Tricia and I are very grateful to the Rocky Mount Telegram for their interest in doing a story on Grace as it relates to international adoption. It was fun to recount our story as we were interviewed for over two hours. I especially want to thank John for his hard work in writing and his initiative to do so.

We realize the limitations imposed on writers with word counts and attempting to get to the core of the story. One only has to read the entirety of our journal to realize that it would be next to impossible to somehow squeeze all that has happened into a single page of a newspaper.

As we reflect on the past 20 months we are overwhelmed by God's grace. While this was very much a tangible effort to help a child, it was also born out of a desire to demonstrate our love for God and try to emulate his abundant grace in rescuing Tricia and me while we were spiritually incapable of helping ourselves—He is the master adopter. At the very core of our adoption of Grace is a vivid picture of God's grace through the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus Christ. He did this so we could be adopted into His family.

Below is the article.

When Tricia Brown takes her daughter, Grace, to the grocery store, strangers stop to ask questions.

Grace, a tiny 12-pound 10-month-old from China with large, pinchable cheeks and a penchant for giggling at peek-a-boo, often makes her adoptive parents the center of attention.

But Tricia and her husband, Shannon, said they enjoy the chance to tell others about international adoption.

"People gravitate toward us…but it's wonderful; you can share how easy the process is," said Tricia, who has four biological children ages 5 to 10. "My desire is that the word would be spread that, hey, adoption might be the answer."

The Browns decided in October 2004, after seeing the destruction of flooding in Haiti, to adopt internationally. Nineteen months later, after getting through the paperwork and a couple of snags, the Browns went to China to pick up Zhuang Lukang.

Lukang became Grace Lu Brown, united with the Browns on May 14—Mother's Day. Grace had been abandoned at the gates of an orphanage the day after she was born.

Because of a lack of stimulation and malnourishment, she could not roll over or hold anything in her hands.

"She's ready to do all that stuff—it just takes somebody who will spend the time with her," Shannon said. "Other than she's underdeveloped (physically), she's a normal little girl."

The Browns said their decision was based mostly on the feeling that they need to do their part to reach out to needy children.

Tricia said she obviously already had a full house before deciding to adopt Grace, so the decision was mainly evangelistic.

"I think the biggest thing for us is just to see the need that there is," said Shannon, who is a graphic designer. "There are so many babies around the world that need a mommy and a daddy."

To encourage others who are considering adoption, or even those who had never thought of it, Shannon created an online journal to chronicle his family's entire adoption process.

He created the Web site youbelong.net, which allows other families to join and write about their experiences with adoption as well. Seeing other people going through the same process creates a bond between the families.

Since the site was launched on April 3, it has about 130 members and has had about 24,000 unique visitors.

the Browns' journal is filled with photos, audio clips and videos, including a video of the Browns' first meeting with Grace.

The Browns said their hope for the site is that it will motivate people to adopt and orphaned child. Shannon said he receives about an e-mail a day from a stranger who read his journal on the site.

"Basically it was for people to be able to record their journey, and for other people to come read it and be encouraged by it," said Shannon Brown, adding that it's one more way to shine a spotlight on the need for adoption. "Unless you're paying attention to (the issue), it's easy to never see it."

The Browns' children weren't receptive to the idea when Shannon and Tricia first told them about it. But the family began to pray for Grace during the adoption process, even before they knew who the child would be. And the children warmed to the idea.

In the month since Grace arrived in Rocky Mount, Morgan, Allie, Lindsay and Evan have bee ecstatic to have a little sister, Tricia said.

Morgan, the Browns' 10-year-old daughter, had a suggestion for her mother after playing with Grace for a few weeks.

"She said, 'You know Mom, this has been so neat, I think I'm ready for you to go back and get another one,'" Tricia said.

Another adoption is not in the familiy's plans, but Tricia said her only regret is that she didn't do it sooner.

To read the Browns' journal, visit www.youbelong.net/thebrowns.

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