Hi, my name is Steve Surratt, and I am a board member of God Will Make A Way Ministries.  I am 65 years old and have been married to Lisa Surratt for 21 years.  For the last 12 years, I have been a pastor in the Mt. Sterling, IL area.  Before that, I was in sales for most of my life.

So, what’s a 65-year-old guy’s interest in adoption?  Well, first let me tell you I have witnessed the difference adoptive children have made in families and the difference that has been made for that child by being raised by Christian parents.  I come from a family that is very close.  My dad had four brothers and the cousins from those five families are very close.  My first experience with adoption happened when I was 8 years old.  That is when my cousin Beth was adopted into the family.  Let me point out she was the second girl in the family all the rest were boys.  She came to this world not perfect; she was very pigeon-toed.  In those days she had to wear shoes with a bar attached to it to turn her feet back straight as she grew.  You would think that being a girl in a boy-dominated family would be a significant problem.  No, she fit right in, a farm girl at heart.  In my relationship with cousins, she and I are the closest, we still find time to get together when she is in town, or I am close to her.

From that point, I have seen in the last several years, several adoptions by parents in the communities I serve and to my friends Steven & Chelsea Stern (Director of GWMAW).  Many of these children are born into less-than-favorable situations.  They were adopted into Christian homes with Moms and Dads who love these children and a community that loves them.  Many of these families are now multi-cultural after adoption.  Many are now in high school, and I have been able to watch these families over a long-term period.  Each child is in a two-parent, Christian home and the families are thriving.

My personal passion for this comes from having a special needs child named David.  David was born to me and my first wife Toni in 1987.  David was born Hydrocephalic with damage to the left and right sides of the brain.  We were told in the Hospital by a doctor, that dying would not be the worst thing that would happen to David, the worst was that he would live.  David would be nothing more than a rag doll, he said.  In today’s world abortion would have been available, being a Christian family that would have not been a choice or an option.  Many children today are considered throwaway children because they are not perfect. 

Let me share a Paul Harvey “Rest of the Story” moment.  With hard work from David and persistence from his parents.  David graduated high school on time with a “C” average.  Yes, he went to special ed for some adaptive measures to be implemented.  Yes, he had different surgeries, but David could see and walk normally.  He went on to attend college and start a music business. 

David died at 23 years old from complications of a seizure.  Lisa and I found him when we went to pick him up from his mom’s.  So, people would say, why after 23 years and getting through so many obstacles did he pass?  I say “thank you God” for the 23 years that we had.  I cannot imagine not having David in my life for that amount of time.  I miss him and his spirit regularly.  I wrote a song called “Special Angel”.  In that song there is a line “It wasn’t what we could do, but the love He (God) thought we both would need”.  I learned so much about love and faith from David.  When I wanted to complain about my feelings, I looked at him and how strong he was.

Later after death, I discovered a letter from a friend of David’s in a Private Message on David’s Facebook account that the author had no idea anyone would see.  Saying “I thought I was helping/saving you, but you (David) were saving me.  What a testimony for a young man that was to be a rag doll.  Proving that the worst thing that would happen to David was not living, but dying.

GWMAW is here to help Christian families adopt and give orphaned children Christian homes with Christian communities in a world that says throw them away. If you're interested in helping support adoption grants, you can give through our website: www.gwmaw.org and hit Donate. 

-GWMAW Ministries