Stacie Forsberg,
Jacob's Mom:

First and foremost, we felt it was God's will for our family to adopt Jacob. We also decided that Jacob needed a home more than we needed the "easy" way out. We realized that things may be harder for us for a while, but not near as hard as a lifetime spent in an orphanage would be for Jacob. I can still hear the sweet voice on the other end of the phone telling us he was ours. At the end of August 2010, we left our home to meet our son.

I'm often asked, "If you did it again, which age would you choose?" To this, I can honestly answer, "Older." Jacob so longed for a family, and when we first brought him home, he would repeatedly ask, "Why didn't you come sooner?" Our heart truly goes out to older children that wait for families, and wonder – like Jacob – why it's taking so long......read the rest of the story

Mary Leigh Brown,
Bates' Mom:

I have a passion for waiting children, but I didn't start out feeling that way. I would look at the children the photolisting and think, 'I hope they find their family, but that family isn't mine.' We always said we would adopt children. When that day came sooner than we thought, we knew we wanted to adopt a child as young and healthy as possible...Because we didn't live in one of Holt's branch states, we would have to be in the "waiting child/special needs" part of the Korea program. To me, a "special needs" child meant a child in a wheelchair, who might not be able to do "normal" activities. That was a lot to swallow, especially for first-time parents dreaming of a "perfect" child.

But the Lord, in his faithfulness, put a family in our path to calm our fears. This family told us their story of adopting two children with special needs. Sometimes a momma just needs to hear from another momma. We really just needed to hear someone say, "It's okay to adopt a child with special needs. 'Special needs' just means special needs, not broken or defective or never able. Just SPECIAL." I marvel at the way God opened our hearts and our minds and then led us to our Bates on the photolisting!

Susan Johnson,
Asmerach's mom:

Our daughter is such happy girl. She is beautiful, sweet and so much fun! She is learning English and loves school. We may have missed her first smile, her first steps, and her first word, but we have witnessed so many of her firsts here in America.

Allow me to share, with you, some of our joys: The expression on her face the first time she tasted cold ice cream...priceless! The smile that never left her face the first time she rode on the carousel, her excitement about being in the swimming pool, her obvious confusion when we gave her presents for her birthday and her terrified expression when she thought we may be eating our pet dog after I gave her a corn dog for lunch! Asmerach has showed us how brave and strong she really is. She is always ready to jump right in and try new things. We realize there will probably be some bumps along the way, but we are so thankful that we followed our hearts. We can't imagine Asmerach anywhere else but with us....read the full story

Ellen Singh,
Deelilp's mom:

God gives and takes away. He has given us Deelip, and he is our forever son. The very first moment that he saw me, his eyes got big and sparkly, and he literally leaped out of his chair. He knew who I was and knew that we were taking him home!

Deelip is full of life. He's smart, charming, clever, funny, and fearless. He is all boy and doesn't let his hearing/language/speech delay slow him down much! Deelip had bilateral cochlear implant surgery and began school at the Central Institute for the Deaf. Deelip embraces his new family, new "ears", new school and new life with such zeal and passion. He is a flower just beginning to fully blossom. God called us. We obey. And we are now fully blessed!....read the full story