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Open Hearts - Open Homes
A Father to the Fatherless
My husband and I entered into adoption through the infertility route. It was our desire to have children but after several years of infertility treatment, we temporarily put aside that dream. We didn’t want to consider adoption as it was painful to admit what we thought was a failure. It took two years and the insistence of a friend to have us begin to investigate adoption. We met with a couple who had adopted internationally. We began to see the real plight of the orphan worldwide. If we truly wanted to have children, there were thousands of children in desperate need of someone who would be their advocate forever. It wasn’t only about our desire but about the need of children who were trapped in a broken orphanage system.
We moved forward to adopt a 12 month old boy who was beautiful and healthy even after we were told that he was very ill and needed surgery. Two years later, we adopted a girl who was 16 months old. At the time of the adoption, she was being given medication to keep her quiet as there was only one caregiver for every 15 infants. She bonded quickly with us and wouldn’t let me put her down for the entire trip home. Each time we traveled, we got to see the orphanage where our children had spent their early days. We brought home one child each time but left others behind whose faces were forever in our hearts.
When we heard of an opportunity to help with a hosting program for older orphans, we remembered those faces. Organizations were willing to bring orphans for a month long hosting experience in the summer. These were children ages 7 to 14 who were going nowhere in the orphanage system. Each summer, God raised up families to step forward to host these kids. Each summer, we saw families who met the children fall in love with them and commit to adopting them. In 2007, we decided to host an 8 year old boy. It was very clear that God was calling us to bring this child back permanently and adopt him as part of our family. So in March 2008, we came home with our 9 year old son.
We feel privileged to be used by God in this way. We believe that God has a special plan for our children and it is our privilege to assist Him in His plan for these kids. We tell our children that God found just the right DNA to combine to make them as they are and he chose us to help them grow into the people He wants them to be. We can’t imagine our lives without these incredible kids.