Guess what we got in the mail earlier this week?  Yohannes is featured on the front cover of Show Hope’s 2011 Miracles Book!  I knew they were using the chalk photo I took of him, and it was really fun to see it in print!

They also used our Christmas card picture from last year and featured our adoption story inside.

Show Hope is a wonderful organization, and we were incredibly blessed to receive a grant from them to help with adoption expenses last year.  They assist many, many families and children with adoption aid and orphan care.  We’re grateful for Steven Curtis and Mary Beth Chapman (as well as all the Show Hope team) for the ministry they do and for how God used them to bless our family and help us adopt Yohannes!

                          

Last night Brad and I watched these videos and were reminded of those first few days at the hotel in Addis Ababa, of that sweet accent that’s been completely replaced, of his first language that we haven’t heard in so long.  I kept thinking about how scared he must have been with his world being turned upside down again and how brave he was.  I am really proud of him.  Not because of what he’s learned or anything he’s done – but because he’s been so brave.  He still bears emotional scars that make their subtle appearance almost daily, but he’s been so courageous and I couldn’t be more proud of him.

It’s amazing to see how much he’s grown and changed!  If you want to read more about that day, you can do so HERE.

                          

Also, Yohannes has been a Dunlap for one year today!  On August 4, 2010 Brad and I stood before a judge in Ethiopia where he was legally declared our son.  So I guess you could say that we certainly had reason to celebrate with those sweet dance moves!

                          

We’ve known him a whole year, and what a year it’s been!  If you’d like to read more about that day, click HERE.  Yohannes, you are loved, son.  You are a Dunlap, and you will always be!  You are an amazing little boy, and we’re thankful that God placed you in our family!

{My first picture with Yohannes….August 2, 2010}

                          

I shared that Yohannes has a living birth mother here on the blog before I fully thought through whether that was appropriate for me to share in this way or not.  And it’s true.  There is a beautiful woman in northern Ethiopia that he belonged to first.  I can’t tell you how much I’d love to know more about her story and what led to her decision, but I do know that some of the circumstances in her life have been hard – much harder than I can even begin to imagine.  She made a decision that was heart-wrenching, and I honor and respect her decision.  I’m so thankful that we have pictures of her, and Yohannes remembers her well.  I believe she was a great mom who loved him very much.  I have meticulously taken notes of everything he’s shared in case he forgets those memories one day.  In my heart, I hope he’ll never, ever forget her.

I’ve struggled with his – now our – story because I often wonder if she would have been forced to make such a decision had someone walked beside her and helped her.  I may never know because all we have are bits and pieces of the story.  What I DO know is that this struggle has given me a passion for not only adoption, but family preservation as well.  I came across THIS POST by Shaun Groves a few days ago, and here’s what he said when their case worker asked what he thought about birth parents:

“I’ll always be second best…at best. And that makes me very sad.”

Sad for birth parents who couldn’t afford to feed their child, take them to a doctor, send them to school.

How brave. How sacrificial to let go of your flesh and blood so that she may have life. No greater love.

But how sickeningly sad that any parent faces this choice.

There was some controversy in the comments about that statement – “second best…at best” – but I instantly understood where he was coming from.  When my little boy remembers his mom in Ethiopia and tears well up in his eyes because he misses her, I GET IT.  It makes me so sad for him.  I know he’s happy here, but he now carries a story that includes a lot of loss and pain and confusion.  It’s a lot for such a little boy to have experienced in such a short amount of time.  There have been times when I sat and quietly cried with him as I held him while he grieved.  Those moments are few and far between, but they change you and give you perspective.  In a perfect world his family would have remained intact and had all the things they needed.  Unfortunately this world is broken, and we will strive to be the best “second best” we can be for him.

These thoughts lead me to something else Shaun said in that blog post that I’d ask you to consider:

My family’s adoption adventure has changed my perspective on what it is Compassion and you and I are doing together. This isn’t just “holistic child development.” This is orphan prevention.

Lightening the financial burden a family feels by paying a child’s school fees. Educating a child so that she may be better employed than her parents, so that her own children will not live in extreme poverty. Providing proper nutrition for children so that they do not develop costly medical conditions. How many children have been able to stay with biological parents because of child sponsorship? This is giving children the best we can.

The best for a child is to be raised by a loving mom and dad. In their culture. Their language. Their family.

As someone who believes in adoption AND family preservation if at all possible, I agree with him that sponsoring a child is often truly orphan prevention.  And that’s why I’m excited about advocating for children through Compassion.  I desperately want to be a voice for children in need AND play a role in helping keep families together.  It’s a deep, burning passion that God’s given me that I couldn’t escape if I wanted to.

I’ve shared these two children with you before HERE, and I’m still in need of finding sponsors for them by JULY 29th.
(UPDATE: Georgina now has a sponsor!  Thank you, Buoniconti family!)

If you’ve ever felt led to play a hugely significant role in the life a child in need and haven’t acted on that, I’d like to encourage you to sponsor Juan or Georgina.  Your $38 a month could literally change a life and give hope where hope is hard to find.  Please email me using the contact link above or leave a comment below & I’ll be happy to give you more information.

I’ll leave you with a quote that has impacted me recently from a great book I’ve read:

And as I held her hand and prayed for her, God revealed to me a profound truth – that I was the answer to Octaviana’s prayer.  Eight thousand miles from my home in Seattle, 14,000 feet up in the Andes Mountains, she had cried out to God for help, and He had sent me.  God had sent me to help her.  He had sent me to comfort her in her suffering, and He had sent me to be Christ’s love to her.  She had prayed and I was God’s answer.  I would be God’s miracle in her life. – Richard Stears, The Hole in Our Gospel

                          

Yohannes: “Mom?”

Me: “Hey buddy.”

Yohannes: “I’m kind of scared.”

Me: “Did you have a bad dream?”

Yohannes: “Yes.  I’m kind of scared.”

Me: “Okay, buddy.  I’ll come sleep in your bed.”

And as we snuggled and I rubbed his back, I kept thinking over and over: I’m so glad I can do this.  I’m thankful he has someone to come to when he’s afraid.  What if he was still in an orphanage with no one to go to?  What if he had to fight his fears alone? And I just kept thinking about all the kids across the world who live in that reality everyday.

Today marks 10 months since we brought Yohannes home.  I did this little interview with him yesterday….

We definitely still have “growing pains” around here – even after 10 months.  I don’t want to paint a picture that’s rosier than it should be.  However, I am so thankful for this boy and that God has and is changing our hearts as a result of him being in this family.  I feel like we’re being “refined” more than ever, so it’s not always fun.  BUT it’s good & worth every second.  Happy 10 months, Yohannes!  We love you & we always will!

                          

THEN, at 5:20 PM we got another call – this time from our newly assigned case manager.  I thought she was calling to introduce herself and welcome us to the waitlist.  BUT, she was calling with THE CALL every adopting family longs for – OUR REFERRAL!  We were completely shocked.

As long as I live I’ll never forget sitting in the office at my desk when the phone rang.  We chatted for a minute and then she completely took my breath away when she said she had a little boy that she wanted to talk to Brad and me about.  WHAT?!?!?  Are you kidding me????  I scribbled “referral!!!!” on a scrap piece of paper and showed it to Brad with a crazy, dazed look on my face (thankfully he was working from home that day).  My heart was racing, and my eyes were already welling up with tears.  I think I silently cried during most of that phone call, tears just streaming down my face.  Tears of joy and tears of sadness for a child I hadn’t known but had longed for, felt deeply about, and prayed for time and time again.

She proceeded to tell us the story of a 3.5 year old little boy who needed a home.  He was now considered a “waiting child” because he didn’t fit the age parameters of the people ahead of us on the waitlist.  We had thought that God would give us siblings, but when we heard about this precious little boy named Yohannes, we knew he was meant to be part of our family.

We wrapped up the 45-minute phone call where she shared his history, his medical records, reports on his personality from the special mothers at Hannah’s Hope, etc., and then she sent the email I wanted so badly . . . the one with pictures of our sweet boy!  One year ago today, we saw this precious face on our computer screen and fell in love.

To read more about that call, see THIS POST & THIS POST.  We love you, Yohannes, and we’re so thankful for you!  Mama loves you to the moon and back!

                          

He’s shared more of his story of life in Ethiopia with us recently, and while some of the things are tough to hear, I’m so thankful he feels comfortable sharing.  He is truly a special little boy, and I had no idea how much adopting him would change us, stretch us, and give us perspective.  I had no idea how much passion it would ignite in my heart.  It has been challenging (and still is to some degree most days), but it is worth every minute and every tear.

Here’s a little interview I did with Yohannes yesterday.  He is a MESS! . . .

Happy six months sweet boy!  You are loved so much here and on the other side of the world, too.  We think you’re pretty special!