Unexpected friendships are my absolute favorite things about the blogging community. McCall is one of the friends that I like to tell Dave “I met online” – because that sounds creepy and hilarious. I have been reading her blog for a couple of years and I don’t even know when she went from being “the girl who writes a blog I love” to “a real-life friend” but I’m grateful that she did. I’ll never forget standing in the driveway of our rented house at the beach when she called to tell me about this precious little girl whom she had fallen in love with. The waves crashed in the background as we talked through the fears and the unknowns of adoption in the DRC. At the time, McCall was fervently praying and asking for discernment but, in her heart, she knew. The little face looking back at her from the computer screen was her daughter. And, life would never be the same.
I’m so excited to introduce you to my friend, McCall today. I just love her story and I know you will too.
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Hi, I’m McCall! I’m a wife, mother, and former high school English teacher, I live in a tiny Mississippi town with my Chemistry-teaching husband and two daughters (Libby, 10, and Hollyn, 5). We are currently waiting to bring our third daughter home from the DRC.
Sometimes I try to be funny, but mostly I just love Jesus.
Three years ago, we were ‘normal’.
We lived a comfortable life with comfortable jobs in our comfortable town.
And then, one day, I watched a Youtube video, and my life hasn’t been the same since.
You see, I was living in a bubble.
I had no clue about what was going on in Africa.
It’s funny the ways God uses to draw us to Him and reveal His plans for us.
But once my eyes were opened to this great need, to all of the children in God’s great big world with no families, I couldn’t UN-see it.
And I had to do something.
It wasn’t a hero-mentality situation.
I didn’t think I would single-handedly solve the orphan crisis.
But I also couldn’t stay home and do nothing.
At least, not any more.
So, I prayed.
I researched.
And I talked to my husband.
Adoption and Africa were both on our radar.
What we didn’t know then was that they’d never leave.
I asked him if we could go–
I NEEDED to be in Africa.
I dreamed about it, thought about it constantly, and saw Africa everywhere.
He agreed that if I could raise the money, we could go.
So I did,
and we did.
We headed to Uganda to serve in a children’s prison that summer.
(Yes, you read that correctly.)
We came home, and I knew instantly that it wasn’t enough.
I had to do more for Africa.
I had to be there.
God was up to something.
So, I did the only *logical* thing I could do–
I quit my job as a high school teacher and took an unpaid internship for a non-profit that helped provide clean water to the people of Malawi.
And then, naturally, I went there too.
And when I came back from Africa,
the hubby and I agreed that it was time to adopt.
We had the choice to either follow God’s call for our family or to say no.
We said yes, and I’m so glad we did.
We’re currently still waiting for our daughter to come home.
And in the meantime, I’m still doing what I can to help spread God’s love in Africa, which led me to Rwanda this past summer, where I got to meet the women I’m helping to create jobs for while here in America.
These people in this place– they are the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.
And now, I’m so very honored to have the opportunity to set foot on their ground, soak in their culture, and sleep under their stars.
I have no doubt whatsoever that I will continue to travel to Africa as often as possible until one day, when I’m old and grey, my daughters will sit me down and lovingly tell me that I’m too old to go back to Africa even one more time.
My heart has been broken.
My life has been changed.
People think I’ve lost my mind.
I’ve never been happier or more fulfilled.
Saying yes can be scary.
Stepping out of the bubbles we live in can be sad.
Leaving our comfort zones can be overwhelming.
Adoption is hard.
But God is good.
We’ve seen our daughter’s face.
In fact, we’ve been staring at her dimples and watching her grow up in pictures for over a year now.
I never imagined adoption would take this long or be this difficult.
But God is in control.
His ways are better than my ways, even when His ways don’t always seem to make sense.
And these day, I am nothing but thankful.
No matter how hard it is to be different, no matter how much my heart aches for the daughter I haven’t met yet, no matter how much I long to be in Africa,
it’s better than living blind to all of the needs in this world.
And while I can’t do everything,
I’m working hard to do my little something,
even if my something comes by the way of very long plane rides to the land I love far, far away.
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See? Don’t you just love her?
{And, I love how her story and Catherine’s intersect in Malawi and the DRC — I didn’t even plan that}.
Happy Monday, friends!
*You can read the other posts in this series HERE and HERE.
what a sweet post! I pray their daughter is home soon!!!
the internet can be a pretty cool place, huh? you'll always be Jenny from the Blog 🙂 xo!
Right?!? Someone was asking how we met at the shower … And I totally blanked and couldn't remember. Then, I started laughing because you're one of my "internet friends" bahahaha! Love you girl!
I am loving these stories. In each of them it is clear how God orders the steps and grows our hearts to God sized projects/ministries, all because we said yes to His prompts. My favorite shirt from the Mocha club says "I need Africa more then Africa needs me". 😀
Oh this is beautiful! Brought tears to my eyes. I love seeing how God is raising up people to care for the orphans! Keep the stories coming!