We love to share heartwarming adoption stories and the story of Ester and Julius, two orphans in Uganda is a great adoption tale.
According to the article, 18-year-old Lexi Gager went on a church mission to Uganda where she met Ester. While there Gager made a short video of Ester and put it on Youtube where it was found by Esty Downs, who had recently adopted a child from Uganda. Downs placed the video on her Facebook page with the status “If you are looking for your child maybe this is her.”
In the story, Downs said she had nine potential mothers contact her, but after realizing Ester was a child with special needs eight of them decided this wasn’t the right opportunity. However, according to the article, Tammy Stonebrook saw the video and was completely enchanted with Ester and the Stonebrook family is now in the process of adopting Ester and Julius, a young boy from the same orphanage.
While the Stonebrooks are still waiting for approval from US Immigration to finalize the adoption, it seems as if there will be a happy ending for Ester, Julius and the Stonebrooks.
As prospective adoptive parents it is important to research any potential match opportunities, especially those found through social media. Whether you are considering foster or private adoption it is also important to work with professionals who can help you through the adoption process. If you are interested in more information on social media as it regards to adoption, Adoption STAR recently published its official recommendations on how to have a healthy and ongoing relationship using social media as an adoptee, birth parent or adoptive parent.