The Grand Views

Issue date: 2/5/10 Section: Features

Jennifer Gibson took time out of her day Tuesday to speak about the adoption process at chapel. Jennifer was the administrative assistant for the Education Department for many years. In August, she and her husband were able to take home their newly adopted children from Haiti: Christopher, 10, Brayden, 3, and Brianna, 2.

"[Our life] has changed for the better and adopting these kids has given us a lot of joy," Gibson said. "To watch their knowledge of the English language grow has just been so fun. All three have very funny personalities and it's so fun to watch them dance around and just be joyful together. It's really enriched my perspective of the need that exists."

"Our reasons for choosing Haiti were very selfish," she said. "We didn't want to travel. Haiti was a country that we weren't going to have to travel to but I ended up traveling there 6 times and my husband ended up traveling three. Also, we choose Haiti because of the cost of the airplane flight was a third less then what the cost was to Ethiopia."

All three of her children have different mothers.

"I asked my oldest son's mother if was hard for her to give up her child," Gibson said. "His mother said that it wasn't hard because we were an answer to her prayers. She understood that the love that we had for him was as much as her."

The adoption process for the Gibson's started in March of 2007. In August of that same year they both went to Haiti for the first time but they weren't able to take their children home until August of 2009. It took them almost 2 and half years to complete the process.

When asked about the process of adoption, Jennifer said, "Sometimes you feel hopeless because you feel like it is never going to happen. We were fearful especially because we were going from having no children to having three."

Going from having no children to three wasn't easy, she said.

"My husband and I have always wanted to adopt," Gibson said. "It was our first choice. We just thought it was something that God wanted us to do and that he had laid it on both of our hearts and so that is what we decided to do."

The Gibson's faith and belief in God also played a major role in why they choose to adopt.

"In Proverbs 3:5-6 it says, 'Trust in the lord always and lean not on your own understanding but always acknowledge him and he will direct your paths.' My husband and I are both Christians and we believe that our faith directs what we do in life," she said. "We truly believe that God puts in the position to adopt. It's pretty amazing the things that God did through the adoption process. It's very real to us that He was with us throughout the whole process."

The Gibsons have family and friends who have been a part of the relief effort in Haiti. One of their really close friends went to Haiti for two weeks after the earthquake.

"There is nobody there that is going to help them rebuild their homes," she said. "The government is not going to help them. The only ways houses are going to be rebuilt is through private citizens from all over the world going to assist with the challenge. These people need us, they need our resources, they need our physical abilities to go down there and actually help."

Jennifer said she was encouraged when she heard about the bake sales and the garage sales that are about to happen on campus to help raise money for her relief. Her advice was to donate money and possibly set up a team of individuals to go to Haiti.

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