Book Introduction

God sets desires deep inside us early in life to guide us in the direction of His will. Even as a young preteen, I hoped to one day mother someone else’s child. A calling to adopt gripped my heart, along with a desire to become bilingual and to work on a mission field.

Since I grew up a pastor’s daughter, my church pretty much raised me. I found myself at church every time the doors opened. We arrived first and left last, not missing a single service, prayer meeting, choir practice or youth activity. Obviously, the Scriptures imbedded themselves in my heart at a young age, but I still vividly remember the missionary stories read to us during the children’s church hour. They fascinated me, captivated me. I held on to every little detail. Someday, I hoped I might have my own missionary story to write.

Though my dad’s pastor salary left no room for traveling adventures outside the U.S., I somehow developed a love for and fascination with other cultures, places and ways of living. The American Dream bored me. To me, it represented an empty life, void of real meaning or adventure.

I took Spanish classes through middle and high school and fell in love with the language. I used it often with any of my Spanish-speaking contacts. My yearning to speak Spanish fluently led me to Buenos Aires, Argentina to study abroad the first semester of my junior year. I lived with an amazing Christian family, attended a wonderful church and studied Spanish in a university amongst a group of international students from all around the world. The experience changed me forever.

Six months after coming home from Argentina, my fiancé, Mike, and I spent a summer in Mexico living and working with missionary friends. Mike performed maintenance duties for a Bible camp while I helped out with campers and also taught English classes for local people in the community. God used that unforgettable experience to show me how He fulfills the desires of our heart when we allow Him to set those desires within us.

In 1999, I graduated from Grace College in Winona Lake, Indiana with a degree in Christian Ministries and a minor in Spanish. I dreamed of one day teaching English overseas, preferably in a Spanish-speaking country. A few months later, I married my high school sweetheart, who shared similar desires for the mission field. It didn’t take me long to plan out our life together.

Oh, I had so much to learn. Mountain top experiences awaited us as a new couple pursuing our dreams, as well as deep valleys that left us clinging to God for our very existence. While following our calling to adopt, we fell in love with two precious orphans. The journey to adopt these sweet children took us into a deep valley we never expected and one we never wanted to travel. This story describes our survival through that valley, one covered with a beauty more breath-taking than we ever imagined.

“No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him.” 1 Corinthians 2:9