GOSHEN — A message on the 7-foot-by-28-inch blackboard in Kathleen and Shawn Miller’s kitchen reads, “Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, ‘This is the way; walk in it.’”

This verse from the book of Isaiah in the Bible epitomizes the Miller’s most recent journey — to adopt 4-year-old twins in Ethiopia.

That journey, said the Millers, includes a lot of listening to hear what God tells them to do, a lot of prayer and faith, a lot of family, church and community support, and the love and commitment of another Goshen family.

The other family, Thavisith and Jean Mounsithiraj, have recently agreed to adopt the twins’ older and younger brothers in an effort to keep a family together.

The Millers’ story

The Millers’ story began when the couple were first married.

“We wanted to have five children and adopt the sixth,” Kathleen said. “We ended up with six kids of our own and didn’t think we’d ever adopt.”

But they felt their desire was God-given and shouldn’t be ignored. This ultimately led them to apply to be foster parents.

“We talked about a ministry that would include the whole family,” Kathleen said. “It seemed like the right thing to do.”

After going through the entire process, a recent law allowing no more than five children per foster family, including biological children, closed the door on that dream.

“We prayed a lot as a family about adopting,” Kathleen said. “Our children were the most significant catalysts. They are the heartbeat of our home.”

Johnathon, 18, David, 17, Nolan, 15, Sethan, 13, Moriah, 11 and Baleigh, 10, listened to their parents’ excuses why adoption might not be possible.

“And they told us why every reason was lame!” Kathleen said. “In fact, our son said, ‘We can keep praying about this, or we can do something about it!’”

In June of last year, the Miller’s began looking at adoption agencies. An international adoption kept coming to their thoughts.

“There is such a great need in other countries,” Shawn said. “We really became aware of it and the terrible environments in which some of these children live.”

There were a number of reasons Ethiopia appealed to the Miller family, aside from the fact that the cost of adoption as well as the wait is less than in other countries.

“Right now there are five million orphans in Ethiopia,” Shawn said. “And 47 children die every 10 seconds. It’s hard to think about.”

By October, they had filed their paperwork and began the wait for a match. On Good Friday, the Miller’s received a call from the adoption agency.

“They wanted to know if we would be willing to take a boy and a girl — twins!” Kathleen said. “It was like icing on the cake. I had always wanted twins. If I hadn’t already asked God enough — and then this!”

There was a catch however. The twins had a 6-year-old and a 2-year-old brother. The agency wanted to keep the sibling group as close together as possible.

On Easter Sunday at church, the Millers filled their good friends, Thavisith and Jean Mounsithiraj, in on their adoption process.

“They had always been interested in our story and interested in trying to find a way to help out couples and families who were adopting,” Kathleen said. “We told them about the twins’ siblings and asked them to pray about it. The next day they signed up for the adoption process.”

The Mounsithiraj story

Thavisith and Jean Mounsithiraj have four children, Tyler, 15; Annie, 12; Kate, 10 and Molly, 7. Jean, has a degree in counseling and psychology, and is a full-time mom and educator, homeschooling all four children. Thavisith, known as “Mr. T” to his students, is a guidance counselor at Northridge High School.

With similar academic backgrounds, the couple had often talked about their interest in helping adopting families and their children adjust to a new life and all its challenges.

“I’ve always been drawn to adoption stories, whether it’s hearing about it from families at church, or reading blogs,” Jean said.

Thavisith’s connection to the subject runs deep. Exactly 32 years ago, he and his parents and five siblings were living in a refugee camp in Thailand, having had to leave their native country of Laos.

A group of people from a church in Michigan got together and “adopted” the family, paying their way to the United States to begin a new life. Thavisith was 10 years old.

“I know what it’s like to have no hope for the future and losing everything in the past,” Thavisith said. “I can only imagine what these children are going through.”

He and his siblings learned English by watching television shows like Happy Days and The Brady Bunch and listening to the radio.

Thavisith said he is certain that those individuals who helped his family had no idea the profound impact their act of faith had in his life.

“I can hope that these two boys will look back on this time 20 to 30 years from now and see how God has weaved this whole story together,” Thavisith said. “You never know how things are going to go. You just go by faith.”

Jean remembers Easter Sunday listening to the Miller’s talk about their adoption and the need for a family to take in the twins’ brothers.

“We prayed about it right away,” Jean said. “It felt right in our hearts.”

In a letter to the Northridge staff about their decision Thavisith wrote, “(these) children in an orphanage found a way to take hold of our hearts. We are not the most ‘well off’ family, but when we look at our home and our income, we cannot come up with any excuse to say ‘no’ to a child without a family.”

To qualify for adoption and to bring the siblings to the United States at the same time, the Mounsithiraj’s had to move quickly.

“There is so much paperwork to fill out and organize,” Jean said. “The process is very labor intensive.”

The cost is also prohibitive.

From start to finish, including two trips to Ethiopia, the adoption process for two children costs around $35,000.

Right from the first challenge, the Mounsithiraj’s knew that this was God’s plan for them.

They had to come up with $900 for immigration approval.

The Miller’s asked their friends how they were coming with the cost. Jean told them she wasn’t sure what they were going to do. But last Friday, just a few days before they had to submit the paperwork, an $800 and a $100 check came in from two unexpected sources.

“That was a big chunk of change,” Thavisith said. “It was almost miraculous how that happened.”

Jean and Thavisith said their children are young, energetic and are embracing the concept of two more siblings.

“Even my mom is excited,” Thavisith said. “She had tears of joy the other day!”

How to help

To date, there have been several fundraising events. However both families still need to raise a significant amount of money to make the adoptions a reality. If the money is raised and the Ethiopian courts approve and validate the process, the Millers and the Mounsithirajs hope to have their new family members in their homes before the end of the summer.

“I only have photographs of them, but I am already in love with them and feel like they couldn’t be any more my own kids,” Kathleen said. “It’s really been a journey of faith. Not everybody is called to adopt, but we can all help out.”