Isaac's Story

I grew up in Tulsa, OK where I met Tara when I was just 16. We dated throughout our time at Jenks HS, and Baylor and were married in 2003. I work at HBK Investments, as a Trader in the equity and equity derivatives markets. In 2003 everything in my life was just how I wanted it, good job, beautiful wife, things were going according to plan – my plan. Lesson 1: God’s plans are infinitely more challenging and ultimately more fulfilling than my plans.

My plan was for marriage to be fun, enjoyable, comfortable! God’s plan was to use my marriage as a crucible to give me brokenness, show me the extent that I need him and demonstrate his faithfulness. After years of struggling with our marriage, in the summer of 2009 Tara and I were entering a new season. We were finally experiencing oneness in the sense that we had always hoped. So when Tara told me one night that she felt called to go to Africa I naturally said, “are you crazy!?” So… through some wise counsel from guys I trust along with considerable prayer, it became clear to me that God wanted me to go to Sudan with her. The experience was a walk in faith. I couldn’t imagine how going to Sudan fit in our budget but the funding was provided. I couldn’t imagine how we could relate to people from such drastically different circumstances but we were consistently amazed by how each encounter we had while in Sudan seemed tailor made for us. The trip helped shape in us a new perspective. Lesson 2: God is faithful!

While we were there we had opportunity to visit an orphanage, the experience we had led to some conversations when we got home about orphans, and adoption generally. Over the following couple of months Tara and I were both unaware of God speaking to each of us on the subject of adoption. A week before Christmas Tara raised the subject again, asking me if I knew that a high school friend of mine was adopting from Rwanda (she had found her blog from a link on facebook). Not only was I aware, I had independently read most of this friend’s blog only a few days before. I was initially alarmed by how natural it seemed to both of us to further consider pursuing adoption. I spent a couple of weeks asking God to show me his will for us in this huge decision. It became increasingly clear and at the start of the new year we began the journey. We’ll share our story here and the lessons we learn along the way, we ask that you raise us up in prayer as we walk the path.