I took for granted that I would someday be a father. I wasn’t even 19 when I decided to alter my career path to be the type of Dad I wanted to be. 

I still remember the despair and heartbreak on the day that I learned I couldn’t have biological children. It was almost seven years ago. 

The trauma of that loss changed me forever. 

Grief is messy. Even after you begin healing, wounds turn to scars, and scars can still hurt. You’re not the same as before, even as you start to mend and piece yourself back together. You must learn to accept the parts of yourself that will remain broken forever, even as you discover new levels of strength and perseverance you never knew you had. 

It took 3 1/2 years of “trying” to have a family before we finally brought Oliver home. We fought through tears, trauma and red tape to make it happen. But it happened. Ten months later, our family was complete when Finn came home. 

I have a family, and that means everything. 

I will tell you a story of another Dad in Eswatini named Matthew*. In 2012, he and his wife had their 8th child, Nicholas. 

Shortly after, his wife passed away without warning. Broken by this loss, he lost his job and was unable to take care of his newborn son. An auntie, unable to care for Nicholas herself, took this baby boy to social welfare, who placed the boy in an orphanage. 

Even as Matthew began to recover and put himself back together, shame and grief kept him away from Nicholas. Meanwhile, our incredible partners in Eswatini raised him in a loving and safe environment.

Earlier this year, our childcare team in Eswatini visited Matthew to explore the possibility of helping him put his family back together. During that visit, he begged them for help, saying, “I’ll do anything to have my family together again.”

Family. Is. Everything. 

Later this month, Nicholas will go home with his Dad and siblings. We are taking something broken and putting the pieces back together. 

It is so precious and beautiful. 

Nicholas is one of more than 320 children in our orphan care project in Eswatini. He is one of nearly 20 children who will be going home to their biological families because of Bezulu‘s support. 

That is what it means to build families and restore hope. 

To make all of this happen, we need your financial support. A gift to Bezulu is a gift of family to a Dad desperate to love all of his children or for a child desperate to find their forever home. 

Signing up as a monthly donor means we can reliably support families as we rebuild them and continue raising the 300+ children in our care. 

Giving an annual gift this Christmas season will mean that we can help many other children like Nicholas reunite with their families. We can mend what was broken, and God can redeem what has been lost. 

Visit our website to learn more, and if you feel led to give, please let me know directly. 

May each of you enjoy the gift of family this Christmas. 

Talk soon, 

Josh.

*Names changed.