Since 2009, Titus Task has impacted 25 families by coming along side them prayerfully and financially with their international and domestic adoptions. The Tugwell family was blessed with this same kind of generosity during their adoptions and as the Titus Task developed in 2007 that was the way God was directing them to use resources. As Titus was born in Haiti and the need there for orphans and vulnerable children is so great, in 2013, the Tugwells became full time missionaries to Haiti. In effect, the Titus Task became mobile and our adoption grants and fundraising ceased. In late 2016 - the Tugwell family will be returning to the US and the Titus Task will continue to focus on Haiti - empowering and equipping the Kingdom minded men and women of Haiti, that we know very well, as they pursue a future for orphaned and vulnerable children.
Previous Titus Task Grant Families 2009 - 2014
Sheehy Family
Domestic Adoption of a newborn son.
Sims Family
Domestic adoption of a newborn son, Porter.
Womack Family
Adopted 2 sons from Russia. Previously adopted daughter from Ethiopia.
Mooney Family
Our first family in the Titus Task Matching Grant Program brought their sweet daughter, Lena, home from Ukraine earlier this year. They have a an inspiring story - and spend their lives helping others engage children with special needs locally and globally with their organization 99 Balloons. Matt and Ginny are both great writers and will keep you laughing and occassionally crying - click on their names to link blogs.
Lampton Family
Carey and Stacey were the recipients of a Titus Task grant through appointed donations. Their family
includes 4 biological children, 3 sons and 1 daughter and now another daughter, Lin, adopted from China. Lin just celebrated her 14th birthday in the USA and is doing remarkably well!
Shackleford Family
Domestic adoption - Jillian age 7.
Wakefield Family
God placed the desire for adoption in our hearts back in the 1990’s when we were struggling to get our family started. Eventually, we were able to conceive and have three children, but the adoption “bug” had rooted deep in Becky’s heart. I, on the other hand, had grown content with our family and the flame for adoption had grown cold in my heart. Becky would try and “stoke” the fire occasionally but I was pretty adamant that I didn’t want to alter our family by adding another child. In December of 2008, I agreed that we could meet with a social worker from Bethany Christian Services to gather some more information about adoption. After this I really began to pray in earnest about adoption and whether or not it was right for our family. The turning point for me came later that month when I was watching a
short clip of a message from K.P. Yohannan, (the founder of Gospel for Asia). In this message he said that although Jesus came to defeat Satan, He also came to defeat the selfishness that was in our own hearts. Those words rang out in my soul, and I realized that I was being so selfish! I was desperately holding on to the family I had, refusing to give it to God or share it with another child. That afternoon, I told Becky that we must move forward with adoption. Since then God has continued to bless us with one confirmation after another that we had been obedient and were following His path for our family. The final confirmation came in late September of 2010. My firstborn was a girl and then I also had 2 boys.
Because of this I really wanted another little girl. We had decided to adopt domestically and had been waiting about 18 months for a birth-mom to select our family. On Thursday, Sept. 16th, Becky was visiting with a friend and she asked when we were getting a baby. Her answer was, “Probably next week because we just moved, my life is so chaotic that the only thing I could do is throw my hands up in the air and say, “God you are in control”.” And the phone rang at that exact moment, it was our social worker calling to say we had been chosen by a mom who was due at the end of October and the sex of the baby was still an unknown. We thought we still had plenty of time to prepare but on Monday morning, Sept. 27th, we got the call, our baby was born and she was…. a girl!!!
Although we had picked out a name when we met our birth-mom she told us that she had already picked out the name Makenzie. When we brought her home and introduced her to our other kids, it was agreed all around that the name we had chosen was all wrong, and the birth-mom was right…she definitely was a Makenzie! She has been such an amazing gift from the Lord! We know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that she is meant to be in our family.
We want to thank Titus Task for helping us finance our adoption. Through the generous gifts of Titus Task donors, Makenzie has been a part of our family since the day she was born. God has used your generosity and willing financial sacrifices to not only change the life of one little girl, but all of our lives and we will be eternally grateful.
short clip of a message from K.P. Yohannan, (the founder of Gospel for Asia). In this message he said that although Jesus came to defeat Satan, He also came to defeat the selfishness that was in our own hearts. Those words rang out in my soul, and I realized that I was being so selfish! I was desperately holding on to the family I had, refusing to give it to God or share it with another child. That afternoon, I told Becky that we must move forward with adoption. Since then God has continued to bless us with one confirmation after another that we had been obedient and were following His path for our family. The final confirmation came in late September of 2010. My firstborn was a girl and then I also had 2 boys.
Because of this I really wanted another little girl. We had decided to adopt domestically and had been waiting about 18 months for a birth-mom to select our family. On Thursday, Sept. 16th, Becky was visiting with a friend and she asked when we were getting a baby. Her answer was, “Probably next week because we just moved, my life is so chaotic that the only thing I could do is throw my hands up in the air and say, “God you are in control”.” And the phone rang at that exact moment, it was our social worker calling to say we had been chosen by a mom who was due at the end of October and the sex of the baby was still an unknown. We thought we still had plenty of time to prepare but on Monday morning, Sept. 27th, we got the call, our baby was born and she was…. a girl!!!
Although we had picked out a name when we met our birth-mom she told us that she had already picked out the name Makenzie. When we brought her home and introduced her to our other kids, it was agreed all around that the name we had chosen was all wrong, and the birth-mom was right…she definitely was a Makenzie! She has been such an amazing gift from the Lord! We know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that she is meant to be in our family.
We want to thank Titus Task for helping us finance our adoption. Through the generous gifts of Titus Task donors, Makenzie has been a part of our family since the day she was born. God has used your generosity and willing financial sacrifices to not only change the life of one little girl, but all of our lives and we will be eternally grateful.
Hansen Family
Adopting from Ghana, hopeful homecoming in 2013.
Fiet Family
Adopting 2 children from Ethiopia. Evan and Anna came home in May of 2013.
Kirkpatrick Family
Adopted daughter from Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Bruns Family
Waiting on child from Ethiopia, hopeful homecoming 2013.
Moreton Family
How does one measure the miraculous impact one life can have on many? Though we’ve tried to package our sacred journey to Scarlett into a neat, orderly experience, it simply is not. Instead, it was a life-altering encounter with God and His will for one family and one little girl born half way around the world. After three heartbreaking miscarriages, God blessed us with two beautiful children, but our family did not seem complete. We knew God’s heart was passionate about the orphan and that many children needed families. There was no doubt we would approach the People’s Republic of China, where hundreds of precious baby girls needed forever families.
However, as state-side missionaries, the cost of adopting internationally caused us to pause. We had witnessed God’s provision for us year after year, could we not also trust Him for the resources to adopt? For the next two years, we prayed, sought wise counsel from close friends, prayed more, and decided to take a step of faith and begin the adoption process. We embraced God’s faithfulness, believed it, and began living it for our adoption.
Our paper-chase – gathering all the documents needed for international adoption – began in August, 2005. For six months, we filed notarized documents, had our fingerprints taken, completed a home study, paid fees, and began sharing our dream with friends. Many supported our adoption financially and our confidence grew. In February 2006 our dossier was sent across the sea to China. We were officially waiting! It would be about nine months before we would be matched with a daughter and travel to China to meet her.
But adoptions through China began to change. Nine months of waiting turned into 12, then 18, and by late 2007 we were doubtful our turn would ever come. In the midst of the difficult wait, God blessed us with a beautiful baby boy. Our family had grown, but not in the direction we had thought. Our step of faith to adopt became not only about affording it, but being capable of raising a fourth child. We prayed, sought wise counsel, prayed more and decided to continue our step of faith. Miraculous events happened over the course of the next few years that reminded us we were on God’s journey and that His plan wasn’t to be thwarted. We stood in awe of His hand in our lives, revealing Himself, His concern for us, His plan for our daughter.
One providential event during the wait was our daughter Ava meeting Lily Tugwell during their first year of preschool. We reveled in the Tugwell’s beautiful family and took hope from their journey to Lily and their impending adoption of boys from Haiti. And because of their journey, the Titus Task and its first 5k race to raise funds to support families adopting was planned and completed. It was a joy for us to be a part of this spectacular event! Then, it was completely humbling to be the first recipient of a Titus Task adoption grant. God was making one piece of our adoption journey complete, and He had used the life of a little boy and the Tugwell’s love for him to bring it about.
Our waiting continued, and we continued to hold on to God and to His adoption dream. But it was hard. We doubted. In fact, in November 2009, we were at our darkest time. Adoption had become the “cause du jour” in many Christian circles, and many leaders were charging Christians to take action and care for the orphan. We were trying to do just that but couldn’t seem to get past the ever-changing landscape of Chinese adoptions.
Little did we know that God was moving. Just a few weeks later, in the early afternoon of December 2, 2009, we unexpectedly received a call from our adoption agency: Wan Lele, a 9-month-old baby girl living in southeast China, had been matched by officials in China to the Moreton family! Six weeks later, in the hallway of a Nanchang hotel, orphanage officials handed our beautiful and frightened daughter to us. Wan Lele became Scarlett Lele – a Moreton!
As we reflect on our five-year journey to Scarlett, as we watch her adjust, bloom, and join the fabric of our family, we are continually amazed at God’s provision, and we are particularly grateful for the Titus Task and pray that it continues to help orphans and adopting families for years to come.
However, as state-side missionaries, the cost of adopting internationally caused us to pause. We had witnessed God’s provision for us year after year, could we not also trust Him for the resources to adopt? For the next two years, we prayed, sought wise counsel from close friends, prayed more, and decided to take a step of faith and begin the adoption process. We embraced God’s faithfulness, believed it, and began living it for our adoption.
Our paper-chase – gathering all the documents needed for international adoption – began in August, 2005. For six months, we filed notarized documents, had our fingerprints taken, completed a home study, paid fees, and began sharing our dream with friends. Many supported our adoption financially and our confidence grew. In February 2006 our dossier was sent across the sea to China. We were officially waiting! It would be about nine months before we would be matched with a daughter and travel to China to meet her.
But adoptions through China began to change. Nine months of waiting turned into 12, then 18, and by late 2007 we were doubtful our turn would ever come. In the midst of the difficult wait, God blessed us with a beautiful baby boy. Our family had grown, but not in the direction we had thought. Our step of faith to adopt became not only about affording it, but being capable of raising a fourth child. We prayed, sought wise counsel, prayed more and decided to continue our step of faith. Miraculous events happened over the course of the next few years that reminded us we were on God’s journey and that His plan wasn’t to be thwarted. We stood in awe of His hand in our lives, revealing Himself, His concern for us, His plan for our daughter.
One providential event during the wait was our daughter Ava meeting Lily Tugwell during their first year of preschool. We reveled in the Tugwell’s beautiful family and took hope from their journey to Lily and their impending adoption of boys from Haiti. And because of their journey, the Titus Task and its first 5k race to raise funds to support families adopting was planned and completed. It was a joy for us to be a part of this spectacular event! Then, it was completely humbling to be the first recipient of a Titus Task adoption grant. God was making one piece of our adoption journey complete, and He had used the life of a little boy and the Tugwell’s love for him to bring it about.
Our waiting continued, and we continued to hold on to God and to His adoption dream. But it was hard. We doubted. In fact, in November 2009, we were at our darkest time. Adoption had become the “cause du jour” in many Christian circles, and many leaders were charging Christians to take action and care for the orphan. We were trying to do just that but couldn’t seem to get past the ever-changing landscape of Chinese adoptions.
Little did we know that God was moving. Just a few weeks later, in the early afternoon of December 2, 2009, we unexpectedly received a call from our adoption agency: Wan Lele, a 9-month-old baby girl living in southeast China, had been matched by officials in China to the Moreton family! Six weeks later, in the hallway of a Nanchang hotel, orphanage officials handed our beautiful and frightened daughter to us. Wan Lele became Scarlett Lele – a Moreton!
As we reflect on our five-year journey to Scarlett, as we watch her adjust, bloom, and join the fabric of our family, we are continually amazed at God’s provision, and we are particularly grateful for the Titus Task and pray that it continues to help orphans and adopting families for years to come.