Angie's Testimony: Adoptee's Disability Transformed to Ability to Serve Children for Christ

                             

    Happy July! I am excited to announce the debut of a new weekly addition to Adoptee's Anchored in Christ called Adoptees: Random Acts of Kindness. The purpose of this regular feature will be to share the testimonies of adopted persons who have embraced and followed Christ in their journeys. Please grab your mug of coffee or cup of tea and join me each week! Be in an attitude of prayer as you read each story. Ask God to nudge your heart into action- whether it be to pray for the person, send a greeting card, share in meeting a need mentioned or in supporting them in funding a specific mission they are involved in. Each week will highlight a different adoptee. and some may involve just prayer and cards for encouragement. Do not be afraid to open your heart and give in some way small or great- and remember that no gift done in God's name is too small. God multiplies the obedience and gifts that we offer in His name. ( And it may just cause you to sacrifice some comfort- maybe forgoing fast food or Starbucks for a day or a week or donating a small portion from your summer garage sale ) It's wonderful that we can make a difference in others lives to encourage them or help them make their dreams come true. If you want to pass this Random Acts of Kindness to others who might participate - share with them this website. Permission is needed to share this feature in any media form in print or online.  

Today I want to introduce to you a lovely adoptee named Angie ( Angela Jenkins ) the daughter of Diane one of my bible study leaders from First Baptist Church in IL. Here is Angela's brief testimony and then her mom's testimony to follow. Be blessed and inspired as you see God's fingerprints in the life of Angie and in the lives of other adoptee's lives in the weeks to come. 

ANGIE'S OWN TESTIMONY: 

 I was put up for adoption as an infant. I was born with spina bifida. Thankfully I was adopted into a loving Christian home. I was adopted into a home with three other adopted children that also had disabilities and my younger brother that did not. I always knew I was different from my parents. They never hid the fact that I was adopted.

   My parents always told me that I can do anything that I push myself to do. I am a very independent person. I have always had a love for children and through out my adult life I have traveled to every continent except Australia and Antarctica on missions trips to work with many different children in different life situations.I am very excited about the chance to go on my first missions trip along side my husband.

    I was blessed with the wonderful surprise of meeting my birth family on national TV on the Tyra Banks talk show. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I would get married, but did. I received an unbelievable gift of having my birth and my adoptive fathers walk me down the aisle. 
DIANE'S TESTIMONY OF ANGIE'S LIFE AND ADOPTION:

 This is the very short version of Angela’s story. Jeff and I had two adopted sons, ages 5 and 4, when we decided to pursue adopting a child with special needs. The boys were both from NC, but we had moved to WI, so we began the whole process of applying to adopt, home study, etc. all over again in a new state. We had been beyond fortunate with our two previous adoption experiences; unfortunately, Wisconsin’s system proved to be a bit more cumbersome – and quite a bit less responsive to the goal of meeting children’s needs. I know that many people can probably relate.

The full version of Angela’s story would continue on from here through an absolutely incredible litany of things that “just happened” to occur when and how they did. Sticking to the short version.  I made a call back to Jane our NC caseworker to vent frustration with how things were (not) proceeding in WI. She told me about an infant girl in NC born with spina bifida who “just happened” to need a suitable family as quickly as possible. The baby’s placement had been delayed, as she had been born right as the adoption caseworker in that county had lost her husband to cancer. Our home study was already complete and Jane encouraged me to contact the baby’s caseworker and inquire about having our file sent for consideration. The rest, as they say, is HIS-story.

Raising this little special needs baby girl, on the day-in and day-out basis, was little different from any other baby. She mostly just needed the same things that all babies do and she was absolutely adorable. People would tell me, “If she disappears from your house, you will know where to look.” I’d shake my head and tell them I had heard that same thing from so many baby Angela lovers that I wouldn’t even know where to start.

There were, of course, medical bumps in the road. The first occurred within less than a week, when the initial visit to our doctor resulted in the news that her shunt was not functioning and would require pretty much immediate brain surgery. She was soon a favorite patient at the pediatric spinal disorders clinic at St. Mary’s Hospital in Madison. The staff there recommended Angela for the conference brochure.

 (Though as I write this, I remember the neurosurgeon at our first visit saying something to me like, “The adoption isn’t final yet, right? You could still give her back.” Geez. Lucky for him I was raised to be polite. He turned out to be a wonderful doctor, and I forgave him. )

Angela has always been extremely tender-hearted, but especially towards children and God. As a child, Angie would start to cry as soon as worship songs began during church almost every Sunday. It got to be such a common occurrence that Jeff or I would glance down, smilingly nudge one another, hand her a Kleenex, and just keep right on singing.

The other thing Angela has always been is spunky. No surprise there; three brothers may have helped. She participated in the Youth Group at First Baptist Church and attended Wheaton Academy for two years, so she had the chance to go on missions trips through both of those. Heaven knows, she was not going to be left out of anything – teaching VBS or painting or construction, whatever. But children were still her first love. While in high school, she volunteered at a residential school for multiply-disabled children, then enrolled in Early Childhood classes at COD. After that she decided to commit a full 6 months to discipleship training through Youth With A Mission. 

That included a 3-month long outreach trip to Thailand, Burma and Viet Nam working in orphanages, AIDS care, a leprosy clinic, with street children and prostitutes. She did a second class with YWAM (in Switzerland) that focused on Children At Risk around the globe, and included a trip working at orphanages in Rwanda.

She was preparing for a year-long return trip to Rwanda when a guy named Ross very unexpectedly came into her life. This present opportunity with Joni and Friends will allow them to do ministry together for the first time, and that means the world to them. I bet you can guess which of them is nervous, and which merely excited. 

• Angie and her husband Ross who have the opportunity to serve children with disabilities this summer in August with the wonderful organization Joni and Friends. Will you prayerfully consider encouraging them with your prayers, a card of encouragement or a small or significant gift to help them make this dream and reality? Here is the link to donate if God should lead you- thank you! http://www.gofundme.com/a4ei0w

( Copyright 2014-  Permission is needed to reprint this article in part or in it's entirety in any media form- in print or on the internet- Contact Jody at  jodymoreen  ( at sign ) gmail.com )