147 million orphans minus one. “He places the lonely in families.”
Today we welcomed Isaiah into our lives, our hearts and our family. We met him just a week ago at a babies’ home in Jinja, where the kids and I go each week. Because of his story, there are no leads on family or relatives at all, so the process to begin fostering him was efficient and we had favor literally poured out on us in ONE DAY…that is unheard of anywhere, but especially in Africa!!
Since Riah’s adoption nearly 6 years ago, Dave and I have prayed and hoped that God would again grace us with the privilege of being the family for one that is without. We have prayed and waited. I have no way to explain this story other than the sovereignty and love of our Good Father in Heaven—who sees and does not forget any of His own.
We walked into the babies’ home Monday, and Caleb announced, “Mama, there’s a new little boy…” Both OUR boys turned and smiled HUGE at me from across the room. My spirit literally woke and jumped inside my chest. I have never had that feeling before—it was like I knew him. I honestly felt in that moment he was part of our family. The Lord spoke and asked for obedience—reckless and immediate. So I gently probed about him. No one knew anything. No family. No names. No leads. So, he needed a family. And I know we needed him.
Immediately, the Holy Spirit brought Isaiah 49 to my heart and I felt like weeping..”How can a mother forget her child, BUT I WILL NOT FORGET YOU’, declares the LORD.” He assured me that there would be no way for me to understand how this precious little one was left alone, but that God did NOT FORGET. When we had our family meeting to pray that night for God’s guidance, Ella saw all the pictures of him and said, “His name is Isaiah.” We all knew.
The Holy Spirit confirmed this to Dave, and my kids had already been praying for a baby (really since Selah was born!!) This was also confirmation to us that our childrens’ hearts are open and so ready to embrace another child that needs a family.
We were called in to meet the Official on Monday morning at 10:30. He asked us lots of questions in an attempt to test us, but really he couldn’t help but grin at our crazy crew squeezed onto 3 chairs in his little office. He asked the same question the babies’ home asked us in South Korea… “Why do you want more children?? You have too many already.” Beautifully, Dave shared that we believe every child needs a family and God has given us the capacity to welcome them in. After our short meeting, Dave asked what the next steps in the process were and he said, “Get me these forms today and you get that baby home. I can see your children are happy.” Praise GOD!! We have heard that this step in the process doesn’t always go this smoothly or quickly and many wait for many months for the paperwork we received in one day. God poured favor on us (and Selah even pulled through and shook his hand at the end!!) We sat shocked and overjoyed. And shocked. And grateful.
Then suddenly, it was like we were pregnant and giving birth the same day (with a LOT of paperwork in the middle!!) Dave and I tag-teamed; he ran all over creation finding people for signatures and stamps…and I re-organized the house, prepared a little bed and prayed over it all. The tribe were running all over, moving furniture, giggling, asking a million questions and being my incredible ‘helpers’! By 6:00 Monday evening, miraculously, the paperwork was complete and we drove to pick Isaiah up. He smiled and acted as though we were of course, supposed to be his family. Truly. This is a miracle. We all loved each other, pretty much instantly. He is a JOY baby and a gift to our hearts and lives.
Isaiah is a precious little boy, probably between 8 and 9 months old. He is a bit malnourished and was found a couple weeks ago fairly ill with malaria and diarrhea, so he was treated for a few days in a local hospital and then cared for in an incredible babies home here (Amani Baby Cottage) for the past 2 weeks. Isaiah has a special spirit of JOY, and gladness…He is so incredibly healthy emotionally, we thank God that someone loved him so well. He has entered our home in PEACE. The kids are delighted…I am overwhelmed with love and grief (for his story), and joy and awe. Dave loves having another little guy around and Isaiah is quickly learning to jump on daddy and will be tackling soon I’m sure. Isaiah means “YAHWEH is our salvation” and we see this deeply in our little guy. God’s love over his life protected him, and we are thankful to now be a part of the story God is writing. We sense a powerful purpose for this little warrior’s life and we are honored to watch Jesus grow and shape his life and heart.
Thank you for praying for us as we embrace this new little boy. We are so in awe of our Father’s love.
Because of HIM, The Ayer Tribe (crazy, but for His Glory!!)
Details of ‘fostering’ here…because I know many of you are wondering 🙂 The laws in Uganda just changed a month ago. The Ugandan people are very committed to re-settling children back into their families, and they work very hard to accomplish this (which we really love and believe in). However, if a child is left abandoned…there is little that they are able to do. These are the cases that can go more quickly into a foster care home, because it is good for the child. There are some ways that the government is searching for a lead on Isaiah, but usually there aren’t many answers to be found. So we are praying and trusting in this. Here, you must ‘foster’ a child in your family and home for a year (changed from 3 years), before you can apply for the adoption process. So, we were able to complete all of our requirements to foster him legally as of Monday, June 20th.