A child needs and craves for both the love of a mother and father to thrive and grow as an individual. A couple, however, gave their daughter up for adoption right at her birth. They could not have supported her, they justified themselves. The girl grew up, all confused about her identity, unable to relate to the people she grew up with. A need to know her past led her on a quest which was nothing short of a roller coaster ride. It revealed things that awe-struck her.
Her hands shivered but not because it was cold. She was trembling and was shocked at her own ability to be able to perform tasks when her brain was obviously numb. It had been a long and hard journey but she had the number with her she had been searching for like crazy. A man picked up and breathlessly, in anticipation she asked, "Andrew?" If this was finally the man she was looking for, the years-long search would come to an end. Who was he?
Twenty-four years before this phone call was made, a man named Will Russell was struggling to gain back the stability in his now messed up life, the cause of which was no one but he himself. Freshly in his twenties, his life was a myriad of messed up events and ill-formed decisions. Having made nothing of his life till now he was already on a downfall- courtesy to the slew of addictions he had succumbed himself too.
Will had a girlfriend but that did not stop or deter him from abusing alcohol extensively. An unplanned incident, however, bowled Will off his ground. His girlfriend informed him that she was pregnant with his child. For a man who had not figured out anything about his future, who did not know where he'll get the money for his next drink from, this is anything but a welcome news. He knew deep down, no matter how hard he tried to fight it, that he was not ready to be a father.
Abortion was not an option for them, they had decided on that but they also did not have any financial aid to raise the child that was going to be born. Will and his girlfriend waited it out. They had thought about what they were going to do with the child but they did not want to overthink it. They just focused on the girlfriend having as safe and healthy pregnancy as they could afford. The months quickly passed by and it was time for the delivery.
Will's girlfriend gave birth to a baby girl and it was time for the couple to make the heart-wrenching decision. They both knew the reality, they would not be able to support and provide for a child and they thought that their daughter deserved better. So, to give her a chance, they put her up for adoption, right after the birth. They did not even take time to know their own blood.
The baby was in luck. Within fifteen hours of its entry into the world, she was adopted by a childless couple who had been on the lookout for a newborn. She was named Amy Roberson and was taken into a safe, loving and nurturing home. She was an infant when she was adopted so when she changed hands from one set of parents to another she had no clue but as she grew up, she started noticing the apparent differences.
Amy was three years old now and a perceptive child. It did not take her long to notice that her skin color was not the same as that of her parents. It was not only her but the kids at the nursery school too saw what they thought was confusing. When they asked her, the little girl never had an answer because she did not know that she had been adopted.
There was no one else other than her mother who could help little Amy dispel her confusion so one day in her innocence she asked her why she was dark and she and dad white? The mother having observed the perceptive nature of the child was prepared for the question to pop up at some time or another. She was actually waiting for Amy to ask her and calmly told her that she was adopted.
The adoptive mother patiently filled the curious Amy Roberson with as many details of her past and the identity of her parents as she knew. Amy was informed that her birth mother was of Mexican-American origin and her birth father was black. She also told Amy her birth parents' names too. Amy grew up to be the only child in her adoptive family but she always wondered about her birth family and if she had any siblings.
Even though Amy was loved by her adoptive parents as she was growing up, she always felt a little alien among the white folks. She knew she belonged somewhere else and she wanted to meet her biological parents, get to know them, she wanted answers to so many questions. If she knew that the answers were hiding right under her nose, she won't have gone to lengths to find her parents.
Meanwhile, unaware of the whereabouts of his daughter, Will with all the determination it took, tried to shift the course of his life. It had been a long time since he had broken up with the woman who gave birth to Amy but breaking up with drugs and alcohol, he found harder to do.
In 2004, he surrendered himself to faith and in his own words, he "found Christ". This helped him get past his addictions and in 2007 he turned into a pastor.
Amy was living in the city of Avondale near Pheonix and her birth father was not too far, forty miles away in Chandler, Arizona. Yes, Amy, was the daughter Will Russell had abandoned 23 years ago. Amy was now determined to look for her family. It was the age of internet and many people had managed to find their long-lost relatives, lovers or acquaintances via Facebook, it would not be too surprising if Amy managed to do it too.
Will had separated from Amy's birth mother so Amy's search was going to be diverse as she would have to look for her biological mother AND father who were no longer together. Facebook was not of much help as Amy could not find her parents or anyone who could be related to her. Her determination, however, attracted the universe's attention and her adoptive mother became a source of a news that solved half a mystery.
Amy was 23 now and had her life running smoothly as far as personal affairs were concerned. She herself had two kids of her own and a job that enabled her to provide for them. From time to time, for a reason that she could not even explain to herself she was drawn to volunteer at the Phoenix Rescue Mission. She volunteered there regularly, this was her life. Her mother provided her with a lead to find her parents. Well, at least her mother for now. Where she found her father? You cannot guess. She could not either.
Amy's adoptive mother found a document which granted her birth mother's sister the right to put her up for adoption. There could be found the sister's name. It made sense to Amy Roberson now, the reason why she did not find her mother was because she might have married someone and changed her name; Will was only her boyfriend after all. The document had the aunt's name and address and without a second thought, Amy rushed to the location, not even considering that 23 years later, her aunt might not be living there.
It was only Amy's uncontained positivity that led her to believe that her aunt would be living in the same house 23 years later too. She knocked on the door, sure to meet one of her kin and indeed the woman who stood in the doorway was her aunt. Amy, could not contain her happiness. Her aunt will lead her to her mother but what about her father, where and how will she find him?
After preliminary greetings, Amy got to the topic on her mind and she asked her aunt about her mother's whereabouts. The aunt told her that she was no longer in touch with her sister but she provided Amy a number she could contact. So close to talking to her mother Amy felt herself choking with emotions. If this number got through to her mother- she would have retrieved half of her past.
Now that Amy had her birth mother's number, it was time she called her. She thanked her aunt and went outside. She needed to make this call alone. The number could not have worked, her birth mother could have been dead but since childhood Amy had been lucky, she called the number and to her overwhelming delight, it was her birth mother who picked it. After an emotional exchange, they decided to meet. The dad, however, was still to be found.
Amy was obviously looking forward to meeting with her mother but all these years made sure that it wasn't exactly how she expected. They were strangers after all and the meeting was underwhelming. Amy also met four of her half-siblings too. Now that she had closure from her mother's side, it was time to track down her father. For some reason, she considered it more important to meet her father. She spent a year looking for him and all this while he was right in her company.
Will, now known among his community as Pastor Russell wanted to give back to the community by more than only preaching. He had wasted years of his prime in abusing drugs and alcohol but now equipped with the experience he gave addiction counseling to those in need in the Phoenix area. He sought help from the local organizations to be able to expand his outreach, where his steps were taking him, he did not have a clue then.
Pheonix Rescue Mission provides shelter to the homeless and is also a soup kitchen. It provides a lot of facilities and there are various ways a volunteer could contribute. The Mission aims to rehabilitate people who abuse substance or are homeless by giving them opportunities to be a part of classes on life skills and courses that prepare for various jobs. Will thought that this was the place he would volunteer at.
In 2012, Will started volunteering at the Mission and he began working in the kitchen by serving food to the needy. He, however, did not stay long enough to witness a miracle. He changed departments. Since he was experienced in counseling he took up discipleship course and taught people about the Christian faith and ethic and gave them hope to start afresh on the path of religion. If he had stayed a little bit longer in the kitchen, his life would have taken a twist.
Just about the time, Will started volunteering at the Rescue Mission Amy Roberson did too! But they could not meet, neither did they know they were father and daughter. Why? Because Amy had started working in the kitchen and by that time Will had changed departments and work days. Imagine coming so close to someone you have been looking for, for years and not knowing they volunteer at the exact same place you do! If only Will hadn't changed departments, maybe just maybe both of them would have gotten to know each other and realized they were related.
When asked later, they both said that there was this overwhelming feeling to go to the Pheonix Rescue Mission as often as possible. In an interview, Will said, "I just felt myself drawn here so I started serving here," and Amy said, "I felt like this is where I needed to be, I needed to be here for some reason." Both the father and the daughter had an intuition about the place, but what it was, they did not find out soon enough.
Both Amy and Will worked at the same place. This volunteer duty had an important place in their lives. They worked among the same people, same workspace but they never had the chance to make each others' acquaintances. But fate did not put them together in the same place for no reason. It had been months since they were working in the same place and had not met but a miracle was going to happen soon, coming about in the most unexpected way.
Unaware of each other being in the same place, Amy went on with the search for her father, looking for any lead on him. Meanwhile, Will had not forgotten about the daughter he had abandoned all those years ago. After his reformation, he too was looking for this daughter of his, praying daily for the same. He wished that his daughter like him abided by the Christian faith. His prayers were answered. He did not know but she was in the same place as him.
It had been 4 months now since Amy Roberson had been volunteering at the Phoenix Rescue Mission and searching for her father (who volunteered at the same place) when her birth mother called her, telling her that there was a lead on how to find her father. Andrew Russell, that's the name Amy's birth mother gave her.
After talking to her birth mother, Amy contacted her aunt again, the one who led her to her mother, turned out the aunt had some information too. She provided Amy with a Facebook link to her half brother's profile, this was the brother Amy had from her father's side. Amy was just one step away from finding about her father now.
It was as easy as dialing a number when it came to contacting her biological mother, there was no anticipation in waiting for a reply. In this case, however, Amy had to resort to dropping a Facebook text to her half-brother who, Amy noticed had similar features as herself. She had all these thoughts clouding her mind- will her half-brother take too long to reply? Will he reply at all?
All Amy could do now was wait anxiously. She needed this closure. She needed to know what her father was like now? Was he still an addict or did he change? To her relief and delight, her half-brother wrote back to her and he gave her the final essential detail she required- the phone number of her father. It was going to happen.
There were so many questions Amy wanted the answers too, know about herself, her biological father, and this was the moment she had been trying to lead her life to. She picked up the phone and dialed the number she had been provided with and breathlessly, heard the ring go.
A man picked up, he was obviously Will but that's not the name her birth mother gave her, so she addressed him with the name she knew- "Andrew?" There was silence on the other side and she thought her heart would burst out of her chest. On the other side Will was wondering who this could be. Andrew was his middle name and not many people knew that.
He thought that people knew him as Will and not many people knew his middle name was Andrew. After that, she said the words to him that would bring happiness to both their lives, “This is Amy, your daughter.” Still, there was silence on the other side. She was afraid that the man on the other side would hang up. Unable to handle the silence any longer she pleaded, “Say something.”
What happened after that was nothing less than the movies. Will was obviously overjoyed. He had been looking for his daughter too, like she for him. As calmly as he could he said his first words to his daughter- “It’s going to be okay.” But it was going to be better, they were yet to find out that they had been working at the same place for months now.
None of them wanted to delay the time of meeting any longer. 24 years were enough. They made a breakfast plan for next morning but none could sleep due to anticipation in the night. When they met the next morning, Amy had no doubt it was her father. They looked so much alike!
The next morning the father and daughter met for a breakfast, their first meal together in 24 years, or ever for that matter. There was so much to catch up on and they did but Will had to leave: he told her daughter that he had volunteer work to take care of. Intrigued by the common interest Amy asked him about it.
Amy asked where he volunteered and when he told her that it was at this place called the Phoenix Rescue Mission. Amy was stunned to speechlessness. After gaining her composure back she informed him that she too was a volunteer there and they both marveled at the fact that they were so close all these months but unaware of the other's existence.
When they both learned that they had been volunteering at the same place they knew that it was more than just a coincidence. The universe had conspired for them to meet, they were supposed to find each other. For Amy, all puzzles were solved, she knew her roots now, her real parents. There was something more for her in the store though.
Pastor Russell, in these 24 years had made his own separate family and he wanted Amy to meet all. Guess how many half brothers and sisters Amy had on the father's side of the family alone? No less than NINE! For a person who grew up as an only child, this seemed like an incredible number. She was very excited to meet them.
For Amy Roberson, the timing of coming in touch with her extended family could not have been better. She was a single mom and could definitely use support in raising two kids. She even lived with Will for some time so that the two got time to know each other better. For Amy, there was another good news waiting.
The story of this father-daughter duo who found themselves so close to each other after 24 years made headlines the following year, just when they were going to have the first Father's Day celebration together. The miracles happening at the Phoenix Rescue Mission were not over though.
Life had changed drastically in the last few months for Amy Roberson. She not only found her biological parents but also more than 10 half-siblings.
What better could happen in her life you ask? Well, in October 2013, she got married. Where did she meet her husband? Phoenix Rescue Mission
The story of the father and daughter fills one with hope and warmth. It makes one believe in the power of the universe and how if you wish for something to happen in earnest, it does. The world is a wonderful place and this is just one example of a family that realized it.