Thank you everyone

How do you thank someone for giving your child his life back? That is what I have asked Jesus, as I prayed to him over the last several days. I am a single Mom with four sons who live at home and one son who lives thousands of miles away. My four sons have a home, a family and a life full of love and friends and happiness. My other son has nothing, no home, no family, no love, no future.

When I began this adoption, I was afraid, afraid that I would not be able to pay the cost of rescuing this sweet boy. I would toss and turn at night and pray to God for peace. I knew that my fear did not come from God. I questioned God. How can I adopt again at such a high cost? I have only one income and a teacher’s income at that. How can I do this Lord? And He whispered to me, “I’m with you.”
So, I began the adoption process and everything was going smoothly. The homestudy was complete and I managed to pay for it myself. But there was an additional cost of an Egress window that had to be installed in order for my homestudy to be approved. I did not have that money. That money was set aside to make necessary repairs to my basement which had flooded a couple years ago. I finally had the money to have those repairs done but if I wanted to bring Liam home, I could not repair my basement. So of course, I had the window installed and prayed to God that my basement would not flood again. About a week later, I received a letter in the mail from the city, saying that they had implemented an insurance program to cover the repairs to the basement if needed. With that, God showed me that He was with me.

I have had many people support me as I decided to adopt Liam. But there have been others who have thought I am crazy. They could not understand why I would adopt with the economy so bad. Unfortunately, I let them cause me to fear again. I longed to bring Liam home so I prayed to God again for peace, and to help me raise the money that I would need to bring Liam home. I could do some of it myself but I would still need $15,000. I did a couple fundraisers and I had raised almost $8,000. But it took about 6 months to do that. I had just completed my dossier and it was ready to be sent across the ocean. How in the world could I come up with the rest of the money that I would need? I prayed and prayed and ashamed to admit that I was scared too….

And then Renee contacted me and told me that her precious Derek’s birthday was that day, and that she and the rest of Derek’s family had chosen to honor him, by helping an orphan come home to his family. That orphan was Liam “Ivan” and that family was mine. I stood there and just cried as I read her words. She told me how much they loved us and loved Liam. I cried and cried and praised God because I knew at this very moment, that this was God’s doing. So, in honor of Derek and his love and commitment to helping orphans…..Liam was coming home!

And that is not all…..the most miraculous blessing was about to happen. People, many people, people I don’t know, and people that don’t know me…………………… began donating to Liam’s adoption. And they were praying for Liam and praying for my family. These people that love Jesus and love Derek began lifting my family up in prayer and also chipping away at the financial burden that I was carrying.

I am once again in tears as I write this….because I am in awe of what God has done. I am overwhelmed with emotion as I think of how God has moved mountains with the goodness in people’s hearts. As a mother who loves my child deeply, and longs to hold him in my arms, and who prays daily for his safety and his health…….I can’t thank you enough for what you have done for my Liam. God Bless each and every one of you for your love and your prayers and your donations. Thank you Jesus! Thank you Renee, John and Tracie. We love you! And thank you Derek for sharing your special day with my family and for your gift to Liam.
With all of our love,

The Lucas family
Amy, Jimmy, Benjamin, Caleb, Elijah and Liam