Kirill's Story

Join us in praying for the mother and child in this photo and the many others who are caring for and desiring to care for orphans with Down Syndrome.

Kirill’s Story…. Two years ago Greg and I began praying for God to do whatever he wanted with our lives. We handed him a “blank check” so to speak, and told him to cash it. He opened our eyes to children with disabilities wasting away across the ocean in Eastern Europe. We joined God and started our adoption journey.

As we prayed over the faces of thousands of orphaned children with Down Syndrome, we finally allowed our then three-year-old son to choose from three little boys. We feel that children have the purest hearts and hear God’s voice more clearly than adults because they are not tainted by the world. He chose a little boy named Sergey. Eight months later, as we neared the finish line of our adoption, one of Sergey’s family members stepped forward to adopt him. We were heartbroken for our loss, but God showed us that we were following him, and his ways are perfect. We knew we still wanted to adopt, so the way we saw it, two children would find homes because of our journey…Sergey went to his family and now we would choose another child to come into our family. We took great comfort in knowing that God could see this when we first committed to Sergey! We were honored to be a part of his plan.

Shortly after losing Sergey, we received a new referral with a grainy photo of a four-year-old blond-haired boy wearing pink glasses named Kirill. We were instantly in love with him. We had to re-file a lot of our paperwork because of the change in referrals, but we were fast and we thought we were looking at three more months at the most until we would have Kirill home.

That was one year ago…

Since then so many things have happened. A tragic story of an adoptive mother sending her child back to his country alone on a plane with a note pinned to his shirt rocked our world…he was from our Kirill’s country. Adoptions in that country came to a screeching halt. Kirill’s region stopped processing adoptions for eight long months. The judge refused to accept any Amercian adoption cases until an official treaty was signed between the United States and Kirill’s country.

Even though we wouldn’t be able to finalize the adoption in court until the treaty was signed, we were allowed to go visit Kirill and sign our official petition to adopt him in August 2010. We fell more deeply in love with him. This was our son.

During that time, we found out that Kirill is the first child from his region EVER to be adopted with Down Syndrome. A birth mother keeping her child with Down Syndrome is unheard of in this area of the world. Adoptions of children with Down Syndrome just don’t happen there, these children are literally hidden away from society in orphanages and mental institutions. As our process continued, it became apparent that Kirill would be a pioneer. If our adoption was approved, it would pave the way for other children with special needs to be adopted from this region.

Then, a miracle happened around Christmas and the judge in this region suddenly changed her mind and began processing American adoptions again. We were elated. Could this be the light at the end of a very long tunnel? I was somewhat nervous about Kirill being the first child adopted with Down Syndrome from his region, but our agency was very confident that if we got a court date, our adoption would be approved. In seventeen years, they had never had a case rejected IF the family was issued a court date. We were told not to worry, so I didn’t. After meeting the judge’s requests for several supporting court documents, we were finally granted a court date-March 17, 2011. St. Patrick’s Day…I was thrilled. This would be our new favorite holiday! Our son was coming home!

Our other son, Clayton, who had just turned three when we started this adoption process, has prayed fervently for his brother. He is now almost five. When we told him Kirill was coming home, oh my…we had an excited big brother on our hands! At one point he even went to his room, dumped out his toy cars and divided them into two stacks…one for him and one for Kirill.

Last week, as we sat in the courtroom and suffered through five agonizing hours of difficult questioning, we were not prepared for anything but an approval of our case. Two doctors, two social workers, and the Minister of Children’s Services all made very strong statements on our behalf. They fought for us. Hard.

But when the ruling was read, the judge said, “Your application to adopt is rejected.” The basis given was that Kirill was “not socially adaptable” due to his “medical condition” and he was better off in an institution than in a home with a family. We were told we could adopt another child, and the judge would approve it, but not this child. Why? The only reason? Because he has Down Syndrome.

It was like a terrible dream. We were so unprepared for this outcome. As we left the courthouse in a mental fog, the doctors and social workers that had testified came to us and said, “If you appeal, we will fight for you. Appeal. Fight this decision.” Of course we were going to appeal…I could no more walk away from Clayton at this point. Kirill is just as much my son.

So here we are, asking God to move the mountain that is standing between Kirill and us as we appeal to the Supreme Court in his country. There are also three other families who are in various stages of adopting children with Down Syndrome from this region; one of the families has a court hearing set for next week

Oh Lord, hear our cries. Free these children and set them in families. We know you are sovereign. We know you are just. We know you see the bigger picture and our sole purpose is to carry your name to the ends of the earth. Regardless of the outcome, our God is sovereign and we will lift our hands and praise him! We know the battle is won and we will hold our son Kirill in Heaven. But we are begging God to give him and the other children of his region redemption here on earth as well; to let them be held and loved by families who so desperately want to care for them. Let us pray for the judge and the people of this country who cannot see that these children are your ambassadors. Let them be changed. Let them see you. Let all of us see you and live to glorify your name alone. Amen.

More about Greg and Tesney and their journey @ http://reecesrainbow.org/sponsordavis

Quick Update

We are continuing to wait for news about travel to Taiwan. We have not heard anything for quite sometime, but that was to be expected. The call could come any day, so we just continue to pray and ask that you join us.

Ten days ago a massive earthquake hit Japan. Taiwan is south of Japan and according to some news reports, aftershocks as big as 5.2 have been centered just off the coast of Taiwan. Last week, I called our adoption worker to make sure that everything was safe in Taipei and she assured us everybody was fine.

Eli's Home Away From Home

This morning I was thinking about Eli. I was wondering how his day went and how he is growing and developing. We long to see him. Our desire to go to Taiwan and pick him up and bring him home today, but we are aware that everything is done in God's time. There is not much to do while we wait. It is very hard to be patient and wait for a phone call. But that is all that we can do. We really don't have any idea when we will be able to go get Eli. We have spoken with our adoption worker and she tells us it could be any day and it could take 3-4 more months. There is no way to know. So we just wait.

I got on Google Maps and found these street view pictures of Jonah House. Jonah House is the orphanage that Eli was taken to at one month of age. It has been his home for the past 17 months. I am ready to walk through those front doors and get my son and bring him to his new, permanent home. Please continue to pray for a quick court process. Pray that Heather and I will be able to travel soon.

This past Friday we held another fundraiser for our adoption. A good friend, Jimmy Mizell, came up from Livingston and cooked jambalaya and white beans. We sold lunch plates all over town and ended up serving over 400 plates. After we paid our expenses, we made just over $2000. I would like to thank everyone who helped prepare food and deliver plates. Also, a huge thanks to all those that bought plates and to those who gave donations. Following the jambalaya fundraiser, Heather and I did some calculations. It appears that we have raised all the money that we need for travel.

I cannot begin to describe to you how the Lord has blessed our family over the past several months. Heather and I simply obeyed the Lord when He called us to adopt. When we began the process we did not have any money set aside for adoption and had very little in our savings that could be used for adoption. We knew that the cost of adoption was great and by our best estimates the final price tag to complete the adoption of Eli would be around $30,000. In the past four months, God has provided somewhere close to $25,000. AMAZING!!!

As we thought back over the past few months, we couldn't even begin to tell you where all that money came from. It seemed as if God just multiplied all we had been given. God has taught our family so much over the past few months. We have learned to trust Him even when there doesn't seem to be a way. As long as you are obedient to His call, He will provide.

From the very beginning of our adoption journey, the Lord has impressed on me that this adoption is not really about a little boy in Taiwan with Down's Syndrome and it is not really about a family living in rural Louisiana....this adoption is about God. To God be the glory!

The Final Fundraiser

Barring any unforeseen events, Friday, Feb. 18 will be our last fundraiser. We are selling lunch plates. The menu includes cajun-style jambalaya, white beans, bread and dessert. We are blessed to have a great friend from Livingston, Jimmy Mizell, coming to prepare the jambalaya. He makes the best! Tickets are on sale now. We will deliver to businesses or you can pick up a lunch at Triangle Pharmacy.

A Huge Thanks!

This past Sunday, Harrisonburg First Baptist Church held a lunch fundraiser for our adoption. We would like to express our gratitude for all those who worked so hard to prepare food and get everything ready to make this fundraiser a success. We appreciate everyone who gave. We cannot say thank you enough.

Almost There...We Think

February marks the third month since our paperwork entered the court system. Back in November, we were told that the court process takes 3-6 months to complete. So we are entering the final stages. We are continuing to wait on a phone call that will give us travel plans and our gotcha date. We have not heard any news or received any more information concerning Eli or our case, so we just wait. Please pray that the process will go smoothly and we will hear something soon.

Our family has been preparing for Eli. We have set up his bed and made room for his toys and clothes. Heather has been buying clothes every time she goes to Walmart. We are not sure if he will have anything with him once we pick him up, so we are stocking up now.

We are also continuing to raise money. Sunday, February 6th, Harrisonburg First Baptist Church is selling lunch plates to raise money for our travel costs. For those who read this blog in Harrisonburg, plan on going by FBC and eating. Thanks in advance for giving to our adoption. I would also like to thank those who planned this fundraiser and who are working hard to make it happen. We appreciate you so very much.

On Friday, February 18th, we will be selling Jambalaya lunches in Jena. The lunches can be picked up at Triangle Pharmacy or delivered. We need orders by February 16th. If you would like to have a lunch that day, contact us by email or by commenting on this blog. We will make sure you get a plate.

Between the two fundraisers, we would like to raise $4000-5000. This will cover our travel expenses and give us a little extra to buy anything we need for Eli while in Taiwan. Again, we don't know if he will have anything other than the clothes on his back when we get him.

Finally, please begin praying for Eli's birth mother. When we travel to Taiwan, we will have the opportunity to meet her. She has requested this meeting. I'm sure in her mind, she wants to meet the family that will be raising her son. She will want to keep the lines of communication open. We know that God is giving us this opportunity to meet with her and share with her the truth about Jesus Christ. Our desire is to share the good news with her. Please pray that God would begin to soften her heart. Pray that God would give us wisdom and boldness.