Caleb: My parents showed me that children are a blessing. Through their patience and kindness, I saw that children are a joy to have, and that children add so much to your life. Because of their great leadership, it’s my desire to bring children into our lives, and bless them with opportunities to learn and grow and become amazing men and women.
Michelle: I am so excited to see our family grow! At the end of our lives, Caleb and I would be filled with joy and gratefulness to see that God has used our imperfect efforts to build a family who simply loves God and loves people.
Since we met in 2005, one of the things I have treasured the most about Caleb is the absolute delight he finds when he is around children. His contagious laughter, ridiculous silliness, and open-hearted, accepting spirit are irresistible to kids – and are the qualities that will carry him in excellence as a father. Hearing our children call Caleb “Daddy” will, without a doubt, shatter my heart in the most permanent and perfect kinds of ways.
Caleb: Throughout the years, my heart has grown more fond of adoption – not as a last resort, but as a wonderful opportunity. My wife and I have talked it over for the 10 years of our marriage, and we have both felt the invitation and love for adoption.
For me, any child, whether by adoption or by conception, is your child. They aren’t “second class” if they are adopted. They are a blessing, and a first-choice decision.
Michelle: I have wanted to adopt children for as long as I can remember. For Caleb and me, adoption isn’t “Plan B” or a last resort. It is an open and exciting invitation from the Lord. Bringing our hearts into the family love story of adoption mirrors His own passion for us! We are adopted into God’s family and accepted as His very own children. Our desire is to open our home to the little ones who are given the brave gift of LIFE. As I have walked with Jesus, He has shown me time and time again that He is a God of family and inclusion. There is plenty of room for more at our table.
Caleb: We have been talking about adoption since we met in 2005. We began the adoption process nearly 2 years ago, right before my Mom unexpectedly and suddenly passed away. We had told her, just months before she passed, that we were planning on adopting. She was so excited for us! She prayed for us and was an amazing prayer warrior for us as we began the paperwork. One of the hardest challenges of continuing on with adoption was the fact that my Mom won’t be there to see the end result, but this also gave us joy and hope that her investment into us spiritually would make such an impact that will endure far beyond her earthly life.
Michelle: Since we’ve been married, we have been excited about adoption, whether it was in reading books about adoption, listening to podcasts about adoption, seeing friends adopting, or praying for adoption. It’s all felt like one cascading journey towards this end goal.
I am excited that the process has been speeding up, and that, before we know it, we will be on the other side of being placed with our Little One! I’m looking forward to seeing the results of this previous journey we’ve been on, and I’m looking forward to the new journey of being a Mom and Dad.
Michelle + Caleb
Caleb and Michelle are Church-Planting Campus Missionaries on a college campus. They are majorly involved with the church plant in many ways, including being small group leaders, worship leaders, and one-on-one mentors to the students. Michelle is also a sign language interpreter and Caleb is a filmmaker. They both spend time in different countries helping film and promote what the Lord is doing. They have a passion for people and making each person they encounter feel loved and valued.
Michelle
I graduated from college with a degree in American Sign Language Interpreting, and I absolutely love my work as a part- time ASL Interpreter. But the majority of our work takes place as we work on staff as Church-Planting Campus Missionaries. We have worked in full-time missions since 2011. Our most recent adventure with God has been planting a church on a local university campus. We love our work on campus, working with the college students and being able to pour into their lives is so fulfilling. They teach us so much, and there is so much rich community that is being built on campus and in our lives together as a spiritual family – right on campus at a public university.
I was first attracted to Caleb because of his wide, happy smile and his laughter. (It also helped that he is such a handsome young man!!) I sensed in my spirit right away that we would get married. He was honest with me about his past from the very first week we were together, and that helped forge a deep and trust- centered friendship we continue to share today. His faith in Jesus and his childlike faith was very attractive to me. I was able to sense the deep potential he had within him to grow into a mighty man of God! The Lord has been, and will continue to be, faithful in molding Caleb, because Caleb has the desire to become more like Jesus, and to be continually tender and obedient to the Holy Spirit.
Caleb
I have a passionate heart for kids. I love to play, laugh and explore with kids. I have a good sense of humor, but I also love to help them think and explore their surroundings and gain a better understanding of life.
I am the 4th-oldest child in a 12-child family. As someone from a 12-sibling family, I have experienced many different dynamics of having a family. Between learning what it means to be a peacemaker, learning to delegate responsibilities, and seeing the joys and trials that come with parenting that many children, I find myself still excited to have my own.
Michelle and I met at Taylor University Fort Wayne in 2005. Five months previous to meeting Michelle, I had told God that I was giving up on dating and that the next girl I would date would be my wife. He kept His word. I met Michelle that September and I knew immediately that there was something different about her. She drew me in because of the way she engaged people. She was authentic, real, and she loved others with a different kind of love. I loved listening to her talk about Jesus. I had never heard anyone talk about Jesus the way she did. It was as if He was right next to her. I asked her out to a group outing at our church, and she said yes. We hit it off right there and then. I asked her out on a date, and we just clicked.
We had only been dating for about 3 or 4 months when we began talking about “when we get married” stuff. I couldn’t believe how fast our relationship was going, but it felt like I had known Michelle all my life. We talked like best friends, and had hopes and desires that meshed and challenged one another.
In January 2007, I asked her to marry me. By God’s grace, she said “yes” and we were married in June 2007. I haven’t regretted a day since then.
Being married to Michelle is like being married to your best friend. We talk constantly, we laugh often, we cry together, we pray together. She constantly challenges me to become a better man, and to grow in my relationship with Jesus. Every day I get to know more and more about her and I like what I learn. She has a deep desire to love Jesus above everything else. She doesn’t compromise her time with God, but fully leans on Him. She’s constantly blowing me away with things she is learning from her time with God.
Summertime & a Baby Bear Cub
Our son, Judah River Owen Chamberlain, was born at 7:47am on Tuesday, April 25. He weighed in at 5lb 1oz, and was 18 inches tall. On Friday evening, April 28, we brought him home from the hospital!
Adoption has been on our hearts from the beginning of our relationship. It has always been something I wanted to pursue, even as a child. When Caleb & I decided to start growing our family, we knew we wanted to start it with a local agency adoption before we ever tried to have biological children by ourselves. Even though adoption is a difficult journey, we are leaning into the truth that giving a baby the gift of LIFE makes it SO worth it!
I want to thank you for following along on our adoption journey – and it will continue to unfold. It has been a whirlwind story so far, and we are honored to be sharing it with you.
We received a sweet surprise when our home study was approved on Valentine’s Day…February 14, 2017. After that, we didn’t have to wait long before we got the phone call…on March 17, we were officially matched with an expectant family! The expectant family was pregnant with a baby boy due on May 23rd, and they were ready to make an adoption plan for him. They contacted the agency we worked with, and the agency let us know they had a potential match candidate for us! That is when things started to move in hyper-speed.
Something that we learned as we walked through this process: when an adoptive family is matched with an expectant family, it can be an emotional and uncertain time. Although there is an agreement for a “match” between the expectant & adoptive families, there is still a lingering & precarious nature in this unique time of waiting. The best thing that can happen is that the expectant mother be given every opportunity & consider every resource that would allow her to parent her child. The best way for her to confidently make her adoption plan is to have the support she needs and to have exhausted all avenues of her options. If the expectant mother decides to make an adoption plan for her child, she can move forward in the confidence that she is making the best choice for her & for her precious child.
Join the Chamberlain’s Matching Grant!
As Judah’s due date rapidly approached, the expectant mother invited me to join her at her doctor’s appointments. It was an exciting time to be involved – especially since she was already 28 weeks along when she discovered that she was pregnant! As we faced the end of her pregnancy together, we began a friendship as Mothers to this tiny One. Our families bridged the open spaces and the funny weaving of adoption began in our hearts. Things shifted into high gear when we found out she was having some serious complications that would cause Judah to be born prematurely.
The weeks prior to his birth were treacherous & full of anticipation. Caleb & I, along with many of you, prayed constantly for his health and for the health of the expectant mother. Her husband and other children were also involved and were very supportive & sweet. The obstetrics staff were diligent & thorough. They monitored Judah’s development meticulously every 3 days to determine whether he would continue to grow better inside the womb or outside.
Our sweet Bear Cub Judah was born shortly thereafter…a whole month early! With so many complications during the pregnancy, he is literally a miracle – we are astounded at the way he came into our lives at lightning speed! From the time we were matched with the family until his birth, we were “‘pregnant” with Judah for exactly 40 days. (I giggle at this number…God gave us a super short time of waiting instead of the typical 40 weeks!!) ❤
Now that we are settled in at home, we are enjoying every fleeting moment with him that we can! Our Little Bear loves to be snuggled, he loves to look at soft lights and to have his soft, minuscule hands held. As a specific new way to melt our hearts, he has just started to hold our eye contact and to look for us at the sounds of our voices. Also, his tiny button nose demands to be kissed constantly. We are simply beside ourselves in love with him.
Please continue to join us in prayer for this journey, which has only just begun!
There’s still time to give towards the Chamberlain’s $8,500 matching grant! Just click the link below to join:
Together as a family!
Welcome to the world, Judah River Owen Chamberlain!
Judah was born on 4/25/17 and weighed 5lb 1oz and is 18 inches tall.
Birth family and adoptive family are over the moon in love with him!”
Join their story and be a part of the matching grant!
It’s a boy!
It’s a boy!!! More details and a photo to come from Caleb and Michelle soon. In the meantime be a part of the matching grant! Thanks to a generous donor for the next 48 hours all gifts to the Chamberlain’s adoption fund will be doubled, up to $3,000! Hit the button to give to the Chamberlain’s story today.
