Wednesday, July 29, 2009

"Warner Bros. new horror movie Orphan proclaims that it must be hard to love an adopted child as much as your own. Let me tell you how one orphan...


changed our lives.

I will tell you how so far 6 orphans have changed my life. After God blessed my husband and I with two bio children we felt the Lord's conviction to continue expanding our family, but solely through adoption.

We are blessed to be living and ministering in a place that allows for those living in the country to easily take in an orphan. What began as simple obedience has now turned into advocacy and pleading a cause. This country alone has over 2 million
unwanted/orphaned children due to HIV, war and poverty. Each of our children has a different story but they all had the same need for the love and hope of family. Two of our children have a life threatening disease, sickle cell anemia. They were both abandoned, one at 3 years the other at 7 months. Three of our children came from the same orphanage--each left at local hospitals at or near birth. And our son that is considered a total orphan, both parents being dead, his is the story that I would like to share.


One evening a woman lay in her hut.
Nestled next to her is her 3 week old son. Her life is full of fear and pain. Rebels have ravaged this part of the country for nearly twenty years. What she has feared the most is about to happen.


Rebels kick down the door. She grabs her baby and quickly straps him onto her back. By gunpoint she is forced to carry a 40 pound bundle of firewood on her head, through the bush in the middle of the night. Unable to walk as fast as she is expected the woman is shot and left for dead. The baby is thrown into the bush to die.

Early the next morning the woman's husband returns to find that his worst fear has come true too. This was supposed to be a "safe" village but his
wife is gone and he knows exactly what happened. Village elders get together to follow the foot prints. What they find is a devastating miracle. The mother is dead but the tiny infant survived the night in the bush.

Unable to care for his infant son, the father places him in an infant care center. The baby soon contracts TB and is hospitalized for nearly a year, and survives once again. Family slowly forget about the baby boy as they are consumed with their own survival. Left alone the baby boy grows into a self de
pendent, literally, toddler. In the meantime the father contracts HIV and dies.

After the rebels leave the country missionaries begin ministering at the infant care center where the boy has grown up. They fall in love. And begin praying that one day this boy would find a family to call his own, or rath
er that a family would find him.

(The boy I speak of is on the left, with his new baby brother that has sickle cell disease)

We were that family, we found him! He is the sweetest child you will ever meet with the most contagious smile and inexpressible joy! He is often heard singing out praises to the Lord. It is as if he knows where he came from and he is rejoicing over God's redemption.

This is how one orphan has changed our lives.

6 comments:

Shonni said...

What an amazing story! I am so glad that you shared this!
I hope to write later, after the children are being better. I have one on my lap crying with a band aid on his nose covering the boo-boo his brother gave him, when he "innocently" was playing and pushed him into the corner of the wall...
Again, what a sad yet amazing story this little guy has of the LORD's sweet love!

"Are These Kids All Yours?" said...

AMEN!!!! Love your story! WOW- they totally need to do a different movie about orphans- the real story after all it would be much more interesting, and a blessing to so many!!!!! It would be a tear jerker- joy replacer- full of hope!!!!!!!! That is the TRUE story that God has planned!

JLW said...

OH GOODNESS! Whenever I see an ad for that movie on the side of the road or on a store sign, I cringe. I like your twist so much better! :) What an amazing testimony!

And I'm really wishing we could adopt some of those children in need. We are at a total stand still with adoption - no one will let us adopt through their programs and those that will want $40,000 + I'm praying that the Lord either opens the door miraculously for us, or let's me know that "we're done" - I'm having a hard time accepting the latter.

Unknown said...

That was beautiful Summer! You had me in tears ;)

Sarah said...

Lord, our home is open! Bring your children home.

Blessings,
Sarah Dawn

Kimmie said...

Praise God...thank you for sharing your testimony...may God continue to be glorified in and through your family.

Kimmie
mama to 7
one homemade and 6 adopted