The Quinn Adoption Journey

Presley and C.J.

Birmingham, Alabama

We are adopting!

C.J. and I could go on and on about all the miraculous things we have seen in such a short amount of time, but our story will forever be one of my favorite expressions of God’s faithfulness. Our Father is so good. He is so intentional and kind. 

I stood worshipping in the altar at RTTN church a year ago, deep in the presence of the Lord. A few hours before the most beautiful little girl I had ever seen casually came up on my Facebook. She was looking for a sponsor. I had sponsored many kids before, but when I saw her face I knew. Deep down, I knew that she was my baby. 

Surrounded by the tangible presence of the Holy Spirit in the altar, I hear the gentle voice of the Lord. “Go get your promise,” He whispered. Tears flooded my eyes, heart pounding. Afraid to trust, afraid because I knew all that it was going to take to get her home. “I trust you,” I wept. “My yes is Yours. No matter what it looks like, no matter the cost, I am all in.” 

C.J. and I leave to go back to our hotel room. I’m wrecked. We crawl into bed as I nervously show him her picture and ask “What do you think about this baby?” He replied “What do I think? I know you’ve already sponsored her. I saw her picture come across my Facebook too. When I saw her, I knew something was different about her. We are supposed to adopt her aren’t we?” I wept. 

January 2025 Insatiable Church had a vision Sunday. One of the goals we had set was to potentially go on a mission trip sometime that year. All by God‘s hand, a couple months later we get asked to be part of the board of Mark of Hope as well as go on a mission trip to Uganda in September. The stories we could tell of God’s faithfulness through this are endless. My heart excited but anxiously waiting to meet our girl.

What most people don’t know is that in 2014 the Lord made me a promise. He gave me a dream of a little girl and I walking hand-in-hand in Africa. I know exactly what she looked like. I saw her hair, her sweet little face, every tiny detail. I have prayed for that perfect little girl ever since. I’ve had many more words, visions, and dreams of her. Unknown to me, the Lord had been knitting my daughter into my heart before ever knowing her name. 

After many hours of travel to Uganda we get to the orphanage late that night and are greeted with the most beautiful welcome. We go to our room and get some rest. We come back early the next morning. As we walk in through the gates of the orphanage, Ekadu points to me and says “there she is.” My heart pounding as C.J. and I walk towards a little mat under some shade trees. I’ll never forget the first time I saw her, my heart had always longed for her, amazed how she was everything I’ve ever dreamed of and prayed for. I traced her perfect face with my fingers as she laid fast asleep. It felt like I had seen her before, like I had held her before. It was almost as if I had traced her face a thousand times before in my mind. She was the exact little girl that I saw in my dream so many years ago. The Lord always keeps His promises. He is so kind. 

During the time of our stay in Uganda, we got to know her a little more. It was one of the most surreal experiences, getting to stand beside my husband as he ministered to thousands of people, as well as getting to meet our daughter all within the same couple of weeks. Everything I had ever prayed for, somehow, was right in front of me.

My heart still reserved, still unhealed, still not completely open to being vulnerable. I selfishly didn’t want to get attached because I knew I would have to leave. I didn’t want to open my heart to her, not yet. I would do that when it was easier and safer for me, I naively thought. Then the Lord met me there. 

We stumbled into our little hotel room. The whole team exhausted from a full day of ministry. I walk through the door, dirty and my heart heavy. I began to walk towards the bathroom to get a shower and get ready for bed. The audible voice of the Lord spoke to me and said “Not without thanking Me first.”  I dropped to my knees. I cried out to Him in the fear of the Lord, “Oh thank you Jesus! You have my irrevocable yes, but I don’t know how I am supposed to love her but have to leave her. It would hurt my heart too deep. I can’t. Please help me.” He ever so gently whispered to my anxiousness, “you have asked for many things, but you haven’t asked Me for the heart of a mom.” Between shaky breaths I sobbed “Father, give me the heart of a mom.”  Immediately it felt as if the Lord himself physically walked into the room and put His hand on my shoulder. He spoke to me with the most kind and loving voice and said “I am the Father, your Father. I have given you the heart of a mom. Trust me, I will teach you everything you need to know.” In that very moment every bit of self preservation, every wall I had spent a lifetime building, it all came crashing down. Where the Spirit of the Lord is there is liberty.

We go back to the orphanage the next day. There she is spunky, independent, strong willed, dancing and worshipping with all her might. She had kept her distance from C.J. and I in the days before, understandably, but this time she was different. She tottled over to me with her cheeky little grin and looked up at me. When her eyes locked with mine, it was like somehow she knew everything that had taken place during my encounter with the Lord the night before. In that moment, having the Father’s heart, I knew what the love of a mother for her child felt like. She held her little arms out towards me. I picked her up, held her close, and thanked the Lord over and over again. 

Her name means "God has been gracious from the womb." The way God has used our precious little girl is beyond what I can even begin to comprehend. She is the connection that God used to allow us to become apart of the family at Mark of Hope. Her connection is what helped open the door for 1,176 people to be added to the kingdom of God in her home town, just to name a few. Her story is for her to tell one day, but the faithfulness of the Lord in her life is miraculous. God truly has been so gracious to us.

We are inviting you to join this journey with us in prayer and support. We trust that Lord and His timing and know that His ways are so much higher than ours!

We have chosen to partner with AdoptionBridge to help us meet our fundraising needs! Here you will be able to donate and keep up with our journey! We are so excited and cannot wait to see everything the Lord does!