January 13, 1999
Baptist Standard features
inspire Russian adoptions
___FORNEY--The April 15 issue of the Baptist Standard brought Kirk and Cathy Luecke an answer to their prayers.
___Printed on page 2 were pictures of eight Russian orphans who desperately needed a home. The Lueckes desperately wanted to adopt.
___After a failed adoption just two weeks before, the Lueckes were ready to move on with their lives. But they never lost the drive to adopt again. They constantly prayed for another adoption opportunity.
___"The father of the child we were to adopt changed hismind and would not sign over his parental rights," Mrs. Lueke explained. "After a couple weeks of dealing with the grief of that failed adoption, we saw that the Russian children were ready to be adopted."
KIRK LUECKE (right) on a 42-mile walk with Robert Ainsworth, a fellow church member at First Baptist Church in Forney, to help raise money for Luecke and his wife to adopt a Russian orphan through the Buckner International Adoption program. Surrounding them are children who represent just some of those adopted due to publicity about the adoption program in the Baptist Standard: Abigail, 1; Daniel, 2; Evgeniy, 7 months; Joshua, 20 months; Samuel and Lester, 1; Sean, 11; Yelena, 11; Valya, 5, and Veronica, 3; Michael, 10, and James, 11.
___The Lueckes were no strangers to the adoption process. Although they are the birth parents of a 6-year-old son, Patrick, their 4-year-old son, Benjamin, was adopted. Upon hearing the need for help from Buckner Adoption and Maternity Services, the family immediately sought information about the international adoption process.
___"After hearing about the urgent orphan situation in Russia at an orientation meeting hosted by Buckner International Adoption, we thought, 'How could we not help?'" Lueke said. "The only thing holding us back was the money it would take to go through the adoption process."
___The Luekes had taken out a loan to pay expenses for the adoption that failed, so they were left paying back a loan that yielded nothing. But they were not going to allow the lack of money to stop them from adopting.
___"God laid it on my heart to do something to raise the money for the adoption," said Lueke, who is youth minister and minister to senior adults at First Baptist Church in Forney. "I decided that I would hold a 42-mile walk in honor of the Russian orphans' plight in order to raise the money."
___Lueke walked 35 of the 42 miles that separated his starting point, the church, and the finishing point at Lake Lavon Baptist Encampment. The family raised more than $6,500 directly from his walk, including $5,000 from Tom Hicks, owner of the Dallas Stars hockey team. The family also received a grant from the Buckner Foundation.
___The Lueckes never expected the child they would be paired with would be one of the children pictured in the Standard article that originally brought them to Buckner.
___On the top row of the eight photographs, however, was 15-month-old Igor. Their process completed, the Lueckes closed 1998 celebrating a joyous Christmas with their new son.
___Just a scan across the room that Igor and Benjamin now share is proof of the love the Luekes have for Igor. Hanging over the neatly made bed where he sleeps is his American name, "Evan," spelled in colorful plush letters. Hung securely on adjacent walls are posters that read, "Kids are special people" and "I love Jesus."
___As the family has grown, so too has the faith of a couple wanting to make a difference in the life of a child--a helpless child who would be without hope.
___"We not only see this adoption as getting a new son, but also saving a life," Lueke said. "You may ask: 'What is one child compared to 500,000 children?' All I can say is, It is one less."
___Since the inception of Buckner's international adoption program in 1996, 61 Russian orphans have been adopted by families in Texas and several surrounding states. In 1998 alone, Buckner facilitated the adoption of 33 Russian children ages 6 months to 15 years.
___Buckner still has many Russian orphans, including infants, in need of adoptive parents. For information, call Debbie Wynne, director of international adoption, at (214) 381-1552.
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