A Moment That Changed Everything
Over forty years ago, I walked the streets of Bogotá, Colombia, and saw something that changed me forever. Children were living on the streets, surviving off scraps, and facing a future with no hope. That moment pierced my heart. I could not shake the question: What would happen if no one stepped in for these children?
Adoption Transformed Our Family
Not long after, Jan and I adopted our youngest son through a domestic adoption in the United States. Bringing him into our home transformed our family in ways we could never have imagined. Adoption is not just about adding a child to your family, it reshapes every person involved. It changed me. It changed Jan. It changed each of our children.
These changes motivated each of our children to adopt as well. Today our family includes children from Ethiopia, Mexico, and India. We are knit together by God’s design, blessed beyond words by the richness each child has brought into our lives.
Ethiopia at the Heart of the Story
Ethiopia has been central to this story. For years, Americans adopted thousands of children from there, but when the government closed international adoptions, many feared children would be left without hope.
The Birth of a Movement
Streams of Mercy has supported the House of Joy in Ethiopia for many years. This home has become a beacon of hope for abandoned and relinquished infants. In this region, there wasn’t even a word in the local language for “adoption.” But when international adoptions closed, the leaders of the House of Joy knew God was calling them to more. They stepped into churches and began teaching the Father’s heart for orphans.
And something beautiful happened. The Church came alive. Couples who longed for children stepped forward. Families already raising children opened their doors wider. A movement of love was born, right in the heart of Ethiopia.
The babies who arrive at the House of Joy often come broken and frail, many of them severely malnourished. Here, they are given high-nutrient premie formula that must be imported, life-saving medical attention, and the tender care that every child deserves. They are held, cherished, and nurtured back to life. In this place, little ones who once had no future are now surrounded by love and given the chance to thrive.
Hope for Today
Today, 19 little ones are waiting in the House of Joy for a place to belong. And thanks to this movement, they no longer have to wait for someone overseas. God is stirring the hearts of Ethiopian believers to bring these children into their homes.
This is what Streams of Mercy is about – changing the lives of orphaned and abandoned children and giving them the love and safety of a family.
