In our lives there have been many dificulties and many trials. Of coures there have also been many times when our hearts over flow with the joy of our LORD and the blessing he pours out upon us. Our time with Anyi and Jose have been one of those times of great joy and blessing. And yet even in those places in life where we seem so fulfilled we can at the same time experience such unimaginable sorrow. Today was such a day- I would even go so far as to say this has been one of the hardest and perhaps sadest days of my life.
Let me share with you the story of an amazing young man. His name cannot be listed nor can we show you the photos we took of him this morning. He is in the care of the Colombian government (ICBF) and their laws forbid us from sharing his name or photo. I will only leave this post up for a few days because I would never want him or our new children to stumble upon it. You see, this young man is the almost 16 year old brother of Anyi and Jose. I mentioned in a previous post that he has sacrificed much for them. He had one simple request when he was asked to agree to their adoption. He wanted to meet the new parents so that he would know that they would be ok. This sort of meeting was also very much on our hearts. Today we had the meeting- and we wept together for this remarkable young man. We were joined in our tears by our translator, and his psychologist. We spent an hour with him and truely our lives will never be the same.
First we met with him and 2 psychologists, the head of the Cali ICBF, and our translator. His first concern was to know if we would ever let him contact them again. And we said we would. ICBF will be the filter through which we communicate. He wanted to know what our home and family was like, as I described these things, he seemed very pleased. Then I asked to speak to him and told him the same thing I told Anyi and Jose on Integration day. I first told him my spanish was poor, but then said, "te quiero usted hermonos, siempre, siempre y siempre" I will love your brother and sister always, always and always. This is when most of us began to leak around our eyes. This young man gave me a broad smile though we saw his grief in his eyes. Honestly, I'm not sure what else was said in this group setting, but seeing it was going well we were left for the next 45 minutes to talk with just him and our interpreter.
He wanted us to know the things he thought were important about Anyi and Jose. He asked us about their school- this was an akward moment for us, but we charged ahead and explained we home school- he actually understood the concept and was very excited for them to be home schooled- he said "Cool"! We asked him about family and he filled in some gaps for us. We asked him about his life goal- and he wants to be a doctor. He asked to leave the orphanage and be seperated form his siblings so he could attend a better school and have a greater hope for accomplishing this goal. He explained that when he was asked about his consent for Anyi and Jose to be adopted without him, he told the authorities he wanted them to have the opprotunity to know the love of a family. He told them he knew for him there was no hope for a family because of his age, but he very much wanted it for his siblings. It was here that my fathers heart began to ache like I have never known before.
And he went on and said after meeting us he knew that this is God's will for Anyi and Jose to be with our family and he is very happy for them to have this opportunity. He thanked us for adopting them and said that he thought that they would not get a home either because of their age. Even now as I reflect on this and share it with you I have tears streaming down my face and my heart breaks for him. His assement of this floored me and I responded that that was exactly how we saw things. God had brought us to this point and it was our obedience to Him that had made this possible, and yet in our obedience God was giving us great joy. I told him he would forever be in our prayers- and he will. Please remember him in yours. While he sacrificed himself for them he remained upbeat and optimistic and had much hope for his own future. He told us he longed for a family more than anything else, but thought that it would not be possible. His life circumstance has allowed him maturity and wisdom far beyond anything we have seen before.
This experience is burned in my memory, I will never forget what this 15 year old boy taught me in a one hour meeting on a day in October. It is one of the rare life experiences that changes you forever. And it was not just Betty and I. When he was no longer in sight, Betty, our translater and I made eye contact and began to weap for him, and we wept. Once the emotions were brought under control, our interpreter told us that she had been doing this for many years, and had never experienced anything like it before. She also said she has never been moved to cry in all her years in this business- our tears together could have filled buckets. My father's hearts cries out tonight, oh LORD my God, bring a family to this young man.
Why "Eight Is Not Enough"?
When we were younger, there was a television sitcom that was called "Eight is Enough". The television watching world was entertained with the thought of a family with eight children. Most of us were shocked at the prospect of such a large family- myself included! Then ever so slowly, God began to work on our hearts, until we surrendered to Him all of our lives- yes even gave Him sovereign control over the size of our family and He has blessed us immeasurably, with eight biological children. Each of these children have been an amazing gift to us and we cherish each of them. And we praised God for them and felt to ourselves "eight is enough" - at least for a time.
Then God began to stir our hearts. It was as if He spoke to say to us "these 8 precious children I have given to you, but what have you given to my orphans in return?" A burden began to build on our hearts to adopt. We knew that for us God still had other plans for us as parents if we would be faithful to His calling- that eight is not enough. And so, we followed this call to adopted and He has continued to blessed us through adoption. First a sibling group of three from Soacha, Colombia. They joined our family in November, 2008. In May 2010, we adopted twin infants from Texas. In September of 2012 we were privileged to return to Colombia and adopt a sibling group of two from Cali. At this time, we anxiously wait for our travel date to depart for China where a very special girl and boy wait for their forever family. By the time they all reach adulthood, we will have had the amazing privilege to be parents of children in our home for a half century. Our life is full beyond measure, beyond our wildest expectations, yes even beyond anything we could have ever hoped. Truly, eight is not enough. As of late we have wondered if God's plan for us as parents all along was not for eight children, but rather eight plus eight. Our heavenly Father knows and His word assures us "I know the plans I have made for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you." We trust He knows the number of His children He wants us to love and to nurture on His behalf, and whether that is eight or eighty times eight we stand ready and say speak Lord, your servants are listening and are prepared to be father and mother to your fatherless on earth.
Then God began to stir our hearts. It was as if He spoke to say to us "these 8 precious children I have given to you, but what have you given to my orphans in return?" A burden began to build on our hearts to adopt. We knew that for us God still had other plans for us as parents if we would be faithful to His calling- that eight is not enough. And so, we followed this call to adopted and He has continued to blessed us through adoption. First a sibling group of three from Soacha, Colombia. They joined our family in November, 2008. In May 2010, we adopted twin infants from Texas. In September of 2012 we were privileged to return to Colombia and adopt a sibling group of two from Cali. At this time, we anxiously wait for our travel date to depart for China where a very special girl and boy wait for their forever family. By the time they all reach adulthood, we will have had the amazing privilege to be parents of children in our home for a half century. Our life is full beyond measure, beyond our wildest expectations, yes even beyond anything we could have ever hoped. Truly, eight is not enough. As of late we have wondered if God's plan for us as parents all along was not for eight children, but rather eight plus eight. Our heavenly Father knows and His word assures us "I know the plans I have made for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you." We trust He knows the number of His children He wants us to love and to nurture on His behalf, and whether that is eight or eighty times eight we stand ready and say speak Lord, your servants are listening and are prepared to be father and mother to your fatherless on earth.
Thursday, October 4, 2012
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2 comments:
WOW! So special that is! Almost made me cry....... So happy for ya'll! Love you guys!
Lord be with this brave young man! God bless you all.
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