So many people have used the word “unique” to describe our adoption story. It started with a mission trip back in January of 2013 with a small group from our church traveling to Lesotho to help with various projects at a small orphanage. Our oldest daughter, a sophomore in college at that time, accompanied me and the others. She brought her camera and helped take photos of all the children to go in their files, as well as, to document this memorable trip. Needless to say, all the children were precious and we so enjoyed getting to spend time with them. However, there was this one little girl that had the prettiest smile and dimples. Her energy and laughter was contagious and she stole my heart the day she called me Mom after hearing my daughter call me that.
We learned that she was abandoned at two months old and after being placed with a local family at six, her adopted mother passed away. Now, at the age of eight, she was being matched with a local family and would soon be adopted. I was so happy to hear this news and continued to follow her path through our connection with our church.
When I returned home, however, I told my husband and family all about this little girl and shared with them that I really felt she was supposed to be with our family. I already felt such an incredible love for her and longed to see her again. She was adopted that year at the age of nine and although I was happy for her and her new family, my heart was a little broken because I still had that overwhelming feeling that she was supposed to be with us.
The following year, our church sent another group to help at the orphanage and I was told that she was again living there. The local family had returned her and now at the age of ten, she was once again waiting for her “forever family”. I spoke with my husband and without hesitation, we began our adoption process. There was no guarantee that we would be matched with this little girl, but we prayed about it and put it in God’s hands.
We did all that we needed to do to complete the adoption process on our side in November of 2015 and then we waited, and we waited and we waited some more. Five years later, we heard that we had been matched with our daughter. Our adoption was complete in March of 2020 and then the Covid pandemic was upon us all. This delayed our travel plans and once again we were waiting. I think the hardest part of adoption is the waiting. It helped to refer back to God’s word: “Wait for the Lord; Be strong and let your heart take courage: Yes, wait for the Lord.” Psalms 27:14
On the last day of 2020, December 31st, we welcomed our daughter in our arms. It still feels like a dream that she is with us. There have been many “firsts” for her since our return home and we have enjoyed them all. First time seeing the ocean has to be my favorite. We have watched her age over the years from miles away but this year we just celebrated her 17th birthday together. We will continue to celebrate every day for God’s wonderful blessing of allowing us to be her forever family.