Stories of YES #43 - Mother Teresa

 

She was six years old when Mother Teresa placed a pendant of the Blessed Virgin Mary in her tiny hand and prayed over her. Mother Teresa had chosen her - from all the orphanage children in Calcutta - and handed her into the arms of her adoptive parents five years prior as a six-month-old baby.
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Adopted into a family from Europe in 1984 - her father of Indian descent and her Mama from Tennessee - they maintained contact with Mother Teresa and the other sisters who lovingly cared for the children at the Calcutta orphanage. The family eventually made their way to America where Shana grew up. And - eight years ago - she embarked on a long-awaited journey in search of the birth mother who'd chosen life for her. She was ultimately unable to find the answers she was seeking in her search, but Shana was able to visit with her father's relatives, and she was able to go back to the orphanage she'd left behind so many years ago. She was also able to visit the tomb of Saint Teresa of Calcutta, who'd been such an instrumental mother to her as a baby in the orphanage.
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Now settled into married life with her loving husband, and soon to be confirmed into the Catholic faith, Shana prays with her rosary - Mother Teresa's pendant attached - and it is, undoubtedly, blessed. Shana and her husband hope to start their own family soon, and she has it in her heart to go back to India again someday. But next time to adopt one of those babies who's waiting for a forever family to say yes, just like she was...