Surprising the Church Family

Becky and Eric attend a fairly small family oriented church near their home. This church has followed and prayed for them through a couple of years of infertility, a preganancy follwed by a miscarriage, and this year through their adoption from Mexico of Elia. It was friends from this church who first mentioned 4 orpanages within an hours drive of the Border close to where they live. It was one of their friends from this church who told them about the small baby at the orphanage where they first went to see Elia.

This church has thrown the orphanage an early Christmas party and put on a puppet show for all of the kids there. This church donated blankets this winter for every child there as the orphanage has no heat. This church has prayed for them and supported them through many difficult times, like when the first target date of Dec 20 fell through. One man in particular later dubbed "Uncle Gerry" came along side them in a very big way from that point on. He is bilingual, and very familiar with the court system and legal workings of both side of the Border. He did lots of advocacy with and for them when it was called for especially with the attorney who just didn't quite seem to have his act together on more than one occasion.

It was this church who would ask for updates weekly and constantly ask "have you heard anyting etc...You all know how that starts to feel when the waiting gets longer than expected etc. It was this church who thought the Sunday would come when they would be asked to pray for a safe travel sometime during the upcoming week, as Becky and Eric travelled to the orphanage which is maybe 8 miles from their home, pickk up Elia and then travel what we originally thought would be Juarez for a VISA. Well that trip is still on the schedule for May 8. HOWEVER

Because the travel plans happened suddenly last Monday afternnon, and the left for Tijuana (not Juarez) as planned suddenly at 3 a.m. Wed morning, very few people from their church knew what had taken place during the week. They had previously rallied a couple of friends to help them pull of this surprise whenever it happened, so those people were aware and preparing their part for Sunday morning.

After their 22 hours in a car round trip to Tijuana with a baby who had "almost" never sat in a car seat before, they arrived home Fri night as many of you know.

Sunday morning would find them entering the church from a side door, and sneaking Elia into the arms of the friend "Dubbed Uncle Gerry", and then proceeding around front, parking the car and entering as usual on Sunday morning.

Becky mentioned that as she was walking in a lady approached her and said "So mama sita, how are you doing "? Becky wasn't sure if she had heard something they were trying to keep secret so she said "Why do you ask"? The lady must have wondered about Becky's strange response then, but just answered her and said "Well I know you are so anxious to get Elia and all, I just wondered if you've heard anything about how much longer it will be"?. Becky said she just smiled and said "Soon!"

Not long into the service a slide show that Becky had prepared and left with a friend, started to play. Eric came out and sat at the piano, and Becky picked up a microphone to sing. A couple of others from their "praise team" were on their instruments. The song was Natalie Grant's "Held"...The theme is the idea of "This is how it feels to be held, to be loved etc. The church wouldn't really have thought anything unusual yet, and were probably anticipating a prayer request for a Travel date, or even prayers for safe travel. They may have just thought it was the Music special for that morning. They never would have been thinking she was there in the building. So Becky sang and the plan was close to the end of the song Gerry would come walking out with Elia. He got about 3 steps out onto the platform when everyone just started clapping...they were all so surprised and thrilled to see that family's and their months of prayers had been answered and Elia was home. Becky said, she still had a little more of the song to sing, so she just took Elia, and finished singing it to her. They have a video of it, and I might get a small clip from it, or I might have to wait until I visit in une to actually see it al. It was described though as a very special time, and a really fun way to say Thank You to lots of church family who had supported them on their adoption jouney.