Noxie asked me to adopt her. She’s 14 years old and is currently living with her grandmother here, in Nsoko. She was recently either kicked out or willingly left her father’s house because of Noxie’s stepmother who actually kicked her. Noxie has completed seventh grade and desires to finish her education. However, because attending school means tuition and her grandmother cannot afford it, she is unable to go. Thus, Noxie’s proposal…
I first saw Noxie sitting outside our house absent-mindedly playing with some rocks. I began talking to her. She seemed a little upset by something. It didn’t take her long to confess that she wanted to be adopted by wealthy people so that she can leave her grandmother’s and also continue her schooling. She noticed that I had a band on my ring finger and asked if I was married or engaged. I said I was married. Then she asked if I had any children and I told no. She asked what kind of work I did back home and I said that I didn’t have a job. Then she asked what my husband did, and I had to tell her that he also is unemployed. She said that I could still adopt her anyway. “You don’t need any money to adopt children here,” she told me. Although I don’t think that’s entirely true, especially since I am not a resident of this country, my heart broke for her. I’ve had thoughts of adopting children from foreign countries for a number of years now, and here was this young girl nearly begging me to take her back with me to the States. How do you respond to a proposal like that? From a child that is not living in the greatest of conditions? I’m not sure what I said to her. My mind keeps going back to that conversation. The truth is that I want to adopt / rescue as many children as I can from harsh conditions. A child deserves to know and believe that they are loved and cared for.
In the little time that I’ve had with Noxie since we arrived, I can tell that she craves attention. She’s very bright and knows how to speak English. I was able to witness Noxie with other girls that are the same age. She became a different person around them; she put up a front and acted like nothing bothered her. But I saw what I believe was the real Noxie when she “proposed to me”. She is a child that wants to have a chance and wants people to love her and not mistreat or abuse her or cast her off as nothing. Being here in Africa, I’ve heard more stories than I care to count of kids being either neglected or being abused. The Bible says that children are a gift from the Lord (Psalm 127:3), but they’re sometimes treated as mere trash.
There are many Noxie’s in the world and I can’t adopt them all. I can’t help but be overwhelmed. The Lord is taking me through these experiences, but at this point in time I’m not sure what to do with them. For the moment, I’ll share them with you. I’m not going to “propose” that you begin the adoption process right now for a dozen children, although, if you feel God leading you to do so, then by all means. I do, however, ask you to pray. Pray for these precious ones. Pray for the Lord’s protection and provision for them. There’s no telling what the power of your prayer can do on their behalf. The Lord listens to prayers like those. After all, “Jesus loves the little children, all the children of the world…”
