A couple months ago a friend from church told us that we should contact a family they know who had adopted internationally. At the time we weren’t really ready to meet other adoptive families. The plan was that we would start meeting more families once we got on the waiting list at our agency. Well, this friend (Doug) gave me their info again last week and said that we really should contact them. So, we did.

Here is the story.
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We decide to meet on Sunday afternoon at their place. At the last minute on Saturday morning they invite us to come over that afternoon instead. Feeling spontaneous, we redirect and find ourselves at their front door, which turns out to be only 2 miles from our apartment. Friendly faces greet us at the door and usher us into the middle of a huge birthday party for their son who they just adopted from Ukraine! The boy (about 6) is literally opening presents right in front of us as the mom introduces us to all her kids and the friends that came to celebrate. We feel kind of embarrassed at first for taking the attention off the main event but soon dissolve into the moment trying to take in all the beauty. This family has two biological kids (girl and boy), 3 from Ethiopia (2 girls and a boy), a little girl from Guatemala and of course, the birthday boy from Ukraine.

While enjoying some tasty B-day cake and gummy worms we sit and listen to one fascinating story of adoption after another. As we mingle, the kids like schools of fish, dart from one room to the next with our conversation volume rising and sinking in unison. We are able to share about our adoption journey and can feel the discouragement lifting as we are reminded of how much God loves seeing his people care for orphans.
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Leaving their house that day was like stepping out of a tornado. But rather than being disoriented we walked to our car with a renewed sense of confidence for the mission God has put us on and a clearer vision for what our family could look like someday.