Exactly three years ago, His Hands cared for their first unwed mother, Julie.  Many of you may remember that this expectant mother also came to us with a toddler (he was His Hands first baby, so we named him Adam).  At this mother's first OB appointment, we offered to take her toddler for a check-up because he had a cold.  As the doctor lifted this boy up to check him out, his pant legs were raised and they revealed a bite mark on his leg.  Trena brought this bite mark to the attention of the doctor.  Julie quickly explained that the boy's father had gotten excited and bit him.  Upon further examination, it was obvious that this bite was not the only evidence of abuse that this precious one had suffered.

With the hopes of keeping this boy away from the abuse of his father, His Hands offered to care for him for a few days to give his very pregnant mom a break.  Much to our surprise, she accepted our offer to care for her son.  The Muir family cared for Adam while the Campbell family cared for the newborn who was going to be adopted to an American couple.  Adam was in our care on and off for about ninth months.  As Adam approached his second birthday, His Hands brought his situation to the attention of the Taiwanese social system.  At first, the social system was not willing to do anything to help keep this boy safe.  After much debate and argument, the social worker finally agreed to exercise caution if and when they let the birth parents care for him again.  We said good-bye to Adam and left him in the hands of the social welfare system.  We never expected to see Adam again but we were confident that God would take care of him.

I received an interesting phone call last September, almost two years after we let Adam go.  Adam's mom called and she asked if we would consider adopting Adam.  The phone call was short, so I did not know if she was serious or not.  A couple of days later, we got a call from Adam's mom's social worker asking if I could come to the office and meet with her.  At this meeting it was made clear that Julie wanted us to adopt Adam.   According to Julie, if we turned down the adoption Adam would go to a local orphanage.

I want to say we were overjoyed immediately but that was not our first response.  Our first response was to feel overwhelmed and scared.  Overwhelmed because we had become comfortable with our lifestyle and adding another child would mean some pretty big changes.  Scared because we were unsure of whether we could adequately care for Adam's emotional and special needs.  When we asked our four children for their input, they had a lot fewer hesitations.  In fact, Kenzie said, "You just need to do the right thing and not worry about the rest."  

"Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine..."Ephesians 3:20

 When we let Adam go, I loved him just as I love my other four children. The decision to turn him into social services was made because we felt it was the only way to keep him safe from his family's abuse and not because I wanted him to go.  It was with great mourning that I said good-bye, and it was not an easy process to let go and know that his future was in God's hands.  I have never stopped praying for him and it was not until recently that I could look at his pictures and 'smile because we had him  for a time' rather than cry because I missed him.

My heart is leaping with JOY at the chance to be reunited with Adam.  Two years ago I wanted nothing more than to be his mommy.  Today, I picked up the final decree and this precious boy is now our son!  I pray I can be the mommy that he needs me to be.