Teri's first blog

I am officially making my first entry. Ryan has done an amazing job capturing our journey so far, so I thought it would be a great time for me to share my thoughts as well.

I do not even know where to begin. It has been an incredible 2 ½ years from our wedding night thru today. I am astounded every day to see what God has revealed and how much we have grown. My heart is so full of love for my sweet husband. This has been such a wonderful process of growth for both of us…as individuals and a couple.

Ryan has captured where we are in our journey to find our sweet children, so I want to share how our hearts have opened for all orphans around the globe. It is so interesting to look back and see how every step led to the next one and each step led to where we are today.

When we first began the process I was a little confused by all of the classes, tests, and paperwork we had to complete in order to be approved in this process. It felt so time consuming and over the top.

But now we know why it was necessary…

You see…adopting a child from an institution (orphanage) is so very different than anything you could ever imagine. I grew up in a church and have been surrounded by people in missions and charitable roles my entire life, but I have never heard the truth about orphans. We have learned the truth and it has changed our lives.

Because of that we are so grateful that our journey led us to this place.

It is going to be my life’s mission to make an impact in this country through education and speaking to move people into action so we can change lives. Our foster care system in this country is very poor. In addition, there are so many millions of orphans around this world that are waiting for homes.

There is so much we can do…

We can pray.

We can give.

We can serve.

We can adopt.

We can foster.

We can educate.

Our goal is to move people into action and have everyone pick 1 thing they can do to make a change.

When Ryan and I think about the children longing for homes, it hurts our hearts. Ryan and I have been fortunate to learn specifics and we think most people just like us…would be blown away.

Did you know most babies in orphanages drink from bottles where the nipples have been cut off so their formula flows faster? And the average orphanage in Ethiopia has 400 children? And our prison system and homeless population in this country is full of children, men and women that were raised in foster care?

We recently read one story about a baby that was adopted from an orphanage. The mother was concerned because she only played and moved her right arm. The parents and caseworker quickly went back to photos they took from her orphanage to try and understand why this was taking place. The photos revealed the baby’s crib faced the wall and she would lie on the left side of her body so she could play with a toy that was hanging on the wall…she did this all day.

This is just a taste of reality. I think to myself…what if that was me, what if that was my sister or brother or friend?

Ryan and I both realize adoption is not the right fit for everyone. And adoption from an institution can be a long hard road. But there is something for all of us to do and it can be as simple as educating people around us. You never know when a simple conversation can lead someone to give financially to support an orphanage, a child in foster care, a family that would like to adopt but cannot afford it or take there family to an orphanage for a week to love on babies.

Beginning soon, we will provide links to websites to help educate those who would like to learn more. Please pass it on so we can have more awareness and extend love to those who need it the most!

Thank you all for joining us in this beautiful journey!