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 | A Gem Studded Dream
by Sandra Hershberger |
Two-and-a-half years ago my husband and I ventured out to pursue a life-long dream of ours — international adoption. When the word got out, we were considered by some to be too old and having our quiver full already. My husband, Wesley, was 45 and I had already hit 43-years-old. We had five beautiful children.
Our four biological children were between ages 14 and 22. Our youngest daughter, Hannah came to us by domestic adoption and was now 5-years-old. We brought her home from the hospital at 3-months-old, weighing only five pounds. She was born prematurely at 29 weeks, weighing two pounds and four ounces with multiple complications. She was on a heart monitor, oxygen and eight different medications. She also had a hole in her heart. At 4-years-old she had laser surgery and recovered completely. She is definitely our miracle child.
During the past eight years our family opened its home to the ministry of fostering. This is how Hannah first came into our home. Since there was such a wide age gap between our youngest birth child and Hannah, she wanted a sister playmate. In her bedtime prayers she often prayed for this little sister she longed to have.
After many prayers and much consideration about international adoption, we decided to go with the country Romania because both my husband’s family and my own are of European decent. We also have friends who are missionaries to Romania and we have grown to love its people through their newsletters.
This is when all the work began. The stacks of paper work, home studies, I.N.S. approval and Sled check all seemed a bit overwhelming, not to mention the expense of the phone bills, too. During one of the first conversations with the agency we chose, an opportunity came up. They told us about a baby girl, Mariana, with special needs (multiple complications and a hole in her heart) and wondered if we would consider her. We said we would pray about it and continue on with the paper work.
After about three months we could not find peace about or energy for taking another special needs child. After all we went through with Hannah it seemed a bit too overwhelming to go through again, especially since we knew so little about what all of her complications included.
Our agency recommended we fly to Romania and talk to her doctors about his conclusions about her. So, in June 1998, Wesley and I boarded the plane to the country and home of our potential daughter. After hearing our plans to go to Romania, some friends of ours who were in the process of adopting twin boys from Romania, asked if we would like to visit their twins. They wanted someone to take pictures and give a report on how they were doing. Our facilitator, who took us to the hospital where the twins had been admitted for bronchitis, greeted us.
We stayed at the foster home of Mariana. She looked like a little doll-baby with dark eyes and hair and at 3 months she weighed only nine pounds. After praying and crying many tears, I told Wesley I did not feel I could emotionally handle another special needs child. This was such a hard decision to make, but I did not feel like this was the child God had for us. Soon after we decided to let Mariana go, it seemed to open a door for a family in our area who wanted to adopt a baby girl. Our friends took Mariana into their home and showered her with the love and special care she needed to survive and become the healthy child she is today.
After our facilitator finally found someone to unlock the doors, we were lead inside to a room full of babies all in their own little beds. I was amazed to find no one watching over them. We found the twins and played with them while my husband took video footage and stole a few pictures of their adorable smiles.
On our way out of the room, I passed a crib that held a brand new baby girl. She was so precious I could not resist asking the facilitator about her. He said she had just been assigned to him and as of yet, had no adoptive parents. That night on the long flight home, I could not get the baby girl off my mind. The very next day I called our agency and asked for a referral of this baby.
After five months of dreaming, anticipating and hoping for news of her, we received a letter from the agency saying the mother of this child had given a name of the father. This meant she was no longer considered an orphan and we could not adopt her. Needless to say I was devastated.
About two weeks later a video came in the mail of a little girl named Irina, who was 6-months-old. She looked so much like a foster girl named Courtney we had in our home for 11 months before we decided to adopt internationally. We fell in love with Courtney and hoped to adopt her, but the case fell through and a family who had her siblings adopted her.
As I watched the video of little Irina, I was awed by her physical similarities to Courtney and so surprised to find out that her birthday was March 13, 1998. This was the exact same day that little Courtney was born. When I saw this little sign, somehow in my heart I just knew Irina was going to be our new daughter.
Once again the waiting period began. Our anticipation grew as we watched the video time after time. Our patience was running out, but finally after nine long months we got the call. Our daughter was ready to meet her new family. Irina was waiting for her new mommy and daddy to come pick her up and take her home to America.
That flight to Bucharest seemed the longest ever. Upon arrival I was tired, yet so overly excited to finally hold our little girl in my arms. I will never forget those first moments I laid eyes on her dear little face. She was so beautiful and an answer to our prayers. God blessed us far beyond our imagination.
Another child, another gem, our new daughter Irina, now Rebekah found her place in our treasure box of jewels. Each one is uniquely beautiful and brightens our home with love.
Sandra Hershberger and her family live in Abbeville, S.C. Since adopting Rebekah, the Hershberger’s have decided to add another gem to the family — Hannah’s biological younger sister, Abigail.
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