Hunter & Christina Baker Family
Children: Benton 8; Philip 6; Bryan almost 4; Anna Michelle – due in July 2015
Church: First Baptist Church Dadeville, AL
Seven years ago adoption was not in my vocabulary. I never grew up dreaming of adopting a child. I never knew anyone that adopted. Adoption never touched me in any way. I was officially an “adoption virgin.” Then one day adoption reached out and touched me for the first time. We were pregnant with our second child and had just started seminary at Lakeview Baptist Church in Auburn, Alabama. Through the preaching of the word, the Lord clearly put a call on my heart for adoption in the fall of 2008. We spent the next six years seeking the Lord about his timing. We would wait, pray, learn and wait some more. We began to feel the Lord leading us to adopt domestically. We had a deep burden for young women who make the brave choice of adoption rather than abortion. We desired to provide such a brave young woman with a place for her child. We have prayed for our daughter by name for over six years. Our boys pray for their sister by name every night. We have longed for the day when the Lord brings her into our home. We have learned much about the Lord and ourselves through this process of adoption. It has been a long road of learning, studying and diligently seeking the Lord for wisdom and discernment on this adoption road. Our home study process has been a little lengthier than most because of certain “roadblocks”. We have learned to trust the Lord and his sovereignty of timing. We have also been blessed to have our eyes open to the beauty of adoption as it mirrors our adoption in Christ. The Lord has used this to teach us to lean on him and follow where he leads no matter the cost. In April, we finally received word we had been chosen by a precious birthmother. We are set to bring our daughter home this July. Before 2008, adoption had never touched me. In July of 2015, adoption will finally touch me with ten little fingers and ten little toes. I am no professional on adoption. I have not written any books, have no blogs and certainly am not qualified to navigate the deep waters of the adoption world. But maybe a small and simple part of the puzzle is for believers to just be obedient to God’s call on their life. If that preacher wouldn’t have faithfully preached on orphan Sunday, I may have not heard a word from the Lord about adoption. If Russell Moore hadn’t written “Adopted for Life”, my husband may have not been confirmed. If great agencies like Katelyn’s Fund didn’t obey Jesus, our funding may not have come through for our adoption. If I weren’t willing to follow in obedience to Jesus, Anna would never be part of our family. I am willing to be obedient to Jesus. I may not change the orphan crisis, but I can change one orphan’s crisis. And if I am obedient to do that, maybe someone who finds themselves an adoption virgin will see adoption for the first time in our family. And maybe, just maybe, one day they will no longer be an adoption virgin.
