On September 7, 2012, it finally happened. After five years of waiting, fundraising, praying
anguished prayers, and questioning God’s timing, our baby girl was finally
placed in our arms in Gangnam, South Korea.
Haesook became Hailey Ramsey and found her “forever family”. It is a day that I will never forget. Hailey’s “Gotcha Day”.
In 2007 we sensed God calling us to adopt. Through a series of supernatural events, this
calling was confirmed and we were thrilled to be adding a third child to our
family. We had no idea that God had an
unbelievable journey ahead, filled with twists, turns, miracles, heartache and
indescribable joy. We believed that God
was leading us to adopt in El Salvador and announced the news to the
world. After two years of paper chasing,
fundraising and waiting, I had the incredible opportunity to lead a short-term
outreach trip to El Salvador with our adoption agency. What I discovered on that trip would break my
heart and change my life forever.
In November, 2009, I boarded a plane with three other naïve
and hopeful Americans (who were also hoping to adopt in El Salvador). We were thrilled to be bringing gifts and
encouragement to the orphanage, and expectant to connect with children in need
of forever families. When our dusty van
finally entered the compound, it was impossible to hold back our tears as
children rushed to the van with shouts of glee.
Over the next few days we held and kissed babies, toddlers and teens,
played games, sang songs, and fell in love with the precious children. We were shocked when we learned that adoption
was frowned upon in El Salvador and our agency was not being honest about their
program. But our God had a plan that was
bigger than any of us could have dreamed or imagined.
It just so “happened” that the founder of a small, Christian
adoption agency was in El Salvador helping one of her clients while we were
there. We met this mighty woman of
faith, filled with compassion and mercy, and she welcomed each of us into her
agency with open arms. Two months later,
she offered me the opportunity of a lifetime.
Would I be open to leading short-term orphan outreach teams back to El
Salvador on an ongoing basis? My
answer? Absolutely! I had fallen in love with El Salvador and my
heart was broken by the realization that most of these children would never be
adopted. Although our adoption journey
was now in question, I had left my heart in El Salvador and the opportunities
to serve these beautiful children were endless.
Over the past three years, I have been honored to lead six
teams to El Salvador and two teams to Guatemala. Each trip has been led by His
Spirit and the Lord has worked in powerful ways as we have loved on children,
met with government leaders, assisted the poor and worshipped alongside our
Latin brothers and sisters. I have been overwhelmed over and over again as I’ve
considered the fact that I would not be
leading these teams if God had not led us to adopt in El Salvador.
In 2010, after much counsel, prayer and research, we withdrew
our adoption case from El Salvador, losing $15,000. We applied to a program in Korea and were
immediately accepted. Over the next two
years, God did the impossible as we raised close to $35,000 to cover our
adoption costs. In June of 2012, we received
the phone call we had prayed for and finally saw the face of our Korean
princess. We accepted the referral and
were filled with anticipation as we prepared to travel to Korea to bring our
daughter home.
Proverbs 19:21 says that “Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the LORD that will be established.” When our family opened our hearts to adoption, we had no idea that God was leading us into a lifetime of orphan advocacy. We have been amazed at the privileges the Lord has given us in starting the So Cal Orphan Care Network, birthing a thriving orphan care ministry in our church and leading teams to Central America to serve orphans. We have been honored to be part of The Christian Alliance for Orphans and to participate in The Orphan Summit. God’s ways are truly higher than our ways and His timing is perfect. We finally have our little girl in our arms and there is one less orphan in the world. God has expanded our borders and allowed us to serve His orphans throughout the world. We are overwhelmed by His goodness, his Father-heart for us and the calling He has placed upon our lives.
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