I remember when my wife first came to me with the idea of adoption. I wasn’t open to it at all. Several years had went by in our marriage without being able to have children. After an operation, and a few years of fertility medicine the doctors finally told us that my wife was probably never going to have children. It was a devastating time in our lives. I remember the pain that my wife especially felt from it. Friends all around us our age seemed to be having children, yet it wasn’t in the cards for us. Amy had mentioned it a few times before that maybe we should consider adoption. I really wasn’t open to it at the time. I was honestly afraid that I couldn’t love a child the same way that was really “not my own.” However, it started to seem clear that if we wanted to have a family, we had better consider the adoption option.
As Amy and I began to pray about which country might be right for us, we decided on Siberia. After my wife completed the mountain of paper work and background checks we quickly got a travel date. Man, were we excited! I had asked God to help me love this adopted child as much as one that came from Amy and I biologically. I sensed that God was changing me before I ever got to Siberia. My heart was ready to meet this new baby.
When we landed in Siberia it was so cold that our plane froze to the tarmac while waiting for a gate at the airport. It was -25 outside. You don’t forget what that kind of weather feels like in your body! After arriving at the hotel, we anxiously waited for the next morning to arrive. We sat up eating nutty bars out of our suitcase and staring out the window most of the night at the frozen landscape. Within a couple of days, we were able to meet the little boy that would change our lives and help us start our family. We named him Noah. The Hebrew name Noah means “comfort” or “rest.” He brought rest to our hearts from the battle of infertility. This picture is the first time that we met Noah.

Amy and I were both in love with him instantly. One of the hardest things that Amy and I have ever done was leave Noah in the orphanage and fly back to America while the paper work processed. After a month, we were able to go back and get him and finally bring him to his forever home with us. By God’s grace, Noah experienced his second birth (being born-again) when he was in 4th grade just a few years ago. The bible speaks of our adoption as Christians. Ephesians 1:4-5 says, “just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will.” I have heard many people claim that every person is a child of God. That simply isn’t true. John 1:12 says, “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name.” When you believe the gospel, that is the moment of your adoption into the family of God. Noah is now 15 years old. He is such a blessing to our family. Noah is very kind, gentle and caring towards others. He is hard-working and respectful to adults. He wants to please those in authority. I am so grateful to God that He used infertility to bring Noah into our lives.

Interestingly enough, just a couple of years later while Amy and I were in the middle of our second adoption she came to me and said that she thought she was pregnant. I told her that she was crazy and just nervous about the adoption we were working on. A few days later she looked and me and said, “we’re pregnant!” Wow! Incredible news. We were so excited! Unfortunately, because of my income at the time we no longer qualified for the adoption process. However, our experience with Noah’s adoption totally changed our hearts and we decided that if God ever gave us the chance to adopt again, we would do it! Three pregnancies/ three girls later, we got the chance. Ethiopia at the time was claiming to have 5 million orphan children who needed forever homes. We decided that this was going to be the place. In Ethiopia, we met a beautiful baby boy just five months old named Nathnael. “Nati” for short. Here is a picture of Nati from not too long ago.

Nati is now 6 years old. He is athletic, sweet, loving and totally spontaneous. He is all after-burner and no rudder! I look forward to seeing him develop into a godly young man. I am praying that in due time, God will bring Nati to faith in the gospel just like he did Noah. I want to encourage those dealing with infertility issues to consider adoption. It has been a tremendous blessing in our lives. Remember, that when you became a Christian, God adopted you into His family, the church. Adoption is a beautiful picture of the gospel. God used infertility to get our attention about the blessing of adoption. Pray about it Christian. Maybe adoption is for you as well….
Me and my two boys, the bookends to our family….