Stephanie Fast Speaks at Faithlift 2007
by Tania Daniels

“You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.” Those are the words of Joseph, to his brothers, who had many years earlier sold him as a slave to Egypt (Genesis 50:20). They could also be the words of Stephanie Fast, the keynote speaker at last weekend’s Faithlift 2007, an interdenominational Christian women’s weekend, held on Yongsan Army Garrison. These words could be spoken by Stephanie to her biological mother who left her on a train at the age of four, villagers who tried to drown her, young men who raped her and finally those who threw her into a rat-infested building to die.  But the story of this woman’s life, which she shared so passionately to over 300 women who attended Faithlift, is a story of hope.

            God had his hand on Stephanie. He watched over this little girl who survived on her own for more than four years in the war-torn countryside of Korea following the Korean War. He brought the orphanage worker to the wrong side of town one dark night to find Stephanie, who by now was cholera-ridden and lice-infested. He audibly spoke to this Christian lady in her native tongue when the orphanage worker turned from Stephanie to leave her for dead.

            God was with Stephanie in the orphanage for the next two years as the workers began to give up on this little girl who neither spoke nor responded to any of their love. And God moved greatly in the hearts of her adoptive parents, a young missionary couple who had come to Korea to adopt a baby, but adopted Stephanie instead.

            It wasn’t until Stephanie was a teenager that she gave her life to Jesus and finally accepted not only His love but the love of her adoptive parents as well. Now, many years later, looking at Stephanie, one can see the God of hope reflected in her face. Through her ministry over the years, she has encouraged thousands, maybe millions, of women and men to believe in a God who brings beauty from ashes, hope from despair and a future from apparent failure.            

            But it wasn’t just Stephanie’s testimony that touched my heart, it was what was left unspoken concerning her adoptive parents. Here was a childless couple who longed for a sweet, precious baby to hold, raise and love. Yet that was not God’s plan for them. Instead, He asked them to obediently adopt a little girl who was disease-ridden, non-responsive and who rejected their love. They sacrificed their desires to be obedient to God, never knowing how God would use this child to impact the world. Their testimony reminded me that no child is beyond hope and that God can do great things with our lives when we step out in obedience to Him.

            It wasn’t until Stephanie accepted Christ as her savior that she was free to accept and cherish her parents’ love. But even though, for many years, she did not return their love as they would have liked, her parents kept loving her, praying for her, and telling her about God. That spoke volumes to me of the love and devotion that God can give us for those in our life who may be difficult to love, if we would only ask.  

            The final thing that impacted me was the reminder that adoption is straight from the heart of God. You see, I am an adoptive mother of a precious little girl from China, Grace Louise Li. I have seen God’s hand in her adoption as well as the six other adoptions that have occurred as a direct result of friends of ours knowing and loving Grace. Stephanie and Grace may have been abandoned by their birth mothers, but they were never abandoned by their heavenly Father. And that is what I hope each person who reads this article remembers. God has never and will never abandon you. His heart’s desire is to take those situations in your life where others may have intended to harm you and to turn those situations into opportunities to bless you and turn your life into something good.