Ha ha - I learned quickly that life with Him
doesn't quite work like that. Laura and I were in the middle of our
dossier being logged in to China after a few painful years of trying to have
biological children. We felt at peace as we chatted - me in South Africa,
her in Atlanta - about stopping the futile attempts at pregnancy and giving it
over to the Lord. And our paperwork was in China. We were in
control, right?
Nope. China adoptions came to a screeching
halt. It was looking like it would be YEARS before our family grew.
But then - through a friend - Ethiopia was placed on our hearts. We
decided to do a concurrent adoption and we started the paperwork process again.
It went quicker this time as we were skilled at it and we were matched
with a little boy that we named Brighton Asher. As we were gearing up to
bring him home in December of 2007, Brighton got sick. Real sick.
He ended up in the hospital with pneumonia and diarrhea. He
made a comeback and was released. We couldn't do much but keep
praying. So we did. Then in January he got sick again and this time his
little body couldn't take it. He went home to be with his Heavenly Father
on January 8th, 2008 and our lives were permanently altered. Our hearts -
on that day - broke for what breaks His.
Fast forward 6 months - we have accepted another
referral and just landed at the Ethiopian airport. In what can only be
described as a whirlwind of a few hours - we visited Brighton's grave, and then
within an hour, were handed our beautiful little gift of healing from God named
Meron. A 7 month old bundle of love so full of God's redemption that our
hearts had no other option but to heal. But with a scar - a permanent
scar that ached for His kids. Ached.
We went home with Meron and did life as a family
but couldn't shake the almost constant ache that was in our hearts. Were
we happy? Absolutely. But our hearts just hurt. And we knew
we couldn't sit idly by. Why had God given us Brighton - even if just for
a few fleeting weeks from far away? Was it to see these kids like He sees
them? We decided we had to do something.
In early 2010 we started a nonprofit organization
we named "Brighton Their World" that was going to focus on the nutrition
of infants in these orphanages and more importantly - advocate for orphans
every single chance we got.
In June of 2010, Laura stepped out in faith and
went on a mission trip to Ethiopia and Uganda with Visiting Orphans. She
came home wrecked but filled. We now knew what our lives were going to be
about. That winter, I led a team for Visiting Orphans to Rwanda and
Ethiopia and again was filled with His love for His children as He shaped,
molded and guided our lives towards His will.
We continued to run Brighton Their World - sending
as much formula as we could to a partner orphanage in Addis Ababa as well as
supplying formula to Haiti, Ecuador, Guatemala, Uganda, Rwanda and even here in
the states.
In late August of 2011, we brought home our second daughter
from Ethiopia after a rocky 26 months of working and fighting for her.
Two weeks later I joined Ethiopia Smile - a dental mission team - in
Ethiopia to provide free services and just love on His people again.
In the winter of 2011, I again led a team for
Visiting Orphans - this time to Uganda and Kenya. More heart shaping for
me, more of His love witnessed for His children. Six months later Laura and I were blessed to
co-lead a team to Rwanda and Ethiopia for Visiting Orphans. As incredible
as our lives had been to this point - leading with each other was a beautiful
gift from God.
Where are we now? Well - we just submitted
our dossier again - this time saying
we are open to sibling groups as well as special needs from Ethiopia.
We're excited to see what God does in our lives moving forward in the area
of adoption. We also are in the preliminary planning stages of the very
first official Brighton Their World mission/vision trip slated for summer 2013.
As far as fundraising and stuff - we are ALWAYS
doing that. Our next big push is to feed 500+ kids a massive Christmas
feast on January 7th. People can contribute to that here:
We are always accepting donations in general on the
main page of Brighton Their World, here:
And for the first time ever - we are open to anybody who
wants to help us bring these next kids home. I know some people like to
support in that way - and after China, Brighton, Meron and Mebrate - this is
basically our 5th process. We've been blessed financially (we ain't
rich!) but are open to exploring grants or anything else this time around.
Thanks so much for being willing to share our
story. I hope God is able to reach people through it - through Brighton,
through Visiting Orphans, and through the amazing, incredible experience of mission
trips around the globe.
THEY WILL KNOW US BY OUR LOVE.
~The Hoffman’s
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