Drayke's Reaction

Our nephew Drayke had an epic reaction to finding out Michael would be his cousin. As a side note Michaelangelo is Drayke's favorite Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle.

Think You Can Help Us Raise $2,500 In A Month?

Dear Family and Friends,

As many of you know we have been following the call to adopt since July 2011. We received our referral in early March for Michael, our precious little boy! If all goes according to plan we will travel to the Philippines to bring Michael home at some point this fall. 

This road to adoption is full of many joys and challenges, the greatest joy being the expansion of our family now that Michael is part of the gang! The costs of adoption include the expense of a home study, adoption agency, lawyers, travel expenses, etc., with the total cost ending up somewhere between $25,000 and $30,000. 

We were recently awarded a matching funds grant to help with the expenses of our adoption through Hand in Hand Christian Adoption, Inc. a non-profit private operating foundation.  Hand in Hand will match any funds, up to $2,500, that are donated through our friends and family for the expenses of our adoption.  All funds received through our friends and family will be matched dollar for dollar by Hand in Hand up to $2,500.   All donations are tax-deductible.

Please send all donations made payable to “Hand in Hand Christian Adoption” postmarked by June 9 to:

Hand in Hand Christian Adoption, Inc.  

Sara and Marc Pensyl

18318 Mimosa Court
                Gardner, KS  66030         

For tax purposes please include our name on the outside of the envelope only - do not put our name on the check itself.

You can find out more about Hand in Hand through their website at www.handinhandadopt.org , by phone 913-248-5015 or by e-mail at handinhandadopt@gmail.com.

Thank you for you for loving us, praying for us, and supporting us in this way!

Love,

Marc, Sara, and Michael

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And Then There Were Three

There is a new member of the Pensyl family!

We got our adoption referral on Friday, March 6...after a loooooong 34.5 months of waiting! I opened up the email while stuck in traffic driving out of town. After remaining calm, cool, and collected - and certainly not throwing my phone across the car with nervous excitement - I called Marc, and after making not-so-subtle suggestions that I should forward the email to him to read aloud to me, we decided we really did want to be together when we read the email! 

This meant we had to wait two days. And I thought 34.5 months was long. When I got back home that Sunday afternoon we said hi, generally acted ridiculous, made this gif, then we grabbed my laptop, sat down on the couch together and opened up the email and the attachment. 

I literally fell in love as soon as I saw his name: Michael. I have now experienced what it means to fall in love instantaneously. A true love burst. The feeling inside when I saw his name and then his picture was like nothing else I've ever experienced. We just look at his picture. I've looked at it so much that I can see it even when I close my eyes! 

We read page after page of information! We both "awwww"'d at his height and weight. After a brief pause we realized we actually had no idea how big he was because everything was in kilograms and centimeters. A quick Google search found us a converter...then we "awwww"'d for real!

Michael was born in Quezon City, Philippines and turned two years old on March 19. We had a party to celebrate! With cake! He likes to dance to music, can run fast, enjoys playing with the other children, waves "hi" and "bye" and more!

We have been so blessed already - a shout out of Jim Small, owner of the State College UPS store, who didn't charge us for the notarizations he did for us because they were for the adoption! The generosity of friends has just been so encouraging and heart warming! Our friend Oakes is coming over to help us install new floors in the back two bedrooms (one of which will be Michael's). Oakes is a contractor (AOFletcher Contracting) so he could probably do this in his sleep, but just wants to come over and hang out with Marc and I and help us out! Our friend Elizabeth is a yoga instructor (Elizabeth Hay Yoga) and each month donates the funds raised during her classes to a charity or special project. She texted to ask if she could donate to Michael's adoptions costs! Another family, who is very close to us, gave us an unexpected, generous donation! We are truly blessed and Marc and I have seen God at work in so many ways! I am so thankful and continue to pray for an open heart and eyes so I don't miss a moment of where He is at work!

I went to PNC Bank today because I needed cashier's checks to mail to the agency with the acceptance paperwork (so. much. paperwork. I told Marc that we're planting a tree with Michael when we get back as an apology to the Earth for the amount of paper the adoption process requires.) Anyway, the woman helping me at PNC shrieked with excitement when she saw what the checks were for and, it turns out, she had adopted a boy and girl from India! Then, the clerk next to her joined the conversation because SHE had been adopted from Guatemala, along with her sister! She was almost 5 at the time and remembers many things about it and was sharing stories and gave some good ideas of things we could do to help prepare Michael! Needless to say, the entire PNC bank now knows the Pensyls are adopting.

Up next is about six months of paper work, payments, and getting everything ready for the newest Pensyl. We will travel to the Philippines this fall for a week and return with Michael.

Blessings abound!

Michael (1 yr, 7 mo)

Beautiful Sweet Prayer

Our niece Abigail has taken it upon herself to pray for her cousin that God has His eye on in the Philippines! Here is an email from my sister:

It's amazing to me sometimes how our Lord speaks through young children (Matthew 21:16 And Jesus said to them, “Yes; have you never read,“‘Out of the mouth of infants and nursing babies you have prepared praise’?”)  The past few nights when we pray together Abigail has, entirely on her own, prayed for your son/daughter.  Just something simple like, "And Dod, we pway for the little giwl or boy in the Fillipeeeeens that doesn't have a mommy or daddy yet."


Prayer comes from the most beautiful and unexpected places, doesn't it? I'm so thankful!

Going to My Heart!

At 11:30pm on Saturday June 9 I left with a group of 13 others to head the airport where we hopped on a plane to fly to Santo Domingo, to take a bus to San Juan de la Maguana where a little piece of my heart lives year round!

We're working and playing and loving at the Rose of Sharon orphanage this week. Will you keep us in your prayers this week? Pray that we are dangerous for the Kingdom and that we see God moving!

Pictures to come upon return (most will be posted on Facebook, but some favorites will get posted here!)

A Picture Update (Part 2)

Cyber space finally released the remaining pictures to me (twice...thanks Internet) (see A Picture Update Part 1 if you have no idea what I'm talking about).

To continue where we left off...

 Why did I post a picture of bird poop you ask? Because we had just paid to have our sidewalks, porches, and roof cleaned and within 12 hours this brazen bird had doo-doo'd on my porch. Seriously bird?

 The Calvary staff took a retreat to the Nature Inn at Bald Eagle State Park at the end of May. This is the view from the room (which I ended up not staying in since I forgot all my toiletries at home...meh, whatev)

 Abigail and Uncle Marc at the park

 She loved having Uncle Marc push her even though is is a proficient leg pumper!

 What concentration!

 Mr. David just hanging out...

 Tucker requires as many pillows as his dad apparently

Beat after a long day of frisbee... (this is actually how Tucker sleeps!)

 You know it's going be a rough day when you wake up with bed stuffing on your head

Just a cute picture of Lily! (squinting because the flash was too bright...sorry Lil)