| Samuel's Story |
| This is a summary of how we found Samuel and felt he was to be our new son.� First of all, why we decided to adopt in the first place.� When we did our discipleship training class for Mercy Ships in 2003, we had a teacher who spoke on biblical injustice.� He spoke of all the tragedies of humanity that occur around the world, and had a real heart himself for the young girls who are sold into prostitution in countries like Thailand and the Gambia.� He has a daughter he adopted from China.� All of these things started some thinking in our heads and got us thinking about adoption.� I was thinking maybe once our girls were out of the house at college or something, but Kristin made the good point that if we were to have someone of a different race who might face strange cultural pressures or other problems as a child, it would be good to have siblings somewhere close by in age. |
| So why from Liberia?� We decided on West Africa because we have developed quite a heart for the land since starting our work here.� At the time we got serious about adoption, we were in Benin, a former French colony.� Doing anything like adoption in a French-West African country is slightly suicidal.� They are very wrapped up in protocol and paper work and there is not much collaboration with the United States.� We could easily see a lot of red tape coming.� Liberia is a different story.� Not that they're completely slack on their protocol, but they have a long term, close connection with the United States (this is where the freed slaves first colonized and America has done some military training here). |
| Now, how we decided on the orphanage.� We had a friend on board the ship who had a friend in the states actually adopting from an orphanage in Liberia called Acres of Hope.� She wanted to go to the orphanage to visit her friends' new daughter.� So we decided to check out this orphanage as well.� We had also gotten the name from our Mercy Ships representative who was doing "advance" work in Liberia.� |
| Currently there are over 100 orphanages in Monrovia, but less than a handful that will accept infants.� We were aiming to adopt a boy (my plan to avoid the cost of another wedding) around one year old so this orphanage was a good match for us.� On top of this, we needed an orphanage certified through the U.S. so that the legal side of things would happen the way they should.� Kristin called the owner and director of the orphanage, Patty, it turned out she was coming to Liberia only a few days later, so we made our first trip out to the orphanage when she arrived.� |
| That first Sunday we went to visit, we met several children in this age range but we kept wondering if any of them were THE child.� I wasn't sure if God might put a little glow of light around our baby or something, which never happened.� Taylor and Lauren had been with us on this visit and knew that we might adopt a child in Liberia.� However, they did not know that we would be choosing a child from this particular orphanage.� They have visited so many other orphanages with us, that for them this was just another visit. |
| We waited a little over a week and got a call from Patty.� There were three infant boys that had come into the orphanage that week and she wanted us to come out to meet them.� She mentioned one in particular named Samuel and how adorable he was.� We decided not to take the girls on this visit and we did not tell them the reason for the visit, but that day at lunch, Kristin asked them, "If you had a new baby brother, what would you name him?" Taylor's first response was, "Daniel because we know lots of baby Daniels."� Kristin laughed and told her that we wanted to pick a name that was different than the ones we already knew.� She thought for a minute, and then said, "Samuel."� Kristin could hardly believe her ears.� We couldn't even think of anyone Taylor has ever known named Samuel, adult or child.� On top of this, when we arrived at the orphanage, we were told that two of the boys were named Samuel.� Oh man, now we still have to make a decision.� So much for the "glow" around our baby! �We struggled a bit deciding which Samuel God had in store for us (our Samuel was so handsome, but we didn't want to choose only based on his cuteness!).� We decided to go with our original intention to adopt a boy close to a year old.� Our Samuel was eight months at the time and the other Samuel only five.� We went home that night and thought and prayed about our decision.� The next day we met with Patty and confirmed our decision with her.� After doing so, Patty told us that she and several others at the orphanage thought that this Samuel was to be the Chapman baby, but didn't ever want to say anything to sway our decision!� |
| Two days later we took the girls to meet their new brother-to-be.� It was love at first sight.� They could not wait to hold him and kiss him and bring him home.� We had talked about the length of time it would take to bring him home, but they were eager to take him that first day! |
| That day we also met Samuel's biological mother.� We were thrilled to have a chance to meet her, but it broke my heart to think how she must have felt to see her baby in someone else's arms.� Samuel's mother is a young girl from a village many hours outside of Monrovia.� She was raped by a member of a rival tribe.� In Africa, this can be a death sentence for the child.� She came into Monrovia during her pregnancy because of the shame surrounding the birth.� After delivering, she tried to return to her village.� Upon arriving, she was almost beaten to death and was told if she remained that Samuel would be killed.� She came back to Monrovia to a clinic where she could recuperate and find a home for Samuel.� The clinic called Patty's orphanage, but at the time there was no room for him.� Several months later, the clinic called to say it was shutting its doors and the mother was returning to her village without her child.� They were desperate for Patty's help.� Patty still had a full house, but she knew she had to step in to help.� So, Patty brought the baby and his mother to Acres of Hope, her orphanage, and a day later we received the call. |
| We have felt God's hand in this from the beginning.� One of Kristin's co-workers on the ship was a social worker in the States and was able to do an approved home study (ship study) for us for the United States side of the adoption.� In addition to all of this, Patty was raised in the Congo by missionary parents.� When she realized what Mercy Ships was and what we were doing in Liberia, she gave us a "Missionary Rate" (her words!).� We were astonished to find out that Patty would do the adoption for even less than her cost.� It would be a fraction of what we had expected to pay to adopt.� |
| Samuel has been an awesome, though at times tiring, addition to our family.� The girls still love him dearly (I thought it would fizzle in a matter of days) and we have even seen their personalities change positively as a result of their new brother and their caring for him.� |
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