About Harper Grace,
Our New Little Blessing from Heaven

Harper Grace Ludy arrived home July 18, 2007.  Below is the story of how God brought her into our lives:

Last fall, Eric and I went through the most difficult experience of our lives – the loss of our unborn second child. In the midst of all the grief and pain, however, God awakened us in an even greater way to the amazing value of little children. Through the loss of that little life, we came to better understand His heart for the hurting little children all around the world, so often discarded and overlooked. As we prayed for God’s heart for children in need, we were drawn to the idea of adopting an orphan that needed a family.

On a Friday afternoon in April, Eric and I walked into an adoption agency that specialized in Korea and China adoptions, merely as an “information gathering” step. We found out that there is quite a long waiting list for healthy children from both countries, but that there are many “special needs” children who are currently waiting for homes. As we heard about these special needs waiting children, our hearts were deeply stirred. Most of these special needs children get passed over by American families, because of the expense and challenge of caring for them. And if no one pursues adopting them, many of these children spend the rest of their lives in an orphanage or institution.

We were shown pictures of a 2-month-old baby girl from Korea with deformities – we did not see photos of her face, only of her hands and feet. She was missing all of her fingers except thumbs, she had a club foot and some deformed, joined toes on the other foot. When we saw the tiny, misshapen baby hands, our hearts were gripped. We learned that she had been born to a poverty-stricken mother who gave her up at birth because of her deformities – because deformities are a great shame in the Korean culture, and because she did not have money to care for her. We left the agency with the images of those deformed hands and feet impressed upon our hearts and minds.

On the drive home, Eric began to weep for this little girl. (And crying is not something that comes easily to him!). We asked God to give us His heart for this little child. Eric attempted to pray, but the only words that would come out of his mouth were, “God, you are a Father to the fatherless, and you set the solitary in families.” As we continued to drive, we felt a clear sense of God’s presence with us in the car. When we arrived home, an email from Ashley (Eric’s cousin and one of our AG team girls) was waiting for us in our inbox. She had no idea that we were even checking in to adoption, but in her prayer time that morning she felt that God had given her a scripture for us:

A father of the fatherless, and a judge of the widows, is God in his holy habitation. God setteth the solitary in families: he bringeth out those which are bound with chains: but the rebellious dwell in a dry land. (Psalm 68:5-6)

Needless to say, God had our attention! We spent the weekend praying for this baby girl, and asking God if we were to bring her into our family. We were able to see a photo of her face online, which further stirred our hearts. By Monday morning, we had very little doubt that this was God’s leading, though we still had no idea where the money would come from, we believed that He would provide. We called the agency and said we would like to pursue her.

Incredible doors have opened as we have pursued this journey, and it seems God’s special favor is upon this process. We chose the name Harper Grace, which is a very significant name to both us – but that’s another long story! This precious little girl is already part of our family – Hudson is so excited to be a big brother.

If you feel led to contribute to Harper’s adoption fund, donations can be sent to:

Eric and Leslie Ludy
1231 Crescent Drive
Windsor, CO 80550

Thank you so much for your prayers for this precious little one!