Daniel Wasinger, 11, celebrated his first ever Fourth of July event with his family in Kansas. Daniel was adopted from Jamaica last year by Mary and Randy Wasinger. He had an exciting time with his siblings at Freedom Fest. Mary said, “It was the first time he had cotton candy. He was pleased. He had the best day. He loved it. He thought the festival was great; it was really great for him.” Zoe, 11, AJ, 9, Faith, 4, and Mia, 10 months, are enjoying their time with Daniel.
Mary and Randy had grieved four miscarriages when God laid on their hearts that it was time to adopt. A missionary at their church, Holy Rosary Wea Catholic Church, told Mary about the dire situation kids were living in over in Jamaica. She told her husband right away that she wanted to adopt from Jamaica.
They had already submitted their application to the Jamaican government and gotten their passports when they learned Mary was pregnant with Faith. Years had passed without any word from Jamaica about their application. Knowing that after five years they would have to start the process over again, they reached out once more. The correspondence reminded the government that they were willing to take a child with special needs. A reply came in minutes.
The response shared information about a boy named Daniel. He had been abandoned at birth and suffers from sickle cell disease. The blood disorder causes him to have pain and neurological issues. Daniel had spent his life in an orphanage. The Wasinger met him for the first time in 2016 and fell in love. As soon as they decided to adopt him, they found out they were pregnant with Mia. They brought Daniel home in February 2017.
Mary said, “He is a bright light; he definitely is. He has had a hard life and has neurological damage, but we are hoping to get his brain rewired through love and therapy, and a stable home life. It’s a long process, but he has come so far, and he is so worth it.”
