Benjamin lived with his birth mother, an alcoholic, and was very attached to her. During his childhood he faced many challenges. Because his mother could not provide him with housing, they lived at a train station and often faced cruelty on the part of strange men. He lived in a constant state of fear. The state took him from his mother and sent him to live in an orphanage.
When we first met Benjamin at the orphanage, I (mom) befriended him. He hid behind me and did not leave my side. He was initially very afraid of my husband but over time he accepted and loved us and ceased to be afraid.
For some time, Ben lived with us under our guardian care because our conditions did not allow us to adopt. Although he was no longer afraid of us, he still had a terrible fear of people who visited our house.
At one point another family wanted to adopt him, but the thought of it terrified him. We realized we could not let him go through another loss because we loved him with all our hearts. HopeHouse International® is helping us overcome the obstacles with our housing which is allowing us to be approved for adoption. Ben is now officially our son.
We now have 11 HopeHouse children, six adopted and others in process of transitioning from guardianship to adoption. Almost all of them have gone through extreme trauma in their childhood and with God’s help, we are helping them deal with the consequences that trauma brings.
What can I say about Ben now? Glory to God, we have a great report! Ben has developed at a rapid rate and has wonderful qualities. At school, he is one of the best students. He likes to design and play strategic games. You can rely on him and he tries very hard to make good choices. Benjamin is smart, but modest. He is an example to our younger children and they try in many ways to be like him.
We are grateful that God brought Benjamin into our family and blessed us with such a wonderful son!
-Mom and Dad
