About Us


The Why::
We love because he first loved us. 1 John 4:19

As a family we are compelled to live this out in the area of orphan care both locally and globally. We have been given so much we just have to share. The way God loves is the example we look to and want to live by. This has lead us to adoption of a special needs little girl in China.   

Read more about our journey and updates here: http://itsanobwaldlife.blogspot.com/

The Beard-a-thon::
We knew from the beginning that if we were going to bring this girl home that God was going to have to provide.  By HIS provision we are funded to the point of waiting to be matched. The total cost of this endeavor is $30,000. God has provided along the way at each point with exact amounts but we still have $15,000 to go. One of our hopes is to bring our three biological kids along with us to see where there sister is from while exposing them to God's heart for orphans and the world in a profound way, firsthand. God has used so many people on our journey thus far. It has really been a group effort all along! It is amazing to see people learn about God's heart for orphans and fatherless and be spurred to get involved in different ways.

We came across a really fun idea for this last push.  Personally this is good for me (Dave) as well because it will serve as a daily visual reminder to pray for our little girl and remember God's goodness and care. Shea Sumlin, a buddy who I work with at The Well Community Church, shared with us the story of friends of his from Texas, DJ and Courtney Coffman. They fundraised for their international adoption in a very creative way. They called it Beard For a Baby… DJ and some buddies grew out their beards and asked folks to sponsor them, a good old fashion Beard-a-thon. I thought, "What an awesome idea!", and the next thought was,"I would never do that because I am way to self conscious, I have never grown out a beard, and I am pretty sure if I did it would be some a mixture of awkward and creepy."  The more I thought about it those excuses seemed pretty lame and the opportunity to do something fun with some men in my life, bring awareness to God's heart for orphans, and speak up for those who can't speak for themselves, with an awkward beard, sounded great!. 

So…after a few hours of thought I decided "I'm in". Erin was thinking the same thing throughout that day which means LET THE GROWING BEGIN! … she even said she would still kiss me even if it is ugly (I need some people to remind her of that along the way). 

That night I contacted Courtney and DJ and they were so excited for us to use the idea and offered to help us in any way they could.  Learn more about their story and check out some amazing beards here http://abeardforababy.blogspot.com/ 

So here is the deal.  We are doing this Beard-a-thon for five months called Our Beards of Hope, February 15th- July 15th.  People can come alongside in multiple ways. 

Be a Beard Grower::
Our goal is to have 10 guys who will grow with me!  Awkward loves company!  A Beard Grower would be challenged to get 5 friends/family members to sponsor them at $10 for each of the 5 months that they grow their beards. As a Beard Grower we ask you to send in monthly pics so we can track your progress and make it fun. (You can continue to obtain sponsors along the way as well. See Contest Rules below)

Sponsor a Beard::
Another way for you to be involved is to be a Beard Sponsor. You can sponsor a certain Beard Grower or if you don't care about beards you can make a contribution to the general adoption fund. A full sponsorship is $10 per month for the 5 months of growth totaling $50. We will have incentives along the way so help us make it fun by supporting your favorite beard grower.

The Name:: Beards of Hope::
We are choosing the name for this fundraiser because we plan on having our daughter's middle name be Hope. It is a name that will constantly remind us that God provides hope to the hopeless. That in our broken world our God can bring hope, transformation, and redemption in the loneliest, and most painful places. We are beyond thankful to have experienced the hope of that redemption in our lives and now hope to share his love by inviting one of His daughters into our home. The hope in Jesus shines so much brighter in light of the brokenness that it pierces through. Our little girl is one of millions of orphans in our world and we get to do for her what we wish we could do for all of them.  


Interested or questions? Email Dave & Erin ourbeardsofhope@gmail.com

No comments:

Post a Comment