Against Every Hope

Mother Teresa looked tired, doing her best to greet the swarm of people around her. Finally, it was like the sea parted and we were in her arms. I felt I had known her all my life. Her presence was so immediate, so focused. She made us feel totally welcome. She held my hand as I pled our case.

"We want to be parents," I told her.

"We want this child."

Americans adopting a baby girl in India from a Missionaries of Charity orphanage is not a common occurrence. The order rarely worked with Americans, the Richesons were not Catholic, and Bonnie had been previously divorced.

Three strikes.

But Bonnie and Cliff refused to be counted out. They would struggle against every hope, even carrying their appeal to Mother Teresa herself, to bring that baby girl home as their daughter.