My Sister's Adoption Journey

The day after Thanksgiving in 2009, I went on a run with my big sis (I say big because she's 6 feet tall, 4 years older than me, and I've always looked up to her) while we were in our home town of St. George, Utah with all of our siblings and their children. As we ran that morning, we talked about life.  I could tell that something was weighing heavily on her heart. Eventually, our conversation led to how, when you pray about things, you have to be careful because if you really, really listen, sometimes you hear things God would like you to do for Him that you're not sure you can/want to do. 

That's when Michelle confided in me that this had recently happened. The spirit told her very plainly and simply that she had a daughter in Ethiopia, and even told her what agency to use to find her. Whoa! Overwhelming. They had five kids. They thought they were done adding to their family. Her husband traveled a lot on business. She was barely keeping up with the five. Needless to say, she was a little nervous to bring up the subject with with her husband, Dave.

As she was describing this to me, I felt like I was having an out-of-body experience. It was like we had had this conversation before, although I know we had not.

Immediately, the words I was thinking spilled from my mouth.

Something like, "Wow, that's so strange. I've been thinking about adoption, too. A lot. Like I can't get it out of my mind."

What are the chances?

I think The Lord knew that Michelle and I needed to have that conversation so that each of us would have the courage to act on the promptings that were both having. No one can give you courage and inspire you like a sister.

Well, to make a long story short, we both found the courage to take that first step of just talking to our husbands about it, and we were both in the process of our Home Studies within a couple of months. Both of our families planned to bring sweet little Ethiopian baby girls into our lives, to grow up as cousins. How fun!

If Michelle and I had ANY, A-N-Y idea that day on our run, where this journey would end up for both of our families, we would have completely freaked out. We were in no way prepared for what God had in store.

After an agonizing, soul-wrenching six months, I found our daughter on Reece's Rainbow. Never did I imagine that she would not be in Ethiopia, but Russia. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that we would have the guts to adopt a child who was five years old and had Down Syndrome. NEVER!  Who would have ever imagined we would be walking this road? Not me, not Jeremy, not anyone! Only our Heavenly Father. It was in His plan all along.  We know this without a doubt.

Well, about 10 months passed since we had changed our course from "healthy" Ethiopian baby girl, to Tatiana in Russia.  All those months, the Larsen's waited and waited for their referral.  Michelle would periodically look at the photos of the waiting children (older or with disabilities) that their agency was hoping to place with families. Slowly, their hearts were softened and prepared. They were open to whatever was in God's plan as far as age or minor physical limitations. They were even open to a sibling!

One day, I was packing our bags to travel to Russia for court. The phone rang and when I heard Michelle's voice, I knew from the sound of her voice that she had some news for me. 

Sure enough, she had found their daughter.  There was no question in her mind that those eyes were the eyes that the spirit had shown her. 

But here's the part that she didn't know that God had been preparing them for all this time:

Her little girl had, not just one sibling, but three. A sister and two brothers. Yep, there were FOUR of them. They had been relinquished as a family because their single mother could no longer feed them. Can you even imagine?

Two families had committed to adopt them in the past year, but when it came down to it, something didn't feel right for either of them and they just couldn't bring themselves to commit to that kind of change.

We know now that it's because these kiddos were meant to be Larsen's. Every one of them!

This has not been an easy decision for Michelle and Dave. They have wrestled and wrestled with God, wondering what this will do to their lives.  Their older kids have, too.

But our Heavenly Father knows that we are all much more capable than we believe we are. When he calls us to help Him, he equips us. Things that seem completely unthinkable become do-able, and even something that we can't do without!  The Larsen's are making their hearts and their home ready for all of these precious children. Isn't that just amazing?

Last week, Michelle and Dave and their two daughters traveled to Ethiopia and met their new family members for the first time.  Just look at how beautiful these kids are. Oh my.

They didn't have Internet access while there, but when they got home, Michelle introduced the world to each of her four beautiful new children on her blog.

You can read about it here.

It's just amazing how things work in our lives when we follow our hearts. 

These children are Larsen's through and through. I'm so excited for all of them!