For them, adoption is the "logical outcome of being pro-life."
They don't want any babies in this world to suffer. They want to spend their lives helping the most vulnerable of the vulnerable. Thus, part of the reason they also decided that the babies they adopted would not be Caucasian was because those are the ones who get chosen the quickest by prospective parents.
This is where their story really starts to get interesting. Let's learn how this couple ended up with not one, but five African-American babies.
Being from a missionary family himself, Aaron grew up in Honduras andsays he was a: "blue-eyed, cotton-topped white kid who stuck out like a sore thumb."
Aaron says this helped him feel comfortable with other races from a very young age. His wife Rachel didn't have the same experience growing up in the Mississippi Delta, but she was just as set on this idea to adopt non-Caucasian children as her husband.
The couple began expanding their family by adopting two African-American babies. Aaron remarks: "'The beauty of a multi-ethnic family is found there, in the fact that the differences are the very thing that make ours richer and fuller. It forces you to think in a new way about the way you think, speak, act and live."
Aaron explains how they've leaned on Facebook communities and their African-American friends for help with things like braiding their daughter's hair. He says bringing his son to the barbershop on Saturdays is one of the most beautiful and enriching experiences.
They didn't intend to have any more children. That's when God came calling again.
The couple heard about the National Embryo Donation Center, a Christian embryo bank that collects the excess frozen embryos that are created in IVF treatments. These cells are typically discarded, but the center accepts them as donations for people who are struggling to conceive naturally.
They became "deeply moved" by this and decided to have two African-American embryos implanted.
Another twist in fate split one of the embyros, leaving this couple pregnant with triplets!
Rachel has since given birth to the three healthy babies. They are all currently on a mission in Honduras, but Aaron says he expects some stares when they return to the American South.
He can already recall times in the past where his family has been looked at with "disgust."
It's not all negative though: "However, there was also the young black girl who wept when we told her this little boy with her skin color was our son...and the older white doctor who lovingly prayed over him and held him so tenderly."
In the end, this family hopes we all continue to open our hearts and minds more: "These latter experiences were rays of hope reminding us how far our country had come, while the former experiences reminded us how far we still need to go."
Main and collage image via The Washington Post | Aaron Halbert
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