Emily and her husband Steve are dear friends of ours. I had the delight of working with Steve in ministry and traveling with him in Congo before he knew Emily. Then, John and I had the privilege of performing their wedding ceremony together! This remarkable young couple inspire me with their faith and authenticity. It’s an honor to walk alongside them on their journey! I asked Emily 5 Questions…because I knew she’d be honest and reflect from a heart seeking God.
1. Over the past year and a half you’ve had an experience that has been deeply painful and disappointing. Can you describe what happened?
In early 2013, my husband and I got the green light to travel to Congo to meet and pick up the little girl and little boy that we were in the process of adopting. We had spent 13 months previously preparing our home and our family for the addition of 2 more little ones, a little girl 18 months old and a boy 2 ½ years old. Although we knew it would be crazy to have 4 little kids in our home, we felt that adoption was always supposed to be a part of our family’s story and felt that it was a desire that God had placed in our hearts.
We had been prepared for the fact that the little boy we were adopting might be a little older than what we had originally been told, perhaps 6-9 months, however, when we met him in Congo he was clearly at least 6 ½ and was a very angry, emotionally fraught child, quite prone to physically aggressive outbursts. Continue reading
