Hometown Clinton - Fall 2016

“WE GET THE MORE PERMANENT
BLESSING OUT OF THE EXPERIENCE
BECAUSE SHE IS HERE TO STAY, AND
THERE ARE UNLIMITED EXAMPLES OF
GOD’S FAITHFULNESS THAT WE GET
TO WATCH FIRSTHAND,” SAID ROBBY.
people who swooped in and found her worthy, and now we get to
carry her on through being in a family.”
“We get the more permanent blessing out of the experience
because she is here to stay, and there are unlimited examples of God’s
faithfulness that we get to watch firsthand,” said Robby. “People ask,
‘Why adoption?’ We want to be honest about the experience and not
glaze over it. We want to be faithful to communicate the challenges,
but by and large, the grace and blessing that exists in having her in
our family so far outweighs those challenging days. What’s the point
of life but to understand more how to be Christ to this world? If this
experience shaped us to be more like Him, why wouldn’t you choose
to understand the Gospel better by embracing an orphan child in a
way that we have been embraced in our lost state before salvation?”
“The reality is that there are still millions of children without
families, and having had a child biologically and adopting a child—
there are such rich blessings from both experiences,” said Robby.
“They’re extremely different. But why, when looking at a world with
so many children without a family, and thinking of the no-brainer
benefit that having a family provides to an orphan child, why wouldn’t
you accept one if at all possible? Knowing that everyone who adopts
speaks of the incredible transformation that happens in your life
because of it, there is very little risk. The money is one of the biggest
hurdles that people don’t know if they want to overcome, but it is
overwhelming how supportive people
were to us. Pinelake Church provides a
scholarship to families that choose to
adopt domestically and internationally.
The government gives incredible tax
breaks for adoptions.”
“We had a random person or group of
people put $4,600 in cash in our mailbox.
We still don’t know who those people are,”
said Jessica. “This isn’t something that
by any means we went through alone. I
would say to bust wide open the door and
to ask people to donate and give because
I felt like when we brought Eden home,
we didn’t just bring her to our home. We
brought her to a whole community that
was ready to love her and embrace her.
It’s not just beneficial to you; it helps the
child know they are loved by a lot
of different people.”
Robby and Jessica have been open
about sharing their adoption journey on
social media to whoever is interested.
“We have been so overwhelmed by support
and engagement with the story and with
many people beginning the adoption
process because of what they have seen
unfold through Eden’s story. So praise
God for that,” said Robby. “That’s why we
brought a husband and wife photography
team and a videographer with us to India.
We felt it was important for Eden—to show
her in a decade or so when she can really
grasp her beginnings and to be able to give
her some kind of visual context of what
her life was like in those early days. But it’s
also important for the many thousands of
people who have watched and supported
us—to give them some insight into what
this process looks like. It has been very
rewarding and worth it.”
Robby and Jessica posted a YouTube
video called “Love Has Come—An
Adoption Story” that tells the story of
bringing Eden home. The Followells hope
this video will inspire potential adoptive
families to take the next step.
40 • Aug/Sept/Oct 2016
Hometown Clinton • 41