Want to hear an amazing adoption story??
Well....let me tell you about my friends, Rick and Amanda. Not even one year ago...actually last April, they came to our OH benefit dinner because they were invited by some friends. We did not know each other that well, and I had not ever discussed anything we do with them. They just showed up for a free dinner, compliments of their friends. The benefit was awesome. We shared our heart and vision for OH and I got up and told some stories of what had been happening with OH up to that point. We had a great turn out and were so pleased with the evening. What I didn't realize was how that evening had impacted this couple. She called me the next day and told me who she was and that she had been to our dinner. She said she wanted to get more involved with OH and that she was really moved by everything she had heard. Well....what do you know....but only two days after that dinner, the big flood hit!! Nashville's biggest flood in history. Well these two were some of the first responders with us at OH to jump in and help flood victims. They took on a grandmother and her 4 grandchildren that we had found, who had no help at all. Amanda not only completely organized the remodel of the house, Rick picked the boys up for church every Wed and brought them to youth group. These boys had not had parents in several years, as they are incarcerated. They were being raised by their grandmother. They developed a wonderful relationship with this family that has continued after the flood. The boys have been forever changed by the love this family has shown them.
Then.....Amanda started asking me more and more questions about adoption. She and Rick really felt that God was laying it on their hearts. I went on my July team trip and Amanda's sister went on the trip. Her sister, Ashli, came back forever changed and talking about all the orphans she had seen and visited. Well Ashli was so moved by the trip that she ended up moving to ET, and Rick and Amanda were so moved by everything they had heard that they quickly signed up to adopt. Then they prayed about who God would lead them to. Amanda scoured over the waiting children and kept coming back to these two precious, scared little ones.
Here is the picture that she kept coming back to. She said, "I don't know, I just keep coming back to these two. I am going to find out more about them." I had not met them, as they came into the orphanage the day we left.
When she called me back and told me their story, she was in tears. You see the confusion and the look of sadness in their eyes....well, it is for a reason.
These two had been found completely alone and abandoned camped out at the door of a church, almost lifeless from not having anything to eat for days and days. Evidently their mother left them with someone because she could not feed them and they ended up on the streets somehow. They said that people saw the little boy carrying the baby girl around by himself, just wandering in the streets, looking for food. They said he never put her down or let her out of his sight. He was very protective of her. That brave little 8 year old boy never let go of his 11month old sister. He eventually went from church to church until the state heard about them and brought them to the orphanage. The orphanage workers said that the little girl would not let anyone but this little boy care for her. She was glued to him, and him to her. She did not want anyone but him. He was all she had. They only had each other.
I can't tell you what bravery and maturity beyond his little 8 years, this little boy must have had, to endure the streets in Ethiopia and protect his sister at the same time. He is a HERO in every sense of the word.
Well that is all Amanda and Rick needed to hear. They signed up for these two precious children who had been sitting on the waiting list because no one else had chosen them. I just wonder how many people would have been so quick to overlook them had they known their story. So Rick and Amanda and their two children prayed and committed to these two new additions to their family. Their family of 4 was now going to be a family of 6!
I actually met these amazing children before they did on my trip in December. They knocked my socks off! They were no longer the scared little children that I had seen in the picture. I saw beautiful children with such destiny on their lives to have come this far.
Rick and Amanda flew through their paper work and not even two weeks ago they flew over for their first court visit to meet their kiddos for the first time. Amanda said when they pulled up they saw their little boy stick his head out the door first. She said she just couldn't stand it, she was about to bust with excitement. She said she went to him first and got on her knees and hugged him. He knew she was his mom and he hugged her back. Then Rick walked in. She said he took one look at Rick and recognized him from the pictures. She said he just lit up and yelled out "Daddy!" and then ran and jumped into Rick's arms and laid his little head on his shoulder and started crying. Then Rick started crying and they just stood there holding each other, weeping together in that special moment that God had given them as they met for the first time, although it felt like they already knew each other and were just waiting to see each other again. Amazing!!
The connections with everyone were instant. They were no longer alone in this world.
This family was now complete and whole! These two scared little children who had wandered the streets looking for a Mom and a Dad to care for them......had been given their heart's desire by a Father who loves them enough to steer them to the church that night, to the right person, who would lead them to the orphanage, who would lead them to their family....who would lead them home. These children and this family are now transformed! It is true that adoption changes your life forever. They will never be the same.....and that's a great thing! All things become new! You can see it in their eyes! How precious!!
They completely bonded on their trip like they never imagined.
Then it was time to say goodbye for now. They had to fly home and wait for the embassy appointment. Oh my gosh!!! What a hard day and a hard thing to make their little minds understand. They will be back and they had to make sure they understood that as they had the translator explain that they had to leave.
So they said their goodbyes...
And left them with their love until God brings them together again. Next time it is forever!! Please pray that they get their embassy appointment soon so that they can bring these precious babies home to their sister and brother who anxiously await their arrival. If you would like to visit their journey, check out the
Flores Adoption Blog.
Please remember that every one of these waiting children that sit on the list has a story. This is just one story. There are waiting children right now that have similar stories and they are getting over looked. The two sisters, Bethy and Mahlet, have a similar story. I met them in July, and then again in December. They were street children just like these two. They have no parents. They are double orphans. They had each other and they had one uncle who desperately tried to care for them until he just couldn't feed them anymore. They lived a long time on the streets and then they ended up in the orphanage. They are precious! Just like these two children. They wait, and they wait. On my trip we prayed and the oldest of the sisters just wept as we ended the prayer and she gently wiped her tears afterward and just hugged me. I looked in her eyes and told her I would help her find a family. I would bet that she might just cry when she meets her new family just as this little guy did. It is all they want in the whole world....A Family! Please step up the prayers for these two sisters. They have waited a LONG time. It is no different than Rick and Amanda's kids.....if someone could meet them like I have and just see the hope and the love in them, then they wouldn't be overlooked anymore. I am believing they will find a family soon. They are listed in some of the first pictures on my
waiting list if you are interested in looking at the list. You must email me for the password. Kelly@ordinaryhero.org
I also have ONE MORE PRAYER REQUEST!
I have been asked by an adoptive family to put this prayer request out about their upcoming 2nd court date on January 13th.
The Shrock Family has had their two referrals, Ben and Stella, for 7 months now and have endured some set backs. They did not pass court last month and have been enduring the nerves and emotions that lead up to this 2nd court date on January 13th. Please keep the Shrock family in your prayers that they will pass court on January 13th in Ethiopia and will officially be able to add those two precious children to their forever family. We pray that the Lord will give the continued peace that passes all understanding through this process as well. I got to know this family (via email) during our adoption fund raiser in November. They ended up being a top seller and receiving a matching grant from us! Thank you for your support of this family and for keeping them in your prayers. You can hop over to their
blog to let them know you are praying for them. Also, if you have a prayer request you would like me to put out for the body of advocates and blog followers to pray for, then just shoot me an email at Kelly@ordinaryhero.org. I'm tellin ya....prayer changes things :)
Have a great night!
