Here she is

We have talked about this before during conversations and we assume that you will remember of the promise that God gave us four years ago… some may even know the details of this promise.

But let’s start at the beginning of this story.  Three years ago I (Esther) believed that God gave our family a promise of another baby, a little Roma girl who will be named Hadassah. He said that she will be the key for our ministry and He also said that we will raise her and that she was “born for a time like this” (Esther 4 :14 ). She will be the one that will assist in the Roma people turning to God – the cultural key.

This promise was given to me before we entered Macedonia for the first time, in June 2011 , three and a half years ago. 

Last year, April 2014, God told me that we will have her by Christmas (some of you know about this as well). We arrived in Macedonia on 16 December, in time for our Christmas.  

Since we arrived it had been a real test of faith as I realised that Christmas was around the corner and I silently wondered, “How is God going to pull this off…. do this in time and how will it work and what and how..?” So many things went through my mind, without me knowing what would happen.  It then dawned upon us that Christmas in Macedonia is only celebrated on 7 January, which led to the thought: “Well, that gives Him some more time”.

With Mary Jo

We have been in Macedonia for three weeks.   Being new to the city and not really speaking any Macedonian we opted to attend the local International Church of Skopje. After the sermon, the pastor mentioned that there is a little girl that needs to be adopted and her name is Sevgji (Turkish for ‘love’).  My heart skipped a beat but I kept my pose. Danie thought I didn’t even hear the announcement, so good was I in not letting my emotions show.  After the service I met Rochelle, (we have spoken via Skype and she and her husband are also missionaries with GEM). I asked her about the girl in need of a home and I found out she was Roma and she is eight months old. My heart nearly stopped!  I had to find out more about her.  Rochelle took me to Mary-Jo, who I found out later is the American ambassador’s wife. She told me more about Sevgji’s background and other relevant info.

Before her operation

After her delivery, they discovered a hole in Sevgji’s heart’s one valve. She was since kept in the post natal ward.  She received an operation in December when a visiting group of surgeons successfully managed to fix her up.  They also discovered after her birth that her left hand suffered a birth defect and is missing a thumb.  This was a very emotional conversation for us and the tears kept on coming as we thought about the possible fulfilment of the promise God made to us so long ago. Mary-Jo then told us that Sevgji had recovered enough to be released from hospital soon.  If no one willing to foster or adopt Sevgji comes forward, she will be placed into the system and be sent to an orphanage in Bitola. 

This was more than enough confirmation for us. We went to visit her on Monday, along with Mary Joe (the American ambassador’s wife). She has been such a blessing to Sevgji, and to us now.  Fortunately for us her title made everyone in the hospital accessible, and she introduced me to the medical director of the paediatric ward in Skopje,  Aspazija Sofijanova. Dr Sofijanova knows the lawyer we are using and advised us to instruct him to start with the temporary foster application with the hope that it will end up in an international adoption.

So to make a long story short: we trust that Sevgji will be released in our care shortly with the intention of a possible adoption.

One of the very few times she was outside the hospital

Understandably, we can be accused of totally losing all our senses… but rest assured we have not. This is a ‘God-thing’. He is orchestrating everything here and we fully trust in Him to continue to do so.  God is placing the right people in the right places, and has given us His abundant love to care for and love another child. This is no coincidence or a case of self-fulfilling prophecy, but rather a wonderful testimony of a living God we serve, who cares for the unreached and we need to be obedient to His instruction. This is why we came to Macedonia after all – to make a difference!

Sevgji is doing great, she is a lovely baby and smiles a lot. Her heart operation was done by American doctors and she is healthy now.  She is ready for a loving family and we hope this family can be us.

With the kids

The whole family in the hospital

Our first meeting