SermonStudio

Lori Hetzel

A year ago, my husband and I traveled to the country of Kazahstan to adopt our daughter, Delaney. We left our two boys at home with my husband's parents who came up from Tucson to stay with them. Our estimated time to be away from the United States was five weeks. We had to travel to Frankfurt, Germany, then on to Kostanai, Kazahstan. My husband, Karl, was very anxious about the language barrier. While on the plane to Germany, he prayed over and over again that we would meet someone who spoke English to help us go through customs. While we waited in Germany to board the plane to Kazahstan, a young man spoke to us ... yes, in English! He was a Peace Corps volunteer traveling back to Kazahstan. Relief swept over my husband, and he confided in this man about his prayer being answered. He helped us get through customs and retrieve our luggage. I told Karl that this man was an angel brought here to help us on our journey.

We visited the orphanage on the first day with our translator, Eugene. Before entering the orphanage, you must first open a big door. Inside there was a lace curtain that you must pull aside. The moment I touched that curtain an overwhelming feeling of deja vu passed through me. I had dreamed of this place before we traveled there. The only thing missing was women dressed in white coats greeting us as we came in. I saw the dark, narrow hallway, and expected the women to appear. It was powerful. Our translator told us that he had a strong sense of deja vu the moment he saw us. "It was as if I had known you all my life."

We met our daughter, who had been abandoned by her mother at just over two months and left to die under a stairwell. A police officer found her and took her to the hospital, where they cared for her, and named her Diana. We renamed her Delaney Diana. Things were going fine until we moved on to another part of Kazahstan. We had a bit of trouble with our new daughter's visa. The official who was to sign it had left for another area of the country, so our associate told us we might as well go on to Almaty, to meet with the consular there until Delaney's visa came through.

Back at home, our youngest son, Connor, was very ill with croup and bronchitis, and nearly had to be hospitalized. We were terribly homesick and my husband was battling with panic attacks and stomach upset. We spent hours praying that we would meet someone in Almaty who spoke English. We were only supposed to spend two days in the hotel, which cost about $300 a day. We ended up staying for five days and were rapidly running out of money. We did not know when the official would return to sign the visa so we could move on to Moscow to get Delaney's entry visa to the U.S. We prayed for a new translator.

We met this new translator (answered prayer) in the lobby of our hotel. Both Karl and I were having a hard time holding it all together. All we wanted was to go home. As we sat in the lobby, a woman stopped at our table, asked if we were American, and if we had adopted our daughter. Now, we had been warned not to discuss why we were there with anyone, so I lied and told the woman no. When she walked away, I felt horrible for lying to her, but I believed it was for our safety. I watched as she sat down nearby. Then I left our table, sat down next to her, and I cried. I was having a nervous breakdown in front of a total stranger in a strange country. She calmed me down with her sweet voice and compassionate eyes. An angel? I asked myself silently. She told me she seldom came to the hotel to get work done, but today it seemed like a good idea. Her family was originally from Colorado, and they were missionaries there in Kazahstan. She prayed for us, and told me that she had three biological sons and had adopted a daughter there, also.

She invited us for dinner at her house. She told us she would be busy the next day, but to call her if we needed anything, then we all held hands and prayed.

Time passed and we still didn't have Delaney's visa. Staying in the hotel was costing us more than we had planned. Karl paced the floor everyday, praying. We needed a new place to stay, and if the visa did not arrive by Friday, I would have to go to Moscow alone and leave Delaney somewhere, so Karl could go back to work.

We called upon our "angel." She took us into her home for five days, fed us, and let us have her home as if it was ours. She spoke fluent Russian, so she could help us with the visa arrangements. Finally, the visa came and we were able to go on to Moscow.

If it wasn't for this woman appearing, by the grace of God, we would have been lost. We will never forget the work of our gracious Lord, who sends those earthly angels to help those in need.