From Orphan to Forever Family: Help us Bring Him Home

Welcome to our family's adoption profile!

We, Mervin and Elizabeth Detweiler along with our 3 biological children, Hannah age 10, Lisa age 7, and Joshua age 5, are so excited to share our story with you and to invite you to our journey with us. We live in the rural area of beautiful mountainous Westcliffe Colorado on 15 acres of land where we just built our log cabin. Our children love all the fun outdoor activities it offers!

A little of our story:  Mervin and I were born and raised Amish in different areas of Pennsylvania. As teenagers we became members of our Amish Church, where we dilligently followed all the church rules and got married at the ripe old age of 19 ;). All of this happened without us following Jesus. Over the next 6 years we had our 3 beautiful children, and somewhere in the midst of this started discussing adoption and how we would love to fulfill our family by adding a child, (or more), through adoption. Shortly after my husband and I turned 27, we had a huge encounter with Jesus, and became radically Born Again! We came to see that Jesus is truly The Way, The Truth, & The Life, and what happened next was a transformation that took place in our lives unlike anything we ever imagined. Suddenly the hundreds of rules that governed our every day lives, (what to wear, where to work, who to befriend), which we contributed such value to, became worthless under the power of God. For the first time in our lives we could talk about The Lord freely, and no longer lived in fear of death. We could even dream of getting on an airplane, we could drive our own vehicle! It was both the scariest and most exciting time of our lives.

All that to say, shortly thereafter we got the opportunity to visit a developing country on a short term missions trip. We met missionaries who gave their freedom to caring for special needs orphans. Once again it seemed The Lord was speaking to us. It went something like this: The world doesn't care for these beautiful children, but I want you to. Shortly after coming home we again believed God was showing us there is no such thing as the perfect time, the time is now. We excitedly started to look for waiting children. Not long after we found the one whom we believed God wanted for us - a beautiful child with special needs from Nigeria, and so began our journey of adoption. We already love this child so much and look forward with great anticipation for the day we get to bring this child home, where we can shower him with all the love, care, and attention he deserves!

We know adoption costs a lot of money, but the lack of money is no reason for us to say no, and that God will provide. Adoption bridge provides a place for us to share our story and for people to help if they feel lead to. Above all, we ask that you pray for our family and for our waiting child, and if you can, share our profile with others. Our desire is that this story not bring us any kind of special attention, but that it brings glory and honor to God as we seek to "care for orphans in their affliction" James 1:27

Until He Comes Home,

Mervin, Elizabeth, Hannah, Lisa, & Joshie