I was his father.  He was my son.  But at the time, we were just learning each other.

I was in Ethiopia getting ready to bring my son home from the orphanage.  We had many obstacles in his life to combat, but we really had faith that God was going to do some special things in his life.

When I called home to tell Amanda about our first encounters, I told her of how Eli was so handsome, funny, and energetic.  I told her that the nannies called him the “bus driver,” because all the bus drivers in Ethiopia were short, fat, and assertive.  Not sure if that was a good thing at the time or not.

She then asked if there was anything else that she needed to know.

Well, there was on thing for which she needed to prepare herself.
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I was blessed to gain some true men of God as brothers when I was in college at North Greenville.  Out of those relationships, the Via family became very near to me.  I have told you about Josh Via and his family’s quest to bring their daughter home.  Through many crazy adventures, their daughter came home even when it didn’t seem possible.

The picture above is of Jonathan Via (or Smooth as most know him) and his daughter, Chloe.

She is not coming home.  Red tape is prohibiting this girl who is legally theirs from coming home.

But that isn’t stopping Smooth.  What you are about to read may be the most powerful reminder that the Church is still alive.

Here are Smooth’s words:
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Today is a very special day in the Agnew household.  Eli came home 2 years ago today.  After a week in Ethiopia, Eli and I took the 17-hour flight to finally meet Mom and Obadiah.  Last night, we watched the video documentary I put together of our time together.  As I watched this boy who couldn’t walk at 2 years old get up during the movie to put a pacifier in his baby sister’s mouth, I remembered how far we have come.

Obie asked, “Daddy, did you get me in an airplane?”

“No, buddy.  I didn’t.”

“Oh.  You just got me in a car?”

“Yeah, but it was a pretty special car.”

A few weeks ago, I took the picture you see above.  Eli was in my office at church and saw the first picture we received of this troubled little boy.  He turned it around and looked at it, and then I was shocked by what he said.
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It’s wild to think that we are nearing 2 years of Eli being home with us.  I still remember the first time I picked him up out of that smelly orphanage crib.  With all the issues looming before us, God was more than faithful.  Eli is not only a healthy little boy, he’s advanced for his age now.

With all the love and support we received during our adoption process, we put together a 50-minute documentary that we gave to family and close friends who had walked with us during this time.  I want to share a piece of that video with you today for 2 reasons: 1) to be reminded of God’s faithfulness, and 2) for you to consider adoption.

The video shows some of my departure from America and the first time meeting Eli.  I saw him while he slept, but then the video shows our first encounter together.  The song in the background is a song that I wrote to help fund our adoption efforts.  It’s entitled “Your Father’s Arms.”  The first verse is about Obadiah.  The second verse is about Eli.  The third verse is about the rest of us.

Hope you enjoy some home footage:
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It’s hard to think that Eli has almost been home with us now for 2 years.  In May, when he turns 4, he will have been with us longer than he has been without us.  Honestly, it’s hard to imagine what life was like before he came home.

Eli adjusted well.  I mean crazy well.  We didn’t have any real horror stories.  When I got off the plane with him in my arms, he cried the first time Amanda held him, but 5 minutes later, he has been absolutely attached to his mommy.  The first night he only woke up one time probably due to jet lag or some of his medical conditions.  Mom, who he had been around only a few hours at that point, went in to console him, and he went back to sleep easily.  And that’s all the sleep issues we have had.  Naps great and sleeps great.  Potty trained in 20 hours.  The kid is a stud.

But even with all those successes, there was one thing that always concerned me about Eli.
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