For years my daughter Naomi has sent me or shown me pictures….
little children with Down Syndrome, or other disabilities……Babies who are
unwanted, discarded, and waiting in orphanages. My heart broke for them. After
adopting 3 with special needs overseas, our family has had a deep burden for
these children who are unvalued by some, but invaluable in God’s sight. After
being at orphanages and seeing it for ourselves, as well as seeing our children
thrive with love, we wanted to help.
So, we found ways. We raised money for other
families who were adopting. Our kids did yard sales, crocheted, made bracelets
and shared. We advocated and did auctions, shared posts, and prayed for
orphans…but have wanted to do more. The need is so great!
More recently, Naomi has shared more about older children….
boys and girls that are aging out soon and will not have a family. One day she sent me a message about 2
children who needed a host family. Siblings…a 14-year-old boy and his 10-year-old
sister. Their fees would be reduced but they needed someone right away. We had thought of hosting before but
honestly, never REALLY considered it, thinking the fee was just too high and
life too busy. I don’t know what caused
me to think about it and share it with my husband, except that God led me to do
it. I looked into it, got information, talked
and prayed. We had no doubt that it
would be a good experience to serve the Lord as a family.
My first thought was—this is a MAJOR decision!!!...because I
know my family, that they would want to adopt them. We talked about it with the
kids and made it clear that this didn’t mean we would adopt them…. would they
be okay if all we did was host? “Yes! Yes! “We decided that we would leave that
to God, and to not make this decision too complicated. These children had been preparing to come to
America for 4 weeks for Christmas, had gotten tickets, passports/clearance and
suddenly NEEDED a family.
Could we open our home to share it with a brother and sister
with no family of their own…for 4 weeks? Could we show them the love of Jesus
and what a family is? (those were the objectives of the hosting program).
We knew we could! We knew we aren’t perfect (that scared me)
–we are noisy, active & our home may not be spotless, but we have hearts
full of love and plenty of room by most of the world’s standards. We are a
family and we have the most powerful gift of all to share…the love of Jesus,
which is why we would ever consider doing such a thing. Its what first led us
to adopt.
Could we afford it? My husband looked at me with that “look”
and said he did get extra pay at his last work trip. I thought, “we don’t
REALLY need to get new couches this Christmas (the ones we’d never gotten after
moving 7 years ago) … what are couches anyway? We are talking children!
We made sure everyone in the family was okay with it…. they were! :)
So, we decided to do it if God opened the door. We applied, got a home visit, filled out paperwork, got background clearance, and sent in money…. Yes, a month before
Christmas! We shared what we were doing with our church, family and friends who helped us with clothing and other needs since they brought next to nothing. We knew that it would be hard in some ways…. with them speaking
a different language, dealing with possible behaviors, having to set rules, get
along, share…. But we were willing! We knew in our hearts that this would be
the best Christmas and that somehow the presents couldn’t match 2 precious
lives that we could pour into and possibly impact for eternity.
Only 3 days after they came, my
dear, very reasonable husband told me with tears in his eyes: “I don’t know how
I’ll be able to send them back!” I don’t know how but God completely knit these
two from across the ocean who speak a different language into our hearts and
fit them perfectly into our family, but He did. There were challenges, and moments along the
way of panic and doubt, of course, but we kept reminding ourselves about where
they came from, and how they had no family, no mommy and daddy to teach them
and love them, and possibly no understanding of a God who loved them. And we
saw God work in their lives and in our childrens’ lives while they were here in
wonderful way (more about that another time.)
To be honest, I’m utterly amazed by these kids…..that they
could travel across the world to live with strangers who speak a different
language. That they could accept and give love- not superficially but truly.
That they could learn to trust us and open up to us and that they could have
such joy.
And I can’t get over how much we love them. I didn’t expect
it…. I mean, sure I thought my kids would want to adopt (they want to adopt every
precious) & that we would love and care for them, but I didn’t expect to
feel and know that they were our children. Maybe not in name right now but in
our hearts, and we’d be forever changed.
So yes, if you’ve been wondering secretly…. YES, WE ARE ADOPTING!!!!
The days counting down for them to go were tough…telling them
they’d be going back, helping them pack their clothes and gifts (letting them
know their things may become communal or taken from them), and spending as much
time as we could enjoying them. We were told that kids often withdraw before
they leave, as their way to protect themselves & survive. I’m so glad ours didn’t…. our last times
together at the airport, eating and playing games, was precious. Nothing
prepared us though for the raw awful heartache and sorrow that came when they
left. We cried like babies, they cried, and I felt like a piece of my heart was
walking away from us. Still do.
We felt totally helpless…. they were going back to the
orphanage across the sea where we could not help them AT ALL, & we only
know a little of all they deal with. Sure,
we packed them dinner and snacks, sent lots of clothes, personal supplies,
gifts, a Bible…. but would anyone give her the antibiotic she needed when she
left? Who would remind them to brush their teeth, tuck them in, play with
them, hug them, & love them there? We didn’t know if or when we’d hear from
them or see them again. But they knew
that we loved them and would do everything we could to bring them back.
For those wondering, our children were on board way before
us…. because they more easily see through eyes of faith. They aren’t blind to what is involved—they’ve
lived it already having adopted twice. But to them, there’s no question what so
ever. Each night the last week when I'd tuck in my youngest, he’d ask, “how many days until they have to go?” and he’d look sad and
say, “I wish they didn’t have to go.” I told him that if we adopted them, Mommy
and Daddy would have to travel far away to get them and it can be a long time.
That would be hard, huh?” He smiled
sadly and cutely and said, “yea, but it will be worth it.” I've never seen him cry so much after they left.
SO, now the journey begins…. now we
get busy, and we ask you to pray with us that God will move mountains to bring
our kids home where they belong. We’ve done this before and know it is not
easy. Honestly, I never thought we would do this again. Some liken the adoption process to a “labor”
…it’s long and intense but worth it. And
it can’t be done alone. If you are
wondering how we can afford it…. we cannot! But we step out in faith that what
God has begun, He will complete. He is faithful
and able to bring these precious children home. We would be honored if you
would come along side us and join us in this journey.
"And God is able to abound in you, so that in all things at all times, having everything you need, you will abound in every good work." 2 Corinthians 9:8
Blessings,
Traci, for the Adamson family
**Since we've started the adoption, I've not included pictures (sorry! I love them too) on this public blog BUT I'll be making a private FB group and may put this blog to private (or start a new one) so please let me know if you'd like to be added to those where I can share pictures :) **
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