This is Andrew. Two and a half years old, though he often talks like a 3 or 4 year old! Andrew came to the home when he was a young baby, a couple of months old. Andrew is one of the first kids I ever remember meeting at the home. It was almost two years ago now, November of 2007, when I came here for the World Race. I remember we arrived at night sometime, because it was already dark outside. The 26 of us world racers, along with our big packs and our smaller daypacks piled into the YMC (the building that I now currently call home). We stacked our bags in the corners of the room and we made a circle around the large big room. In one corner of that room was a bunch of younger women in their 20s holding babies. It caught my attention because, well, babies always catch my attention. One of those babies was this young man, Andrew, who was less than 6 months old at the time.
We stayed at the YMC for several days before we headed out to different locations around the Philippines. I spent most of my days trying to get as much Andrew time as I could. Since the babies were located at the same building we were living and sleeping at (unlike now where they live up at the children’s home), I was always on the lookout for baby Andrew. Anytime I would see him, I would try to hold him and love on him as much as I could. In fact, I think that time was more for my benefit than it was for him… since it had been 3 months since I spent time in my church nursery, I was missing out on some quality baby time!
A year later, I came back to visit Manila for one month, in October 2008. It was so great to see Andrew and see how big he had gotten! I was able to look at pictures of him from each time and compare them. The first time I came he was just a baby, but now, he was a toddler!
Fast forward another year to now: October 2009. In my eyes he’s barely even a toddler anymore (though in age he still is)… he’s becoming his own little person! Andrew loves cars. To be specific, he loves the car that Marilyn and I share. He kind of thinks it’s his, and gets a little jealous/angry whenever I take it somewhere.He loves to eat crackers and sweets, and doesn’t like vegetables at all. He is a big boy, and has recently been growing so much in height that he is thinning out a lot too! Andrew loves to dance and sing, and one of his favorite songs is “Hallelujah,” which he really just loves singing that one word over and over again. Andrew is very expressive and his face can often say a lot more than his words ever do, whether it be his eyebrows curling in in anger, his eyes widening in curiosity, or his lips curling into a huge smile of excitement! Andrew is very advanced in his English speaking ability, thanks in large part to his best friend.
Andrew’s best friend is Marilyn. And Marilyn’s best friend is Andrew (or Doo-Doo as she affectionately refers to him). Andrew has had Marilyn in his life, as far back as he can remember. Marilyn came to Manila just shortly after Andrew arrived. From the beginning, these two had a special bond, and still have it to this very day! Andrew loves to spend as much time as he can with Marilyn, and Marilyn spends as much time as she can with him as well.
Which is why it is bittersweet to now share that Andrew is also one of our kids in the final stages of international adoption. His family has been selected, and he will be going to live with them over the next 2-4 months. We praise God for providing a Christian family for Andrew, but as with all of our kids who move on to other places, we selfishly mourn over the loss of them in our own lives. Andrew is a special young boy, and he will be missed here at the NFFCH. Please pray for him during this transition. Pray for his new family. Pray for his old family (us), and pray for Andrew, that he might be given all that he needs and placed in the right home that he may come to know God in an authentic way as he grows into a young man. And please pray for his health and his safety as well. Thank you, and I hope you enjoy the video.
