10 People in 10 Days: Day TEN - Benny Factor

Friday, October 14, 2011
10 People in 10 Days
Sterling’s Celebrity Benefactor

We received an update on Sterling today from our facilitator. Fortunately it’s the same update we have been receiving all along. For now, Sterling is still chicken pox free (praise God!). We will be able to visit him on Monday for the first time in a week. I cannot wait to see him and love on him. I’m sad that, to him, we just disappeared. I hope it doesn’t affect the progress we have made so far.

Tatyana will be here early Tuesday morning to pick us up and in her words, “we will be doing paperwork all day.” If it means I can get my boy out of that mental institution on Wednesday then let’s go! I was originally going to leave him in there until the last possible minute, but seeing as how the place gets shut down and five days of quarantine start over every time someone breaks out in Chicken Pox – I want him out of there so we don’t get held up in country.  Hopefully, we will be able to get his passport QUICKLY so we can head to the capitol and head home!

Today is the last day of our 10 day wait! Normally the family would be SUPER EXCITED; but, since our 10 day wait isn’t officially over until Tuesday when we get our court decree, Brian and I are still practicing patience.

Because it is the last day of our 10 day wait – today is the last day of the 10 People in 10 Days feature. I really did save the best for last. Without this person, this adoption would have never happened.

Today, Brian and I thank:

Sterling’s Celebrity Benefactor

(This person wishes to remain anonymous, so I will call them Benny Factor to make writing easier.)

Many of you may not know that Sterling had a celebrity benefactor. Benny donated over half of Sterling’s adoption costs. Before we had even committed to adopting Sterling, Benny had donated $10,000 into Sterling’s adoption grant. When we committed, we had no idea where the money in Sterling’s grant came from. We were just incredibly grateful that the grant was going to help us bring him home.

Once our paperwork was turned into Reece’s Rainbow, I received an email from Andrea Roberts (Director of RR) regarding his grant. She told me who Benny Factor really is and requested that we respect the request to keep Benny’s true identity private. We were granted permission to tell our families and a few close friends, but other than that, we have not mentioned Benny’s identity to anyone.

We asked Andrea to get a message to Benny thanking Benny for the incredibly kind gesture. We explained that we were teachers and without the financial aid of the grant, Sterling’s adoption would not have been a possibility for us. We heard nothing back from Andrea – but I know that she did pass the message on.

We went on with the adoption process - home study updates, paperwork, fundraising, etc. We never forgot about Benny Factor and we were struggling with a way to honor this person for their gift of a family. One day after our dossier was submitted to the government here, I checked my email at school. In my inbox was a message from Andrea – letting us know that Benny had capped off our FSP and that we were fully funded. I’m glad I eat lunch alone because I started crying right away. I immediately emailed Brian who was just as shocked as I. Benny had already done SO MUCH for our adoption. The last thing we expected was another donation!

In August, Brian and I figured out how to honor Benny. My hands are tied in explaining how, but once Brian and I decided how we were going to honor Benny we sent word to Andrea and asked her to pass it on. Imagine our surprise when we got a forwarded response from Benny thanking us!  That was definitely not what we were expecting! The response was very personal and I am SO HAPPY that we made the decision we did.

At times I wonder if Benny understands exactly how much that grant meant for us. Without that money, we would not be here. We would not be gaining a son. Sterling would not be gaining THIS family. Actually, the likelihood that he would have a family at all is slim. He would have been transferred to the older child page and his status would have eventually changed to reflect the fact that he was institutionalized. The children on that page need families so very badly. So many families look at the younger children – that a lot of the older children go unnoticed.

As I was reading my devotion last night (I read Our Daily Bread) the reading for the night was Psalm 37 v 23-26. I took note of v 23-24 especially. They say, “If the Lord delights in a man’s way, he makes his steps firm; though he stumble, he will not fall, for the Lord upholds him with his hand.”

I have said all along that I know this adoption is God’s will. After reading these verses I was even more sure of it. EVERYTHING fell into place for us. Paperwork, apostilling, family responses, timing and, most importantly, money. There is no doubt that God sent Benny to us. We will be forever grateful. Words CANNOT and DO NOT do our gratitude any justice. I truly hope that one day our family can meet Benny and offer our thanks in person. I would LOVE for Benny to get to meet Sterling so that they too can see what an amazing little gift he is to us.

I wish I could tell you who this person is. However, I am respecting his/her wish to stay ANONYMOUS. This means, even if you ask, I will not tell you. There are a few people who know already. If you are one of these people, please respect the benefactor’s wish to stay anonymous and do not name them. It is the least we can do.