I could’ve held her forever, but I knew the longer I held her, the harder it would be to let her go…When I walked in the baby room, there were 5 or 6  cribs across the back wall and she stood there in her crib; the last one in the far left corner.

Nap time had just ended and all the other babies were out of their cribs eating their apple slice. Once she noticed she was the only left in her crib, she began to cry. Without even asking if it was okay, I rushed over and offered to pick her up. She outstretched her arms and I was hooked.

After holding her for more than 15 minutes, I saw her precious smile appear. In one hand, she had her slice of apple while she held a small ball against her chubby belly with the other. She was so excited when Jake brought over the small ball for her to play with and I was so excited just to be holding her. Miriam is around 12-14 months; no one was sure of her age, but it didn’t matter, her Mayan large eyes were mesmerizing. Most kids have been in the Hope of Life Orphanage all of their lives, so not knowing the full details of how they got there or when they were born isn’t a strange thing.

I have always had a desire to adopt and my love for Guatemala is so great, I can only imagine adopting from here. However, international adoption is closed due to the amount of child trafficking that has occurred; only locals are able to adopt. That doesn’t seem like an issue right now since, let’s be honest, I am in no position to be adopting a baby. But if the Lord has placed it on my heart, He will make it happen! There are so many things I don’t know, but the few things I do know, I have such confidence my God will fulfill them.