Heartache, pain, rejection and disappointment filled our lives and our journey to parenthood from the time we were married. We had always wanted to have a family and hoped for a large family. So when we received closed doors and unexplained reasons for not having a baby our hearts were challenged and God began to move on our hearts. The journey to adoption was not an easy one for me. My wife had always had the God given desire to adopt children as long as she can remember, but me; I was the lone hold out. I was the selfish one; I wanted a little me in this world, like I wasn’t enough already. I was hurt that our family was not going to come from us, the physical us; I guess I was upset that I wasn’t in control and that I had to let God take over.
When I finally began to listen to God and my wife, we began the path to adopting. We attended informational seminars where we learned about the process of international adoption. We fell in love with Colombia as a country, our agency, and the opportunity for us to get a little baby boy. We started the paper work in March; jumping through hoops… I mean “patiently” finding notaries, doctors, post offices, copy machines, and driving all over the state of Kentucky to get this paper certified, stamped with an apostil, and mailed. Because of my wife’s’ ability to organize, we finished the paperwork and had our dossier sent to Colombia in September 2006. Our paperwork moved rather quickly and we began to feel God opening our hearts to a sibling group of 2; then one day our agency representative asked us, “Would you guys be open to a sibling group of 3?” I now know what Noah must have felt and with a gulp and intense prayer we found God saying to us; I will give you strength, I will give you the skills, I will walk beside you, and I’m bigger than your fears. Trust me.
So, in January 2007 we found ourselves celebrating our 6th anniversary in a foreign country, with 3 new children that had become part of our family 7 days earlier. One year prior to this event on our 5th anniversary celebrating in the Great Smoky Mountains, our children were but a twinkle in our eyes and we knew very little about the foreign land of Colombia. During our first week as parents we celebrated our anniversary, comforted hurting children so they could sleep, ate arepas (Colombian tortillas) for the first time, and rode in more taxis than I have ever been in my whole life. Our flight back to the US was on Valentine's Day 2007 and since being home our kids have met 3 of their 4 surviving great grand-mothers.
We spend most of our days laughing with them and at the funny things they do, and how they have been able to get along so well. They bring joy to our lives and within the first few months of being together, we are slowly forgetting what life as a childless couple felt like. We are seeing God work in our lives and the lives of our children. Now that I have 2 boys at home with me, I have begun to understand that not all similarities between biological children and parents are genetically transferred. We have felt God walking alongside us the entire way. We think back at the financial burden that this could have been and because God is God and he loves his people and calls them to give, we don’t have that financial burden. We know that we are not deserving of his grace through finances, but like a good father, He always knows what’s best. Our adoption experience is a truly incredible ride that gets better with every twist and turn.
To donate by check, please make checks payable to "Shaohannah's Hope" and mail them to:
Shaohannah's Hope
Attention: Adoption Assistance
PO Box 647
Franklin, TN 37065
For further questions, email
give@shaohannahshope.org. One hundred percent of your gift will be directed towards assisting a family applying for a Shaohannah's Hope grant. Furthermore, Shaohannah's Hope, Inc. is a 501(c)3 ministry and your donation is tax deductible.