A word of thanks to the LORD

The past two weeks have been a whirlwind. This fundraiser has been a blast so far and the Lord has done some incredible things. And so, we just want to take a moment to write down all that we have seen Him do so far. Because He is good. And He is faithful. And He has been moving mightily through something as random as beards. We simply want to remember all that He is doing in this journey of growing our family.

First and foremost, the Lord has humbled, encouraged, and challenged us through those who are participating. Two of our Beard Growers are currently raising their own funds so that they can go do international missions. And yet, they are gaining sponsors not just for their cause, but for ours. Not only that, but some of our supporters have their own financial burdens going on and could have easily passed this fundraiser off as something they couldn't afford. But they didn't. Because they love Jesus and believe in adoption and are being obedient to God's call to care for orphans. What we learned from this is that when people trust the Lord to provide for their own needs, they can be open handed with their finances and freely give what they have. We are blown away by such great faith and generosity and are convicted to go and so the same.

On top of all that, we have been blown away by social media this week and want to thank the Lord for using it as a means to spread the word about our fundraiser. Bearded Gospel Men is a brilliant, random and hilarious website that celebrates both facial hair and the gospel. They so generously posted about our fundraiser on their Facebook page and in hours, we had men across the country signing up to grow beards and raise funds for us! After exchanging some emails we have gotten to see glimpses of these guys' hearts. They are God-fearing men with a heart for adoption who genuinely want to help our cause. Besides our own friends, we now have pastors, professors, puppeteers, butchers and college kids from all over the nation on our team! Because of them, A Beard For A Baby, has reached the great states of Texas, South Carolina, Virginia, New Jersey, Illinois, and more. We are overwhelmed and so deeply moved at the fact that there are men out there who have never met us but who are so genuinely eager to help us build our family. These are men who love the Lord and want to grow what God gave them as a means of caring for an orphan and helping give one a home. Praise the Lord for social media, for Bearded Gospel Men, and for moving in the hearts of these men.

Lastly, to our great surprise, funds have already started coming in! Though the fundraiser does not technically start until June 1, our Beard Growers are already gaining sponsors and donations have been made. Tim McKnight, who we haven't even met, got all 10 sponsors within 24 hours of signing up, and so many of our other Beard Growers are well on their way to doing the same. We are overwhelmed by the generosity of our own family and friends, let alone that so many people from all over the country want to give to a random couple from Texas that they don't even know.  The Lord has encouraged our hearts and increased our faith in His provision. We recognize that all money belongs to the Lord and we thank Him for His faithful provision through you. Thank you, thank you for helping to bring our baby home.

Oh give thanks to the LORD; call upon His name; make known His deeds among the peoples! Sing to Him, sing praises to Him; tell of all His wondrous works! Glory in His holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice! Seek the LORD and His strength; seek His presence continually! Remember the wondrous works that He has done; His miracles and the judgments He uttered, O offspring of Israel His servant, children of Jacob, His chosen ones!

1 Chronicles 16: 8-13

Love,
the Hofmanns