We are the proud
parents of three beautiful little girls. One of them is named
Aliana Minfang. She was born in China, with two hands, two feet,
two ears, but only one eye.
We had known for
some time that we wanted to adopt a child. It was very clear to
us—somewhere in the world a child was meant to be our son or our
daughter. We were looking for a child that no one else wanted,
for millions of children worldwide are not adopted because of
age or medical conditions and our hearts lay with these orphans.
These precious ones are known as Waiting Children.
During the four
and half months of dossier preparation, a new list of Waiting
Children of China was made available. We were drawn to Aliana, a
2 year old girl born without a right eye. She had been abandoned
two days after birth, taken to an orphanage, and at 3 months of
age transferred into foster care. No other prospective parents
were reviewing her. Our excitement peaked!
We asked our
pediatrician to evaluate her medical file. He cautioned, it was
not uncommon when one or both eyes are damaged in utero for the
brain to also be affected. This little girl could slide anywhere
down the scale—she could be perfectly normal or developmentally
disabled. Our doctor’s comments definitely brought us back to
reality.
The medical
information from China was insufficient to make a conclusion one
way or the other. We were scared of the unknown and questions
plagued us: What if she was mentally retarded or unable to live
independently? Did the other eye have good vision? What was the
long-term prognosis for her sight? Was she really meant to be
our daughter?
We asked God for
guidance and received an indisputable sign. I opened my Bible,
after a day of fasting and praying, and my eyes immediately fell
on a passage, Matthew 8:19-20 which begins, “It is better for
you to enter life with one eye, than to have two eyes and be
cast into darkness. Do not look down on one of these little
ones, for I say to you that their angels look at them and
continually see the face of My Father who is in heaven.” Well, I
guess that took care of that—there was our sign!
We agreed to adopt
Aliana. Although our fears were not laid to rest, we decided we
did not need to be sure of our knowledge, but only of our
purpose.
Nine months and
five days after we submitted our initial application, we met our
little girl. All our fears disappeared. I know every adoptive
parent says this, but it is true—it was just obvious she was
meant to be our daughter.
We had been afraid
of the unknown. Once you are looking at a living breathing
person, the abstracts go away; instead of a possible condition
you see a child.
Now we are home.
Aliana is a funny, loving, smart, stubborn, snuggly, and bouncy
sweetheart of a girl. Her foster family did a wonderful job
preparing her for the transition to her forever family. She has
bonded beautifully with my husband and I, is imitating both the
obedient and the mischievous actions of her siblings, and
initiates play with all of us.
Aliana is an
integral part of our family. We can't imagine having any other
child in her place. Although, she will have ongoing medical
issues with her missing eye, we will deal with those. We realize
now, one never knows what will happen in any child’s future with
certainty and that gives us peace.
Velleta
Scott, AR
The Scott’s intend to adopt
another wonderful Waiting Child in perhaps 2 years (Velleta’s
husband says 3). The Scott family includes two biological
children Dorinda and Callista, ages 4 and 2 respectively.
What can you as a family
handle? In the next Children’s Hope International newsletter,
lay aside your fears as you read about more family victories
over medical issues.
