Meghan and Wayne Dickinson trust that their faith in God will lead them to the path they were meant to follow in life. And the path that was recently revealed to them involved adoption.

The Dickinsons have always had a place in their heart for the disabled, especially those with Down Syndrome. They’ve been active in fundraising efforts and have known several children who have been afflicted with the disability, including the child of a good friend. Their relationship with this child helped them to see that there was room in their hearts and home to do more.

“We didn’t set out to adopt,” said Meghan. But after hearing about the treatment of disabled children in Ukraine, the Dickinsons knew they needed to help. “We have a heart for children with Down Syndrome. When we learned that children with disabilities were sent to mental institutions between the ages of four and five due to their disabilities, it broke our hearts.” This is when the Dickinsons knew they had the ability to make a difference in a child’s life. “These children haven’t been given the ability to excel,” said Meghan.

In retrospect, Meghan admits that their experience was not typical. “We didn’t anticipate the difficulties because we did it so fast,” said Meghan. “We had no idea what was before us.” Their adoption path included six months of paperwork, faith and anticipation.

To search for the right child for them, the Dickinsons turned to Reece’s Rainbow, a nonprofit organization that raises awareness about Down Syndrome and assists with the international adoption of children with Down Syndrome. Although they were seeking one child, they applied for the ability to adopt two children. “We wanted to adopt a boy with Down Syndrome,” said Meghan, “and we knew he had to be over two years old because of my husband’s age.”

Legally, there cannot be more than 45 years between the child and the prospective parent. The boy they chose had been assigned to an adoption agency in California from his orphanage in Ukraine, and they saw just a few small photos of him that were taken by other families who were adopting children through the same organization. “We didn’t meet [Marcus] until we were approved to adopt him, six months later in March,” said Meghan. Before that, the Dickinsons had only these few photos to keep them connected to Marcus. In December, a family visiting the Ukranian orphanage sent a gift to the family in the form of a video. “I got a 30-second video. It was the worst and best thing I had ever seen,” said Meghan. “[Marcus’s] head was shaved to prevent lice. He had blue smudges of moisturizing lotion on his face.” It was a video that Meghan watched over and over again while waiting for the phone call finalizing the adoption.

In February, about two weeks before the adoption of Marcus was approved, the Dickinsons received a call that there were two little girls with Down Syndrome who were just accepted into the orphanage. One of those was a four-year-old, who they requested to adopt. “We got to see a picture of her about the size of a postage stamp,” said Meghan. Though originally they requested the ability to adopt two children to possibly keep siblings together, this opportunity presented itself in a way that made the Dickinsons see that though she was not Marcus’ sister by birth, Macey was meant to be a part of their family too. “Everything came together,” said Meghan.

When the time came to visit Ukraine to pick up Marcus and Macey, the whole Dickinson family decided to take the trip. “Taylor (14 years) and Tanner (8 years) came with us,” said Meghan. “It made it good on all of us; they got to experience Ukraine, and we met Marcus and Macey as a family. There was no difficulty of mom and dad going away and coming home with two new kids for the family.”

The family stayed in Ukraine for five weeks in total, while the paperwork and court system worked to finalize all aspects of the adoption. They visited Marcus and Macey as often as they could during that time. “We spent an hour [at the orphanage] on the first visit,” said Meghan. “Then every day we spent two hours in the morning and two hours in the afternoon with the children, which was all that we were allowed.” They used the time to forge a bond with the children.

Though the Dickinson’s story is a happy one, they know that not all stories progress as smoothly or end with such happy results. “I know now, coming home, that not everybody has it like we did,” Meghan says of her experience with international adoption. Although the process to adopt came together somewhat easily for them, not all adoptions proceed as smoothly, and it’s always a challenge when a family dynamic changes.

“Normal” for Marcus and Macey now includes a full family life, active participation at school and in church. The children are in weekly therapy and special needs programs to address their nonverbal disabilities. And the Dickinsons wouldn’t have it any other way. “We answered the call,” said Meghan. “I heard the Lord ask ‘why not you?’”