Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Welcome to our story!

Friends and family;

We find ourselves often these days reflecting on the abundant blessings of God. Not only what He has already given to us, but all that He has promised to His children who would follow Him. Psalm 119:17 states "Deal bountifully with your servant, that I might live and keep your word." What promise is contained here! God will give life- not just ordinary ho-hum life, but the life to the fullest that Jesus spoke of in John 10:10. How is this full life attained? By keeping His Word. The desire to experience this full life of obedience to God's Word, and the abundant blessing promised, led us to James 1:27, which says " Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."
My wife Judy and I received the call to adopt in February of 2008. This surprised both of us, as we had thought that our family was complete with Sam (9), Megan (8) and Joshua (5). Judy had recently been diagnosed with type 1 diabetes and we had just moved her parents into an assisted living facility. Our plates were full. However, God plans are not our plans. It was clear to us as we listened in obedience and began the process that God was directing us to go find a child that needed us, so we began to look in places that for one reason or another were not popular or favorable to adopt from. This led us to the country of Haiti, to a small orphanage in Port au Prince called HIS Home for Children. The orphanage is run by a couple from Ohio named Hal and Chris Nungester. Judy and I were inspired by their story of lives lived for the purpose of treasuring Jesus and living in obedience. We began the process of adopting a child from their orphanage. We had decided from the outset that we would take the first child that God sent our way, and He gave us a gift named Daphna. Daphna is a beautiful one-year old Haitian girl who was given up by her father after being abandoned by her mother. We fell in love with her immediately, and are thanking God for this wonderful child.
Judy and I had the opportunity to go to Haiti on Sept. 22-25 to meet our new daughter and to celebrate her first birthday with her, which was on Sept 24. Haiti has a very slow adoptive process, and we don’t anticipate bringing Daphna home with us for another two years. What a blessing to meet Daphna and spend four days with her. We were also privileged to spend two days at HIS Home with the Nungesters and their 120 children. This is where God gave us a second unexpected gift.
The first morning at the orphanage, I was handed Baby Grace to feed. Baby Grace was born sometime around Sept 1, 2008 with club hands and feet. She was found lying abandoned on a pile of garbage in Citie Soleil, the poorest slum in Port au Prince, abandoned there as trash to rot. Her mother had decided that this child was not fit to live. Grace’s umbilical cord was still attached. Through the “grace” of God, she was found by a single mother of 5 who picked her up and brought her to a mission agency, and through the working of the Hand of God and the people of God, Grace ended up at HIS Home on the morning we happened to be there. As I sat, feeding her a bottle, I felt the staggering reality that this child had been created every bit as much as I was in the image of God. She had been deemed unworthy to live because of deformity and economic circumstance while I had been blessed abundantly by being born into a country of opportunity. Who was I that I would receive such blessing while this child would suffer so greatly?
Needless to say, on that morning God began a work in the hearts of Judy and myself. He placed the name “Grace” in our hearts, and within a week of returning from Haiti, we had requested an addendum to our completed home study that would allow us to adopt a second child with special needs. We are currently in process of having Baby Grace officially referred to our family.
Here is where fish and bread comes into play. Jesus miracle was not just about providing lunch, it was about showing how He could take very little offered in faith and create overflowing abundance with it. He desires to take our meager resources and multiply them to bring glory to the Father. Through faith and obedience we had pursued the adoption of one child, Daphna. We are not wealthy people (blessed, but not rich). Through frugal living and hard work we had gotten to the financial point of being able to adopt Daphna without incurring any debt. The addition of Grace, especially with the special needs considerations, has pushed us beyond the point of ability to afford this adoption without help. We feel the call so strongly and clearly to proceed with the adoption of Baby Grace, so we are telling our story and waiting expectantly (Ps 5:3) for God to provide a means for this shortfall to be covered. We have peace knowing that all things are possible through Him.
So please pray for our family. Grace's full extent of medical issues is still not known, she will go through testing pre-adoption. There are some cardiac and syndrome type issues that are possible with her type of deformity. Pray that the paperwork process would go quickly; the sooner surgeries can take place the better. Pray for us as we wait, knowing that it is realistic that these girls will not be home to us for up to two years. Pray for Chris and Hal as they give their lives up as an offering to help the "least of these". Pray for the kids at HIS Home, that families and sponsers would be found for them. And pray for God's provision for us as we encounter current adoption costs and future medical costs.

In God’s “Grace”,


Geoff and Judy VanBerkel

2 comments:

the Hunters said...

You both are such great lovers of our Lord in living out your faith, transparent and humble. Thank you for being awesome examples of what it means to be the "Hands & Feet" of Christ and for being our friends. We are excited to watch you on your journey of adoption and by faith follow what God has set before you. You are, and will continue to be blessed by Him who more than able.

DVB said...

Hey Geoff and Judy,
Wow-I hadn't heard you guys were so far along in the process! Thanks for sharing the story--it's so great to see God at work! You guys are a real testimony and encouragement! Will be praying God's blessings for you as the journey progresses...