Christmas Card 2020

"Do not fear. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people." Luke 2:10

Greetings from Montana! We have so much to be grateful for this year. This past July we rejoiced that we were able to officially welcome Joshua Joanthony (JoJo) into our family through adoption. He brings joy and laughter into our lives. At 2.5 years old, he loves trains and basketball! Aria turned 2 years old in October and is full of life and a lot of will! She enjoys books, Minnie Mouse and playing with her big brother. Two toddlers is quite the handful (and exhausting!), but they are such a blessing! Joe is hopeful to have their college basketball season which is scheduled to start in mid-January. He's thankful they were able to practice some-what uninterrupted and have a number of scrimmages this past Fall. Daneen continues to work for Christ's Gift Academy in between loads of laundry and cooking meals.

This Christmas, we pray you find HOPE in the One who is full of grace and truth... our Savior, Jesus! He is our thrill of Hope. Weary world... REJOICE!

Alicent Graduates College

This girls is an OVERCOMER!

Optimistic. Persistent. Determined.

On December 5, 2020 our Kenyan daughter graduated college!! We are incredibly proud of all that she has overcome in life to reach this milestone!

She has not let the circumstances she was born into define her. Growing up in a rural village on Rusinga Island, she lost both of her parents by the time she was 8 years old. She was wise beyond her years. At age 11, she realized that if she remained attending her local village school (where the teachers rarely showed up and there was little learning), she would not receive a quality education and would not have opportunities to attend secondary school. She wanted HOPE for a BETTER LIFE!

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She was determined to create a better future for her life. Paul Onundo  and his wife took her in so that she could attend a better school in Mbita. That gave her a second chance at her education. Which is a second chance at life. Wow- thank you Paul and Mama Omondi... you have truly made a lasting impact in Alicent's life!!!

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Focused. Determined. Persistent

That's just who she is in life.

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Then... you put her on a football pitch and she is fierce! She might be the smallest player on the field, but she is mighty!

Her talent stood out to Joe and she was invited to be one of the first Suba Lakers! 

When she was just 13 years old, she received the Best Player award at a national Under 15 tournament. She was recruited to join Jera Secondary School; known as one of the top girls football schools in the country! We are so thankful for the coaching and mentoring of Coach Jacob Oganga. We always knew Alicent was in good hands with Coach Oganga! Thanks coach!

 

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In 2013 she tore her ACL in the Lake Region Football Championships. But before she went out of the game, she scored a critical goal which helped her team win the Championship and move on to the National Tournament. She worked hard at her physical therapy to regain full strength and be competitive on the football pitch again. She helped her team reach the National Tournament again in 2014 as Team Captain. She overcame!

 

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She has a passion for football. During her gap year between high school and college, she coached the team for the local secondary school near her home and led the team to the finals at the sub-county tournament.

Once she joined college, she quickly joined the women's football team. She scored the goals to lead the team to win a championship in 2019.

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But it's not all about football.

She knew she needed a quality education in order to reach her goals and contribute to her community. She wanted to pursue a career in the medical industry.

With the financial support of a number of people, she was able to attend Kenya Medical Training Institute to get a Diploma in Nutrition and Dietetics.

This past January, while on her internship, she became gravely sick of dysentery. She ended up in the hospital for 2 weeks, in critical condition. By God's grace and mercy, He saw her through and helped her recover. She overcame.

She had just barely recovered from her illness, and even while she was still very weak, she had to take her final exams and practicum. She passed. She overcame.

 

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Then COVID hit. She should have been able to graduate in March and start a paid job. But COVID! After sitting idle with all the unknowns for a few months, she was able to secure an unpaid internship at a private hospital. Since she couldn't get her final graduation and degree documents, she couldn't be paid for her work. She overcame. She continued to volunteer. She overcame.

She is currently waiting (and studying) to take her national board exam while also volunteering at the Mbita Public Hosptial. We are praying and trusting the Lord for her to obtain a paid job.

We are confident that whatever challenges come her way throughout her life, she will continue to overcome with God's help.  She will be successful in whatever she takes on! 

 

 

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More of Alicent's biography:

After Alicent’s father died when she was 4 years old, she lived for three years in Uganda with her maternal grandparents. In 2006 she returned to her paternal grandparents’ home on Rusinga Island to be with her sick mother.  Not long after her return, her mother died.  Alicent remained in Rusinga and was raised by one of her father’s other wives who has three children of her own that she is also caring for.  The step-mother makes and sells charcoal to provide for the family needs. Alicent has a strong bond with her step-mother and her 80+ year old grandparents.  She also has an older step-sister whom she is close with.

JoJo's Adoption

Every life is a gift.

Every child is a gift.

Adoption... is a gift.

We are thrilled to celebrate the adoption of our son!

Meet JoJo.

Joshua Joanthony Peterson

All photos by Codi Smith

Joshua is Hebrew for "Jehovah is generous" or "Jehovah is salvation." In the Old Testament, Joshua led the Israelites with courageous leadership, charging into battle upon bloody battle, leading hundreds of thousands into the Promised Land. He was a great leader for God's people and for his nation.

Our prayer for our son is that he will be a great leader for God's people and a great example for his native tribes, the Sioux and Assiniboine Tribal Nations. We also pray that he will accept that Jesus (Jehovah) is his salvation!

"Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9

Joanthony was his birth name given by his birth mother. (Originally spelled JoAnnthony.) It honors his heritage and his great-grandmother Joann.

We recognize that adoption is created through great loss. Our sweet boy lost the gift of knowing and growing up with his birth family, with his half-siblings and with his tribe. It's a heartbreaking story filled with great sadness, addiction and trauma.

Yet, at the same time... the Lord offers new life. And hope. And redemption.

"Behold, I am making all things new!" Rev 21:5

We are committed to learning about his tribe and culture and being able to share it with him. We are grateful to be in touch with his half-sister and their family who already know much more than us about the Native American culture. We recognize we will not always understand his challenges both as an adopted child and also as a brown boy growing up in a white family; yet, we are committed to loving him and providing him a safe, nurturing home filled with God's love and grace.

We are so grateful God chose JoJo to be in our family!

We can still recall the phone call in early April 2018. "Would you take-in a newborn baby boy? It could be long term, yet we want him in a home closer to his biological mother for possible visits if she can turn her life around."

Daneen was two months pregnant with Aria at the time. We did the math. If this baby boy remained with us long term, the two babies would be just 8.5 months apart in age. Wow! Could we do that? At 42 years old? Well, we actually used to pray for twins. Since we got married and started a family later in life, we thought it would "make sense" to have two at once! Well... we got our twins... Irish twins. Two infants and now two toddlers so close in age are quite the challenge at times. But they're also double the fun! We truly (and frequently!) cling to the scripture in the Gospels... "with God all things are possible." Matt 19:26.

JoJo has been in our home and a part of our family since he was 2 months old. 

 

JoJo has been in our family for 819 days, and in foster care for 882 days.

He was adopted on July 13, 2020.

Now, he is forever in our family.

God writes the best stories. Jehovah is generous!

"Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their ancestors to give them. Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the laws my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:6-9