Grace Over and Over Again
In October 2019, Millie and Kevin Foster were on a once-in-a-lifetime trip to New Zealand, which Millie had been planning and saving for since she was a child. Intentionally planned as a way to rest and recover during a season of grief and processing, it was then that they got the call that they had been matched with their daughter, Kiaora.
“Her name comes from the Māori phrase kia ora and is sometimes used as a greeting. I’ve heard it translated as ‘abundant life,’” Millie said. “When I hear that, I always think of John 10:10, where Jesus said that he came to give abundant life, and I want her to carry that.”
Shortly after they were matched, the Fosters were attending an event at their agency when they saw a friend Millie knew from high school. She too was adopting from India, and she and Millie soon began getting dinner each week and discussing all things adoption. It was during one of these dinners when Millie learned about Show Hope Adoption Aid grants.
“I still remember walking to the mailbox and opening the letter, and my jaw just dropped,” Millie said. “There are so many people who ask me about adoption, and they always ask, ‘How do you afford it? How does it even work? Where do you get money from?’ And this grant allows me to tell other people that there are options for funding. Don’t not do it because of the money.”
With delays due to COVID-19, Millie and Kevin were hoping that the judge would allow for a video call court like they saw other families experience. But their judge wanted an in-person court date. They traveled to India in November 2020, with their court date set for the day before Thanksgiving. On that day though, the adoption was not finalized. The judge told them to come back in a few weeks.
“Our guide said, ‘It’s the holidays, go back [home], and spend time with your families,’ and we said, ‘We just got to meet her! We are holding her now, so we are not leaving her,’” Millie said. “We went back to the hotel and were just dumbfounded. It hit us that we were not leaving and that we were just there indefinitely.
“I remember on Thanksgiving, I made a thankfulness list of everything that the Lord had done to remind myself of all the ways he had been faithful, reminding myself that he was going to use this,” Millie continued. “There’s something sweet in that utter dependence of knowing that you have lost all control.”
Because they were not yet able to take custody of Kiaora, every morning, Millie and Kevin would walk a mile down the dirt road to Kiaora’s orphanage and spend the day with her.
“Now we see that the time was invaluable,” Millie shared. “It was what she needed to bond with us and what we needed to build relationships with her and the people who cared for her.”
Millie, Kevin, and Kiaroa came home on January 6, 2021.
When they first met her, Kiaora was 2 years old but only 13 pounds, so they knew she was developmentally delayed. At that time, she couldn’t sit unassisted, crawl, or control head movement, so when she did not start talking, the Fosters assumed that it would come eventually, like everything else. It was not until a hearing screening more than three months after coming home that they learned that Kiaora is deaf.
“It was a big surprise because her facial expressions were always appropriate,” Millie said. “She tricked us pretty well.She was born with one eye, and we were concerned with her vision in her left eye. But we hardly even think about her eyes or vision now because the Lord has given her really good vision. Everything became, ‘How do we communicate?’”
In addition to the Adoption Aid grant, the Fosters have also received a Show Hope Medical Care grant to help provide physical therapy and a custom-built, hot pink wheelchair that Kiaora uses at school and church.
“God has been faithful to provide resources and to help us to learn how to grow in both communication and relationship as a family,” Kevin said.
Kiaora, now 6, is described by both of her parents as compassionate and caring.
“I love how she loves,” Kevin said. “She is so expressive and caring. She wants everyone to be included.”
“She is really sweet and equal parts determined,” Millie said. “That is going to continue to serve her well, and it already has with physical therapy. She is determined that she is going to be independent.”
Both Millie and Kevin felt like they had unfinished business in India, and when they initiated the process for a second adoption, they received a call from their agency. There was a boy in India that they wanted to match the Fosters with because he was also deaf.
“We both immediately said, ‘Yes! We know that this is the Lord, as much as he has pulled us into the deaf community and deaf culture.’”
“Through our adoption journey, God has taught us about his grace over and over again,” Kevin said. “How endless is his supply for us, and how his Spirit gives us the ability to keep showing grace to our children.”
“What [Show Hope donors] have done, their generosity has made it possible for kids to come home. I’m at a loss for words at how huge that is,” Millie said. “They are breaking down the barriers between people and adoption.”, and wonderful heart of our Heavenly Father.
This Christmas, we have strategically planned to raise $500,000 for the continuing impact of our work, yet we cannot reach that goal without you. Today, will you prayerfully consider a gift to our Gifts of Hope campaign? We need you.
