Lyrically largesse

RONAN — Smells of rice, chicken and egg rolls still hung in the air when the first act took the stage at Lighthouse Christian Fellowship in Ronan last Friday night and it wasn’t long before the air was filled with music, laughter and love.

The community packed the church for food and entertainment to celebrate Chinese New Year with a fundraiser to help the Smith family open their home to a young girl from China.

In the Chinese system, orphans age out of the system once they reach 14. “Emily,” whose real name was not given in the video shown by the Smiths to protect her identity, is 12 and is getting closer and closer to losing her chance to be adopted each day. When the Smiths heard her story, the whole family felt called to help.

Heather and Barnaby Smith’s adoption process started long before they found Emily. After the birth of their first daughter 10 years ago, the couple felt called to adopt but they wanted to wait until she was older. Two and a half years later, Heather gave birth to the couple’s second daughter. Adoption was put on the back burner until the two school teachers felt they could handle bringing another child into their home. When they moved to Ronan, plans were arrested again while the family got settled in their new home.

Two years ago, Barnaby and Heather decided they were ready to actively pursue adoption and took a six-week training course on fostering and adopting through the state. The couple completed the class, but said they weren’t ready to become a foster family while their own girls are still young.

“Fostering wasn’t for us,” Barnaby said. “Not yet.”

While they put their own plans on hold yet again and waited for God to guide them, the Crist family next door went through a yearlong process of adopting their daughter, Lily, from China. The Crists adopted Lilly just one month before her 14th birthday.

It was through Lily that the Smiths learned about Emily.

In October, Lily asked her mother if she could share a video with their church. The video shows another young girl in China who is about to age out of the system.

Lily told the congregation that she wanted to help Emily because somebody had come along and helped her.

The Smiths said their heart was broken when they saw the adolescent girl on the screen, saying that all she wanted was a family who loved her, which was the exact reason Heather and Barnaby wanted to adopt when they first agreed to it a decade ago.

“I really feel that God is telling us to adopt her,” Heather said.

The Smiths said originally they had planned to adopt an infant. They worried that their eldest would be hurt if they were to adopt a girl older than she is, but their daughter surprised them.

She told Heather after the service that she felt God was telling her that the family should adopt Emily. She said she took notes during the service, writing down what she felt God was saying.

“We knew she was serious,” Barnaby said. “Ten-year-olds don’t take sermon notes.”

The adoption process is time consuming and expensive. The Smiths said they know they couldn’t afford to adopt internationally without the help of grants and fundraising. The family is planning auctions, bake sales and craft sales to help earn money for the adoption.  The Smith girls even asked for beading supplies for Christmas and have a shoebox full of wares ready to sell, according to their parents.

Through watching the Crists navigate through the adoption in less than a year, Barnaby said he feels confident that God will help them complete their own adoption journey.

“I know God can provide that,” he said.

The total cost of adopting Emily will be around $40,000. Friday night’s proceeds totaled nearly $2,300.

During the dinner and the talent show, friends kept approaching Barnaby and Chad Crist, who served as emcee for the talent show, with offerings given directly or with a handshake. With each gift, the Smiths advanced toward their goal.

“We are so thankful and blessed that so many of you came out to support us in this journey,” Barnaby said as the night drew to a close. “Thank you for helping us make this dream a reality.”

The Smiths plan to set up an account at Community Bank in Ronan for donations to help bring Emily into their home.