Local Adoption Ceremony

You may think that after being here for 3 ½ years that adoption ceremonies could get a little “normal” and lose a little bit of that first excitement. Surprisingly, that never seems to be the case. Each family has a different story and each child is so unique and has a story of their own. When you mix those two stories, often a beautiful and joyous occasion is created.


Last Friday, we celebrated with a Basotho family who were bringing their child home. They took her home on Monday and then returned Friday for their adoption ceremony. I thought it was a very powerful ceremony. The mother explained how at first, she did not think that her daughter was going to be a good match. They came twice a week to visit her while waiting for the court order to come out and during that time, they really bonded. She was so thankful that she was wrong and that this little girl has turned out to be the perfect match for their family.
The day they took her home happened to be during one of the days of political turmoil and the lights were shut off for 45 minutes at their house (and all around the city). She was sure that her new daughter would be screaming or crying and fearful, however, she started singing a hymn that she had learned either from her house mothers or from the playgroup. Her new mother was so pleased and it really reassured her that her daughter was well loved and cared for by our staff.


Hearing the staff sing and praise God during this ceremony and hearing the parents testimony of this perfect match and seeing the father’s tears as he tried to thank all the staff at Beautiful Gate – those things will never be normal or unexciting. We are so privileged to be a part of this act of love and I can only pray that the political issues will not interfere or delay the adoption process because finding a family is the most important thing we can do for each child who comes through our gate!