After we married, the months passed and medical tests revealed that having biological children would be very difficult for us. So we turned to adoption, without pursuing in vitro fertilization.
This decision was made easier by the fact that we had been living in Madagascar as volunteers for four years. Like others seeking to adopt, we met with psychologists, social workers, and other specialists to gain approval from the Malagasy state.
Around the same time, we came across the website Emmanuel-Adoption and a book called "These Children That No One Wants" (Jean-Maurice Verdier, Ed. Dunod, 1997). Our hearts were moved, but given our youth and inexperience as parents, we thought: "Why not wait? Why not do this after we've had other children?"
One evening we received an email from the adoption coordinator: "Is it true you're open to adopting a child with special needs—a child with a disability?"
That vague idea we'd mentioned to the social worker during our home study came rushing back.
Long nights of prayer and reflection followed, entrusted to Saint Joseph and Don Bosco, our favorite saint. We asked for God's will to be done. Fear mixed with an inexplicable pull. Everything swirled together.
We returned to meet with Madagascar's adoption authority, resolved to say yes—to open our home to a small child with trisomy 21. But before we could speak, the official announced: "We have a two-and-a-half-year-old girl. Down syndrome."
Sara was born on August 16, the same day as Don Bosco—the very week we had arrived in Madagascar. For the past year and a half, she has shared our life. It may sound obvious, but Sara brings us joy every single day. Yes, we sometimes compare her to other children her age. Yes, not everything is always easy. Yes, difficulties will come. But life with Sara, life with a child with Down syndrome, is neither harder nor easier than we expected. It is simply different. And full of beauty.
David and Helen, 2012
O&L N.189