In 2004, we met 16-year-old Stacey, a quiet girl who grew up in inner city Dallas. Good friends of ours worked at the downtown mission where she came for a free meal and Christian discipleship. Her parents had been in and out of prison and her apparently bipolar grandmother raised her. Not a stable family upbringing.
When Stacy became pregnant, her grandmother informed her that she would have to find a new place to live after the baby was born. When beautiful Mariah was two weeks old, she and Stacey moved in with us. She quickly became a part of the family. Kyle and I treated her like a daughter, Elena and Chloe loved her like a big sister.

Nine months later, Stacey chose to leave. We were heartbroken. But Stacey really made us realize the possibility of adoption. Kyle and I have talked about adopting since courtship, but the idea of spending upwards of $20,000 to do so has always been a roadblock.

One year after Stacey and Mariah moved out, Kyle and I started planning for Baby #4. At the same time, we read an article in “Above Rubies” magazine about Liberia and the many children who were orphaned as a result of the 14-year civil war. A family who went to Liberia as missionaries and ministered at several of the orphanages wrote the article. They were shocked by the substandard conditions - no running water, no electricity, and children who wanted nothing more than a loving family to care for them. My heart was really pricked.

I asked Kyle to read the article. When Kyle put the magazine down, his first words were: "Do you think we should adopt a boy or a girl?" I was stunned. This was completely out of character for Kyle. I figured it had to be the Lord.
We decided to pursue adoption as a step of faith. We read all the scripture about caring for orphans and prayed that God would provide.

Our plan was to adopt a boy (since we apparently can't produce one!) For some reason, I kept jokingly referring to the "kids we adopt". Soon, we had both opened our hearts to 2 boys. When we heard about a sibling group of 3 that needed a home (two boys and a girl), my heart skipped a beat. I felt like I couldn't breathe. For some reason those three really got my attention. Kyle was sure I was nuts, and after much discussion (a week's worth, to be exact), I agreed with him. Who in their right mind would adopt three children at once???

But then we started searching the scripture. We waited a week, before it occurred to us to pray about it!

We kept coming upon scriptures about walking by faith, God's providence, trusting God, and of course, the verses about caring for orphans and widows. We decided that this was God's will for us and nervously pushed forward. As the adoption wait progressed, we fell in love with these three children an ocean away. We also learned how to truly walk by faith and trust God to provide for what He has called us to do.
Through various adoption ministries, we received over $25,000 in grants and donations. God did indeed provide for the orphans He loves. He is "a father to the fatherless. . .God sets the lonely in families." (Psalm 68:5-6)

On April 4, 2006 we became the very blessed parents of 8-year-old Maya, six-year-old Isaac, and 3-year-old Daniel, from Liberia, West Africa.
God is good. . .all the time!