It’s hard to believe it, but this fall I will actually be sharing my story at an adoption conference! This is something I have applied to many times over the last ten years and I am thrilled to be actually stepping into this calling in this way at CAFO Summit 2022 (Christian Alliance for Orphans). I would highly encourage any one who is involved in foster care, adoptive parents, or general orphan well-being to attend. I first went to the annual conference in 2012 and have been dreaming and praying about how to be involved ever since.

I can picture exactly where I was when I realized I had a calling from God. I was living in Rwanda, Africa with my husband, my sister & brother-in-law and their family. We were teaching at an international Christian school in Kigali and almost every Sunday went to the orphanage during visiting hours to play with the kids. There is so much to be said about this whole year, but for the specifics of this post, I will just say that my passion was sparked and I knew that I had a role to play in the adoption movement somehow. I had only vague ideas of what it would look like, but was sure nonetheless. After we returned back to the United States, we attended our first conference by CAFO and got many ideas for how to try to be involved.

Throughout my whole life, I had always thought of myself an ambassador for adoption because I wanted to share how special it was and how great it would be for more families. After CAFO, I had a lot more tools to draw from, but everything I tried for the next ten years ultimately didn’t lead to anything I thought it was. Whatever church I was at, I tried to host an adoption info night or an adoption ministry. I tried to connect with adoptive parents. I wanted to get back to CAFO and applied as a speaker a few times. My personal circumstances led me on a different path than what I thought it would be and I was blessed to birth many biological children. I started writing online when I thought I could devote more time to that passion, but was surprised to be pregnant one more time. Finally it seemed like a dream come true to get to join a panel at an adoption conference at a beloved previous church, and then the world changed in the pandemic. It has definitely been a struggle for me to find my bearings in all the changes and in what God actually wanted me to do. Finally in 2022, it seemed like it was the right time to try again to be involved somehow.

I applied again to CAFO and began being more mindful again towards drafting words for future posts. On June 12, 2022, I read a devotional about Joseph and how he waited waited waited from seeing his vision to its actuality, and I wondered if I would wait forever or if I was wrong. And then four days later – I got an email with an invitation to talk about how to play a part in a new adoptee initiative. With some more correspondence and a Zoom call later, I am still a bit stunned that I actually get to go to CAFO this year and share my story as an adoptee with others on a conference panel. I feel a bit unworthy in many ways, and it is so humbling to be given this opportunity. I hope with all my heart to do it with kindness, authenticity, and glory to God.