And Then There Was Hope: November 2018

Three and a half years ago I saw a picture....a picture that made my heart stand still. A picture of a precious boy, five years old and the size of an infant. A picture with a familiar background. Did you know that when you have adopted? You have an automatic response when looking at photos of kids in orphanages to survey the surroundings and see if it is somewhere you have been. This WAS somewhere I had been.This was somewhere that haunts my dreams. This was our daughter Sophias' “home” for four years.

I inquired about him and was so relieved to hear that a family was committed to adopting him, and they would call him Christopher ("bearing Christ")! Praise God. I messaged this family and was so fortunate to begin a relationship with Lynda.

A few months later I saw ANOTHER photo. A photo of a precious 7 year old girl. and again my heart stopped. Yes I had walked the halls of this orphanage. This was where Sophia lived, this is where Christopher lived.

I inquired about this little girl and was told no family had shown any interest in her and with her list of conditions, she would be very hard to place. Could we turn our backs? In good conscience, no!

So our journey began.

After much paperwork, fundraising and prayer we made our first trip to visit Victoria. Guess who was at the orphanage to meet her son AT THE EXACT SAME TIME? Yep, Christopher's mama! it was wonderful to get to compare notes on our children and to actually meet Lynda in person and spend some time with her.

We both struggled mightily leaving our children behind as their fragile state worried us. Christopher was 5 and weighted ten pounds Victoria was 7 and weighed 9 pounds. It was surreal.

A few long months late our children were home. Victoria to Oregon, Christopher to Texas.

Neither child had a diagnosis given at the orphanage but after genetic testing we discovered both children have the same syndrome. Wolf-Hirschhorn is a rare genetic disorder that occurs when part of chromosome 4 is deleted.Wolf-Hirschhorn affects many parts of the body, both physical and mental.We suspect that Christopher and Victoria may be related as well, though we have not confirmed with testing. Isn't that absolutely amazing?!

The first year and a half was so very difficult. Both of our children had medical crisis after medical crisis. But even with so many steps back they have grown and thrived.

And now, two and a half years later, I was given the opportunity to watch Christopher for three weeks while his mama and daddy take and well deserved vacation.

What a trip it has been to see these long lost orphanage mates reconnect! They are both non verbal and non mobile but words are not needed.