Gifts of Hope 2023 by Show Hope

Dear Show Hope Family, We love Christmas, and this time each year, we love to share about Show Hope’s annual Gifts of Hope campaign—it truly is one of our favorites! All month long, we’ll be sharing with you stories of hope from children and families who we—and you—have had the honor of journeying with over the past year through the mission and work of Show Hope. For 20 years now, we have been blessed to come alongside children and families like these on their adoption journeys, and as we prepare to step into the next 20 years of Show Hope, we invite you to come along with us, as we answer the call to care for children who are vulnerable and the families stepping up to love and care for them. We know all too well how busy this season is for everybody! From gatherings with family and friends to school programs and events at your church and within your community, it can be really easy to miss the joy … the peace … and the hope this season brings. So we are praying as you read these stories that you will be reminded of the One who is never too busy for us. As Jesus stands at the door and knocks, may we open our hearts to His incredible invitation. We love how Eugene Peterson says it in “The Message”: ”Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly. Thank you, all, for 20 years of showing hope and showing people who Jesus truly is! Together, we can change the world with kindness—and Show Hope is proof of that. Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

Mary Beth & Steven Curtis Chapman Founders, Show Hope 3

FROM THE COVER: Scan the code to learn about the Yates family story. 4

Together, We Can Change the World With Kindness At the very core of who we are is a desire and need for connection, belonging, and security first found and experienced within the context of family. For the more than 15 million children who have been orphaned around the world, that foundational relationship has been disrupted. Yet Show Hope. For 20 years now, Show Hope’s mission has remained the same: to care for orphans by engaging the Church and reducing barriers to adoption. For some, these barriers may seem insurmountable. But since 2003, through Emmanuel—God with us—Show Hope has flourished and served as a living picture of hope and help to thousands upon thousands of children and families. The need, the opportunity, and the invitation to “love as we have been loved” has never been greater, though. So in this season, when we give gifts as a way to express our love and admiration— ultimately remembering the greatest gift of Jesus—we invite you to join us in the work of Show Hope, locking arms with us in changing the world with kindness. Will you give a gift of hope this Christmas?

Gifts of Hope Campaign Goal:

$600,000 Scan the Code to Give Today! Or Visit showhope.org/giftsofhope 5

Adoption Aid The need remains as it did 20 years ago. A barrier between waiting children and families still exists, with the cost of adoption ranging between $25,000 and $50,000. Yet Show Hope. In a few short years, we will award our 10,000th Adoption Aid grant, and this year, we are moving toward that milestone with a 10 percent planned increase in the number of grants awarded versus last year. With a rise in Adoption Aid grant applications over the past year, we are anticipating the needs and stand ready to meet children and families with hope and help—but not without you.

Gifts of Hope Campaign Goal:

$600,000 Scan the Code to Give Today! Or Visit showhope.org/giftsofhope

Blessings Along the Way We first introduced you to the Woller family, who were adopting from Burkina Faso in April 2022 as one of the featured families of Show Hope’s 20/20 Campaign. Take a closer look at the Woller family and updates to their story. Amber and Matthew Woller have always felt led to adopt, after both having different experiences on mission trips and seeing the real need all over the world. Throughout their adoption journey, their prayer has been to make connections in the time of waiting, and they have seen God place people in their lives to build community in the adoption world, even local individuals from Burkina Faso. Throughout their adoption journey, Amber has been diligent about keeping a journal and updating Show Hope staff members regularly. Here are just a few of the updates, answered prayers, and “blessings along the way.” July 2022 I was researching hair care, and I stumbled upon Clara Hair Braiding in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. I finally got the courage to message her to ask for tips on hair care, products, and more. It turns out that she is from Burkina Faso! She has been in the U.S. since 2016, and this December, she is going back home to visit. My prayer all along has been connections!

February 2023 We just received an update that on February 15, the matching committee will be meeting, and there is a 50 percent chance that a translated “special needs wait list” will be released that day! If so, then we will write letters of intent. If we are matched, we will hear back in one to two months. If a list is not released, they will continue to work. It may be released in a few months. The last list was released in August [2022], so we are patiently waiting for our adoption journey to be revealed to us! It’s been an amazing testimony this far relying on God. May 2023 Today, a “special needs wait list” came out. Please pray for a match! We will hear in one to three months if we are matched with any of the children we submitted letters of intent for. August 2023 We have been in the international adoption process for 534 days, and the past 73 days, we have been waiting for an answer. Today, our placing agency told us, “You’ve been matched!” We are overjoyed to add a little girl to our family! We can’t thank God enough for this answer to prayer! Our children are ecstatic to say “sister” instead of “future brother or sister.” Although it may

be over a year until we meet her face to face, within a “short” bit of time, we will be able to see her precious picture and video chat monthly. Our daughter is 2 years old, and her birthday is coming up. I pray it is her last birthday without us! God moved mountains, and I am so happy that our God is able and revealing our adoption testimony! After a close friend shared about Show Hope’s Adoption Aid grants, Amber began praying and eagerly waiting for their home study to be approved so that they could apply. The Adoption Aid grant gave us hope for adoption, and we are so thankful. We knew the financial impact, but with the process being long and having to renew files, applications, fingerprints, and home studies, we became discouraged that the price would keep increasing. We are so thankful for Show Hope. We are in awe of not only the financial gift but also the encouragement, resources, and prayer covering our adoption journey. It takes a village, and we feel the love from Show Hope.

Scan the code to learn about the Bauer family story. 12

Medical Care Rising medical costs and access to adequate healthcare can be overwhelming for families, particularly families whose story includes adoption. Yet Show Hope. Whether it’s a pre-existing condition or a need that just recently developed, Show Hope’s Medical Care grants financially assist families with medical expenses for their children welcomed home through adoption. While this work is still in its infancy, we eagerly anticipate and plan to award 250 grants per year by 2025. And we are praying you will join us.

Gifts of Hope Campaign Goal:

$600,000 Scan the Code to Give Today! Or Visit showhope.org/giftsofhope

In the Nick of Time Three-year-old Thaddeus Turney, affectionately known as Thad, loves to laugh and get others to laugh with him. One of his favorite jokes is to say, “Knock, knock,” and proceed to giggle with no punchline. And if you ask his parents, Ashley and Justin Turney, they describe him as the biggest, happiest-go-lucky trickster. “For everything that he’s been through, he has a very sweet demeanor and just a great sense of humor,” Justin said. The Turneys began fostering Thad and his twin brother, Theodore, when they were 5 months old, later adopting them both as soon as the courts allowed. In his few short months of life, Thad experienced multiple brain bleeds, strokes, and critical vision impairment, leaving doctors to question whether he would ever see, speak, or walk.

Thad immediately began multiple exercises and therapies to help him progress, and he and his family saw God move in mighty ways. Today, not only can Thad see and speak, he can walk! It was with Thad’s mobility where Show Hope entered the picture. Thad’s mobility was lacking due to spasticity in his right leg, meaning his nerves were telling his brain to contract the leg muscles too often. That can lead to deformity where muscles and bones won’t lengthen properly. Thad’s orthotist encouraged his parents to look into a special surgery that cuts some of the nerves from the muscles to the spinal cord to stop the over-communication. The surgery came with a price tag of more than $37,000. Insurance wouldn’t cover the surgery, so the Turneys began fundraising. They had about four months to come up with the funds. Nearing the deadline, the family had raised more than half what was needed, but if they didn’t come up with the total, the surgery would’ve been postponed. The Turneys applied for a Show Hope Medical Care grant and were awarded the funds just in the nick of time. “God worked through Show Hope to give us right what we needed, when we needed it. It was perfect timing,” Justin said. Aside from a brief moment where the surgery was almost postponed due to a miscommunication with the hospital, Ashley and Justin said they always knew God would deliver what they needed for Thad’s surgery.

“I really had a peace at the beginning about when they said how much it was going to be,” Ashley said. “I just really felt like, God is going to provide that. And I had a peace about it in the very beginning and through the fundraising.” Thad’s surgery went off without a hitch. And at his first physical therapy appointment, the therapist said Thad was about two months ahead of schedule. “We think that this was just a chapter of the full story,” Justin said. “God still has a lot more he wants to do and share through Thad’s story through hope and encouragement. “A big thank you to Show Hope and a big thank you to everyone that donated. God provided through a lot of different people,” Justin continued. “And really even the ones who couldn’t contribute financially still made incredible contributions through prayer and through encouragement and just by sharing his story and passing it along.”

“I really had a peace at the beginning ... I just really felt like, God is going to provide that.” — Ashely Turney

Scan the code to learn about the Carver family story.

Pre+Post Adoption Support As Mary Beth Chapman once said, parenting is “gloriously hard,” particularly for those on the adoption or foster care journey. The truth is, children impacted by adoption and/or foster care often have unique, sometimes complex needs stemming from trauma, abuse, neglect, or loss. Yet Show Hope. In 2008, with an aim to help parents better understand their children’s unique history and needs, Show Hope launched its Pre+Post Adoption Support work, which also equips professionals, churches, and communities in their care for the children entrusted to them. It has been said, “The impacts of Show Hope’s Pre+Post Adoption Support work will be seen for generations to come,” and to continue that impact, we need you by our side.

Gifts of Hope Campaign Goal:

$600,000 Scan the Code to Give Today! Or Visit showhope.org/giftsofhope

Who Am I? I Am Thankful. Here I am, sitting in a hotel conference room in Grand Rapids, Michigan, with, at least, 150 others. We’re all waiting for TBRI® Practitioner Training to begin, and I’m blown away by how many people are present. I had no idea what to expect going into this, but I was convinced there would be maybe 50 people at this training. Even as someone who spends much of the year creating content for Show Hope’s annual Hope for the Journey Conference, I had no idea how big TBRI had become. I guess I should back up and give you a little context. TBRI—or Trust-Based Relational Intervention®—is a care model designed to meet the developmental and relational needs of children who are vulnerable. The model’s Connecting Principles are used to address attachment needs, Empowering Principles for physical and environmental needs, and Correction Principles to disarm fear-based behaviors. This core training is developed and conducted by the Karyn Purvis Institute of Child Development at TCU (KPICD) and includes approximately 10 weeks of online study (Phase 1) followed by five days of intensive training (Phase 2). And so, again, here I am on the first day of Phase 2. The room I find myself in is filled with people who have dedicated their lives to helping children and youth impacted by trauma find healing and a path forward. I, on the other hand, am the Creative Manager at Show Hope, and as a creative who spends time telling stories and designing pretty things, I immediately feel out of place. The crew from the KPICD operates a well-oiled machine with these trainings. Each day is spent going deep into the different principles of TBRI, starting with the foundation of attachment then moving to

connecting, empowering, and correcting. Each afternoon, we’re given the opportunity to flex these new TBRI muscles with awkward, albeit helpful roleplay—practicing the strategies we learn each morning. All of this is carefully and specifically designed to equip with the knowledge and tools to build connection, establish felt safety, and meet the needs of the children and youth on a daily basis. With the overwhelm of day one behind me, I settle into the rhythm of the following days. My purposes for becoming a TBRI Practitioner also become more clear as does the reality of Show Hope’s significant impact in this particular environment. There are individuals here who are fulfilling their dreams of becoming a TBRI Practitioner because of a Show Hope scholarship—without which, they wouldn’t have this life-changing opportunity. Others, like two ladies at my table, share stories of how Show Hope helped them bring their children home with the help of an Adoption Aid grant. (In her excitement, one of these moms even FaceTimes her daughters to introduce me, as almost a pivotal connection to their family’s story.) All of this is a reminder that Show Hope’s work matters and makes a difference.

Throughout the week, we are told, “TBRI is not just what you do, but it’s who you are.” In other words, it’s a way of doing life. It really is a privilege to work for a place that is embracing trauma-informed care models like TBRI. It’s become who we are as an organization, and that is refreshing. Show Hope is seeing the needs and meeting the needs of countless children, families, professionals, and communities here in the U.S. and around the world. I started this week of TBRI Practitioner Training feeling a bit like I didn’t belong. After all, I do not work with kids and youth every day, and I can’t share in many of the struggles these other folks experience in their work. Why was I here? I realize, though, that in some way, I am now a TBRI Practitioner to come alongside these other practitioners. As a creative and storyteller for Show Hope, I have this responsibility and opportunity to create helpful, equipping, and encouraging content for these folks and perhaps more importantly, parents and caregivers on their journeys to love and care well for the children entrusted to them. I understand more fully the statement: “TBRI is not just what you do, but it’s who you are.” I will carry that with me into my work and into my own parenting journey, and needless to say, I am thankful.

Originally from the “Mitten State,” Ryan Klaver and his wife, Kayla, made their way to Franklin, Tennessee, after a five-year stint in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Graduating from Taylor University in 2010 with a degree in Media Communication, Ryan developed a love for the art of storytelling and a desire to use stories for an eternal impact. When God unexpectedly opened the doors at Show Hope, Ryan and Kayla knew this was not only a new adventure but an opportunity to advocate for waiting children.

Student Initiatives While our greatest prayer and deepest desire is for every child to know the love, security, and permanency of a family, we also acknowledge the reality that we live in a broken world. The needs of children who have been orphaned will not end with our generation. Yet Show Hope. When we invest in the students of 2023, we care for the orphans of 2053. The Student Initiatives work of Show Hope has carried that profound truth since our first Student Global Training Trips and now with Pause Campaign. It’s a work that is going on below the surface, deepening roots to ensure the shade of Show Hope’s tree continues to bless children and families years from now. Will you cultivate it with us?

Gifts of Hope Campaign Goal:

$600,000 Scan the Code to Give Today! Or Visit showhope.org/giftsofhope

Surprise! Ryan Neises and his wife, Kelsey, have been discussing adoption being part of their family story since marrying. During some of their initial research, they came across Show Hope and found it to be helpful in understanding the barriers to adoption and some of the challenges they could potentially face. Ryan, who serves as the director of student-athlete formation at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee, oversees the development of student-athletes in everything outside of their sports, including academic support, leadership development, community service, and sports ministries, like an annual studentathlete mission trip. When COVID-19 halted all in-person activities, including trips, Ryan began searching for a way to engage with students virtually when he remembered Show Hope and Pause Campaign (Pause). “Pause was a way for me to engage and connect with our student-athletes,” Ryan said. “It helped get the students focused outward at a time when most of them couldn’t even go out of their dorm rooms.” Around 18 student-athletes participated in Pause virtually in December 2020. The students read through the devotionals each day on their own and then met on Zoom each night. These daily meetings were not only a chance to connect and discuss the day’s devotional content, but each day, the group also focused on a different area of the world and the local needs there. “We started by focusing on the U.S.,” Ryan recalled. “That grabbed a lot of people’s attention.”

Ryan then led a different group of Belmont student-athletes through Pause Campaign in the spring of 2022. The group of 25 students met regularly throughout the week to discuss the devotional content and hear from a Belmont staff member who had adopted. To celebrate the end of the week, Ryan and Kelsey hosted a cookout at their house as an opportunity for the students to gather and debrief the week. “There were 25 college students on our back porch, talking about adoption and the global orphan [need],” Ryan said. “It was the coolest thing to watch college students take the time to do this. We won’t know the total fruit of these things right now, and that’s kind of the beauty of it.” Ryan went on to explain how he and Kelsey really share their life with the student-athletes, including their adoption journey, which began in 2021. Because of Pause, the students were able to understand more of their story and struggle, including the financial barrier. “The last day [of Pause Campaign], the group was at our house. My wife and I were cleaning up outside, and everyone kind of rushed into our house. Our door slammed, our blinds closed, and we were like, What is going on in there? 28

“We found out that some of the leaders were organizing a fundraiser for our family,” Ryan shared. “They got the whole athletics department involved and raised $4,500 for us. What they didn’t know at the time was that we received a matching grant with Lifesong, so they helped us raise $9,000.” Ryan believes that Pause is important because through it, students learn what they can tangibly do to help children and families on the adoption journey. “You see students and young people who have never thought about these things before, and now, their eyes are open to the world and open to the person next to them,” Ryan reflected. “They begin to ask themselves, How can I be kind, and how can I make an impact globally and locally?” Ryan also credits Pause as a unique way to engage in important conversations with students of any age. He has also observed that Pause serves as a great discipleship tool, bringing new students to gatherings who may be interested in the topic. “To see [the students] embrace their identity as God’s children, adopted into his family too, that’s the biggest part of this whole thing,” Ryan said. “And they’re doing that through Pause, through the scripture, through the stories.”

For another very special surprise, scan the code!

From Our Executive Director Dear Friends, And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” — Luke 2:10-11 I recently read these familiar words, and as I reflected on the “good news of great joy,” I found myself ever more grateful for who I am in Christ and for the journey he has called me to. Daily, I have the opportunity to live out my faith in numerous ways, but one constant is through the mission and work of Show Hope. For more than 20 years now, Show Hope has strived to be a light—a city on a hill— for children and families. Undergirding all that we do is that “good news of great joy,” and at the end of each day, I can safely say that our ultimate goal is to make the name of Jesus known. I am thankful for Show Hope Founders Mary Beth and Steven Curtis Chapman and their tireless efforts to show a waiting, watching, and weary world who Jesus really is. I count it a gift to work alongside women and men who passionately love the Lord and carry that passion with them as they advocate for and serve children and families. And to you, faithful donors and supporters, thank you for answering God’s call to care for children who have been orphaned. This work would not be possible without your prayers, support, and generosity. As we move into this Christmas season and into a new year, may we continually take time to reflect on the “good news of great joy,” living out our shared faith in Christ as we “care for orphans by engaging the Church and reducing barriers to adoption.” In Christ alone,

Kristin E. Parks Executive Director, Show Hope 31

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