Alana Falk

I am so thrilled to have the chance to return to Kazakhstan this spring. When we returned home from Uralsk, Kazakhstan with our sons in October 2006, we left a part of our hearts in Kaz and we were profoundly impacted. Our lives have never been the same and our view of the world was forever changed.

We are indebted to that country for the gift of our boys and our hearts ache for the children that are still there waiting. This trip will give our family an opportunity to give back to the country and in a small way to bring joy to the children still in orphanages.

I am so excited to be helping to build a playground, loving on kids, and doing various other work. It will be hard, it will be emotional, and it will be an incredible experience. I am so blessed to have this opportunity!

Ann Hochstetler 

I am so so excited about going back to Kazakhstan again! Having adopted our boys' from Kaz there always will be a piece of my heart left there. Going on this Mission Trip with Two Hearts for Hope will be a great way to give back. Giving back to the children left behind, giving them HOPE and bettering their future is something very important to me. Having them know they are loved and matter is something money can't buy. We leave on April 30th and return May 9th. While there we will be building a playground at a Orphanage in Almaty City. We will also go to Karakastek for a day, this was the babyhome our youngest son

Chris Brown

I am so excited to go on this mission trip to Kazakhstan. When I was asked to go by Stacy I thought 'wow I really would like to go, if it is possible for me. I have seen the passion that Stacy has for all the orphans in Kazakhstan. In Isaiah 6:8 it reads 'I heard the voice of the lord, saying:'Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?' Then I said,'Here am I! Send me' And that's how my heart feels about this trip. I look forward to doing Gods work in Kazakhstan and building this playground and to share the Love of Christ with the people of Kazakhstan. Thank you for your support it is appreciated.

In his service Chris

Christina Danyell Simon

My life was forever changed on March 3rd, 2007, this was the day that I committed to my journey to find, and ultimately bring home, my daughter from Kazakhstan. Less than 1 short year later, on February 5th, 2008, the judge in Aqtobe, Kazakhstan officially approved my adoption of Little Miss Zahria Alia Simon. I can't even begin to explain how the adoption of Zahria, and the 2 months that I spent in-country bonding with her at her orphanage, have forever changed my heart, my world, my Faith, and the lives of so many of those that we love. I have been SO incredibly blessed and so incredibly impacted by our journey. I am in love with this girl! To see the changes in her in just two short years is beyond a miracle. When we met, the doctors let me know that Zahria was Anemic, had Rickets and was diagnosed with Hydrocephaly, among other things. Such tough stuff for a little peanut that had only experienced 9 short months of life. Now, Zahria's health is stellar, she is growing like a weed, off the charts brilliant and our Pediatrician has no long term concerns regarding her health whatsoever. Again, blessed! Every child deserves this. Every child deserves the chance to be loved, nurtured, snuggled, fed nutritious food, kissed and made to feel that their little lives are worth the moon and stars, because they are!

Turning my intentions into actions: It is now my turn to give back to Kazakhstan as they have given me the most precious gift a Mom could ever ask for, a beautiful, healthy, light up my world, little girl. When I first learned about, 'Two Hearts for Hope's' 2010 Mission Trip to Almaty, back in August of 2009, I yearned to go but, in all honesty, couldn't fathom how on earth I would ever be able to make the trip happen. Just like my adoption, I felt that mission work, although my dream, was not a reality for me. And even if it was a reality, I didn't think that now was the time for me, so I sat back, didn't commit to the trip, and kept it at the front of my heart.. luckily God knew better. God kept sending me little signs, like a brilliant missionary that visited our church in late November. I remember him saying, 'If God has put a vision in your heart, He will make a way.' One month later, another visiting Pastor spoke at our church, and he said 2 things that stuck in my heart. First, he asked the question, 'If you had 30 days to live, would you say yes to this?' Of course, my answer to the Mission Trip is YES, without hesitation, YES! The second thing he spoke to was turning your when(s) into now(s.) The infamous, 'when this happens, then I will do that.' This is what I had been telling myself about this Mission trip opportunity, 'Christy, when you are more settled, then... when you have the money, then.... when you are married, then.....' My when is now! I have committed in my heart to going on this trip to help build our babies at the Almaty Orphanage a playground, and I have total Faith that, once again, I will venture off to Kaz and be impacted, and blessed, for a lifetime.

Thank you for supporting me, supporting us, supporting our beloved little Kazak orphans. God smiles down on us all and I cannot wait to experience His calling on my life once again!

James 1:27 Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

With Much Love.

www.acrossoceans-thestoryofmydaughter.blogspot.com

Gretchen Bilbro

My husband, Chris and I adopted our oldest son, Serik, from Kazakhstan in the summer of 2007. We spent two wonderful months living in Almaty and visiting Serik daily at the baby house in Karakastek, about an hour and a half away from the city.

During this time we saw first hand the profound need of the children for nutritious food, medical supplies, love and attention. Whenever we were able to be around the other children they would flock to us, calling us Mama and Papa, begging to be held. It was heart breaking. Not many of the children in orphanages are available for adoption. These children will live in the orphanages until they are 16 when they will be left to fend for themselves. There will be no place to go for these children.

This April I will be going back to Kazakhstan with Two Hearts For Hope to visit the Karakastek orphanage as well as several others in Almaty. My wish is bring these children the hope that they so desperately need. To let them know that someone, somewhere across the world loves them.

While in Kazakhstan we plan to build a playground for a children's home in Almaty and visit several other orphanages. My personal goal is to raise enough money to bring a box of medical supplies to each orphanage we visit. Each box of supplies contains over $1500 worth of medical supplies and will be procured through the charity Project C.U.R.E. for a donation of $150.

Please consider donating today to help me reach my goal and to let a child across the world know they are loved and thought of and worth it. Thank you.

Jillian Serra

I am excited and blessed to be embarking on this journey to Kazakhstan, where, a little over a year ago, my parents were adopting my little sister Leeza. I suported my family from the side-lines on their journey through adoption. Once they were on a plane to Kazakhstan where they would stay in country for over 2 months, it felt as though the journey had just begun.

I had been the youngest of sibilings for 15 years. Then my brother came along and I became "the middle," child, and only girl! Once I found out that neither would be the case anymore, that I was going to have a little sister, I found my true place in the home and in the heart.

Through this mission to Kazakhstan with the Two Hearts For Hope Team, I will be building a playground with the team for the Children's Complex that houses 350 orphans. We will stay in Almaty while working at the Children's Complex and we'll also be visiting the blind childrens' home and the special needs orphanage in Almaty.

I am ready for hard work; digging holes, hauling sand, power tools, you name it! This is not a vacation, this is the mission and the chance of a lifetime to make an difference in so many others' lives. With your donation, I will be able to support my family, side by side, rather than from the side-lines, as my Ma and younger brother are a part of this mission team as well. It's my turn to roll up my sleeves and show what being a big sister is all about. I expect this mission to open my eyes, my heart, and my soul. I have a feeling that the person I am and the person I will be will meet in Kazakhstan. Please help me get there.

I thank you all for your support and prayers

Kim Prud'homme

Our lives were forever changed when we landed in Kazakhstan in May 2007. We spent two months in Almaty completing the required steps to adopt our second son Joshua. For two months we saw the need of the orphans. Day in and day out we stared at their hopeless faces and wished we could adopt more. When we returned home that hopelessness remained a part of me, and will always be a part of me. I am forever grateful for the path that God has put me on with Two Hearts. Since January of 2008, we have been able to assist more than 12 regions in Kazakhstan and bring hope to many, many orphans with monetary donations and relief supplies.

In April, I will journey back to Kazakhstan for the first time since returning home in 2007 with a team of volunteers to build a playground at the Children's Complex in Almaty City. I am still amazed that we are able to travel back and assist in this way. It will be an unbelievable trip filled with daily miracles and memories.

I am asking for you to support me, our trip and Two Hearts. Help us bring hope to these beautiful children that will never find a Forever Family. Help them know they are loved! Kazakhstan will always hold a piece of my heart and I am very excited to give back!

Our wish for these children is a life with the promise of hope, the reality of a future and the love of a family!

Peace,
Kim

 

Stacy Segebarth

Psalms 82:3-4 Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless; maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed, rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.

In spring 2007 my family and I embarked on a journey that would change us FOREVER. We traveled across the world to adopt our third daughter Haven from Karakastek, Kazakhstan. Our journey is one that we will never forget. The faces of the children in Kazakhstan our etched in our hearts and we will never forget the children that are longing for the love of a family.

We were fortunate enough to be able to travel back to Kazakhstan on a mission trip in September 2009 to bring medical supplies, wheelchairs, clothing, etc. I didn’t think that my life or my heart could change anymore, but once again we found ourselves on an emotional heart wrenching journey. I knew at that moment that my life would truly never be the same. I have vowed to give myself, my whole heart to giving hope as long as we can, I will try to save the orphans and the world, I will make a difference.

We are excited that this will not be our only trip this year; we will travel back to Kazakhstan in late 2010 to bring home our fourth daughter, Selah Niana. She is patiently waiting for our return and we can’t wait to hold her in our arms forever!

Thank you for supporting me, for supporting Two Hearts for Hope and most of all for making it possible for us to return to Kazakhstan to bring HOPE to the orphans of Kazakhstan!! Without you this would not be possible!!

Proverbs 31:8 speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves

Susan Serra

I am SO excited to go back to Kazakhstan that I can't even express it! It's so wild to even imagine that a few years ago, I had never even HEARD of the country of Kazakhstan, and now, it's FOREVER etched in my heart, as not only is it the birthplace of my daughter, but the children I met while spending 11 weeks in country adopting Leeza changed our perspective forever.

I still vividly remember flying out of Kostanai with Leeza on my lap and Joe at my side, after 10 weeks in country, our daughter LEGALLY ours forever. As we ascended into the air, I could not stop the huge tears from flowing. Tears of relief, of gratitude, and such incredible emotions,wondering if I'd ever get to go back. I had always hoped we could go back when Leeza was older, and show her the beautiful country of her birth, but once this mission trip was announced, I couldn't stop thinking about it.

I am so excited to embark on this excellent adventure with Sean. He was amazing in country. The staff at the Delphin baby house loved him, because he truly loved all the kids. We were so fortunate in that we were allowed to interact with the other children in Leeza's group. When Joe and I would walk our daily MANY laps around the baby house with Leeza, Sean would hang out "at the hut" with the kids and play with them. He is so excited to go back and play with the children and experience Kazakhstan again. It's good for a middle school boy to be reminded that there is life outside their world. :)

This trip is the opportunity of a lifetime, and while it will be life changing, and heart wrenching, it's also going to be some hard work! We will be helping to install a playground that was funded by generous donations to 2 Hearts for Hope. We will be digging (by hand) 40 two feet holes, and hauling a lot of sand and gravel. We will be visiting the baby houses and spending time playing with the kids too.

The trip to Kazakhstan and the experiencing of adoption has changed and affected our family more than I could have EVER ever imagined. I have a new network of friends, as the Kaz adoptive community is like none other. I certainly had no idea that meeting our daughter would have resulted in enriching my friendship network, and changing my perspective on EVERYTHING.

I am thrilled for this opportunity for Sean and myself to help give back to the country who gave us the incredible gift of Leeza. We appreciate any donation you are able to make to help us fund, what is hopefully, the first of many trips back to incredible country of Kazakhstan. Big kudos to my sweetie, Joe, who has given us his blessing,and my dear friend Laura, who is loving Leeza for the week we are gone. Please help us make a difference!

http://ouradventurestomeetbabykaz.blogspot.com/