Inspire, Fall 2004

Inspire 21 So the months crept by, and we were able to minister to this young girl and grew to love her all over again. In February, I flew to Florida to spend a week with Danyell before her due date — it was sisterly and motherly all at the same time. It was a week that I cannot put into words. Her parents were terribly upset about what was happening and wouldn’t even come out of the house to meet me when I came by to take Danyell to doctor appoint- ments. Talk about awkward! We continued to leave it all in God’s hands and simply prayed for them. It was both a wonderful and dreadful week. John is my best friend, and this was an enormous event to go through alone. At the last moment Julie, who was supposed to run interference at the hospital where things can go terribly wrong, was called out of town and had no choice but to go. I was devastated and very alone. I remember telling John that only God could do this; I couldn’t handle the pressure of feeling that so much depended on me. John was still in Ohio and wouldn’t arrive until later; Julie wasn’t even in the state; and God would just have to provide Danyell with great grace to say goodbye to her child. The labor and delivery went well, and on February 7, 2004, Kylee came into the world with bright red hair and much squalling! The doctor held her up and asked Danyell if she wanted to hold her lovely daughter, and that 16-year-old girl said, “No, give her to Lei Lani. Give her to her mama.” Her love for this child — to do the most difficult thing imaginable — and her courage are most amazing in this world of instant gratification where most of us do anything to avoid pain. John arrived the next morning with the rest of our family, and the 48 hours were underway; all the papers would be signed at discharge. In the meantime, Danyell and her family had Kylee in her hospital room with them, and we were never alone with either the baby or Danyell, so it was anybody’s guess what was happening. Danyell asked that we be present when the papers were signed — it was important to her to physically hand us the baby and know she would be part of our family. We dreaded that experience with attorneys, court reporters, and Danyell’s parents — we just assumed it would be very difficult. But again, God supplied great grace, and Danyell was so courageous and calm, despite all the emotion in the room. God was so present that He was palpable — it was amazing. We left the hospital with our newborn daughter a few hours later! We still had no birth father, which was of great concern to our attorney. We knew that without his signature, he could show up at our home in Ohio at any point and take Kylee away. He didn’t even know Danyell was pregnant! But as we left the hospital, my faith had been so stretched and had grown so incredibly that I just simply told John that God was going to pull it out here at the end and I wasn’t worried. Three hours later our attorney called and said she had located the birth father, he had signed the papers, and Kylee Marie was, for all practical purposes, a Dibert. Another incredible miracle — in 22 years of adoption counseling, our friend said she had never had a birth father notified and sign away his rights the very same day, let alone the same hour. God is great! When we taught the discipleship class in Florida, we were totally overwhelmed with church responsibilities and had a newborn. There was every reason to say no to that class, even though the Holy Spirit was prompting us to do it. Had we not obeyed His calling, we could have missed out on one of the biggest blessings of our lives — to minister to Danyell two years later and then welcome another child into our family. We are so conscious of God’s big picture — no one could have put this story together but Him. We love I Cor. 2:9 from The Message : “No one’s ever seen or heard anything like this, never so much as imagined anything quite like it — what God has arranged for those who love Him.” So many friends and complete strangers prayed Kylee into our family. We were not looking for another child — God literally interjected this little girl into our lives, and we can’t wait to see her future unfold. We are humbled that for whatever reason we were chosen to parent her. Anni, Christian, and Isaac are so thrilled with this addition and can’t get enough of Kylee or of telling her story. We all understand better how God wipes away our past and gives us His name and brings us into His family. Ephesians 1:5 has become so clear to us! A few months ago, in reference to James 1:27, Christian mentioned he thought it was “very cool” that we had given a fatherless child a home and that we should do it as much as we can! We told him that would be a wonderful ministry for him! Although the blessing is all ours, we are very conscious of the added responsibility of another child to shepherd and do not take it lightly. John’s schedule continues to require travel, and, as with all active duty personnel, he could deploy at any time. We are committed to Christian education for our children, and their tuition seems to be rapidly outpacing our income. Our vehicles are old but faithful, but we are rapidly outgrowing them as well. Since losing my office to a new baby, I am working my small business from my dining room, which used to be the only pristine room in our house! But each and every month we see that you cannot outgive God — He continues to meet us at every turn, and we know that He will continue to do so. If we can trust Him with our eternity, we can certainly trust Him with tomorrow. The rest is just “stuff ” — we know that He will always equip us to do His will. It has been our blessing to share Kylee’s story with thousands of people through various churches and small groups. We pray that it continues to be used in many lives and to encourage others along the way. Most of all, we pray that God continues to work in Danyell’s life so that she truly walks with Christ in all the details of her life. She is the true hero here, loving Kylee so much that she chose to give her what she herself could not — a family. We look forward to ministering to Danyell throughout her life if she chooses to stay in touch with us. John and Lei Lani reside in Dayton, Ohio, where John is the avionics program manager for the FA22 at Wright Patterson Air Force Base. Lei Lani is glad to be home with her children and is a direct sales jeweler with Premier Designs in her spare time. The Diberts may be reached at ps118.23@sbcglobal.net.