Bringing love home for over 40 years! |
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As I sit on my back porch writing this article, I am seeing firsthand the change of seasons from winter to spring with the warmth of the sun increasing each day as we enter the month of March. The four seasons of the year certainly show us how things never stay the same in this fast-paced world. I am completing six years of ministry at CAS this month, and I have seen many changes as God has worked in amazing ways to grow Christian Adoption Services. It has been the greatest privilege of my life to have a front row seat to more than 200 adoptions and 30 birth moms who have given their lives to Christ.
With that said, I am excited to share with our CAS family that I have accepted a promotion to
work in a greater role in development with Baptist Children’s Homes of N.C. while still leading
CAS on the development side. My new title will be Director of Development (CAS) and Young
Leader Relations. This new role will allow me to focus on growing the development side of CAS
while building new relationships with young pastors across the Carolinas. I appreciate Dr.
Blackwell’s confidence in me to take on this new role. I also believe that CAS has great leadership in
place to continue our upward momentum and have even greater impact for the Kingdom in the days to come.
I am excited for Sheryl Naylor and Laura Nichols-Virgilio who have over 30 years’ experience
between them to step up and lead the adoption side of the ministry while I focus on the
development side of the ministry going forward. Our whole team is aware of these changes and
are excited for what the future holds for CAS. One thing we all know for sure is that Christian
Adoption Services remains the Lord’s ministry, and we would not be where we are today
without each of you who represent our families and supporters. Thank you for your continued
prayers and support of CAS – we are excited for what the Lord has in store for us the rest of 2022!
God bless each of you!
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Kevin Qualls
Director of Development (CAS) & Young Leader Relations
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March is Social Work Month |
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A memoir of an adoption social worker: This is “Her Why”
What the public sees is the smiling face of the adoptive family who has received the child they have waited for. It is a glorious time; a child is placed in a family where they are provided every spiritual, physical, and emotional wellness opportunity. What you don’t see is the social worker that just held the birth mom in her arms weeping as she released her child so he could have a life she could not provide. “Opportunity!” I want him to have “opportunity” and a chance at life. You don’t see the tears in the eyes of the social worker as her heart breaks with this birth mom; the bitter sweetness of what is taking place; the drive with the child from there to the overnight cradle care until the adoptive family can take placement of an eighteen-month-old; the challenge just to get the home secured for the night; placing the child with someone else, even the social worker feels concerned and attached to the little guy. Those days are often 15 hour days, arriving home at 10:30 p.m. at night and that night is often sleepless, praying over the child, praying they aren’t scared, and praying he feels safe. The next day is as long. Mounds of paperwork, meetings with the birth mom and potential adoptive parents. You prepare and pray; pray that the meeting goes well and it is the perfect match. Pray that the child is well in the overnight cradle care. All is well, it is the perfect match ... this time. Plans are made for the adoptive family to come to meet their son. It’s a beautiful moment and prayers continue for the little guy to feel safe and accepted. Paperwork is completed, bags are packed in the car and the family is off with their new child. The social worker gets home at 9:00 p.m. instead of 10:30 p.m. and happy it is a little earlier, greets her husband briefly, only to turn to her phone to make sure to let the birth mom know all is well. The next 30 minutes is tied up chatting with her while the husband waits patiently. The social worker is secretly glad her teenager is out with friends so he doesn’t feel neglected (this time) while she completes her job for the day. Exhausted, there’s no energy to chat a lot but the husband is eager to support his wife and is glad she is home. A social worker’s husband and children are also unseen heroes in these stories! After a hot shower, she falls into bed, breathing another prayer of thanks, that another one of God’s children is safe in the arms of a loving family. A prayer is prayed for the birth mom, who loves her child, even more, wanting a life for him she could not provide. As the social worker reflects on the events of the last two days, it’s her arms wrapped around that weeping birth mom that causes tears to roll down her face. It’s the smile of the little guy as he spends time with the new family that continues to be “Her Why!” This job is not glamorous. It is not easy. It is mentally, emotionally, physically, and financially sacrificial, but it makes an eternal difference in every life touched! This is “Her Why!” This is her life.
Written by a CAS Domestic Adoption Coordinator, the day after a placement
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Benefit Banquet in Myrtle Beach, SC
We held our first-ever fundraising event in the Myrtle Beach area on February 10th and had a great time! Thanks to Living Water Baptist Church for hosting us, and to everyone who came out to support the ministry. Thanks to the Boutin family for sharing and to those of you who gave extravagantly. Almost $20,000 was raised - funds that will have eternal impact in the lives of children placed with forever families.
Save the Dates
Don't miss your opportunity to fellowship with other CAS supporters and hear an amazing story of adoption. This year we are focusing on the eternal impact of adoption, and we hope you will join us at one of these events.
March 10th - First Baptist Church, Indian Trail NC
We are excited to announce that two generous donors have pledged matching gifts up to $100,000 for this event. That means that every dollar given will be doubled! If you can't be with us on March 10th but would like to be part of the matching gift challenge, click here to donate- just be sure to choose Charlotte Banquet as the fund to ensure your gift is matched.
April 28th - Apex Baptist Church in Apex NC, click here to register no later than April 19th
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We look forward to spring weather and fun days on the golf course. For those of you in South Carolina and Eastern North Carolina, plan now to join us for our growing golf events that provide critical funding for the work of CAS. We are looking for sponsors and teams, so talk to your friends and make your plans now. Our spring tournament dates are:
Spartanburg, SC – Monday, March 28th @ The Carolina Country Club, click here to register no later than March 8th
Rocky Mount, NC – Friday, April 8th @ Belmont Lake Golf Club, click here to register no later than March 21st
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There are 153 million orphans in the world. There are 300+ profiles of children at Christian Adoption Services that are praying for a forever family. Children are waiting for families!
At Christian Adoption Services, we have the privilege of being accredited in the Philippines and the Czech Republic for intercountry adoption. We have the honor to advocate for hundreds of children who are trusting in God's plan. Children who are filled with hope and faith that someday a family will open their hearts and home for them. Could that be you? Do you feel called to adopt? Do you have room in your heart to love an orphan who wants to be loved? Are you an orphan’s answer to prayer? If so, please join us virtually on March 24, 2022, at 6:30 pm to hear more about international adoption. To attend, we ask that you RSVP by March 17, 2022, by emailing Amanda Maye at Amaye@bchfamily.org with both spouses’ first and last names, a good phone number, and your city/state of residence. Upon your email, you will receive a Zoom link for the meeting as well as country-specific handbooks regarding our international programs.
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We are excited for you to hear this family's story. In their own words, they share their experience and how the Lord worked in mighty ways for them and through them!
"Adoption was something Will and I had discussed several times over the years, but we never really did much more. November 15, 2015, that discussion took a more serious path. We not only talked about it, but we committed to pray over our decision to adopt. God nudged us to take the next step and we finally decided to adopt from the Philippines. Once we started our adoption process I began to claim the verse Ephesians 3:20 “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us.” Ephesians has always been my favorite book in the Bible, and I thought this was the perfect verse to pray over a path we had very little control over.
As we progressed through our process we were approved to adopt one child just like we had planned. Little did I know a year into the journey I would see three faces that would forever change our lives for the better. It took some time for us to pray over our decision, but within a month we had asked to be matched with our three children and began updating our home study to be approved for sibling adoption. I had no idea God’s immeasurably more for us included three children when I started praying that prayer.
Sometimes God may call or lead you to do something that may seem crazy by the world’s standards. Although some people thought we were crazy to ask for three more children, we knew God would be with us through it all. I believe He blessed us in ways we would have never imagined when we started this process. Not only was our immeasurably more about bringing three precious children into our family, but it was about learning to trust God in ways we never had before. Adoption opened our hearts to the greatness of God’s love so much more than anything we had ever experienced in our life.
Now that we’ve been home with our children for four years, I cannot imagine missing out on the blessing of our three beautiful additions to our family. Through the years, adoption has brought our family closer to one another and closer to our heavenly father. If we really understood even a fraction of God’s love for us, we would know his plan is far better even if it seems crazy to others. It may not be easy, but it will be worth it because He is always worth it. If you feel the nudge to adopt, trust Him as you step out in faith to do immeasurably more than you can ask or imagine." - Will & Christi
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Christian Adoption Services is now offering a virtual support group to moms who have placed their children through CAS. The group meets the second Tuesday of the month at 7:00 p.m. Adoptive parents, if you think your child’s birth mother could use this support, please encourage them to attend by registering here.
March, 8, 2022 at 7:00 p.m. and April 12, 2022 at 7:00 p.m. are the next upcoming dates. For more information about the group, please reach out to Carla Harvin or Lauren Gilmore.
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Meet & Greet for Waiting Families!
All Waiting Families that have been admitted into our domestic program are invited to come and enjoy coffee and dessert as well as meet our new Domestic Adoption Family Manager, Meredith Nash, and our Domestic Adoption Specialist, Laura Capps and spend some time with other Waiting Families. In order to be able to concentrate on our time together, we are asking this to be an Adult Only meeting. Please RSVP to Marsha Hancock.
When: Tuesday, April 5, 2022
Where: Thanks a Latte, 1118 Kentworth Drive, Holly Springs, NC 27540
Time: 6:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
RSVP no later than Tuesday, March 29, 2022
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Birth Mother Retreat
25 Years of Loving Birth Mothers Well!
It’s that time of year that we celebrate our Birth Mothers and this is a BIG ONE! We are celebrating 25 years of loving birth moms well! This year’s retreat will be held April 22-24, 2022, in Durham, NC. In addition to expecting a large number of moms to attend, representatives from Brave Love, “A pro-adoption movement dedicated to changing the perception of adoption by acknowledging birth moms for their brave decision,” will be attending as well! Some of our birth moms will be sharing their stories that will be viewed by people all over the world!
The Birth Mother’s Retreat is something that the moms and the staff look forward to every year! It is a time of sharing and caring in an accepting, non-judgmental environment. The moms make new friendships and cultivate old ones. Some become lifelong best friends! The staff finds it an honor to be a part of such a sacred space. At the retreat the moms are able to laugh, cry, grieve and feel the support of others who have walked in their shoes. CAS is so very grateful for all of the people who come alongside our ministry to be able to love these moms well! Many ask what can I do to assist? There are several ways. Please click here to visit our website to select what best fits for you! Most of all, we ask for your prayers as we share the love of Jesus with each of the women. It is our heart’s desire that they grow closer to Him or come to know Him for the very first time!
Adoptive parents, reach out to your child’s birth mother and encourage her to join us! They can register through April 21, 2022 by clicking here. Should you need specific information about the retreat, please reach out to Deanna McFerson.
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We are excited to share that the Emmanuel Home renovations are well underway! Contractors have been met with to go over the master plan and teams are working hard to prepare the foundation and old structure for new life! We can't wait to see this dilapidated building become a home of hope to many. To learn more click here.
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