It was December of 2011 and we were preparing, with much anticipation, to get the invitation to go to Ethiopia and to bring our son home. After attending court, both the United States and Ethiopian governments had officially declared that Kellen was our son, and all we needed was his visa to bring him home with us.
While waiting and praying, we received some unexpected news that shook us to the core. We received an e-mail from Immigrations (USCIS) letting us know that our son would not be getting a visa without sufficient proof of his orphan status. The e-mail stated that the burden of proof was on us, not our adoption agency or anyone else, and that we had one chance and 87 days to prove it. What!? Wasn’t he already our son? Yes! Yet we were so confused!? Once we gathered our thoughts and got clarification, my wife and I decided that I would travel to Ethiopia to do an investigation required. After several weeks, and with the help of our immigrations attorney, we submitted over 100 pages of documentation to USCIS.
Then we waited. All we could do was wait. There were many sleepless nights on our knees praying. One night as I asked God to bring our son into our family, I finally was able to acknowledge that he already was in our family. God had already answered that prayer. The only issue was whether or not he’d be allowed in our home country. I gave that to the Lord, tearfully, and told Him we’d live wherever we had to in order to all be together.
A few hours later, we received the news that our son’s visa had been approved and that we could bring him home. I can’t describe the emotions we felt: Joy that we’d all finally be together; Sadness about all of the extra time he had to be alone.
Two years later, Kellen had been home with us and life had gone on. I’ll be honest that I hadn’t been able to process much of anything from that adoption experience. Life had been hard. Our son had many additional needs. We nearly lost a close family member to illness. The organization I worked for was struggling and letting employees go frequently, which was incredibly stressful. I’d been dreaming of having my own business, but felt clueless as to what that might be or how that might happen given the circumstances.
Then, something happened that changed everything. My parents decided to give us the grand piano that I had played on as a child.
I hadn’t played for many years, but almost overnight an entire album of solo piano music had been created. As I reflected, I realized almost all of it had been inspired by our adoption, my love for our son, and my love for my family. During a sleepless night, while praying, I heard a very clear message. “Music is your business and the songs are stories of hope and healing”. It was such a clear and profound message that I knew what I needed to do. I eventually left the job that made me miserable and stressed. I pursued side work to help pay the bills but spent most of my time preparing to record an album. I had no idea how I’d release it or who would hear it, but knew I needed to do it.
Within a few months, the music had been purchased and streamed around the world. It was getting airplay on Pandora radio, cable and satellite TV, Sirius XM…basically everywhere. The music even received nominations for prestigious New Age music awards (solo piano music gets categorized in the New Age genre). It had become obvious that the musical message of love through adoption and love for family was resonating. It didn’t need words. Truly amazing!
As of today, I’ve released three albums. With each album, I continue to write music inspired by God’s love for all of us, including the orphan, the lonely, the depressed, and the sick. I write music because I truly love it, and because God uses it to bless people. Over time I’ve received many messages of thanks from family of people in hospice, cancer patients, the mentally ill, adoptive families, and so many who are hurting. Every day has been a huge step of faith. Every day has been totally worth it.
Written by Adam Andrews
For more about Adam’s music, visit his web site or Facebook page.