The social worker
started reading from the file that she had on the desk in front of her. We sat in awe as we heard some of the
background of Susan’s biological family.
There were some
things that we did not know. However we did know what Susan’s birth surname was
because when we went to sign at the magistrate’s office her Mommy had been
before us to sign. We had been told that Susan’s biological grandparents were
missionaries. But there were other
things that we had assumed like we thought that they were missionaries in South
Africa where in fact they were missionaries in another African country. It was interesting to find out that we were
from the same church denomination.
So many
similarities it was uncanny. The
agency had been so sure that we were the right family for Susan that they
looked passed the fact that physically she didn’t look like us at all. She was fair and petitie – and we were………...
Time to take the
next step – where does one start. After
much consideration Susan decided that she would delay the process as she was
shortly to be married and there were so many emotions around getting married so
didn’t think that she could cope with the emotions of trying to find her
mother. We had been told that
statistically there would only be a 20% chance that things would work out
well. Susan had to be prepared for this
knowing that her identity was in Christ not in whether she found her or not or
whether she would be accepted or rejected.
Six months later
she was ready to start the process again, but now she was wondering whether we
were really ready for her to start the journey.
We had told her that we were, but was this really how we felt? God confirmed in her what we had always told
her when I brought up the subject myself and asked when she was going to call
the agency again.
We went back to
speak to the social worker – her husband came with us.
The plan was that
the Social Worker would try and contact the grandparents through the American
Embassy in the country where they were serving.
We knew that this would take a while.
This process is not for the impatient.
And so we started
our amazing journey of miracles and coincidences. Even today in quiet moments I will think of
everything that happened and remain amazed.
The first
experience of God’s miracle was just after we had been to the adoption
agency. It was at Eastertime. Susan had asked me if I would go with her to
a church all-day function. I only had
one hour free. In that short time while
we were there we met a couple who were missionaries in the same country as
Susan’s grandparents. There was no way
that I wasn’t going to ask them if they knew them. Amazingly they never asked why we wanted to
know or what our connection was with them.
Step into our shoes
for a while and imagine the feelings and emotions that passed over us when they
said that they knew them well and if I phoned the
next morning they would provide me with a phone number and email address. Wow God.
Instead of waiting weeks and weeks we only waited a few days.
But there was
sadness too as they told us that her grandmother had tragically died in a motor
car accident a few years before, so we knew that we would never be able to meet
her. Her grandfather had however
remarried, and he and his new wife had moved to minister in another African
country. I will share a very precious
memory in a later article.
So here we sat
with all the details. Should we make a
phone call or write an email? Would it
be right for me to make phone call and say something “Oh hi,
my name is Sheila and I adopted your granddaughter.”
What would his reaction be if he didn’t even
know that he had a granddaughter? So even though we were so excited to speak to
him, wisdom prevailed and we phoned the agency and gave
them the details.
On a day that
would change their lives, the telephone rang in a house where two missionaries
were doing what God had called them to do. Grandpa Charles’ wife heard the
person at the other end of the phone saying, after she had established that his
wife knew the family history, “I am calling from the adoption agency in Cape
Town. The baby that your daughter gave
up for adoption 21 years ago is eager to make contact with her mother”
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