It's About More Than Goat's Milk (by Thom)

We brought Miriam and Hannah home on August 12th. We actually began taking care of them a couple of weeks before that, but we were in Koutiala and Segou (two other cities in Mali) and couldn't bring them home to Bamako until we had been granted legal custody by a judge. It was in Koutiala we realized Hannah was allergic to cow's milk and formula that used cow's milk. Unfortunately, that's the only kind of formula we can get in Mali. In Segou we were able to buy goat's milk and Hannah did very well with that. For the first time in the two weeks we knew her she didn't fuss all the time and stopped her diarrhea. The man in Segou who helped us was able to get us a bunch of extra goat's milk which we froze and took with us back to Bamako. We were able to arrange more daily goat's milk with a local herder, but the quantity wasn't very much. Still, we took what we could get. The herder is a man of the Fulani ethnic group (probably the same ethnic group as our precious little girls). He and his family live near the Bamako airport and for a few weeks I drove out there very early every morning to buy the milk (our mission hires a Malian man who lives near there and gets the milk for me now each day, except on weekends). I've included a satellite image of part of Bamako tracing the route I drove each day. The trip is 5.5 miles and takes about 15 minutes each way.
The first several days I went out to the fields to buy milk were... Interesting. Everyone in the extended family wanted to talk to me. They were very curious: why's a white man coming out here? What does he need goat's milk for? What's he doing in Mali? I enjoyed talking with them, even if I don't like the fact I'm always a spectacle here. However, there was one person who never would come close to me: the family has a little daughter about 6 or 7 years old. Every time I came, she would scream and fuss and cry until I left. One day the dad picked her up and brought her over to me; you would have thought I wanted to eat her! She was so afraid of me. I asked and the dad confirmed I was the first white person she had ever seen. I felt sorry for her and devised a plan. The next day I brought Miriam with me to the fields. I opened up the car door and brought her out. Suddenly, everything was different. The girls couldn't stop grinning. She loved looking at my little Miri and no longer cried or fussed. The next couple of times I went she wasn't there, but about a week later I went to get my milk and she ran up to me and wanted to shake my hand!
God has blessed us with these girls. There is no doubt about that. He has heard the cries of my heart and the cries of Amanda's heart and He has answered us with more than we imagined and we certainly have found more room in our hearts than we knew existed for them. Still, the blessings haven't ended there.
Through the girls we been blessed with other, unexpected things - most notably new relationships. People have stopped us and talked to us, asking about our story. Everyone, without exception, has seemed genuinely excited for us. We've also developed new relationships even through this website, as we relay information about our girls and our lives in Mali. I pray all of this will lead to opportunities to share the love of Christ. Adoption gives such a beautiful picture of what we were and are and will be. Sin orphaned us. Christ sought us out. He longs for us to be part of His family.
Thanks to every one of you who has allowed us to be a part of your lives, and thank you for being a part of ours.