Say Yes Spotlight - the Deason family

Miles and Christine began their adoption journey in November 2018 with Holt International, and they were just going through the tedious steps - mentally prepared that it could be years before they were matched with a child. To their surprise, they saw pictures of their daughter in March 2019. For a few months, Christine had been receiving emails from RainbowKids, an adoption and waiting-child advocacy site, but one particular email spoke to her heart and had a link to a bio. When Miles and Christine saw this little girl's face and watched the short video attached, they just knew she was meant to be theirs!

The next several months felt like a whirlwind to the Deasons and Holt did an incredible job making it as easy as possible for them. We were thankful to aide in their financial burden for this family in April 2019 through our "Say Yes"™ Adoption Grant, and Christine says it was truly a miracle how it all came together. Miles and Christine traveled to China in October 2019 to meet their daughter in person and finalize their adoption. In Christine's words, "It was such a wonderful experience and still feels so surreal. She’s such an extraordinary kid! She has a unique gift of always staying positive and silly, and she has taught us so much in such a short amount of time. We are beyond blessed to be her family and feel like WE are the luckiest humans on the planet." 

Say Yes Spotlight - The Athman family

Chris and Kysa Athman, one of our 2020 "Say Yes"™ grant families, started the process to become foster parents when their daughter, Reagan, was just one year old. They were prayerful each step of the way, wanting God to lead and to have an open heart for any child. They ended up with a sibling group of two, followed by their half-brother and another biological daughter. This busy family has five children with an age span of just 3 ½ years.

They write, “Saying yes to those three kids who would become our children has grown us tremendously in ways I think only other Christian adoptive parents can understand. These kids have taught us more profoundly of God’s great love for us. That he leaves the 99 and goes after the one, that’s us and that’s our children (all 5 of them). Adoption (and giving God the reins of our life) is in our souls and we are confident God is asking us to step out in faith again. His plans have continued to be far greater than ours have ever been. It’s really been an honor to watch him work.”

About a year ago, Kysa felt God whispering that they were not done yet. They considered another foster to adopt placement but felt pulled instead to Down syndrome children in countries where their lives are not valued or protected. They desire to push back against that lack of compassion and that has led them to a precious little boy in China.
 
Like so many families, the Athmans are now at an agonizing standstill in this process, and each day of waiting is a day more that their beloved son is without a family. Please continue to lift them - and all of the other waiting families - in your prayers during this extremely trying time. Please remember their little ones, too. May they all feel HOPE through the Lord's presence in this wait. ❤️🙏❤️

Stories of Yes #51 - HOPE in the village

"All my life, all I’ve ever wanted to be was a mom. For years, I was a temporary mom, filling in the gap for so many. Taking risks, giving my heart away, saying yes, getting attached, so that a child could know the love of a mother. And it was so worth it. Every heartache, every sleepless night, will always be worth it if it means a child gets a chance to know love.
Now here I am at 24, forever mom to 3 amazing kiddos here on earth, and 2 angels that ran ahead of me to heaven. I’m living a miracle that feels like a dream.
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If you’re considering foster care or adoption, or chasing whatever calling God has placed on your life, my advice to you is this: go all in, say yes, do the hard. You will never regret the love you give away, or the time you invest in the life of a child. Jesus is infinitely greater than anything this world has to offer. He doesn’t promise us that it will be easy, but he promises us it will be worth it." 

- Addisyn López

Stories of Yes #50 - Pool conversation

“Oh, how old is he?”
“He’s six. “

“Is he in school yet?”
“I’m homeschooling him and he’s delayed a bit, especially with speech.”
“Why is he delayed?”
“Well, he has Down syndrome and he has some institutional delays.”
“He has Down syndrome?!? But he looks so normal!”

Mmhmmmm. I’ve gotten this observation before. I’m never quite sure how to respond and I wish, wish, wish this statement wasn’t within earshot of him.

And I know there’s no ill intent when people say this, I know it’s said as if it’s a compliment or something but if you dig deeper into this statement, the observer is implying that others with DS look “abnormal”. (Even though everyone can see they are uniquely beautiful)

And I do wish that people could see, really see Lian for the miracle that he is. I wish you could clearly comprehend how he survived what he survived to get to where he is today. That he’s a fighter. That he has endured massive losses, that he fights harder, longer, deeper for every goal in his brief six years than most of us have in our decades of existence.

To reduce his existence down to how he looks, his “normal” appearance to American eyes.....I wish I could somehow communicate how he basically somehow survived a chromosomal storm in utero and made it to birth. He survived a baby drop box. He survived an orphanage for three years. He’s a fighter. He struggles to learn, to speak, but he tries and tries again. He loves with his whole stubborn heart even though he has lost not one but two mothers in the first three years of his life.

And he still loves. He still gives.

So, no, he’s not normal. He’s amazingly abnormal in every way. Look past the outward appearance to the heart.

- Cady Driver

Stories of Yes #49 - Keeping it Real

“Are they REAL sisters?” the woman asks with a big, enthusiastic smile. We are at a new school and she runs the summer program. She has fallen in love with the girls and wants to know all about their past. She is warm and kind and my stomach sinks. I have been doing this for 24 years: educating people about adoption.
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I say “of course” as she pushes on what she really means: “But were they sisters in China? Are your five girls BIOLOGICALLY related?” Hope and Ellie stand there wanting this answer, too. Listening to the “realness” of their family be dissected.
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“They are sisters now,” I say firmly. “Real sisters!” She doesn’t get it. She has more questions. The snarky part of me wants to answer with: “So tell me how you were conceived. How did you end up in your family? A little too much wine on Friday night? Are you sure that’s your REAL dad?”
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Because here is the thing: no one would say that. It’s nosy and unkind and none of my business. So why doesn’t anyone understand that’s how it is for adoptees? Their stories are painful. There isn’t a way around this truth: to gain a family you must lose a family. You must lose everything. And that isn’t a story to tell in the pick-up line with other kids and parents within ear shot.
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Let me, once again, speak our truth: we are a REAL family. We love. We grieve. We fight. We forgive. We extend grace. Even here, we extend grace. Keeping it real..." 

- Cindy Newland

Say Yes Spotlight - the Hayashi family

Jonathan is the Worship and Discipleship Pastor and Kennedi is the Children’s Ministry Director at Troy First Baptist Church in Troy, MO. They have two girls, Kaede (age 4) and Anna (age 2) and they are in the process of adopting Seiji, a precious little three-year-old boy living in a Bulgarian orphanage. Their girls love playing outside, and they can't wait to have a brother to play with!

Jonathan and Kennedi first reviewed Seiji's adoption file in February of 2019. They moved through the tedious process, and like so many families they feared how Covid-19 would affect their adoption travel. But they were given miraculous timing and were able to take their first "meeting trip" in February before Bulgaria shut down. And due to the way Bulgarian adoption works, their presence was not necessary in court since they had signed power of attorney documents while on their trip so that a lawyer could represent them. They passed court on May 29th, and Seiji officially became their son! And this week, they received the joyous news that the country is ready to resume the adoption service processing, and they will be flying to Bulgaria on July 2nd to bring their son HOME!! What an encouraging announcement for waiting families! There is a mandated 14-day quarantine which will extend their trip, but both of them will - thankfully - be able to travel regardless of the extension.

The Hayashis were recipients of our "Say Yes"™ Downright Lovable grant specifically for families adopting children with Down syndrome. Kennedi says, "The Lord has provided everything we could have imagined, and Open Hearts for Orphans played a big part in His plan! The greatest reason we said yes to adoption is because of the Lord’s call to “Give justice to the weak and the fatherless; maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute. Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked” Psalm 82:3-4. God adopted us as our sons and daughters and we celebrate the gift of adoption by welcoming Seiji Gabriel into our family!"

We would sure appreciate your prayers for this family as they prepare for their final journey to bring little Seiji home forever.

Say Yes Spotlight - The Henderson family

If you are in the adoption community, then perhaps you've seen this Texas family in the news. They are one of our "Say Yes"™ grant recipients, and they are fiercely advocating - alongside many other families - to get their daughter home through international adoption in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic. As relations become more tense between China and the US, the Henderson family is holding their hope on a provision that allows Americans to travel for humanitarian reasons, and they are working with the state department and lawmakers to see if that provision would allow the "stuck" families to travel to China to bring their children home.

"My husband and I have always said that we are never going to stand before God and repent for helping another orphan. We were not originally planning on adding a fifth child, but we felt the spirit continually prodding us to take the next step, so we said yes again. In the end, it came down to if we trusted God more than our fear and our plans. All four of our children were completely on board which helped us to take each step with more peace," Ginny says.

Trent is a pastor and Ginny is a physical therapist, which has led to their openness to adopt children with disabilities. Piper, who just turned seven, will be their third special needs adoption from China, and they have two biological sons. Ginny met Piper in person last September when she traveled on a Loving Ambassadors trip volunteering as a Physical Therapist. Ginny felt a bond and, though they weren't looking to adopt at the time, Ginny couldn't fathom leaving Piper as an orphan knowing the extent of her medical issues and the unknowns that need to be addressed and treated for her.

Ginny states that God's provision has been incredible and they have seen funding come in within 2-3 days of each payment due. "The Lord is so good," she contends. We are thankful that Open Hearts for Orphans was able to play a small part in that provision for this family. Please pray that the Hendersons, and other families waiting in limbo, are able to travel quickly to meet the children they've been legally - and lovingly - matched with. The Hendersons hope to be united with Piper this summer.