 |
| “Tiger” |
 |
| Totally need to submit this to Awkward Family Photos |
 |
| Just keepin’ it real. |
 |
| Candy in mouth; tears gone. Mostly. |
 |
| What DID you get yourself into? |
Category: Other Page 44 of 180
Youth Ministry is filled with lots of, um, drama. We loved our students, but there were many nights Gil and I would stay awake fretting over their poor decisions or self-destructive behavior. And that’s not even counting for what we would basically call….immaturity.
Sometimes we wondered if anything we said was making a difference. Our whole hearts were poured into these kids, and yet often I thought they really just showed up for the caramel popcorn.
Like anything worth waiting for, we just had to be patient. Our years of youth ministry are over, but we are just now getting the privilege of seeing the fruit. This summer was great evidence of that. So many of our former students were in Tanzania this summer, many of them visiting their families, but others coming back on their own, pilgrimages to the country where they grew up.
And the cool thing is that they looked us up. We want to see you! They said. Sweeter words are never heard to a youth minister’s heart. They wanted to see us!
They are adults now, all grown up, yet full of that infectious excitement of youth adulthood. Succeeding in school, getting advanced degrees, earning awards. But more importantly, caring about people, passionate for Africa, following Jesus.
There were so many here this summer that we didn’t even get to spend time with them all. If that was you….we still love you! Come see us next time!
 |
| Cecilie and her friend introduced us to the Danish tradition of making a birthday cake to look like the child….and then making the first cut at the neck while everyone screams. Obviously a good way to keep Danish psychiatrists in business. |
 |
| McKenna was an intern with us for six weeks this summer. She wasn’t one of our HOPAC students, but she was one of our flower girls when she was 3, so she falls in the same category! |
We missed out on a lot of years, but Forever Angels volunteers took dozens of pictures. We get to recreate Johnny’s history for him, and as any adoptive family knows, that is priceless.
Dear Johnny,
All week I’ve been waiting for that letter. The social worker told us maybe we would get it last Monday, so when I had to wait all week for it, I was way too impatient. On Friday morning, he told us that “probably” it would be ready that day.
All day long, I pasted my phone to myself. Finally, at 4:00 pm, we got the text. The letter was ready. I jumped in the car to drive to town, even though I knew at that time of the day, it would take me three hours round trip, and even though we had guests coming for dinner. In traffic on the phone, I talked your Dad through making the lasagna and getting it in the oven. I finally got home at 7:00, but it was all totally worth it. We have the letter!
I never dreamed I would be this excited. I had really contented myself on having three children. When Tanzania turned us down the first time, your Dad and I had tried to adopt a son from Ethiopia. When that fell through, and the social worker here wasn’t budging, I had pretty much given up. We had always wanted four kids, but I figured it wasn’t meant to be. I told God that I was thankful He had at least given us three, and I could be content.
So you, my sweet boy, are just icing on the cake! You are such a special gift to us; an undeserved extra blessing.
I am in awe of it all now. When we first asked Tanzania for a fourth child and were turned down, you had not yet come to Forever Angels. It’s crazy to think that all this time, you were the one God had picked out for us. We just had to wait until it all came together.
And speaking of providential timing, it can’t be a coincidence that today would have been Jeremiah Petchnick’sthird birthday. You, John Jeremiah, are named after him, so it’s pretty amazing that you are coming home at the very same time as his birthday.
I know, my son, that this homecoming will not be easy for you. You are leaving the only place you remember, a place full of so much love and so much fun. I won’t be surprised if you cry when we take you away. But what you don’t know is that you would not have been able to stay there forever; in just a year’s time, you would have been transferred to a long-term orphanage. And there would not have been a Mommy to sit with you when you cry yourself to sleep. We know a family is what you need, even if you don’t know what a family is yet. So we are making this choice for you, and we feel the weight of that responsibility.
I look at your pictures and I dream about what you will be like. You are older than our other kids when they came home, old enough that you might even remember this event. We really don’t know anything about you, and as we’ve discovered from our other kids, the “Family” Johnny might end up being completely different from the “Orphanage” Johnny. Crazy how kids find their true selves once they finally belong to a family.
We know you might have a lot of tears. We know there might be a lot of anger inside you that needs to come out. That’s okay, my boy. You have reason to be sad and angry. That’s what we’re here for. It’s okay to be messy in this house.
But you are Coming Home. You have been chosen; our love has been put on you. And it’s a Never-Stopping, Never Giving Up, Unbreaking, Always and Forever Love.** That kind of love can only come from God, who loved us first. We hope one day you’ll know His love too, but for now, He’ll show it to you through us.
Welcome Home, My Son.
Love,
Your Mom
 |
| Photo credit: Hannah Towlson |
**Thanks, Sally Lloyd-Jones!
Yesterday I forgot the Swahili word for twenty.
It’s one of the first Swahili words I learned….14 years ago. I’ve used it thousands of times since then. Adoptive moms definitely get pregnancy brain.
We’re waiting for one. last. letter. One last blasted stinkin’ letter.
Apparently it’s been written, but needs to be signed by another person and then stamped by yet another person….in a different building.
These last few days, I jump every time my phone rings. If you’ve called me recently, and I sound disappointed that it’s only you, I apologize. Don’t take it personally.
I’m at least two weeks overdue. This baby wants to come out. Please, somebody induce me.
 |
| This was two days ago. Thank you, Hannah, for continuing to post pictures of our gorgeous boy. I can’t stop looking, even though it’s torture to see them! |
