My wife, Jonna, and I had discussed
the possibility of adopting before. I
was always a little apprehensive about adopting, mainly because we already had been
blessed with two children of our own, a boy and a girl, and I questioned why we
would need to add to our “perfect, little all-American family.” Well, God answered that question for me the
week of Sunday, February 24, 2013. That
Sunday morning at our worship service, a missionary to Brazil shared his
testimony and how God had called him and his family into the ministry. He shared that it was a ministry that was all
about loving and caring for others the way that Jesus loves us. He spoke of the orphans that are living on
the streets in Brazil, many of them forced into prostitution, and how desperate
these children are to know of God’s love.
He talked about how we, as God’s church, need to be more than just food
and water to these children. When
talking about his own life and the lives of these children, he shared Jeremiah
1:5, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set
you apart.” He emphasized that God knew
each of these children and that God had set them apart for something more. This stuck with me, and I knew that God was
calling me to do more. Later in the week, God led my wife and I
to a website that promotes a movement and a movie called Man Up and Go.
This movement focuses on being a father to the fatherless and
encourages action and commitment based on James 1:27. On the website,
they have a trailer for the movie that shares a little bit about how this
mission to Ethiopia got started. The
trailer begins by scrolling some staggering statistics across the screen about
the lives of children who grow up without fathers. These statistics were eye-openers for me. The founder goes on to speak of his
experiences and a major turning point for him.
He recalls speaking with his father at a time when he was doubting his
decision to adopt. Hoping to be consoled
by his father, he is challenged with these words, “Man up and be a dad.” These words also challenged me and helped
confirm that God was ready for me to take action and be a father to the
fatherless. So, here we go! We know and trust that God has already chosen
His special child as our own, and we can’t wait to welcome her home!
Kevin
