Never Too Old

CHRIS AND SARAH PADBURY

I first met Sarah Padbury during my newlywed days, while living in Colorado Springs. We became acquainted through a mutual friend who worked with both Sarah and myself at Focus on the Family. We did not know each other well during that time, and lost contact after Scott and I moved to the Louisville area shortly thereafter. Years later, however, we reconnected via our mutual friend, who realized that God had drawn both of our families toward adoption and mobilizing the church to engage in orphan care and adoption advocacy.

We often hear heartwarming stories about children who have been abandoned or orphaned, finding families to call their own. But considering the staggering UNICEF report of 143 million orphans globally, the truth is that far too many children grow up without ever experiencing the fundamental love, safety and security of their very own family. It is a difficult fact to consider; imagine being an adult with nowhere to go for holidays, no one to call for advice, no mother to teach you how to be a mother yourself, no father to model manhood to you. Honestly, it is a sobering thought to consider being alone in this harsh world.

While those involved in the adoption community realize that children who are not adopted eventually grow up, the stark reality of orphaned children transitioning into adulthood without a sense of belonging anywhere is a concept rarely presented in tangible fashion. My friend Sarah, however, and her husband Chris, came face to face with a young lady whom the world might otherwise label a statistic. Sarah first met Carmelita in 2007, while serving on Colorado Governor Bill Ritter's Task Force for Foster Care and Permanence. Carmelita was one of many young adults who had aged out of foster care and were invited to speak to the task force about changes they felt would improve foster care. "I was drawn to her," Sarah remembers, "and we exchanged numbers."

The simple act of connecting during a meeting led to many meaningful interactions between Carmelita and the Padbury family, which had been built exclusively through adoption. Chris and Sarah first adopted 3-week-old Mariah, and then four months later, a baby boy named Ethan; both were domestic adoptions. Ten months later, the Padburys traveled to China to adopt 11-month-old Hannah. "In 14 months we went from no children to 3 babies ages 10, 11 and 14 months old!" Sarah exclaims. "When our triplets were six years old, we returned to China to adopt Jacob, a three-year-old who was born with a cleft lip and palate." Next came Jalaya, a six-year-old who was in foster care and had been diagnosed with Reactive Attachment Disorder, ADHD, and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Home for two years now, Sarah enthusiastically declares, "The world says, 'hopeless,' but God says, 'Precious with Purpose!' "

The Padbury family, however, was not yet complete. As their relationship with Carmelita grew, Chris and Sarah realized that while she is now an adult, Carmelita's childhood dream of having parents to claim as her own had gone unfulfilled. Six months after meeting, Carmelita and her two young children, ages two and three, moved into the Padbury home. "On Father's Day 2008," Sarah explains, "we - all 7 members of the family - officially asked Carmelita to join our family. She said yes and we all cheered and cried over the dinner table." Chris and Sarah began the process to legally adopt 24-year-old Carmelita, whose adoption was final in September of 2008. The family celebrated with a big party that was officiated by their pastor. Chris and Sarah became instant grandparents, and are now the proud mom and dad of six children, ages 24, 11, 11, 11, 8 and 8.

Chris and Sarah, along with social worker Brian Felker and pastor Robert Gelinas, started Project 1.27 as a ministry outreach of Colorado Community Church. It has now moved beyond the church doors to include 18 church partners, and its adoptive families represent more than 100 churches! Learn more about the work God is doing through this vital ministry by visiting the Project 1.27 website and watching this video.

As the Padbury family has modeled, there is no age limit on the impact of giving the gift of family to a child. Truly, a person is never too old to need the love of a mom and dad!