Day 46: It Takes a Village

An adoption isn't just about the family and the new child; there are a whole lot of people involved, and when the new child is united with the family, there are many people to thank. I was reminded of this on Sunday, when Rex met our pastor for the first time. He had written a referral for us, which was submitted with the home study. In the Philippines, a referral from a pastor or priest is preferred, and so his referral sort of counted more than it would have in other countries.

On Sunday, I was holding Rex and our pastor came over and introduced himself to him. At first I was surprised that this was their first meeting. I mean, we've been at church several times with Rex and I didn't feel like I had been missing our pastor. Then I realized that's because he's been on video. Our church has seven services at three different locations, and since our pastor isn't God--he can't be in all places at once--he splits the services between live preaching and a video of his live preaching. I guess the videos have been that effective--I didn't remember that he hadn't been there.

And so Sunday was very special. I felt a surge of thanksgiving for two reasons: specifically for our pastor, who took the time to write a referral for us, which helped bring Rex home; and more generally for everyone else who did their part. My coworker and friend wrote a referral; my brother wrote one too; our accountant helped with financial records; our doctor completed medical exams; and get this, one of Colette's hair clients traded a hair cut for a psychological evaluation. Both tied up loose ends. They say it takes a village to raise a child. Well sometimes it takes a village to bring him home.