That's What Faith Can Do



Silly Franky :)



 Each minute spent with Franky, our relationship grew more and more. By the second day with her, I experienced her silly side. I was laying on the floor, talking to another little girl in the Jungle Book Room, Jaelynn. Franky walked over beside me and plopped right down on my belly, with the biggest smile.  

Franky and Jaelynn

Saying, "Goodbye"

 One morning, I went to the Jungle Book Room before breakfast, with a good friend on my team, Madeleine. A few minutes until 8am, I was given my cue that it was breakfast time, time to leave. Right as I gave Franky a hug, she grabbed two of my fingers with her little hand, not about to let go. She was dragging me to door, and making an odd face – what I learned, then, to be the face before she’s getting ready to burst into tears. I don’t know what she wanted, since she isn’t talking yet, but she was not letting go. Finally, one of the nannies took her, and Franky fell on the ground, crying. How on earth could I leave her like this? Madeleine finally was like, “Come on. Let’s go.” I watched her crying, through the window, as I had only one choice, to walk away. My heart shattered, and I walked away with tears flowing down my face, as I made my way to breakfast.
 Like I said, I don’t know what she wanted, but she was headed for the door. I still have that image in my head, today. It was like she was saying, “Don’t leave me. Please don’t leave me.”
 I wrote this in my journal, and at the bottom, I wrote, “I can’t leave Franky anymore. We have to adopt her. That’s just it.”

 Leaving Maria’s pretty much killed me. I’ve said over and over again that leaving that place, leaving those children, leaving my sister – even when we weren’t, I knew in my heart that she was my sister….it was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do in my life. Maria’s Big House of Hope is kind of a place, where you can’t leave and be okay with it.

 I came back home, on June 14^th. I a few short phone conversations with my family while I was in China, telling them about Franky. And they were on board with it. They were going crazy, calling agencies, and even got passports for China….while I was still in China!
 When my parents picked me up at the airport in Chicago, we got in the car, and I showed them a picture of Franky and I. I was kissing her forehead….it was when we said goodbye. And I came out and said it. “Guys. We have to go get her.” And while I was saying this, Mom pointed to a Target bag in the seat, beside me. I looked in the bag and found a picture frame, that said, “Sisters.”
 You know those crazy moments when everybody involved are all on the same page. Yeah, it’s called a God thing.
 From here on out, little “God things” keep happening.

 Anyways.  The whole month of June and July were very tough. We got in touch with an agency in Colorado, and waited and waited and waited.
 Something Chris Wheeler told us, when we were leaving China was, “When feeling’s fade, faith begins.” It’s okay to let your feelings go, was basically what he was encouraging. I kept that in my heart throughout the time I was “letting go.” And you know….letting go isn’t so easy – or, as easy as I imagined. Being in such a place, experiencing God’s presence in a whole new way, and just understanding God’s purpose for your life…and coming back to reality, it’s not exactly easy.
 The whole time of letting go of the experience, I had the picture of Franky crying in my head. I kind of took that story and viewed it, spiritually. I just couldn’t let go of her hand. Walking away, moving on with life has left me broken and torn apart. In the physical part, I knew that I would see her again later on that day, but for that moment….just for that moment…I had to leave her, hurting. And even leaving her to go back to my home, to be a world away from her, I knew I’d see her again. I know, today, that we will meet again, only we won’t have to say goodbye anymore.
 But out of nowhere, Father says, “Come on. Let’s go.” That’s when having faith began.


 Another short story, I’d like to share.
 In mid-July whenever we were still waiting to be matched, one song meant a lot to me, during that time. I had just come back from Washington D.C., when I got the news that we might not be able to adopt Franky. And I almost believed that we wouldn’t. The Sunday being back, somebody requested that I sang a song by Kutless, “What Faith Can Do.” I was in a bad mood from lack of sleep, and I hadn’t sang that song in a while, but I did it. And barely got through it, once it applied to my life.

 “I’ve seen dreams that move the mountains, hope that doesn’t ever end, even when the sky is falling. I’ve seen miracles just happen, silent prayers get answered, broken hearts become brand new. That’s what faith can do.”


And so three weeks later, we got a phone call: “We found her file…she’s yours if you want her!” We couldn’t scream, “YES!” any faster. :)

That’s what faith can do.


-Emily Edwards

Franky and I