SEARCHING FOR SEBASTIAN A L E T T E R F R O M F AT H E R T O S O N BY I S R A E L C H AV E Z
knew you were out there somewhere, mi hijo (my son). I just had to find you. How could I give up? God never gave up looking for me. When God first spoke to us about B Y Ryou— E V. P H I L I P this child we were meant to find—your mother and I understood that adoption is very close to the heart of our God. He is the God of orphans and widows and the poor, you know. When she was young, your mother even imagined adopting a child from every nation in the world. It was a beautiful dream. When we first married, we asked God to lead us in the journey of becoming a family. After one year, he spoke to us from the Bible through a letter written by a man named Paul. He wrote that we who belong to Jesus are all adopted, brought into sonship through the Holy Spirit. That word “adoption” stayed in our heads. We knew that God was calling us to search for you. The search was exciting, difficult, and sometimes a little scary. We did not know even what you looked like, or what your name was. What color were your eyes? Who
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were your friends? How old were you? So many unknowns. We could not do this alone; we needed others to help us, and God provided many kind and wise people to guide our A . G Usteps. NTHER There were our missionary friends, Dallas and Terra, who had already adopted two children. They gave us a whole binder of things to learn—it was a little overwhelming! There was this course we had to take, studying hard so that we would be good parents. It was intense and we were worried we would not pass. There was so much paperwork, and we grew tired and discouraged. But there was our church and our families reminding us that God was leading us and that we should not give up. There was this lady named Paola, a psychologist who helped us prepare to become a family. And then there was Nora, from Family Services, who helped us find you at long last. So many cities, so many states—we had searched everywhere— and in the end it turned out that you were living only two blocks from our house! For five years, just around the corner. The time came to meet you face-to-face.
