One heart, two worlds Brian ’99 and Christy Caraway Guenther ’99 trusted God as they waited to bring their little boy home from Haiti BY JESSA GR ASSI McCLURE ’08
COURTESY PHOTO
As the car pulls away from the orphanage in the oppressive Haitian sun, tears are falling from the eyes of a little boy waiting for his chance to go home, and from the eyes of his adoptive mother who has to leave her son behind yet again. For Christy ’99 and Brian Guenther ’99 of San Marcos, the process of adopting their fourth child from Haiti has been a long and arduous journey that has tested their faith. And their quest to bring 10-year-old Wilson home to Texas began in an unlikely way. “Brian and I were in a place in our lives where we wanted to invest in a people group,” Christy Guenther said. “We wanted our kids to grow up being mission-minded.” As they began to pray about where to invest their time and energy, the word Haiti seemed to be coming up again and again. The couple talked to some friends who had adopted from Haiti, and they spoke about an organization called For His Glory Outreach that worked with an orphanage in the povertystricken country. There just happened
to be a local board meeting for the organization that week, and the Guenthers decided to attend. After meeting the orphanage director and the board members, the Guenthers packed their bags and made their first trip to Port au Prince, Haiti, in 2010. They fell in love with the local people and the children of the orphanage. Although adoption wasn’t on the couple’s radar, one little boy caught their attention while they were serving at the orphanage. After leaving Haiti and returning to their everyday lives, they couldn’t stop thinking about the little boy who had touched their hearts. “When we went back to Haiti in 2010, we felt led to begin the process of adopting him,” she said. “We asked him first if that was something he wanted—to be a part of our family— and he said yes.” But although the Guenthers were anxious to bring their new son home, a chaotic Haitian government and obstacles in the U.S. adoption system made the adoption seem impossible. Their struggle was recently chronicled
in a documentary called Children Left Behind, produced by KVUE in Austin. While the couple and their three biological children, Caleb, 12, and 8-year-old twins Grace and Faith, waited, the Guenthers prayed and trusted that God would move mountains. “It’s like one heart, two worlds,” Guenther said. “I have one heart, but it was in two different places.” After three years of waiting and wondering, the Guenthers finally got the okay from the American Embassy that their son could come home this December. After Christmas, the couple traveled to Haiti, and on Dec. 31, the new family boarded a flight toward their Austin home. As the Guenthers made their journey home, they enjoyed watching their new son discover the world around him. And although the novelty of his new home is exciting, there’s something more important the ten-year-old boy gained when he became a part of the Guenther’s family. “We sat on the couch last night and Wilson said, ‘Mama, I’m safe,’ and he smiled,” Guenther said. “It was really sweet to hear that he knew that he was finally safe at home.” ALUMNI L I F E
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