{Adoption Guest Story} A Family’s Journey To India
We are Mike and Lori Pierce and have 3 children, two homegrown boys and once spicy girl from India. Our story is not anything out of the ordinary, but it is our story. Back in 2010, I lost my job. It was a good part of our family income. At the same time God placed some very good friends in our lives who just happened to have 3 beautiful children from China.
I also connected with a non-profit in India that took care of special needs children. They had recently took in a little boy found at a government hospital in India with severe Cerebral Palsy. He could not speak and had no use of any limbs. His name was Jaron. Oh how I fell in love with this precious boy. At the same time I connected with a group that was traveling to India to serve at this particular non-profit.
I reached out to one of them and she took some video for me of sweet Jaron. Funny thing…this particular person has become such a dear friend. We are separated by states as I am in TN and she is in TX but we talk almost weekly and share a passion for India and orphans. We have encouraged and cried with each other along the way through both of our adoptions Needless to say I fell more and more in love with Jaron.
I prayed for him, cried for him, rejoiced with his progress. At the same time God was putting a fire in my heart for India, orphans, adoptions, and children with special needs. I really wanted to adopt Jaron but the non-profit that Jaron was in did not allow for adoption. I told my husband that I felt God was calling us to adopt and he was not for it at all. I just asked him to pray. . My husband wondered how we would come up with the money, especially after losing my job. As he was praying, I was hearing God speak to me more and more.
I was starting to work with a program that allowed parents of special needs children to have a night out by watching their kids. I was working with the Cerebral Palsy center in my state. I was securing pediatric wheelchairs for the children in India. God was changing my life and putting the fire in my heart. At the same time, I received the devastating news. Then one day, my husband told me he thought we should adopt. We were going to leave on faith and prayer to get the money we needed. We sat down and called about 5 agencies and found one we really like, IFS in Texas.
The husband with the adopted Chinese children offered my husband to do some side work with him. This was a total God thing. Our wonderful friends had a soup and silent auction fundraiser. God was providing the money we needed. We were then matched with our little girl in February of 2011. She was a beautiful little girl who was two and a half. They told us that she tested positive for Hepatitis B.
After lots of research, we had such a peace about this situation. We knew we lived near one of the best Pediatric Hospitals so just continued to cover her in prayer and hope for the best. On April 3, 2012, my father, my husband, and I went to an orphanage in Orissa, India and was reunited with our precious Disha who was almost 4 yrs old at the time. Today our family is thriving with three wonderful children. Disha will start kindergarten in the fall and is such a happy girl. I am now working as an adoption consultant with International Family Services.
The best news of all… Disha doesn’t have Hep B. The tests at our local International Adoption clinic confirmed it.
If you would like to email Lori any questions about adoption, Hayden01@tds.net
– Ahhhh I love the pucrites of my babes, thank you! And the pucrite of me trying to shoot the wave and save the camera is hilarious. lol So glad you could come, my love .and I’ll see you again soon!
April – oh wow, I love them all! I love the nursery pcuries and the mom shoulder. But the picture of her looking out the door and brother on his bike, that’s the best! Perfect moment captured!