Wednesday, May 20, 2009

The Red Sea


I may never forget one adoption story in particular from the America World seminar. A gentlemen shared vivid memories of his trip to Ethiopia. He and his wife were adopting two, a young boy and a baby girl.

Upon arrival at the orphanage, the gates swung open welcoming them into the place. Immediately, many kids surrounded them all very happy to greet them. They new it was going to be an emotional day!

This family had previously received photographs of their 2 children. The time had come to meet the children and take them to a new home! For this particular orphanage, it was customary (perhaps part of the ceremony?) to allow the adopting parents to find the child amidst the others - with no assistance. The mother looked very briefly and went almost instinctively to her new baby girl sweetly resting in one of the cribs.

It was the father's turn. (He recounted his nervousness in this moment.) He began to scan the crowd of young boys crammed into the large room. What happened next he compared to the parting of the Red Sea. The boys all parted down the center of the room leading all eyes to a young boy standing alone in the back. The boy ran down the aisle and jumped into his father's arms!

Jenny and I grow more excited about this journey each day. As we share the news with others, we are finding that many people have dreamed about adopting one day! We hope and pray our testimony will one day inspire and encourage many others to take the same plunge.

Today, we were officially accepted into America World's Ethiopia program. It's small but a step in the right direction. We will soon begin assembling our dossier (the main legal paper work packet) AND working with a home study agency. Also, Jenny & I will begin a required online course for international adoption. Thank you for your continued prayers!

2 comments:

Angela said...

Awesome!! I continue to be soo excited for you guys! Praying! Love you all!

Tara Petty said...

Hooray! I can't wait to meet my new niece! I will teach her to call me aunt(pronounced "ant" not "ont") immediately! I am so excited to see what all God does through this!