The student body at Wisconsin Lutheran College is sponsoring a spring charitable campaign that will help make it possible for a 3 year old girl named Avery to leave her orphanage in China, in favor of a loving home and family in Wausau, Wisconsin. We invite you to join us in this loving and extremely rewarding endeavor.
Avery and Her Family
Avery was born in the Guangdong province of China in the spring of 2006. Like so many other girls in China, she had spent her whole young life in the orphanage. That was until David and Chris opened up their hearts and their home to bring Avery into their family.
The couple already had three biological children before they started their adoption journey, but Chris had wanted to adopt ever since high school. When their own kids were in high school, Chris’ father tragically passed away, but he left behind a modest inheritance. With the unexpected funds, and with more time on their hands as their kids were getting older, Chris and David decided it was time to pursue their dream. In 2007 they finalized their first adoption and brought their daughter Shea home from China.
Delighted by how much Shea filled their hearts but saddened by all of the girls still left behind in China, Chris and David soon yearned to adopt once more. Unfortunately, they had used most of their inheritance on Shea’s adoption and did not have the funds necessary to adopt again. Nevertheless, they felt called by God to adopt again, so they took a leap of faith and trusted that God would make it all possible.
As their adoption process moved ahead, one by one each obstacle somehow found a way of resolving itself. All, that is, except for the final few thousand dollars of adoption expenses. They had exhausted all other resources and had raised all they could through fundraisers, but it was a $3,500 grant from the Gift of Adoption Fund that covered their final costs and allowed them to bring little Avery home.
Avery and Shea both have conditions that are considered special needs in China, but are very treatable in the United States. Chris and David now advocate strongly for special needs adoptions whenever they can and even run their own blog to share their experiences. Even their older children have witnessed enough of the gift of adoption to speak of one day adopting as well.
The Wisconsin Lutheran Challenge
Inspired by Chris and David’s love and resolve, the student body at Wisconsin Lutheran College is excited to become a part of this adoption by sponsoring their adoption assistance grant through the Gift of Adoption. We hope to raise the entire $3,500 needed to fund the grant and we invite you to become a part of this life-changing endeavor.
We are organizing several different events on campus to support the campaign. For details about the events or how to get involved, please contact Jennifer Hammond by phone at 920-540-6091 or by email at jennifer.hammond@wlc.edu. Donations can also be made directly through this website.
Thank You
Thank you for joining Chris and David in their journey to give Avery a loving, forever home. So many times in life something big can be accomplished through the small contributions of many. This is undoubtedly something very big for this family, and by doing a small part in making this happen, we can all feel tremendous pride in helping to bring this bit of goodness into our world.
Thank you again!
The Wisconsin Lutheran College Student Body