John and I are both 33 years old.  He is a NASA engineer at Kennedy Space Center and I am presently a full-time wife and mom, but was previously a kindergarten teacher.  We have 3 biological children – Isaac (age 6), Luke (age 5) and Anna (age 3).  We are fortunate to live only an hour away from our parents and most siblings, and we are close with all of them.

After Anna was born, both John and I knew that we were done having children biologically.  I was a big fan of large families, but knew at that time we were done.  However, adoption has always been something God has put on my heart, and over the years John and I would occasionally discuss it as a possible option if we felt God leading us in that direction.  It was always a passing discussion, as John did not share the same desire that I did; however, he always said that he was “open to being open to the idea” if God stirred his heart for it.  A little over a year ago I began feeling a stronger pull towards adopting or fostering a child and John and I talked more and more about the idea.  He would engage in the discussion, but was not ready to move forward.  Then, in February of this year I came across pictures from an orphanage in Haiti that some of our friends had visited with their church.  My heart was captured.  For the first time I was looking at the faces of real children who God could possibly be calling us to.  I showed John the pictures and something changed in him almost instantaneously.  He was suddenly open to the idea.  As we talked over the next several days and weeks it was clear that God was calling us to start walking towards the adoption.  We did not have complete clarity on it, but knew we needed to take steps.  So we prayed heavily and started the process.

As we began walking this path our first question was deciding whether to adopt locally in the U.S. or internationally.  The short version of the story is that we considered all options, but we felt like God had put Ruuska Village, the orphanage in Haiti, on our hearts for a reason, so we decided to adopt from there.  John and I debated heavily what age we felt would be best for our family.  We both felt that a boy would best fit our family dynamics.  We decided that a boy who was close in age to our Isaac and Luke would fit best because he would be able to be a peer to them as opposed to having a 4+ year age gap, which we felt could lead to him feeling a bit alienated since Isaac and Luke are so close.  Currently there are only approximately 10 children at this particular orphanage who were not already matched with a family.  We found out about Brian, who was 3 years old at the time and had recently arrived at the orphanage.  He turned 4 in July and we learned that he is 9 months younger than Luke and a little over a year older than Anna.  This meant he would likely be in the grade between Anna and Luke.  It was a perfect match.  We continued to pray about it and felt very affirmed that this was the decision for us, so we continued moving forward and submitted our dossier in July.

As previously stated, Brian is 4 years old.  He was brought to the orphanage 1 year ago in Dec 2013.  His mother has had several children over the years and has adopted out at least 2 others.  Brian is a somewhat timid boy who is very affectionate and has a million-dollar smile.  His quietness likely stems from the abandonment he has experienced.  Obviously, at 3.5 years old, he had some level of awareness of what was happening when his biological mother brought him to Ruuska.  In addition, she comes to the Ruuska to receive food every couple of weeks, as it is both an orphanage and a shelter for women in the local community who are in need.  These interactions are brief, but I would guess the repeated visits and departures must be confusing for him.  However, as I said, he is very affectionate and is very playful once he gets over initial shyness.  I am curious about how the transition period will be when we bring him home, but I look forward to seeing his smile and hearing his laughter increase over time as God uses the peace of a stable, loving family to open his heart.

Thank you so much!!!

John and Erin Moss