It was a rainy night when a woman heard a tap on the gate and saw a little girl on her doorstep. She immediately took her in, and the youngster became an inseparable part of her life. Months later, the woman received a call that altered her life most unexpectedly.
Humans might find themselves yearning to discover their heart’s true calling from time to time. While it isn’t always an easy journey, figuring out one’s purpose in life can be an exciting experience. Sometimes, the path we take and our choices as adults might differ from how we pictured things in our youth.
But as Albus Dumbledore said in “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets,” “It is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.” The woman in today’s story experienced a chain of surprising events that changed her perspective and filled her heart with gratitude.
Megan Boudreaux Anderson described herself as someone who didn’t know what she wanted to do in life. After graduating from college, she started working in PR and marketing for a hospital in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Given her prior work experience in Ukraine and Africa, Megan said she was sent to visit the hospital’s malnutrition center in Haiti — a journey that proved life-changing.
On the mountaintop in a small Haitian city, Gressier, she laid the foundation of Respire Haiti, a nonprofit organization aimed to educate, encourage and empower restaveks, orphans, and vulnerable kids. Restaveks included domestic workers and child slaves, mostly deprived of education and health care.
It was 2011, and Megan had been in Gressier for a few days when she noticed a little girl under a tree on Bellevue Mountain hurling rocks at a bird. Later, Megan discovered that the youngster was doing so because she was starving and wanted to eat the bird.
Then, one night, there was a knock on the door, and she heard someone calling her and Josh’s names.
The little girl’s name was Michaelle, and she lived with a family on the mountain that wasn’t her own. Gradually, Megan forged a friendship with the then-six-year-old girl and invited her to the feeding program she hosted on Bellevue Mountain. She even made efforts to enroll Michaelle in a school.
A few months later, it was heavily raining when Megan heard a tap on the gate. When she answered the door, she was startled to see Michaelle, drenched from head to toe. The little girl told her:
“They said they don’t want me anymore. You can have me.”
Megan recalled feeling shocked after hearing Michaelle’s words and deeply felt for her. She was 24 at the time and knew her decision would prove life-altering for her and the little girl. So, without second thoughts, she welcomed Michaelle into her heart and home.
Months later, Megan returned after visiting an orphanage and was putting Michaelle to sleep when she said, “Look, mom, we have room for one more.” She was taken aback by her little princess’s words but felt something in her heart.
Soon afterward, Megan took out Michaelle’s documents and found a death certificate written in French. She discovered that Michaelle’s mother had passed away surrounded by her husband and two kids. The thought of her little girl having another sibling kept her awake all night.
The following day, Megan turned to Michaelle and asked her, “Do you have a brother or sister?” The youngster responded, “Yes, I think I have a sister.” When Megan inquired about her name, Michaelle said she couldn’t recall it. But Megan knew she wanted to search for her little girl’s sibling.
THE PHONE CALL THAT CHANGED EVERYTHING
Three weeks passed, and one day, Megan received a call. The voice on the other end said, “Megan, you need to come home immediately. A little girl who looks exactly like Micha is on our front porch.” Megan hurried home and was astounded to see her little girl’s carbon copy. She recounted:
“Micha ran toward our house and the next thing I know, these two sisters rushed towards each other as I heard them yelling each other’s name, ‘Micha!’… ‘Jessica!’ And they hugged each other. I could not believe my eyes.”
As was expected, Megan took in Michaelle’s sister, Jessica. As a 24-year-old, unmarried woman living outside America with two kids, Megan said she often wondered if she would ever find a life partner and settle down. But that changed when her path crossed with Josh Anderson.
The pair met in an orphanage, and it took Megan some time to realize why Josh continued to return to Haiti. The couple tied the knot on Bellevue Mountain, surrounded by friends and friendly animals like goats, cows, and chickens. After that, Josh joined his wife in raising two girls and running Respire Haiti.
Six weeks later, one of the students from Respire Haiti’s school went missing. Despite her best efforts, Megan couldn’t find him. Then, one night, there was a knock on the door, and she heard someone calling her and Josh’s names.
Astonishingly, it was the nine-year-old boy, Saintil, who had mysteriously disappeared from the school. He looked exhausted and told the Andersons that he had walked for three days to reach their home because he knew he would be safe with them.
While Saintil stayed with them, Megan and Josh learned that his birth parents had died and he had nowhere else to live. Then, the couple decided to take him in and enrolled him in their school. As of 2022, Saintil is a 17-year-old high school senior with excellent grades.
Even though the couple had already welcomed Michaelle, Jessica, and Saintil into their hearts, they had to wait 11 years for their girls and nine years for their boy to become Andersons officially. In March 2022, the adoption was finalized, and Megan and Josh couldn’t be happier.
The family lived in Haiti for 11 years and ensured that their kids developed a close association with their local culture, values, and beliefs. Since the pandemic, the Andersons have been living in Lafayette, Louisiana. Megan and Josh are now doting parents to six kids, three of whom are their biological children.
Despite going through a long and arduous adoption process, Megan expressed that she and Josh are immensely grateful for being blessed with their bundles of joy, and they wouldn’t change anything. The couple continues to raise their voices for ethical adoption, orphan care, and education.
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