Those of you who have been following my classroom blog may remember, back in April, when my involvement with orphans in Ghana began.
As a way to support the family of one of my students who was in the process of adopting two boys from Ghana, I worked hand-in-hand with 26 of my first graders (and most of our school community!) to raise over $1,100 in just a few short weeks. By tweaking our curriculum to incorporate lots of service-based learning, we studied all aspects of life in Ghana while fundraising and ended up with enough money to buy new shoes for all 72 of the children in the boys' orphanage.
Fast forward to June of 2012: school is out, Tim and I have just started volunteering with Safe Families for Children, and are beginning to seriously consider the possibility of adopting a child. As we started requesting information from a variety of domestic and international agencies, we realized that we didn't feel a pull toward any particular country or child yet. We began to pray that if God wanted us to adopt, he would direct us to the country, the situation, or the child that would be right for our family.
Meanwhile, the litle girl from my class (Ellie) was staying with her grandparents while her mom, dad, and siblings finally got to travel to Ghana to pick up her newly adopted brothers. Knowing that she must be feeling lonely and anxious (and needing my first-grader fix!), I picked Ellie up and took her out to lunch one day while her family was in Africa. On a Thursday afternoon in June, that 7 year old girl spoke directly to my heart about the power of adoption right there in Panera Bread.
As a way to support the family of one of my students who was in the process of adopting two boys from Ghana, I worked hand-in-hand with 26 of my first graders (and most of our school community!) to raise over $1,100 in just a few short weeks. By tweaking our curriculum to incorporate lots of service-based learning, we studied all aspects of life in Ghana while fundraising and ended up with enough money to buy new shoes for all 72 of the children in the boys' orphanage.
Fast forward to June of 2012: school is out, Tim and I have just started volunteering with Safe Families for Children, and are beginning to seriously consider the possibility of adopting a child. As we started requesting information from a variety of domestic and international agencies, we realized that we didn't feel a pull toward any particular country or child yet. We began to pray that if God wanted us to adopt, he would direct us to the country, the situation, or the child that would be right for our family.
Meanwhile, the litle girl from my class (Ellie) was staying with her grandparents while her mom, dad, and siblings finally got to travel to Ghana to pick up her newly adopted brothers. Knowing that she must be feeling lonely and anxious (and needing my first-grader fix!), I picked Ellie up and took her out to lunch one day while her family was in Africa. On a Thursday afternoon in June, that 7 year old girl spoke directly to my heart about the power of adoption right there in Panera Bread.
With so much pride and excitement in her voice, Ellie spoke eloquently about how much she loved her new brothers already; and she spent a good portion of our time together just listing all of the things that she wanted to do with them once they got home. She had never met these boys who would soon be traveling from the other side of the world to join her family, and yet, she knew that she loved them. Ellie is part of a family that prays, loves, and serves with boldness and with confidence, and during lunch that day, her story started to change mine.
A few weeks later, after her family had returned home from Ghana with their boys, I contacted Ellie's mom (Tammi) and asked her if she could get together to chat. I was hoping to pick her brain a bit about adoption in general, and to thank her for the impact her little girl had already had on my life.
I had known Tammi as the mother of one of my students for the past 9 months, but there (in Panera Bread, again!), we connected on a soul level. Tammi spoke from her heart about her experiences with adopting from Ghana (and delivering all of the donated shoes!), and she had my full attention from the moment she began sharing with me. As Tammi walked me through the details of her time spent at the boys' orphanage, she also added in the miraculous and heart-wrenching story of a little baby boy who was recently orphaned and abandoned there.
Tammi's arms filled up with goosebumps as she shared stories of this precious baby who didn't deserve to be without a family and didn't belong in an orphanage filled with older children. She spoke gently of Mary, the huge-hearted orphanage director who graciously and lovingly took in this baby boy and treated him like one of her own, and then it clicked. My goosebumps began. As she continued talking, somewhere in my soul, I knew that Tammi's story -- this baby's story -- was also beginning to change mine.
I don't think that either Tammi nor I realized the magnitude of our conversation at that moment, and maybe we still don't today. But three short hours, 2 iced mochas, and many open-handed prayers later, I knew that "my pull" to a specific country, situation, and child had come.
To be continued...
A few weeks later, after her family had returned home from Ghana with their boys, I contacted Ellie's mom (Tammi) and asked her if she could get together to chat. I was hoping to pick her brain a bit about adoption in general, and to thank her for the impact her little girl had already had on my life.
I had known Tammi as the mother of one of my students for the past 9 months, but there (in Panera Bread, again!), we connected on a soul level. Tammi spoke from her heart about her experiences with adopting from Ghana (and delivering all of the donated shoes!), and she had my full attention from the moment she began sharing with me. As Tammi walked me through the details of her time spent at the boys' orphanage, she also added in the miraculous and heart-wrenching story of a little baby boy who was recently orphaned and abandoned there.
Tammi's arms filled up with goosebumps as she shared stories of this precious baby who didn't deserve to be without a family and didn't belong in an orphanage filled with older children. She spoke gently of Mary, the huge-hearted orphanage director who graciously and lovingly took in this baby boy and treated him like one of her own, and then it clicked. My goosebumps began. As she continued talking, somewhere in my soul, I knew that Tammi's story -- this baby's story -- was also beginning to change mine.
I don't think that either Tammi nor I realized the magnitude of our conversation at that moment, and maybe we still don't today. But three short hours, 2 iced mochas, and many open-handed prayers later, I knew that "my pull" to a specific country, situation, and child had come.
To be continued...