Me and My Boy!

Just over four years ago, our family traveled to Guatemala City, Guatemala to meet an amazing little boy...Juan Jose! From the very first time I saw him, I had a sense in my heart of the uniqueness of this little guy. It wasn't just that he had more energy than the energizer bunny, but God had already been preparing our hearts to receive the newest addition to our family! Adoption had been very close to our hearts for several years and in fact, we had experienced many dissapointments as we pursued our passion to adopt.

I clearly remember sitting in a restaurant with my wife as we explained to our pastor that we were no longer going to push in to adopting a child. The pain of dissapointment was too much to bear! It wasn't long after that however, that the Lord made it very clear to us that even though we were exhausted, He wasn't finished yet. The door opened for us to consider adopting from Guatemala and when we both saw Juan Jose's picture, we instantly knew that God was up to something unique. Following our decision to once again, pursue what we believed was God's heart, we were the recipients of a very generous donation that enabled to move forward with great confidence!

Our time in Guatemala was extremely satisfying and we made a very quick connection with Juan...in just a couple of days, he was calling us Mami and Papi! Our hearts were full and we felt complete. Juan Jose was born to a young lady in the mountains of Guatemala City, who gave him up shortly after adoption, due to her inability to support him. For the first 3 years of his life, he was raised by foster parents who deeply loved him and had every intention of making him a permanent part of their family. His foster dad was a cab driver in the city and earned an equivalent of thirty U.S. dollars per month. His foster mother became pregnant with their second biological child, and were forced to make the decision to open the door to adoption. That's when God brought us in!

After our son came to America, we turned his name around and americanized it to a degree and he became Joseph Juan Scott Reece! Although he only spoke spanish, he quickly became an integral part of our family and the fact that my wife was hispanic minimized the language barrier. Even at that, it wasn't long until he was speaking english and giving us a run for our money! From the very beginning, he fit right into our family and none of us ever made a distinction between our three biological children and Joseph. His mother always told him that even though he may not have been born in her tummy, he was born in her heart!

When Joseph was only seven, his mother, my wife, Veronica, went to be with the Lord very unexpectedly. When I realized that at only seven years old, he had lost three mothers, my heart was deeply broken for this precious little boy. I have to admit to you that I questioned many things after the passing of my wife, among which was the wisdom of God in allowing us to adopt this little boy when in His sovereignty, He knew that I would ultimately be raising him without a mother. I had many times when I wondered if I was even up to the task. The initial days brought a lot of doubt and concern into my heart, but I have to tell you that in the almost nine months since Veronica went to be with the Lord, I couldn't imagine not having Joseph as a part of our family and my life. I can't begin to tell you the discussions that we have had about his mommy and about heaven and all that we have gone through. In the honesty and innocence of his questions, he has helped me see and understand things that I most likely would have missed.

As I write this, Joseph and I are in the mountains of North Carolina together, spending the weekend. We've been out to eat, we've been shopping and just spending time chillin, watching SpongeBob on TV and just having a guys weekend together! I know that I cannot fill the place in his heart that his mommy did, but I can be his dad and I can be the very best dad for him that I can be. I love the nights when he and I have devotions together and as I pray for him before he goes to bed, he reaches up and grabs my face with an adoring look...I love the pictures he draws of his dad and the stories that he writes and the stories he makes up. I love being a part of his world. The other night as I was sitting in my recliner watching the World Series, he asked if he could come up and sit with me...of course he could! He jumped up in the chair, took a look at me and pulled his arms up behind his head...just like his dad! I love that stuff!

As I consider where I am in life, where we have come from and all that is ahead of us, I know that God never makes mistakes and that He has orchestrated and ordained the fact that my youngest son is a part of my world and a part of our family. I have a strong sense of responsibility in terms of the spiritual destiny of this young man, who was born in Guatemala and brought into a ministry family in the state of Georgia. The word ambassador continually comes to my mind and I know that I only have a few short years to groom and mold the heart, soul and spirit of this amazing child who has an awesome call of God upon his life. I have every expectation that there will be a day when the national stadium of Guatemala is filled to overflowing and my son, Joseph Juan Scott Reece will preach the gospel! I plan on being there!

Finally, may I suggest to you that adoption is the perfect will of God! I believe that we could change the world if more people would open their hearts, their lives and their homes to children around the world. It is a fertile harvest field and is still largely untouched, not only in terms of international adoptions, but even domestic. I pesonally know people who have changed countless lives through being foster parents. May I ask you to simply pray and ask the Lord how He could use you to make a difference in a precious heart and life by opening up yours?