Jason, Kam, Kennedy, Sydney & Joel
“Jason and I married in 1996 and in 2000, the Lord blessed us with our first daughter, Kennedy. She was the light of our lives and we were completely in love with her! In December of 2002, we were given the best Christmas gift...our second daughter, Sydney, was delivered 6 weeks early due to complications and though she struggled with her breathing a bit, she was beautiful and healthy. We were plugging along, doing great as a family of four and still, I wondered if someday we would have a son. Since I was a little girl, I wanted to adopt and we often teased that our little boy may be out there somewhere...that we could go ‘snatch him up and bring him home!’ But it never went farther than passing conversations and wishful thinking as the finances were never there to consider it seriously. But God had planted something in our hearts. And while it was a slow progression, it was still there.”
After hearing several sermons that kept pointing them to adoption, Kam goes on to say,
“I finally surrendered one afternoon, ‘Okay Lord! I hear You!’ I talked to Jase and asked him if we could pray seriously for one year about adopting a son. He was very open to the idea and we began to pray...
We knew that God was leading us to a little boy with special needs. Our girls were perfectly healthy and we felt that while we had limits {we're not heros}, there were countless mild to moderate needs that we could handle. In June of 2008, we selected our adoption agency. We also sent away for our HUGE packet to begin our home study and by the last week of June, had actually settled on a little boy that we were really interested in. He was 18 months old and lived in an orphanage in Bangkok, Thailand. He was beautiful and had the darkest hair you've ever seen to go along with the deepest brown eyes. I was in love already. His special needs were premature birth {we've dealt with this before}, with lung issues due to his prematurity {hello! that was us too!} as well as resolved gastrointestinal issues {corrected perforated bowel}. We felt God's leading to move forward and began the long road to Thailand for our son, Joel.
We were in the thick of paperchasing and beginning our homestudy when we learned of Adoption Discovery during the summer of '08. Oh how I wish we had known of these wonderful people sooner! It would have went a long way to not only educate us about the process, but would have alleviated so many of our concerns and questions. But God was in the details and we got on board with AD to become leaders. Even during the training, Jase and I would look at each other and laugh about how we could have benefited from the concise and clear information they were sharing. Not to mention, we have come to know the wonderful team at AD and so appreciate their ministry to families.
Our process had bumps along the way but looking back, was such a blessing. The Lord brought our son home just 16 months after we began our adoption. While it felt like an eternity, compared to so many others, it was short lived. We traveled to Thailand in late September of 2009. It was like a dream. Joel came in the room and went straight to his daddy. It was one of the most precious moments of my life. I just don't know if I'll ever get over it. I remember every detail of that moment...the look in his eyes, the scent of his beautiful hair and how my heart raced as he walked in the room to us. Our son, who had been loved by us for so long, was finally in the same room. Breathing the same air. It was overwhelming.
It's now been 10 months since that wonderful day. We finalized our adoption in May of this year. Joel is amazing. He is so affectionate and funny, happy and healthy. It's like he has always been here and recently, like he has finally exhaled. Taken a deep breath and relaxed. He's home...and he knows it. We still pinch ourselves that this little boy is ours. That he is our son. That, like God, who adopted us into His family and set His love upon us before we ever knew Him, Joel has been grafted into our family beautifully. It's a clear picture of the Scriptures and we are blessed that we have witnessed it firsthand.”
"God sets the lonely in families..."
Psalm 68:6
Rick, Carey & Cara Faith
“After a 9 month pregnancy, we were just 2 days from our first daughters expected due date. We had a doctor’s appointment that day and were expecting to be sent to the hospital to induce labor. Instead, the doctor said: “I am sorry, there is no heartbeat.” In that moment we had to face the reality that our first daughter would be a full-term still-born. The doctors had no explanation, an autopsy revealed no cause of death…family and friends were shocked.
We were devastated, our hopes and dreams were crushed. A numbness took over. Could God really let this happen? Why God? Why us?
The next few years were filled with doctors’ appointments, then a miscarriage, more meetings with specialists, multiple fertility treatments, and even an attempt with alternative medicine. In every case doctors told us “you are in good health, this should work!” And then, with each subsequent meeting the same message “we are sorry – don’t give up.” Our funds exhausted, and our spirits on empty… we prayed and cried regu
After many friends and family members told them of their individual adoption stories, the couple felt led to adoption.
“If this is our path…we will walk it…but we are scared to death. Where do we begin? Can we afford this? Will we be able to bond with an adopted child? We talked to the director of the Bartow County Women’s Resource Center and she invited us to join a class taught at the center …Adoption Discovery. In 8 weeks we learned about domestic and international adoptions, the financial options with adoption, and the legal process. We met another couple, we shared experiences and fears. We created a profile…and waited. Within just a few weeks we experienced a failed adoption….and thought “here we go again.”
Then our prayers changed…rather than ask why, or tell God what we needed, our prayer simply became “Do something great God…and just let us be a part of it.” Soon after were called to tell us our profile was selected by a birthmother. We never talked to her…we never met. The truth is we expected another let down. The Center’s director reminded us – “she has chosen life…and chosen you. It will be ok.” There were months of waiting…months of silence. Convinced this too would fail, we started planning our “get-out-of-town” vacation. That’s when we got the call…1:30am March 7th…“wake up - are you ready – get to the hospital.” At 5:15am we walked into the labor and delivery room, and for the first time we laid eyes on the birthmother. She looked at us, smiled, and said “thank you, you are a blessing - here is your daughter.”
Five years ago, God took Lauren Elizabeth before her first breath. We experienced 9 months of pregnancy, a delivery and were left with empty arms. All of the furniture, clothes, and diapers sat in our nursery. We held Cara Faith for the first time just 3 hours after her birth, and even gave her first feeding to her. God completed his work…sure, there was a gap…1682 long days… but you can trust that God does not leave loose ends untied. He will complete his work.
We thank the Bartow County Women’s Resource Center, their staff, and the Adoption Discovery support resources for helping change our community, our state, our country, and the world one little heartbeat at a time…”
Rick & Carey
Joel, Carrie Ann, & Josiah James
Doug, Susan, Michael, Betsy, and Kari
Gene, Robin, Vivian, Brandon, and the newest member Savannah.
Adoption is a passion for this family. Therefore, you will not be surprised to find out that they finalized another adoption January 5, 2009. Please allow us to introduce you to Savannah Lynn (15 years old) the newest member of the Family!
"We could not be more proud of her or more blessed to have her in our lives. This addition however was a little different. Different in that through this adoption God really did some amazing work in me.
