{"id":15068,"date":"2026-03-10T11:03:49","date_gmt":"2026-03-10T11:03:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/uncategorized\/an-extraordinary-meeting-in-a-babies-r-us\/"},"modified":"2026-04-10T05:58:43","modified_gmt":"2026-04-10T05:58:43","slug":"an-extraordinary-meeting-in-a-babies-r-us","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/angels-and-miracles\/miracles\/gods-grace\/an-extraordinary-meeting-in-a-babies-r-us\/","title":{"rendered":"An Extraordinary Meeting, in a Babies R’ Us"},"content":{"rendered":"

I read a great story from City View Magazine<\/a><\/em> in Knoxville, Tennessee.<\/p>\n

It was supposed to be a quick errand: run in to Babies R\u2019 Us, pick up a child\u2019s travel container and get home. But there was a long line at the checkout. Meghan Dempster looked at the people directly in front of her. A blonde Caucasian woman, with a chubby, smiling baby, seemingly of African descent.<\/p>\n

That woman could easily be Meghan herself soon. She and her husband Michael had felt led to adopt, even though they already had three biological children. A few years ago, they adopted a girl from Guatemala. And now, they were about to give a home to another child, this time from Africa.<\/p>\n

The first child that the adoption agency brought to their attention was a boy named Mitku, who\u2019d been abandoned in the African bush, and who had contracted neonatal tetanus, most likely from a rusty implement used to cut his umbilical cord. Meghan and Michael were told the child could have severe brain damage.<\/p>\n

Meghan and Michael didn\u2019t know what to do. With four kids, they didn\u2019t think they could handle a child with special needs. But could they really turn down a child that needed a family so badly?<\/p>\n

Meghan had struggled with the decision. If she didn\u2019t care for Mitku, who would?<\/p>\n

Then they flew to Ethiopia and met Terefe. His name, the boy\u2019s birth mother had told them, means \u201che saves.\u201d The Dempsters decided that he was the one for them. But the other child never left Meghan\u2019s mind. Even now, buying a child\u2019s travel container for Terefe, who she and her husband would soon fly to pick up.<\/p>\n

\u201cYour baby is beautiful,\u201d Meghan told the woman in line in front of her.<\/p>\n

The woman, Mandy Watson, replied that she had just adopted Silas from Ethiopia. She was buying his first solid food. They kept talking as the line slowly moved. Turned out they had both used the same adoption agency. Mandy began to tell about Silas\u2019s history back in Africa. \u201cHe had neonatal tetanus. They didn\u2019t think he would make it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWait a second,\u201d Meghan interrupted. \u201cWhat\u2019s his name, what\u2019s his Ethiopian name?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMitku,\u201d Mandy said.<\/p>\n

Meghan didn\u2019t have to wonder any more about the fate of that other child. He was healthy and happy, being raised by a family in the same town as her.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn my mind, it was God-ordained, because had I gotten out the door when I wanted to, I would have never met [Mandy],\u201d Meghan told City View Magazine<\/em>. \u201cTo see her and see this baby, to see that here he is, in this perfect family, right here in Knoxville, and he\u2019s thriving\u2026what are the chances of that happening?\u201d<\/p>\n

Mandy told the magazine that her family and Meghan\u2019s are now bonded for life. They plan on bringing the boys together to Africa when they’re older to reconnect with their roots. \u201cSuddenly, our eyes were open to something that\u2019s so much bigger than us.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I read a great story from City View Magazine in Knoxville, Tennessee. It was supposed to be a quick errand: run in to Babies R\u2019 Us, pick up a child\u2019s travel container and get home. But there was a long line at the checkout. Meghan Dempster looked at the people directly in front of her. 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