Monday, March 15, 2010

Our New Cousin

Shortly after Christmas, we got an email from my Uncle Rob, Aunt Julia, and their boys, Ben and Elijah. It was long. (They're not usually long-email people.) It was surprising. And it was--IS--completely wonderful.

To make a long story short, my uncle's family has decided to adopt a little boy from the Ukraine. His name is Aaron, and if you are looking at our actual blog page (and not a feeder read), you can see his sweet face in our sidebar. Aaron is five years old, and he suffers from a condition called arthrogryposis, which limits the movement of his hands. In Eastern European countries, when a special-needs orphan reaches the age of four or five, he or she is transferred from the orphanage to a mental institution. This transfer is often the equivalent of a death-sentence because of the lack of care in these facilities. Little Aaron is in such an institution right now. God laid it on the hearts of my aunt and uncle to rescue this little guy from his current life and make him a part of their family... and hence ours as well!

I am wonderfully provoked by observing my Aunt Julia's passion for her new son. Yes, he is her son, even though he doesn't know that he has a family fighting for him in the far-away States. As I read Julia's blog, it becomes clearer and clearer that God has already made her Aaron's mom in the heart realm. If she could somehow complete all of the paperwork and vault all of the legal and financial hurdles right now, she'd be banging down the door of that Ukrainian institution tomorrow. Scratch that--tonight! What a picture of God's love for us and His passion to rescue us through the life, death and resurrection of His Son Jesus. What lengths He went to to bring us into His family, to make us His children! I know that these are truths that strengthen Julia, Rob and the boys as they walk through the arduous process of claiming their boy.

To read the complete story of how God brought Aaron this wonderful family, you'll want to start here, with the text of the email that Rob and Julia sent our family back in January. You can then follow the Nalles' blog to learn more about Aaron and the ups-and-downs of this tremendous thing called adoption. Please pray with us for my family and for Aaron. And if God lays it on your heart, would you consider giving financially to help bring my new cousin home?

Thanks, dear friends.

2 comments:

Julia said...

Cara you made us cry this morning! Thank you so much! Yes If I could scratch my way into Aaron's institution... I would definitely do it in a heartbeat. So would Rob. Last night at dinner Dad prayed for Aaron that God would send one of HIS people to love on him. Wow! Both Rob and I looked up crying. It is so cool to hear the prayers of the saints lifted for one little lonely boy sitting in a crib halfway around the world!

Annie said...

Thanks for the post...Brandon and I have been reading your aunt's blog. What an amazing story...brings me to tears just thinking about it now. Aaron and your family have been on our hearts and we will definitely be praying for them.