David & Janet H.
China 2009 & 2010
In Jan 2009, God placed the call of adoption on our hearts, again.
We have 2 college kids, and 2 girls from China, ages 5 and 6. We had only $1500 in the bank, but knew God pays for what he orders. We found our son Wes on WACAP kids, his file was about to be returned. We soon discovered he had a $14,000 grant! We could not comprehend why he had not been quickly snatched up by another family, as his needs were minimal. It turned out that he had been on the waiting child list for 1.5 years which is unheard of. We believe it was God keeping him on the list for so long, until we found him. We stepped out on faith for the remainder of funds.
In March, WACAP’s donor had to pull out due to the economy, we were devastated. The grant disappeared, but the agency waived their fees of about $6,000. We were given the option to walk away, but how could we? We had committed ourselves to Wes, and already loved him. As we applied for grants, and did fundraising, the money gradually filtered in, including a grant from A Child Waits Foundation.
In the mean time, we found Waid - by accident. We weren’t crazy enough to be looking for him while in the midst of Wes’s adoption, but he found us. I thought there was no way - being in the adoption process for 2 kids at the same time, with different agencies, not to mention the expenses; but I had to ask. Madison went to bat for Waid, as his file was about to be returned, and, being vision impaired, his future in China was bleak. We soon had pre-approval for #2.
God worked one miracle after another for these boys. Amazingly, when we traveled to China to get Wes in February, we were able to take a day trip to the neighboring province, and meet Waid in person! As awesome as it was, it did raise some concerns; as his vision was worse than we thought. We took close up pictures of his eyes, and brought them back for doctors to see. Many friends said things like; you know no one would blame you if you backed out. While I understand that families have to be honest with themselves in what special needs they can handle, we knew he was our child.
After returning home with Wes, I had to get busy applying for grants for Waid’s adoption, time was short. With a grant from A Child Waits Foundation, donations, and loans, God provided over $14,000 from July 1st until travel, on August 13th. It was very stressful to wait for the last check to get to our agency on Tuesday when I was leaving on Friday, but God met all of our needs, in His time!
So, in 5 months time, God brought both of our boys home. We are so blessed, and love having virtual quadruplets (two are 5 and two are 6). Wes had a quick surgery to repair his hernia, and although his learning is slow for now – as he is still learning English, I do not think he is truly delayed.
Waid has Peter’s Anomaly, a very rare eye condition, involving cataracts, glaucoma, and retinal detachment, as well as having Nystagmus. He is legally blind, and will have Glaucoma surgery soon. His vision cannot be improved, but surgeries can prevent it from getting worse. And incidentally, as only God can orchestrate, we live within an hour to the AL Institute for the Deaf and Blind, which is one of the best in the county. After his surgery, they will evaluate him. If needed, AIDB will teach him to read Braille, and help get any adaptive equipment he will need.
Our adoption journey for these boys was not easy, but God’s will was accomplished. Many others were touched by God’s work, and encouraged to step out on faith for adoption.
The H Family
