Family With A Purpose
Couple Adopts 13 Children, Plans To Start Vacation Bible Farm
Last updated Saturday, May 12, 2007 10:58 PM CDT in Our Town
By Marla Hinkle
The Morning News
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Most mothers receive a card of thanks on Mother's Day. Not many moms will receive as much attention as SuDawn Peters. She and her husband, John, have 13 adopted children and one biological son.
On a Friday afternoon, roller skates lay near two boys playing in front of the home. Inside, more children watch TV. Another young man mows the backyard as chickens and lambs amble around the grounds.
SuDawn and John Peters have dedicated their lives to adopting children from all over the world. The couple attended high school together in Monett, Mo., and graduated in May 1970. They married in December of the same year.
SuDawn said she has always loved children and animals. She spent her childhood on a commercial rabbit farm.
After they married, John was employed as a security police officer in the Air Force. It was while he was in the Air Force in Philippines that the couple adopted their first child in 1973.
Careers for the couple have been varied, including a stint running a retail pet store, and John's work as a computer programmer, performing contract work for companies like FedEx and J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. The Peters lived in Tulsa and Memphis before relocating to Northwest Arkansas.
A brain tumor has forced John to take an early retirement. He and SuDawn now focus their time and energy on raising 10 children who are still at home and pursuing their dream to open a vacation Bible farm.
They are active in New Heights Church in Fayetteville.
The couple recently sat down at their home near Cave Springs and discussed their reasons for adopting and how it has enriched their lives.
Q. Tell me about your book. How did you get the idea to write it?
I felt like God wanted me to tell a story about kids' adoption. It is not a how-to book, it is a faith walk and how purpose has a plan.
Q. What was your first adoption like?
We adopted our first daughter in the Philippines in 1973. This changed the course of events. We didn't have any biological children at the time and adopted first. We were at the point where we believed the Lord would choose to build our family. Four years later we had our biological son. Thirteen of 14 are adopted.
Q. Describe your adoption experience.
It's been positive. Every adoption is different. The book tells about each story. Most of the adoptions have been through private agencies. We have done international and transracial, two sets of twins and children with special needs.
I also adopted internally. I worked as a volunteer at a crisis pregnancy center in Tulsa. Our heart was always set on adoption. We made other connections through acquaintances and birth mothers who came in to the center. I was put in contact with a boy who has cerebral palsy through an e-mail list.
Q. What is a typical day like for the family?
The kids have chores. The chore charts have each child with certain responsibilities. There are lots of animals to care for, ponies, chickens, ducks, bunnies and lambs. A typical day would be some of the older children in charge of breakfast, helping the little ones get dressed. We try to start our day around 9 a.m. We are schooling eight children at home.
Q. What are some of your goals this year?
When I speak at home school conferences, two of my favorite topics are organization and home school children with special needs. We have some children who have learning delays; another has cerebral palsy.
I teach the special needs children from a different angle by incorporating life skills. The home school and animals are bringing this into being. Our goal is to have a full-time ministry in a farm setting, where we do sensory integration with farm animals.
We already do this with our own children and have seen a lot of positive academic and emotional healing.
Now that John is not in a career, we would like to start a vacation Bible farm when we get our own property.
Our dream is to have an acreage where we can adopt or foster our own children and bring in children from the community.
Q. Tell me about one of your favorite moments with the children.
I have always believed in nature and animals having a therapeutic impact. I believe a lot of nature -- walking in the creek, playing in the grass, having pets and being on a farm to see life cycles -- helps with sensory development.
I've got proof of that. One of my older children who had developmental delays one day made the connection that the eggs would hatch. We talked about it together, so we got an incubator and he gathered a few eggs, put them in the incubator and took responsibility caring for them.
I'll never forget that first chick. He came downstairs and said, "What is that?" I told him it was one of his babies. The whole family gathered around the incubator. He had been having a hard time connecting the dots in life and ended up caring for the chicks and reading animal books.
He has not stopped. He realized what he read in that book may have something to do with life.
This spring two of the girls went with me and bought baby chicks and rabbits, and they are taking responsibility for chores, reading and improving their speech. They are making a connection. My passion is to see that happen with a lot of kids in the community.
There are a lot of places that do horse therapy, and we are not trying to recreate that. We want to have a lot of smaller animals and a garden and have the kids connect with nature. There will be a biblical application but the whole point is to find something that delights that child.
Vacation Bible farm should be our family's ministry. That will be the next phase of our lives.
John: One of my favorite memories is when we were waiting at the Tulsa airport for our baby from Korea. When she was handed to us, it was one of the most exciting moments of my life.
Q. What do you find most challenging about working with so many children at home?
There are so many different styles. Most people might say taking care of each child's needs, but we are here with them all the time, all day long, so we don't really see that. I don't really have an answer on that.
Q. How has adoption enriched your lives?
Our kids are our greatest blessing. I know our purpose is parenting children. It lends a lot of peace when you know what your purpose is in life.
About The Book
"Hidden for Glory, Destined for Adoption" by SuDawn Peters is available by visiting the Web site at www.DestinedforAdoption.com, or e-mailing hidden4glory@juno.com.
She is also available for speaking engagements.
Excerpt
The following is an excerpt from the book: "For John and me, adoption has always been and always will be a spiritual journey, a destiny, a calling from God. Even our first adoption over 28 years ago was a very spiritual event for us.
It would forever change our lives and send us down a path we would never have chosen for ourselves."
"In a perfect world all children would be conceived in love within a biblical marriage. All would live happily ever after. But alas, we live in a fallen world that increasingly devalues human life."
Source: SuDawn Peters
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