Just days before they gained ownership of their two adoptive children at the start of the new year, freshman Jordan Matlock sat with her family and nervously awaited the email that determined the fate of their new siblings. Over and over again, they scrolled through the few pictures they received of the children and discussed the details of their future as an extended family.
The Matlock family always valued the idea of helping people in need, but a three-week trip to South Africa in the summer of 2010 inspired them to consider the idea of adoption, thousands of miles and worlds apart from the life they knew back home. Upon their return, it became very clear to them that they wanted to open up their family to two new siblings.
After 11 months on a waiting list and a total of 18 months of extensive preparation, home and personal reports and endless paperwork, the adoption process concluded by mid December.
“People in that country will spend a lot of time talking and fellowshipping so we have to be careful not to hurry the process and impose our western culture on them,” Jordan’s father, Craig, said. “The phrase we always used when we were there was T.I.A. This Is Africa. It’s just different.”
Both children came from Ethiopia, and upon request, they chose siblings. Although uncertain about their exact ages due to a lack of official birth certificates, the boy, Josiah Nen, aged around eight, and the girl, Ava Achole, aged around two. Knowing the kids would come with nothing but the clothes on their back, the family started from the ground up to prepare for their arrival. They purchased clothing for both children and rearranged their living space to make space for the children to stay. To prepare on a more personal level, Jordan purchased books about Ethiopia and hung pictures of Africa throughout the house. Because they knew very little about the kids, their culture and the language they spoke, the family relied on faith for much of the process.
“It will be difficult to communicate with them so we will have to limit our words, use pictures and learn the basic words from their language,” Jordan said.
Throughout the 18 month process, the Matlock’s felt a closer bond as a family.
“My parents and I have gotten closer through this process and my brother and I have gotten closer,” Jordan said. “This has helped our family come together as a whole.”
Although they knew that adopting kids wouldn’t change the entire world, the family looked forward to changing the lives of two people in need.
“These children didn’t ask for their lives to be interrupted,” Craig said. “If you go in with the mindset that we are providing this great gift to them then we are going in with the wrong mindset. They will be the blessing to us.”
