A couple of days ago, I wrote about the miraculous story of many Liberian orphans being adopted by families within the same community. Amazingly, we have a little something like that going on where we live. In our little ward, we have four families, including our own, all involved in the various stages of Haiti adoption. I look forward to the day when all these new children join our ward and dramatically shift the demographics of our Primary!

Last Friday, two of these friends came over to my house so we could work on our dossiers together – theirs for Haiti and ours for Ethiopia. Ultimately, we didn’t get a whole lot of paperwork done because we spent a good chunk of our time... more

As a friend of mine said (and I’m paraphrasing a bit), “When I look at pictures of waiting children, I can see myself parenting any of them. But when I’ve found ‘our’ children, they have stood out to me somehow.” So does that mean a particular child was destined to be hers from the beginning, or does it mean that given the circumstances as they were (family wanting to adopt older child from Russia, these particular waiting children being available when family is ready), the Lord helped them to make a “good” or “right” choice? I believe it’s the latter in most circumstances, but again, I leave room for exceptions and know parents who will go to their graves knowing that the child or children... more

How I reconcile all of this is with the knowledge that God is omniscient and that He has the power to help us optimize outcomes. He doesn’t force a thirteen year old girl to get pregnant or a woman in China to unwittingly have an “over quota” pregnancy because there are people in the world who hope to adopt. But because He knows all and that knowledge transcends time, He certainly has the power to help put pieces of a confusing puzzle together. As I envision it, when an expectant parent is praying for help knowing whether adoption might be the right choice for... more

Deciding to adopt our daughter with albinism was a little more difficult. We prayed about it for a good month or so before we both felt on the same page about it, and in hindsight, I think it was part of the “trial of our faith” process that we would face once we met her on a visit to Haiti. As incomprehensible as it seems to me now, I was so afraid of the delays and problems that I saw with her that I began to wonder whether her adoption was really the right thing for us after all. But even my lack of faith didn’t stop our Heavenly Father from letting us know... more

On Monday’s episode of “Oprah,” an amazing adoption story was showcased. I didn’t happen to see the show myself, but I read a synopsis of the story on Oprah’s website and was amazed at the tale that was told:

What began as an ordinary Brownies excursion became a life-changing event for one North Carolina mom.

In 2003, Lysa and two of her daughters attended a performance by a boys' choir from an orphanage in Liberia, a West African country ravaged by 14 years of civil war. At the concert, Lysa learned the 12 boys in the choir, and 400... more

Dear reader,

How are you? I hope life is treating you well.

I'm writing because I'm anxious to hear from you. I feel like all I do is talk, talk, talk and I don't know the darndest thing about what's going on in your life.

So drop me a line. Let me know what's up in your world. Tell me if there's anything in particular you want me to blather on about. Thanks.

Your friend,

Tana

;)

He acknowledged his brother, who was in the audience, and said, "This is the first time he has heard my testimony. Hopefully I can bring my family to a truth. The Church of Jesus Christ has been restored. It was restored by a young boy, Joseph Smith, who in a field saw God the Father and Jesus Christ."

McDowell continued, "Take the time to research and find out for yourself. Take the time to pick up The Book of Mormon. Ask whether it is true. If you want to see a miracle, just think that Gladys Knight is running a choir in the... more

Several years ago, Gladys Knight's son was the first member of her family to look at the Church. After he got baptized, her daughter came next.

Sister Knight described her search for God's true church, which came after the baptism of her children:

"I was raised in a Baptist home. We spent all day on Sunday at church. I was kind of all over the place religiously. I was a Baptist and then a Catholic and then I went to several other churches. I was seeking. There was something good in every one of those churches, but I thought... more

When I came across this article about Gladys Knight, I knew I wanted to share it here. I was particularly touched at the mention members of the Haitian branch attending one of her performances! :)

Gladys Knight Tells Floridians, "This is the Light" By Geoffrey Biddulph for Meridian Magazine

Gladys Knight and her 60-person choir of Latter-day Saints gave four performances for more than 5,000 people in southern Florida last week.

"This is... more

As an LDS mom of adopted Black children, nothing thrills me more than meeting and learning about other Black church members. The church is growing by leaps and bounds in places like Nigeria and Ghana, and is finally gaining a solid footing in American cities with large African American populations such as Cleveland. The Genesis Group has long been a beacon of light and source of support to LDS Church members of color, and the numbers of well-known Black LDS members, even though small, are steadily growing.

This... more