Dear Sweet Mother of Our Ugandan Daughter

Dear sweet mother of our Ugandan daughter,

I’ve been thinking about you a lot lately. I’ve been thinking about how it must have been when that lady from the orphanage came to visit you in your village. She came with paperwork in her hands. And I’ve been wondering how you must have felt when you saw her approach your home. Did you have any idea she was coming? Did you know what her mission was?  Had you any clue that she was there to ask for your signature on a legal document releasing your daughter into the hands of complete strangers halfway across the world? How did you feel when you read through the document? What was going through your head? Were you confused? Did this come as a shock? Or were you expecting that it might happen one day? Were you angry? Sad? Relieved? Maybe all of the above?

I’ve been thinking about you a lot lately. We’ve been told that you have some health issues. How is your health lately? Is it manageable?  Are you in pain? I pray that you aren’t. I’m assuming that you released your daughter to the orphanage because you felt that you could not adequately care for her. I respect that. I can’t imagine how that must have broken your heart.  And now, I can’t imagine the new series of emotions that must have set in when you realized your daughter will soon become the daughter of an American family, and that you may never see her again.

So, I wanted to write to you to tell you a few things that will hopefully set your mind at ease.  First of all, I want you to know that we will love your daughter unconditionally. By blood, she will still be your daughter.  But in every other way, she will belong to us.  We will treat her no differently than our birth children. She will be loved unconditionally. She will have me wrapped around her finger (She already does). I will treat her like the princess that she is.  We vow to protect her, provide for her, cherish her, encourage her, honor her, celebrate her, laugh with her, cry with her, play with her, guide her, teach her and train her.

Second, she will be given every opportunity at her disposal to do and become the person that God has created her to be—to fulfill the desires that God has put within her heart.  And her mother and I will be her biggest fans. And we will support her and love her and will permanently be in her cheering section.

Finally, and most importantly, your daughter … our daughter, will be brought up in a home where Jesus is the center and the focus. She will be taught the Word of God every day. She will be reminded over and over that she is a child of the King, and that God’s plan for her is bigger than she could ever dream. She will grow up in a home where the Gospel is lived out on a daily basis—where we serve one another—where we honor and respect each other—where we bear one another’s burdens—where we worship God together—where our lives and lips communicate to the world the infinite love of the Savior for spiritual orphans everywhere.

These things we promise you.

You need to know something else. Lately I’ve been praying for you. And I’ve been praying specifically that God would give me an opportunity to share the Gospel with you when we finally meet each other in the Ugandan courthouse. I don’t know where you stand with Jesus. I don’t know whether or not you’ve been born again.  Or whether anyone has ever sat down and explained to you that Jesus loves you and He died on a cross to forgive you of your sin and make you as white as snow. But what I do know is this: I would love more than anything to be able to look my daughter in the eye one day and explain to her how her birth mother came to know Jesus, and that one day, whether on this earth or in heaven, she will see her again. That is the sincere cry of my heart as I write this. I want you to know Jesus and the eternal, everlasting, unfailing love of the Savior.

Dear lady, I don’t know you, but the connection that we share through your daughter and mine is unlike any other human connection that I’ve ever experienced. And so, through tears, I feel compelled to tell you that I love you.  And I look forward to meeting you face to face very soon. Please take care.

Sincerely,

Joshua D. Via