Evan

Some of you have heard about Evan's story. This is what we know about it and our part in it.

He was still at a babyhouse when he was 7, probably in the laying down room since an adopting family there at the time did not see him. He was listed on RR at this time. This was his chance for a family! He was soon transferred to the bedridden ward of an incredibly remote institution. It seemed like his chance had been lost.

People began to visit that remote institution and to provide updated information. A hidden world began to open up. Somewhere along the way there was a mix-up of Evan's info with Theo's. People saw Theo and got to know his sweet spirit, but no one even knew about Evan's need. He was still in his crib.

Another visitor to the institution spent quite a bit of time with Theo. She realized that Theo must be older than the profile with Evan's age and that something had been mixed up. Her description of Theo, the things other visitors had to say about him, the videos he was in, all these led our family to move forward and commit to him. Now Theo's profile and Evan's profile had been separated. Theo had a family coming (us!) and Evan once again had a chance to be seen.

We decided to commit to Orion also. Two incredible sons. What could be better? We kept thinking of Evan. Then we heard about Barton. Here was another amazing boy, on the verge of being too old to adopt and condemned to an adult institution forever. He was too quiet and gentle to survive that sort of place. We asked more questions. Everything pointed to him being right for us. Our immigration papers had already been sent in just before his birthday, even before we were thinking about adopting him. But there were obstacles. Money was a big one since he was in a different region. A few other people expressed interest who were closer to traveling or already going to his region.

So while Barton's future was in that place of "limbo but probably going to work out," we thought we would be adopting Evan. We started making plans. Then we found out that the other families interested in Barton were unable to adopt him. Here was the hardest decision my husband and I ever made. How do you choose between two boys you had considered your sons? There was no one else for Barton. Only a handful of people were eligible to begin with. If we said no to him, there was no one else coming. But what about Evan? Yes, he was younger so more people were eligible, but remember that no one had asked about him (or Theo) and he had already been listed for years. He is small and thin. The combination of his liquid diet and CP give him a high risk for aspiration pneumonia. His life was on the line too. These weren't any two boys we were choosing between. These were two boys we thought would be part of our family.

So we made the decision, through tears and prayer. We would give Barton a chance at a new life. We would fight for Evan to be seen and brought out of his crib and into a home, but we would not be able to be that home. It was bittersweet. We were so happy for Barton and so many other people were too, but our hearts ached for Evan.

We pushed for Evan to make it onto the 21 Days of Hope. It hurt to do it, but I explained how special he is to us and why he needed a family so badly. His grant had been less than $100 before that, even though he had been listed for years. We knew that he needed more people to see him. We knew that the grant money would help him be seen and that it would help a family stepping forward for him. He made it into the top 21, all the children got their grants, and so many people knew about him now who had never seen him before.

My husband and I were talking. How can we help find a family for him? Can we go back for him in a few years? Will he last that long? I was on my hands and knees praying for a way for my husband to come back with all four boys. It sounded impossible, but that was what I was praying for.

We decided to ask. What do we need to do to go back right away? And that turned into can we make this happen now? Each answer was a miracle. Some small, some big. All miracles, so many of them. Homestudy update, immigration update, dossier update - our last paper arrived the day before my husband flew out. My husband is meeting Evan, along with Theo and Orion, today. The impossible has become possible. Now we are trying to have faith that the money we need will come too.

We need $2535 more to cover the extra costs for Evan. If you are interested in donating you can do so HERE. Our account needs to read $22,200. Thank you all so much for praying for us and supporting us!