This was written by my mother and sent to me a few days ago.
"Early in November 2008, the Smith family traveled to BFCN on a Sunday morning, little knowing the trip would end up taking them to the other side of the world… that part of the trip begins on Wednesday, September 15, 2010.
Fifty Children for Fifty Churches – how many, if any, thought
that our church would pray for the first child - Adam – and
he would actually become a part of the BFCN family??
As Abigail sat in the worship service that morning, she listened and looked at the five children we were asked to pray for. Adam was highlighted on this first Sunday and the Father of All lit a fire in Abby’s heart for the little boy who looked “so sad” and needed to be adopted by her family. After church, Abby came to me, her grandmother, and said, “We need to adopt Adam” as she pointed to his picture in the bulletin insert. Grandma became the first naysayer: “Maybe you can ‘adopt’ a Compassion Child.” But Abby, thankfully, already had a specific “compassion child” in her heart and she persisted in her loving pursuit of bringing Adam into the family.
At Abby’s determined requests, her parents began to pray and her younger sister and brother began to pray, as well. Her parents felt led by the Lord to call the adoption agency that very same week. And the process began. Abby’s grandparents began to pray; others joined in the chorus. Undoubtedly all weren’t singing the same tune or requesting the same direction from the Father but He, nonetheless, was working and orchestrating the song.
God had actually begun working on this grandma’s heart several weeks earlier. The Christian radio station I listen to each morning began their several day Compassion International drive for sponsors of needy children. I resisted, even purposefully didn’t turn on the radio for several days, so that I wouldn’t hear the “song.” When I went to the next Beth Moore Bible study (which was so very good, by the way), even Beth Moore took time to talk about the importance of helping those in need, especially the children. I actually remember saying in my mind, “Enough already!” As the Lord continued His work, a friend told me of her friend’s loss of his mother at an early age when he (Angel) then became an orphan. His plight prompted compassion and another needy Angel (from Nicaragua) became our own compassion child. Grudgingly at the start, but now a joy to our heart! God is good!
After Adam became an “issue,” the Lord continued His work in my heart. On Wednesday evenings as I would drive home after watching Brian while his sisters and parents were at Awana, I listened to Dennis Rainey’s Family Life Today radio program. November must have been “National Adoption Month” because every program for several weeks shared very stirring, thought provoking, heart-plucking stories about adoption. I KNEW God was working and I wasn’t too happy about it at the time – but I still listened! “OK, I’m ‘getting it’” was often swirling around in my mind and I was finally able to lay my concerns at His feet and “get on board” the adoption train.
It wasn’t too much longer until we had “adopted” Adam in our hearts and he became our grandchild. We were anxious for the process to “get a move on it” but we knew God had a plan. Well, God continued the stretching process and, once again, His plan was different than what we had in mind. When Beth called me one day in December (2009) to tell me they were thinking about adopting a girl from China, the first words that came to my mind (but thankfully not out of my mouth) were, “What are you thinking about???” What I said, however, was, “We’ll be praying for you.” And pray we did. Thankfully, this time around we were a bit more in tune with the Director!
Beth and I had a discussion about the process/decisions and she had some really good insights and observations. She thinks that God may have elongated the process of adopting Adam so they would have the opportunity to see Megan in group pictures taken by other adoptive families. Both Mark and Beth felt drawn to Megan and were in agreement after praying about it. Beth believed that if it wasn’t God’s plan for them to adopt Megan, He could very well stop the process with a “no” anywhere along the significant checks and balances process. Months after starting the process to adopt Megan, they found out that Megan was a very good friend of Adam’s. They also found out that Adam had been nervous about being adopted, but when he found out Megan was being adopted by the same family, he was encouraged.
Mark and Beth reached out in faith and only God knows the eternal extent of that reach. I am blessed, humbled and encouraged by their open hearts and willingness. They have taken large steps in this journey and faced many hurdles…I believe their God is big enough to see them through the trip to the glorious end/beginning. And hopefully our newest grandchildren – Adam and Megan -- will be with us in our forever and ever Home as children of the best Father, the King of Kings!!"
