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Hometown "J
HeroesJ
Encouraging
Adoptions
Christian recording artist Steven
Curtis Chapman rehearses at his home in Franklin,
Tenn. (pop. 41,842), with a local children's choir for
an upcoming tour.
“Listen to your heart,” the children sing. “You
will hear a song.”
It was indeed a song in the heart of Chapman's oldest
daughter, Emily, that inspired Steven, 42, and wife Mary
Beth, 41, to adopt three daughters from China—Shao
hannah, 6, Stevey Joy, 3, and Maria Sue, 2—and to start
a foundation to help otlier families adopt. Eight years
ago, Emily, then 11, nx>k a mission tnp to Haiti and was
moved by the plight of the many orphans she saw there.
“That began a two-year campaign of If we’ve
got room at our table, we can take another child,'"
says Mary Beth with a smile.
Emily focused on China—where most orphans are
girls because many families believe boys are better able
to support the family and carry on the lineage—and re
cruited Iter brothers, Caleb, now 16, and Will Franklin,
now 14, to the cause. One day, her still-hesitant par
ents found themselves wondering about the Chinese
word for laughter. Waiting for a business appointment
an hour later, Steven picked up an old copy of Reader's
Digest and found a story about a Chinese boy named
Shaohan—from shao, Chinese for laughter. The couple
took it as a divine nudge for the family to stop worry
ing and follow the song in their hearts. Ten months
later, they brought home an infant Chinese daughter
and named her Shaohannah. In the ensuing years,
daughters Stevey Joy and Maria followed.
“It really is the most clear mi
raculous experience that we've ever
had,” says Steven, “just watching
tlie doors open for us."
Shaohannah appears on the
cover of Chapmans album All
I Really Want fur Christmas , re
leased last year, and the CD’s
title track tells an orphan's story.
The album, Chapman's 15th,
continues a 20-year multi-plati
num career during which he’s
been bestowed five Grammy
Awards and a record-setting 50
Dove trophies from the Gospel Music Association.
“We've been given such a unique platform,” Steven
says. “And we really believe that because we have been
given much, a lot is required of us."
The Chapmans inspired friends and family such as
Mary Beth’s brother, Jim Chapman, and Steven's man
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by KATIE
DODD
A blended family: contemporary Christian entertainer Steven Curtis Chapman (right) at home with
(L-R) wife Mary Beth and children Stevey Joy, Shaohannah, Emily, Will Franklin, Caleb and Maria Sue
ager, Jim Houser, to adopt children from overseas. The
couple also was regularly approached by otlier families
interested in adoption buc anxious about the costs.
"Mary Beth would just whip out her checkbook,”
Houser says. “So they decided to make it official."
In 2001, the Chapmans founded Shaohannah s Hope,
a national nonprofit organization that helps individu
als and families pay for overseas adoptions. Mary Beth
is the executive director, overseeing the grants —gener-
ated from public donations as well as the Chapmans’
own funding—that have helped more than 6(X) families
adopt children from China, Russia, South Korea, Guate
mala, the Ukraine and other countries. One such family
was Gwen and Scott Oatsvall and their sons, Jeremiah, 7,
and Elijah, 3. Scott, Emily Chapmans 1 lth-grade teacher,
also was persuaded by the Chapmans' lobbying.
"She kept teasing him every day, saying, ‘You liave to
go to China and get a little girl,’’’ Gwen recalls. “One day
Emma Zinchini, 4, is one of dozens of
children who have found new homes
thanks to the Chapmans’ foundation.
this incredible opportunity to be part of this mir
acle of giving kids a home."
The Chapmans hope to expand Shaohannah s Hope
to sponsor more overseas orphan care efforts, such as an
orphanage they're helping rebuild in war-torn
Uganda. At home, they’re surprised by how much
she said, ’I think you’re just scared.’
And that got him.” The Qatsvalis
brought home 17-month-old Emily
Rui in April 2(X)5, something they
couldn’t have done without finan
cial assistance through the Chap
mans’ foundation.
"They take it to heart that God
has given them this opportunity to
help people," Gwen says.
“It’s not about us, it’s not
about our names," Steven says.
"It’s about a movement of
people recognizing that there’s
iPhoto^n^^Mudd
the view of their future has changed—not that
they're complaining.
“We read the Bible and see that we are called
to get involved,” Steven says. “And we really see
this as something that we should be leading the
charge in."
"It has been a joyous journey,” Mary Beth adds,
Katie Dodil is a writer in Nashville. Tenn.
Visit www.shaohannahshope.org or call
(800) 784-5361 for more information.
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