was complete with our two older children. However, it was at that event in which God spoke so clearly to our hearts that He had additional plans for our lives. We sent our application into America World the very next day and began the process.

It was also during this same time frame that God made it abundantly clear that Mark's future would be in Ministry. Mark retired from the Navy in 2009 and was blessed to step right into ministry. We relocated to Spokane so that he could take the position of Senior Pastor at a local church. Our church family has been a true blessing.

Both of our children from China were born with Cleft Lip and Cleft Palate. While they have required multiple surgeries and procedures during their short little lives, we have seen such incredible growth in them that it just amazes us. We have always said that they are healthy children who just need to take a break from time to time for a procedure.

We are so grateful for AWAA and all the support they offered our family during our process and are so excited to be able to minister to other adoptive families as Associates for the Spokane area. Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions or if we can be of help to you in any way.

Doug & Shannon Miller

Washington Associates (Email)
We are the Miller family! We live in southern Washington with our three children (ages 6, 5 & 3). After a few years of struggling with infertility, we realized that God had a daughter for us in China. We adopted Ravenna in 2005 from JiangXi Province (non-special needs), had our son Parker a bit later (our surprise!) and adopted our daughter Georgia Mei in 2009. Georgia is from the China Waiting Child Program and has a heart condition. She had open heart surgery as soon as we landed from China and is now our twirling, sparkly little princess!

Doug is an Electrical Engineer and Shannon stays home with the kids and is the Heart Surgery Coordinator for Love Without Boundaries. Our kids are climbing, running, giggling mud-pie making delights!

We are thrilled to be Associates with AWAA and love talking with families about adoption! It is such a joy to be a part of little ones coming home!

Matthew & Nikki Savage

Washington Associates (Email)
Greetings! We are Matthew and Nikki Savage. Matthew is a pastor and Nikki is a counselor/social worker. We were married in May 2005. We knew before we were even married that we were called to adopt, and take seriously God’s call to care for widows and orphans. In 2007 we began pursuing this dream with AWAA, and in December 2008 we brought home our son, Elijah, from Ethiopia. We have been so blessed, and have experienced indescribable joys since that time.

We are excited to serve alongside AWAA, and are eager to help others who are considering the miracle of adoption. We hope to continue adding to our family through adoption for many years!

Steve & Kristen Anklam

Wisconsin Associates (Email)
Hello from Oshkosh, WI. We are Steve and Kristen Anklam and we are so incredibly blessed that God lead us to America World on our path to adopt our two daughters. In 2004 our hearts were opened to the idea of international adoption to form our family. We wasted no time in getting started. After a brief search of agencies it was clear that America World had the same heart that we did toward God, children and families. We forged ahead into a whole new world and our lives have been forever changed.

In 2006, we waited anxiously for our delayed plane in Beijing to take us to meet our precious first daughter. We had no other children and had no experience with international travel, but we were resting in the fact that our God knew it all in advance. When the moment came to meet our Adeline, we knew, with no uncertainties, that she was the daughter God had planned for our family all along. We were content as a family of three.

But God, who knew what lay ahead, challenged our contentment. In 2008 we completed a second dossier for another daughter, only this time we followed His lead toward the Waiting Child program in China. In less than a year we were waiting in a large civil affairs office to meet a child who would become our precious Ruby. Again, we knew in the quietest corners of our hearts that she was meant to be ours. Our journey of a family of 4 began at that moment.

And now, as a family of 4, It is with excitement and great joy that we get to share with others how God brings families together. We certainly hope that if you have questions about adoption, you would contact us. Maybe we can even meet you at one of our Adopted By Design seminars in the future.