Here is the link to purchase the shirts: http://www.bringhomeandrew.bigcartel.com/
In addition to raising funds for Andrew's adoption, our hope is that these shirts spark conversations about adoption that will lead to helping find families for the millions of waiting children around the world.
A little bit of the story behind the shirts...
We are the Dri Family and we live north of Atlanta, GA. We have 5 kiddos home with us and 1 who is waiting on us in China (Andrew Jun.) We have been beyond blessed by adoption and are filled with joy to be on this journey again. I learned about Andrew through adoption advocacy sites and my agency's waiting child page. He was born in December 2005 in Xinyang China, and has hemophilia, a genetic bleeding disorder. His birth family could not provide him with the care he needed. He entered the orphanage when he was almost one year old. He has lived in the orphanage ever since.
Andrew's blood does not contain an adequate amount of clotting factor. Therefore, he has spontaneous bleeds inside his body, mainly in the joints. His knees are especially affected. Once he is home, he will be put on prophylaxis treatment where he will receive injections of clotting factor intravenously about 3 times a week. He also needs a factor infusion when he feels a possible bleed in a joint or when he suffers an injury that could result in internal bleeding. He is not the only one with a blood disorder in the family as our son, Joshua, has thalassemia and Fred has hemochromatosis. (Had to have a red shirt for my blood/ bleeding disorder gang!)
Andrew is a brave boy. Even though I haven't met him, I know he is brave because he is "open." That is how he has been described several times. He loves life. And while I know he cannot fathom how drastically his life is about to change and his "openness" may not come as easily, I have hope that he will be brave and he will have courage even when he is afraid. And I pray that we can help him to feel secure as best we can as strangers, who are his parents.
I have this hope because I've seen two little Chinese boys who have displayed bravery and openness in the midst of their worlds turning upside down. And the more time that passes, the more I'm in awe of the whole process of adoption. I have hope that Andrew will allow us into his heart, and slowly, over time, by the grace of God, he will feel "family."
Being brave and having courage doesn't mean we don't feel fear. It's feeling the fear, recognizing it, and saying "yes" anyway.
I know 5 brave kids that are sleeping under our roof right now. They are excited to meet their new brother.
Over the past 3 years in this adoption community, I've met and read about many courageous families and children. People that endure hardships they never dreamed of yet they have hope; people who have experience a peace and joy so unexplainable and they want to share it with others; families and kids who have stepped so far out of their realm of comfort and stability into an unknown world and have found that the journey only made their faith stronger and their hearts deeper in love.
There are many unknowns in our world, but God want us to be brave anyway; to have courage anyway. We are to be bold in standing up for what we believe, in taking a step of faith for what is right, in saying "yes" when it may be easier to say "no", in choosing the path less traveled... that's where the flowers grow. Not to say that you won't have to climb through a mess of thorns to see those flowers, but they'll be so much more beautiful because of it.
So, I hope you like the shirts and feel free to share with others! We are so grateful for all of the support and encouragement and love.
Thank you, sincerely.
To order your shirts please visit: http://www.bringhomeandrew.bigcartel.com/
If you have any questions, please contact me at alisondri@hotmail.com
I just wanted to say how much your blog has encouraged me. My husband and I have 2 adopted domestically, and have just begun the process of adopting from China.In the training and other blogs, it's hard not to let fear creep in--but I have been asking the Lord for affirmation and peace--and He used your story tonight. Thank you. Praying for Andrew--for God to keep him safe and for your journey to get him to be soon! Blessings in Christ~
ReplyDeleteHi!My name is Jessica Norris. We are further up north than you all. Cleveland, Georgia. We have two children one of whom we adopted from China. She has albinism. We would like to adopt again. One need that we are researching is thalassemia. Would you be willing to talk? Our email is norrisfamily1@windstream.net. Thank you so much.
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