My Adoption Story

I have been asked many times why I am so passionate about foster and orphan care. So, I thought would take a moment and share my story with you. I grew up in Oklahoma, Texas and Washington as a preacher’s kid and to look at me you would have thought I had the perfect life and it was except for one thing. People would often comment by saying, “You don’t look like either one of your parents.” Which I would reply, “I am adopted,” the usual response was, “OH!” or “Why didn’t your mom want you?” I usually replied with some story because I really didn’t know why my mom didn’t want me and it left me wondering why.

As I grew up I knew I had to find out who I was. I started looking on the internet for my mom, but didn’t know anything but her name. My searches usually ended as quickly as they would start. One day I met a woman who said she had the resources to find my mom and had helped other adopted children find their parents. I turned her down numerous times, I had become too afraid, or nervous I would find her. I think I was more afraid of hearing her say “I just didn’t want you.” One Wednesday evening she asked me again, this time she said she could find my family and I would never have to meet them. More than anything, I just wanted to see a picture of my mom, and a baby picture of me. I asked her if she would be able to find things like that, she said yes, so I gave her the little bit of info I had. I honestly didn’t have high hopes she would find my parents with nothing more than a name to go on.

The next day she called me and said she had found my dad and possibly one of my brothers. WHAT!!! I hadn’t even thought about whether or not I had siblings. She called a little bit later to say she had found an obituary for my grandma with MY birth name in it. Now I was interested. Someone knew I existed!!! It also listed my siblings. So I now had their names. Later that evening she called and asked if I was sitting. I told her I was (I really wasn’t), and she told me she had found an obituary for my mom. She had passed away when I was 16 years old. The weird part was that when she told me, I wasn’t surprised. For some reason I just had a feeling I wasn’t going to find her.

Over the next few days I spoke with family members and heard how I had ended up in Foster care. In another post I will share that story. I still have a brother out there who had been placed for adoption at the same time as me whom I have still not been able to locate.

This is me in foster care 

Me  at 18months old

Donna Wensel- My Mom

Mom visiting Me and Tad in Foster Care

My Siblings Ted Jr., Tiffany, Fanci, and Dusty

I have always felt a strong desire to work with foster kids and the foster families that takes them in. For the past year I have worked with Abe and Sarah’s Kids as their Community Outreach Coordinator. I have had the privilege of speaking at High Schools and Girls Scout troops. I have also had the chance to work with the Refresh Conference at Overlake Christian Church. Refresh is a conference that focuses on helping the foster and adoptive parents understand their children. Every foster child has the right to be loved and cared for and the families that care for them deserve our support. My favorite verse (I believe this speaks God’s heart for orphans) is “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” James 1:27

Are you passionate about responding to God’s call to His people to look after orphans and widows? Are you already caring for them? If so, how are you doing? If not, would you like to learn more about how you can get involved? Please respond in the comments below or email angela@abeandsarahskids.com. I would love to talk with you about your story and how you fit in His plans for orphans care.