Adoption/Foster Care Children Special Needs Unique Ministries

INTO HIS ARMS

‘There’s a 10-day old baby girl and she has a disease,’ I was told. ‘I’ll take her,’ I said without hesitation. Just hours later, the social worker was at our door in Guatemala, holding a bundle wrapped in a blanket.

She explained the baby was abandoned due to her diagnosis. She was left with nothing, not even a name. And this baby girl wasn’t expected to live very long because she had Hydranencephaly. She only had about 3% of her brain and an enlarged head due to an abnormal accumulation of fluid in her brain. The days that followed were filled with MRI’s and hospital visits.

Then, I stood as a 19-year-old before the judge, asking if I could adopt her and give her a name. ‘Her own family didn’t even want her,’ the judge told me solemnly, ‘She’s probably not going to live, and if she does, she won’t have a normal life. Why would you even bother?’

I told her I cared because her life matters, and the value of our life isn’t decided by the number of our days.

I named her Emma Leigh—Emma means ‘whole and complete’ and Leigh, (my middle name I share with my mom) means ‘healer.’ There were surgeries, court hearings, lost paperwork, and so many medical appointments.

But these were never a burden. I just wanted her to be loved here on earth.

Just 31 days old, Emma Leigh passed from my arms into the arms of Jesus. She was born into a completely hopeless situation, but she died being loved. Most children in Guatemala like Emma Leigh are left to die alone. I wasn’t okay with that, and could no longer pretend these kids didn’t exist.

And so, Into His Arms was born, a place for kids diagnosed as terminally ill to be loved until the very end. Since then, we’ve cared for and loved many children who had difficult health issues. I’ve seen the depths of the darkness, but I’ve also seen so much light. I’ve seen doctors travel across the world to provide life-saving surgeries. I’ve seen people rally around the orphan or the family struggling just to get by, just because they care. Because they see their value.

There’s a lot of bad in the world, but I believe there’s even more good, and it’s up to us as Christians to be that light.

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9 Comments

  • Reply
    Mark A. Raccuia
    August 4, 2020 at 1:58 pm

    Beautiful, Inspiring… God bless you all…

  • Reply
    Bruce Beasley
    August 4, 2020 at 3:09 pm

    What a beautiful and inspiring story. God bless you!

  • Reply
    Kelly New
    August 5, 2020 at 12:02 am

    Where is Into His Arms located? Are you in Guatemala or the US? I am interested in helping people – especially children/babies as I am unable to have my own baby/child.

  • Reply
    Marissa Griffin
    September 2, 2020 at 3:26 pm

    AMEN.

  • Reply
    cordelia carelse
    October 20, 2020 at 1:10 pm

    Amen thankyou for being that light

  • Reply
    Lyn Barela
    March 27, 2022 at 10:13 pm

    How can I financially support your good deeds?

  • Reply
    Lyn Barela
    March 27, 2022 at 10:14 pm

    THANK YOU for saving lives! May God keep your hope full, your strength strong, and your love deep.

  • Reply
    Mrs Betty Umoren
    June 14, 2022 at 9:25 am

    Wow! May God bless you for this wonderful testimony of being Christ-like in a very dark world. May God’s light continue to shine through you to other Emma Leighs in Jesus name. Thanks for giving me a “nudge” to do something in my own corner of the world. I bless God for your life.

  • Reply
    Pauline
    June 14, 2022 at 1:17 pm

    I hope you were able to get in touch with the organization?

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