Life is beautiful only when we realize that the differences and diversities are what make it whole and worth living. The sad reality is, however, that issues such as that of racism are still present in almost every diverse society. And as we very often hear of people hating each other or getting into conflicts only because of their skin color, stories such as that of Aaron Halbert and his wife remind us how things aren’t always as bad as they seem, because there are still people who only care if someone is a good human or not, regardless of their physical appearance.
This couple is white, and yet their kids are black, and they are the perfect family out there. They have two adopted children, a son who is an African-American, and a biracial daughter. Now their family got bigger as they welcomed their African-American triplets into their life.
Halbert, who is a devoted Christian and a missionary, talks about his family’s life in a post he wrote for the Washington Post. People loved what this man had to say and regarded his story one of the most inspirational ones they’ve ever stumbled upon.
It starts like this:
“As I have made the stroll from my wife’s hospital room to the NICU these past few days it has been hard to fathom the way that our family has been put together.”
“This past Sunday, my gorgeous wife – a white evangelical, like me — gave birth to our beautiful African-American triplet daughters whom we adopted as embryos. These sweet girls will hopefully soon be coming home to meet their 3-year-old African-American brother and 2-year-old biracial sister, both of whom we adopted as infants. The normalcy of this paragraph is something I have come to take for granted. Yet what seems to us to be the logical outcome of being pro-life is still something that to others often needs much explaining.”
“I grew up as a child of evangelical missionaries in Honduras, very aware of racial diversity because I was the blue-eyed, cotton-topped white kid who stuck out like a sore thumb, but all the while felt deeply connected to the people there, even though we looked very different. My wife, on the other hand, grew up in the delta of Mississippi and it wasn’t until she took a few trips to Haiti that the veil of racial prejudice was lifted from her eyes. One of the central themes of Christianity is, after all, that God, through His Son, is calling people from every tongue, tribe and nation. Grasping diversity will make the world stronger as we marvel at God’s creative genius on display through His people’s varying pigments, personalities and proficiencies. Our differences are cause for celebration, not scorn.”
Both Aaron and Rachel always loved the idea of adopting children. So when they were in the States, some years into their marriage, they visited an adoption agency in Mississippi. Not only that, but they requested to be able to adopt any child except for a fully Caucasian child. It was like that because they knew their biological children, if they had any, would be white, and they wanted a diverse family.
Being missionaries and people of God, this beautiful couple believed that it was God’s will for them to become adoptive parents and change a child’s life forever. “When we adopt, we are echoing his own compassionate work, giving the world a glimpse of the truth and beauty of the gospel,” Aaron wrote.
Aaron added how they believe that each person is a unique creation by God, and race should never be something that divide us. On the contrary, we should accept it and embrace it.
“There is something beautiful and enriching being the only white face sitting and chatting with some of my African-American friends as my son gets his hair cut on a Saturday morning. There is also something wonderful in the relationship that is built as my wife asks a black friend on Facebook how to care for our little biracial daughter’s hair. The beauty of a multi-ethnic family is found there, in the fact that the differences are the very thing that make ours richer and fuller. It forces you to think in a new way about the way you think, speak, act and live.”
Of course, there have always been people who stare and wonder why a white family has black or biracial children. But there are also those whose faces smile when they see this beautiful blended family.
Although they already had their plate full with all the commitments around their two children, Rachel and Aaron started considering adopting an embryo after a friend mentioned the idea. That is when they visited the National Embryo Donation Center, a Christian embryo bank.
As they wanted their two children to feel connected with the ones they were eager to welcome into the world, the couple opted for embryos of an African-American donor.
“In September of last year, we had two embryos implanted and began the long wait to see whether the transfer was successful. The day to visit the doctor could not come fast enough. Six weeks after the transfer we made a very nervous trip to the local hospital in Honduras, where we were serving as full-time missionaries. We began to describe everything to our doctor in Spanish (broken Spanish, that is). He asked us a few times if we were sure that we had transferred two embryos. Yes, of course we were sure, we said. However, one of those embryos had split in two inside Rachel’s womb. She was indeed pregnant- not only with twins, but triplets!”
Everyone was happy for this family. Looking at them, many of their friends decided to follow their path and adopt African-American children.
Aaron ended his post writing: “This is not the way we planned it 12 years ago when we were dating and talking about adoption, but oh, how thankful we are for God blessing us with these sweet little ones He has placed in our care. I can remember a friend going through the adoption process telling me he had always wanted his family to look like a little United Nations. As I look at my growing family, I prefer to take it a step further, daring to hope that our family picture is a little hint of Heaven.”
If you want to learn more about this incredible family, check out the video below.