Adopting 'Laughter'
MARY BETH CHAPMAN: He keeps every single piece of paper because it may be valuable information.
STEVEN CURTIS CHAPMAN: I am a little bit of a pack rat.
MARY BETH: Hes a big pack rat. And Im, like, if its not sentimental...
STEVEN CURTIS: I tell my kids, 'Get up and move around at least every few hours because if you sit in one spot long enough, Mamas going to throw you away!' (laughter). Yeah, if it sits still for long, its in the trash. 'Get up! Everybody shift.'
MARY BETH: Theres stuff I want to throw away. I just havent thrown it away yet.
STEVEN CURTIS: I think we had six kids at one time, actually. I wonder where the other one went? (laughter)
LISA RYAN: What made the two of you decide to adopt?
STEVEN CURTIS: That story started with our daughter Emily.
MARY BETH: Emily is our 17-year-old daughter. She is a senior in high school this year, and when she was about 11 years old, she just really felt that God was impressing on her heart that we should open our hearts and our home to a child and to adoption. And, I was very, very much against that idea. I just didnt feel like I could do it. I didnt feel like I could love a child that wasnt biologically mine like I love my biological children. She started this huge prayer campaign. It was an all-out prayer campaign, and she wrote us letters. She went as far as to write really strong language like, 'You may be living in disobedience if you ignore Gods call to adopt.'
STEVEN CURTIS: What are you doing using that kind of language? Youre 13. What do you know about that? Well, you know a lot about it, but youre not supposed to use it on us.
MARY BETH: It really did start with her, and several windows started opening and God slowly started changing my heart. It just became a miracle after miracle thing.
LISA RYAN: Where did the name Shaohannah come from?
STEVEN CURTIS: Thats quite a story.
MARY BETH: Steve said, 'This is so hilariously funny that were even praying and considering this that we need to find out what the Chinese word for laughter is. That needs to be part of her name.' An hour and a half later, I had a doctors appointment. Were sitting in the doctors office. Steve picked up an old Readers Digest, and I hear him go, 'You are not going to believe this. You have got to read this. Look at this.' It was a story about a little boy and his parents who were Chinese, and it just so happened to say in the article his name was Shaohan (Shao in Chinese means "laughter"). That was the only word at that point that we had ever heard in Chinese.
LISA RYAN: God was really talking to the two of you.
MARY BETH: It was just unbelievable. The hair on the backs of our necks was just standing up.
STEVEN CURTIS: It was like you could almost picture God and Jesus high-fiving YEAH! Weve got them! Now, what else do you need? What else do you want? Anything else you want to know? It was amazing.
MARY BETH: I went home and ordered that back issue of Reader's Digest. We actually have it in her baby book because it was S-h-a-o. It was just so powerful. We were just sitting there. We couldnt help it. We started laughing. We said, 'Well, were moving forward.' In March 2000 we found ourselves staying in the hotel in Choug Shaw, China, waiting for little Shaohannah to be placed in our arms. Even at that point when I was in the room waiting on her, Steven can attest I was scared to death. I just looked at this little girl, and she was just there wrapped up in a blanket that I had sent her that I had made. Theyd wrapped her up in it, and they presented her to us there in the hallway. At that moment, she was my daughter and there wasnt a doubt. I would have died for her right then. They werent getting her back. Im like, 'OK, you can go now.' I just remember going, 'OK, I get it now, God. I know now what You did for me. I know that I am adopted into Your Kingdom and You view me just like this.' Shaoy didnt do anything for our love. Shes just here and she is an orphan. She is just 'laughter.' Thats what she is. Shes just a blast to be around. Gods really used her in my life. A lot of people have been touched by her as well.
LISA RYAN: The Chapmans have done it again. Theyve adopted another little girl from China. She is named Stevey Joy after her adopted father.
STEVEN CURTIS: Theyve done it again. Those Chapmans. What are they thinking?
MARY BETH: In May 2003, just this year, we got Stevey Joy. We finally got one named after Steven.
STEVEN CURTIS: Yeah. Took me five kids. I finally got a "junior," sort ofa juniorette, a Stevey.
LISA RYAN: I dont know if you guys knew that Terry Meeuwsen just adopted three more girls from the Ukraine, but because of that, Lee Webb has gone back and adopted one of the girls from the same orphanage who was a good friend of one of Terrys new daughters. What would you say to families who are feeling like this is something I want to do, but Im afraid? Can I afford it? Hows it going to change our lives? What would you say?
STEVEN CURTIS: Youve heard one more story. As you say that, that just supports even more what we call the miracle of adoption. It really is. Its a miraculous thing. You cant explain it. You really cant even figure it out. You just see it happen. Its happened in our community here with us taking that first step and even some friends before us taking that first step and leaving footprints. We begin to follow, and we look back and there are 10, 15, 20 other families behind us following. Its something that God does.
MARY BETH: Its such a legacy. For Emilys senior graduation, Im going to have a portrait taken because there are eight or nine little Asian babies home now because of an 11-year-olds prayer. Emily will never see until eternity what her prayers as a young child accomplished in the Kingdom.
STEVEN CURTIS: It really is this divine, incredible invitation. Gods saying, 'If you really want to find Me, this is where I said Id be. You will find Me in the suffering. You will find Me in the least of these. You will find Me in caring for the orphans, in caring for the widows.' It is an amazing invitation. It doesnt make sense, doesnt make common sense because, I mean, if somebody looked at our lives and said youre going to add two more kids into this chaos? Youre crazy, right? Yet, you kind of are. But love makes you do crazy things. Gods love makes you do even crazier things. When you do, then you begin to experience miracles.
