Letters

Exter Hardy

Davis, California

May 2005

As you know, I was fearful staring out in the process.. adopting a teenager when I already have two! But after much prayer, I felt God's peace. I have NO regrets. I use to think that you had to have the child from birth to be able to "instill" in him/her your values / faith. However, God has humbled me on this... I realize that He {God} is the ultimate Father and that He puts great hearts in kids. My son came to me already being a great kid... a loving kid with a strong faith in God and a strong set of morals. I could not have done a better job "raising" him and "instilling" in him the values I want my children to have. All he really needed was a home / a family. And he is so grateful for his family. He is not your typical teenager. When he does something like wash my car and I try to pay him for it, he refuses and says "I am your son. I do this because I love you" !! Don't get me wrong. He is not perfect. We have some challenges of "teenager issues", but nothing any different than from my other two teenagers. My stay in Brazil was only two weeks and it was wonderful. Everyone was extremely helpful and Luciana (Recife representative) was a God-sent blessing... going out of her way to help us and make the process smooth. And I can't say enough about Nancy. She is so gracious and loving. Even though I have only met her once, I feel a close connection. I feel that she took a personal interest in me and my son and our process of connecting. I imagine she does this with everyone.

I would also be willing to talk to families in our area if they would like to if this would help them in their own decision. {Also families not in our area if they want to talk by phone}

Thank you for your awesome ministry. Children need families. May God continue to bless and use you for His glory and the love of His children.