Hello all!
Since it’s been a few months, we decided we would write a quick update although unfortunately not much has changed. We became an active waiting family in March. It has been almost 5 months since we have been active. It has been a frustrating 5 months as we have been disappointed in the number of situations we have seen. We have shown our profile only 3 times. One of those times we were led to believe we had matched, however after a few long weeks we learned that the expectant mom decided she did not want to proceed with a military family. It’s hard to admit that we are frustrated during this time of unknowns and waiting. Our sweet baby and their mom could be out there right now struggling either emotionally, physically, spiritually, financially, or all of the above. It’s difficult to long for our sweet baby and know that the gift of that child is also most likely the hardest thing that their mom will ever go through. So, while we sit here hopeful, excited, and anxiously awaiting to know of them; we know that their mother is likely in crisis and our hearts are broken for her.
Our updated prayer requests are:
· Pray for the expectant mother-for her safety, that she would be surround with love and support, and for peace with the upcoming decisions she will make.
· Pray for us to continue to trust God and his plan for our family. We have become quite discouraged. So, pray for our spirits to be lifted and for peace.
· Lastly, pray for our finances. We are saving as much as we can and continuing to try to fundraise.
§ We want to be transparent with our financial situation. We are so humbled by the many people who have supported us. We feel incredibly blessed and have been encouraged by that. We want everyone to feel confident with how their gifts to us are being used and where they are going.
§ We have been given $21,000 through our friends and family. We have been able to save $12,000. So, in total we have raised $33,000 and have used about $9,000 so far. Meaning we have $24,000 available right now. That is a huge blessing because many agencies will require a huge chunk of the finances within a few days of matching. Therefore, if we were to match soon we would have the funds to pay about half of the fees up front without requiring a loan.
We are so grateful to have received so much from all of you. We are still hoping to continue to save $$ ourselves and try to fundraise as well. Although, we have the money that would be due at match, we still most likely would need around $25,000 once we bring our sweet babe home. We are trusting God in this process and know that He will take care of the finances in ways we don’t understand right now.
Thank you for your gifts, prayer, and overall support. Keep thinking of us and praying for our sweet baby and their mom. We are hopeful that we will meet her soon.
With love,
Isaiah, Ashley, Zay, & Joelle Bragg
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