Twenty-seven years ago a daughter with congenital abnormalities of feet and spine was born to a couple in a small village in western Ukraine. Left untreated, she would not live. Without the means to pay for the required medical procedures abroad, the parents were advised to make the difficult decision to put the baby in an orphanage.  It was their only hope that she might be adopted and cared for in the United States.

The little girl was adopted, received treatment, and was brought up in the love and nurture of a Christian family who was enrolled in the ATI program. After graduating from university, the young lady returned for the first time to visit her biological parents in the village where she was born. She wanted to personally thank them for the faith and courage it took to make such a heart wrenching decision and to share with them the ways of God in overcoming any fears or guilt they might have concerning her. Also, she and her adoptive parents wanted them to have the opportunity to attend an IBLP seminar some day in Ukraine in their own language. 

When the young lady’s parents arrived at the seminar, it was clear that both had never experienced “Christian community” before. The first day’s lessons were difficult by their own admission, but they said that they were committed to being there for the entire week. Over the next four days, the parents’ countenances became brighter and they began to share, pray, and even sing. They also diligently recorded notes in their workbooks and grew more comfortable sharing openly with others the story of their daughter for the very first time. At the closing dinner, both parents shared what the week had meant to them. The father, with tears of joy, said about their time at the seminar: “We met the Lord.”