Well, I felt I needed to reach out to Crystal Kupper, the author who had adopted an "other angel" from Reece's Rainbow, and let her know. She deserved to know what an impact her words made and that, because she chose to share her story, there will be one less orphan in the world. How many times have you read something that impacted you enough to completely and literally change your life? How many times do you actually get to tell the author about that impact? God wanted us to tell Crystal.
So, one morning, I wrote her an email.
Hi Crystal,I just wanted to let you know that my husband and I read your article in the November edition of FOTF's Citizen magazine and we were touched and inspired by your story. For the past 2 years, we have felt a nudge in the direction of adoption, but as you know, it's a scary leap to make. After we read your article, we couldn't get the kids from Reece's Rainbow out of our heads. We donated to about 20 different kids, but that didn't seem like enough. God is calling us to do more. We have begun to pursue the adoption of a little girl. I just wanted to thank you for fueling that fire that God had already put in our hearts. Thank for you raising awareness of Reece's Rainbow and know that your story is being used by God in mighty ways!
Less than 4 hours later, she responded. She wrote: "I have the biggest smile on my face! For the past week, I have been praying for you by name, that if it was God's will, that you and Justin would have the faith to take the leap and adopt."
Um....
Praying for us by name!?
How did she know Justin's name!?
Once my heart started beating again, I continued reading. It turns out that the director of Reece's Rainbow shared our letter with Crystal and she had been praying for us ever since.
But God wasn't finished yet...that day, we continued emailing back and forth. In His timing. In His plan. It turns out that the Kupper family lives about 25 minutes from us. The very next weekend, our families met for dinner and instant friendship blossomed.
 |
| The Kuppers and The Etters, Easter 2017 |
We got to meet (and instantly fell in love with) little Guyana, the spitfire chatterbox star of the article that started it all. Vivien instantly bonded with Guyana and their 3 bio children, Jack, Jude, and precious Avinly.
 |
| Guyana on an Easter egg hunt at our house! |
Now the Kuppers are not only among our best friends, but they are also our mentor family and our Adoption Warriors! Crystal took and edited the photos for our recent Facebook Adoption Announcement, and I know she's working on some fundraisers for us to help cover some of the astronomical adoption expenses that we're going to face. We could not be more grateful and thankful for all that they've done and all that they're going to do for us, for little Jenny, and to spread the awareness of orphans in need.
With God, nothing is coincidental. We believe that He works everything for good to those who love Him. And HIS timing is everything. Being a military family, I know the Kuppers are only here temporarily, but they are here at the exact right moment to be our mentor family through, not only the adoption process, but the first few fragile years that Jenny will be home with us.
I don't know what the next few years hold for our two families, but I can imagine that there will be plenty of baseball games, bar-b-ques, and trips to the beach. And I know with even greater certainty that there will be many difficult conversations over cups of coffee, tear-drenched hugs, and questioning God's sovereignty as we travel this road of adoption together.
No comments:
Post a Comment