Yes. That is Nathan sitting in a radio recording booth.
No. He has not changed professions -- though I do think he has a voice that commands respect, at least when he's on the phone with customer service.
I have to say, 24 hours later and I'm still shaking my head that we are going to be on the radio. I mean, who are we?
Well, it's not really who WE are. But who HE is. HE surprises us with the doors he opens to share His Good News as well as regularly reminds me that being a 'missionary' means wearing a variety of hats (some of which really stretch us!) -- and that this calling on our lives is far from boring!
So let me back up the story a little bit and share how this unfolded...
The day after we returned to Albania I opened my e-mail to find a message with the subject matter: "Invitation for a radio interview..."
What? Maybe it's the jetlag...
I opened the message, rubbed my eyes and proceeded to read an introduction from a woman in the city of Lezhe, about one hour north of our village. She was familiar with Reni's story prior to him joining our family. After a visit some time later to his former orphanage --I'll call her 'MK' for short -- was happy to hear that he had found a family with us, learning our names from a photo book we gifted the orphanage and which the Sisters put in their visitor's room. MK then "googled" us and found this blog.
MK described herself as active in promoting pro-life work in Albania as well as adoption through a radio program she hosts on Albania's one Catholic radio station. She wanted to open this fall season with a positive story of a real-life family who had chosen to adopt children with special needs.
 |
| The kids were pretty fascinated with the acoustical sponge on the studio walls. |
Monday afternoon we picked Reni up from Kopesht and drove up to Lezhe, meeting MK at a taxi stand. From there we drove a short distance to the radio studio.
 |
| The kids and I with MK and B, the audio engineer for our session. |
The kids were fantastic. I must admit I was a bit worried about them staying in another room, not interrupting us for one straight hour. We supplied them with plenty of snacks, juice, activity books and digital devices (and maybe a firm reminder that nothing short of blood flow were grounds for knocking on the door).
Here are some of the questions she asked us during the interview:
- Before your marriage, have you ever thought of becoming adoptive parents? Why and how has this become your mission in life?
- You knew, beforehand, that Ellie and Reni are children who need special care. Why did you choose specifically them?
- How has God worked through your children in your life and in your soul? How has your life changed through them?
- What is your message for those parents who have got the ‘surprising news’ that they’re becoming parents of children with special needs?
Our interview lasted one hour, with MK embarking on the big job of translating our answers between asking us questions. The interview was captured in Lezhe but actually recorded live up in Shkodra where it will be cleaned up before broadcasting next week.
Of course, after it was all finished I thought of a few things I would have like to include, but we trust that the Holy Spirit helped guide our answers, feeble as some of them may have felt. Thank you to those of you who prayed!
We praise God for the opportunity to share His story in us, but more importantly, for a platform to share the Gospel, albeit in the most unexpected of formats.
Following the interview, we visited the home of a family from MK's parish who have adopted two children in the last 3-4 years. They are truly pioneers! Albanian domestic adoption has only recently become slightly more accepted (a politician and his wife adopted within the last year or two and made the news), and among those who adopt, they usually only adopt one time and keep their child's "adoption" status a family secret. It's difficult to explain the deeply held cultural beliefs about the importance of maintaining bloodlines, as well as convey the genuine fears many carry in a shame-based (or honor) society/culture about adopting 'bad blood.' The orphaned child is considered to carry 'bad luck' (why else would it be without a family?) so to adopt an abandoned child is to assume great risk of bringing bad luck into one's family. In light of this, you can understand why MK considered this couple so remarkable, describing our new friends as "adoption evangelists," eager to end the stigma and share the joy with their friends and neighbors.
We know that one radio interview will likely not change hearts overnight, but we pray that with our testimony, as well as the testimony of others, public perception may begin to change. And even more so, we hope the analogy of adoption will give individuals a picture through which they can better understand what God has done for us, bringing us into a larger, multi-ethnic family through the shared blood of Christ.
Monday, Sep. 28 @ 2:00 PM or 5:00 PM EST
1 comment:
awesome!
Post a Comment