Whenever I hear of a couple adopting a child it always brings me back to when Roxie and I and the boys adopted our daughter, Brianna. All the emotions from the adoption process can be so overwhelming at times. Lots of highs and lows during the adoption process. Adopting a child into our family was a wonderful experience.

This past week some friends, Andrew and Hope, adopted a boy to add to their family. I’m so excited for them, because I know the feelings they are experiencing right now. The happiness, the joy and love they feel right now for their children is special. I realized while thinking about writing this blog that I know many couples who have adopted. Each family that I know that have adopted have been so blessed, and I love hearing about how and why they adopted.

Six years ago Jay and Kris TeBrake from rural Prinsburg went to the country of Haiti to adopt two sisters. They worked with Children of the Promise, a non-profit organization based in Willmar. Their adoption story was documented by Pioneer PBS television. Dana Conroy Producer at Pioneer took her crew to Haiti and followed the TeBrakes. “Haiti Love” is the name of the documentary and I have watched it a number of times. It really portrays the emotions you go through. Every adoption journey is different, but the feelings are the same.

I interviewed Kris about the adoption process on the radio about six years ago. About five years ago I went to Central Minnesota Christian School in Prinsburg to broadcast a basketball game. As I was approaching the doors to the school, Sabine and Christella saw me and opened the doors for me and greeted me. It was the first time that I met them in person since watching them on Pioneer PBS. This past week I got to see them again, along with their mother, Kris. My how they have grown! They looked so grown up. It was so nice to visit with Kris and the girls.

A month ago I sat next to Rosella Anderson at a basketball game in Morris. Rosella and her husband Terry from Madison adopted their daughter Chloe from Korea about the same time we adopted Brianna. We had a nice visit reminiscing about the adoption process and our experiences. My cousin, Deb and her husband Andy adopted Emma from Korea a few years after we did. I enjoy following Emma and Chloe on Facebook and see what beautiful women they have become. I have two nieces Megan and Marissa that were adopted from Mexico and were welcomed into our family. They are so full of life and living life to the fullest. I don’t get to see them much, but love that we can stay in contact through Facebook.

I do have issues with the adoption process. I won’t throw stats at you, but the bottom line is that there are many couples in the world wanting children to adopt and millions of kids waiting to be adopted. The problem is that it costs thousands and thousands of dollars to adopt. When we adopted it was a few thousand dollars, but now it’s out of reach for most people. In some cases, I’ve heard of $100,000 or more. That’s insane. Plus, the process takes way too long. In our case it was almost two years. It should be easy to adopt children and it is not.

I remember it like it was yesterday. Roxie and I were in the kitchen doing dishes. She was washing and I was drying. Roxie turns to me and says. “God has put on my heart to adopt a girl from Korea, will you pray about it?” Two years later, Roxie and I and our three boys went to the Minneapolis/St. Paul airport on December 11th 1986 to pick up Brianna and welcome her into our family. It is one of the best decisions we have ever made. We love her so much. Adoption is the right thing to do and is powerful.