Lisa's story

In the summer of 2015 I went to New Wine, and on the last day of the conference I found myself wondering what seminar to go into. I’m not even really sure how, but I found myself listening to Home for Good staff as they shared about the significant need for adoptive families. I was so challenged by the statistics and by the words of James 1:27, to ‘look after orphans in their distress’, that I knew we had to explore adoption further.

Later that year, my husband Mike and I went to an information event run by Home for Good where we learned so much more, and then afterwards we got talking to a social worker from the local adoption agency. She was so helpful and came out to visit us, and it didn’t take long for us to begin the assessment process.

The assessment was fairly straightforward – we had a great social worker who took us through it, and we also made a point of being as open as possible all the way through. We wanted our final report to represent us as we truly are, to be honest of course, but mainly because we knew how important it was for children to be matched with parents who are right for them and can meet their needs. We were approved as adopters, and then our social worker began to look for our children.

We were open to adopting siblings, and we enquired about Emma* (3) and Joshua* (2) as soon as we saw their profile, but three months passed and we heard nothing. Our social worker showed us other profiles and encouraged us to move on, but we were so drawn to those two. We prayed and really felt that God was telling us to hold fast to them, so we pressed in and continued to wait, and suddenly the lines of communication opened up.

Within two weeks we were meeting with the children’s social worker and then their foster carers, and a month later we met the children for the first time. The foster carers had prepared them for us coming and that very first day they called us mummy and daddy – it was amazing!

We found out later that 41 other families had expressed an interest in adopting Emma and Joshua, yet their social worker chose us. We truly believe that God chose us for them and has brought our family together.

They were initially very shy but have settled in so well, and it’s incredible to witness their little quirky characters shining out of their once fragile cocoons. They love to just spend time with us, and with our wider family too, and they especially love to explore the great outdoors.

Our church have been brilliant throughout the whole process. They supported us in prayer at every stage, and have made a point of checking and amending all their safeguarding policies to ensure they are inclusive for fostered and adopted families – it was great to have the guidelines on the Home for Good website to help with this. We know that our church family are with us for the long haul and are willing and flexible for whatever we need, we just need to shout!

I think I would suggest to anyone who’s ever thought about adoption, that the least you can do is find out a bit more. Don't be put off by scary rumours – find out your facts and talk to others who have adopted. And if you move forward, make sure you have a strong support network around you. But we would definitely encourage you to explore it, our lives have been made so much richer by having our two lovelies in it!

*All names have been changed

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