A precious little boy has grown up in our Mana Gammachuu orphanage, having been brought to us when he was found abandoned outside of a cafe at about six-months-old.

Esubalew turned 4-years-old last month.  He is a hefty little guy, curious and engaging.

A year ago six of his buddies were the last children to be adopted internationally before Ethiopia closed adoptions to foreigners.  Esubalew was left behind.  He often asked, “When is it my turn to get a family?” not truly understanding what ‘family’ is, just knowing that his friends got one (and left) and he didn’t.

Most of the children in our orphanage are babies or toddlers and, quite frankly, there wasn’t much to stimulate Mr. Esubalew as days slipped by with nobody his age to play with.  Because most Ethiopians want to adopt babies, we knew it was going to be hard to place Esubalew with an Ethiopian family.  We had begun to brainstorm how we could better meet his needs in the days to come.

And we prayed.

Today, with joy and gratitude, we share the happy news that Abebe, NewLife’s Country Manager, and his wife Abonesh have added another son to their family.  They stepped forward and formally adopted Esubalew, legally changing his name to Christian Abebe at the rap of a judge’s gavel.

God has divine plans for Christian by placing him in this exceptional family.  Abebe and Abonesh have raised three amazing children by anyone’s standards and are certainly up to the task of setting this young boy on a trajectory undreamed of a month ago.

Adoption is God’s heart.  It is a picture of God redeeming the lost, the broken, the unwanted.  Christian now has a mommy and daddy who will guide, instruct, nurture and love him for the rest of his life.  He now belongs somewhere and has an identity and place in society.  He is a little 4-year-old boy with a bright future — no longer left behind, no longer unwanted.

All of NewLife Ethiopia’s staff and many, many others throughout the U.S. rejoice with Abebe’s family and offer thanksgiving to our faithful Lord who does indeed place the lonely in families (Psalm 68:6).