Early on in their marriage, Lisa and Mike Geisterfer had talked about adopting children. The idea, however, was placed on the back burner after many years passed and they had four children of their own.
The idea came back up when Lisa read an article by Melissa Fay Greene, entitled "Hope Lives Here [Good Housekeeping, 2004]," about a woman who took in several Ethiopian children when they had no where to go. Lisa said that the article made her feel touched by Ethiopian children. It sparked an idea for adoption again.
"My heart was so moved by the plight of these children," she said in an interview in May of 2009. "I thought, 'We still have room to love two more kids."
Lisa said that she tossed the idea around for a while, but that it was pushed aside again after the passing of Mike's father. She said that the door was closed on it for the time being.
Door Reopens
The adoption idea, however, kept coming up in Lisa's everyday life. She said that she was even having dreams about children needing a mother and would often wake up feeling alarmed.
"I started to feel like this was what we should do," Lisa said. "I just happened to be reading in the book of James in the Bible too at that time, and it talks about God's love for children."
After feeling this way, Lisa told her husband she had been playing with the idea of adoption again. She said that Mike thought it was a crazy idea and had to take some time to think and pray about it.
"Almost three months later, Mike told me yes, that he thought we should do it," Lisa said. "God has a way of popping open doors you thought were closed."
Having four children of their own to worry about also, Lisa and Mike chose to pull their children into the decision. Jeremiah (19), Hayley (16), Zach (14), and Hannah (12) all had different reactions to the idea of their parents adopting two children from Ethiopia.
"I think they all felt pretty open to the idea though," Lisa said.
The Adoption Process
The process of the adoption took about a year and a half, Lisa said.
"It was a very grueling process," Lisa said. "The waiting process is long and there is a very involved screening process."
Lisa and Mike started paperwork in June of 2007 with Children's Hope International, which expects to place about 200 children with their adoptive parents in 2009. "You have to be willing to be flexible when adopting internationally," Lisa said.
The two girls that Lisa and Mike would be adopting were put into an orphanage in February of 2008 by their mother, who could no longer care for them. Ten months later, Lisa and Mike flew to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to pick up their newly adopted girls.
The Girls Arrive
On December 26, 2008, Bethelhem (7), and her sister Hana (3), arrived to their new home in Fort Collins, Colo. They spoke no English, only their native language of Amharic.
"We were nervous about the language barrier," Lisa said. "We had learned some simple phrases from their language when preparing for the girls, but we found that you can communicate really well through motions."
Lisa said that talking and playing games with them broke the barrier. The girls started to pick up the language really fast and are now both speaking in sentences. "It wasn't a huge issue," Lisa said. "It sort of washed out."
Other challenges have come up as time has gone on, but Lisa said that's to be expected. "With the girls, we are always having to speak to their fears of losing our love and being abandoned," she said.
With the family, Lisa said that everyone had to grieve the loss of who they were as a family, but that they have found a new way of interacting. "I think it's been hard on them," Lisa said. "Our family environment and who we were as a family changed."
At the end of it all though, Lisa believes that the adoption of the girls was something that God had for them. "We have these two little girls and these were the ones we were supposed to have," Lisa said.
More information on adoptions through Children's Hope International can be found on their web site.
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