Nick Forrest I remember the first day I encountered a Tanzanian adoption. It was a pastor who had birthed 4 children and had two additional adopted children he was caring for. He was a good man. He did not have many resources, but he used what he had to care for more than his biological family and for that, I believe the Lord is pleased. However, I was struck by a sense of discontent when I heard the man introduce his family to me. He said, “This is my spouse and these are my children…na hawa ni watoto ninaowalea.” Translation: “…and these are the children that I am caring for.” It was still kind, still intentionally devoted to care, but different. After meeting this family, I did some personal research into what a family in East Africa can be comprised of; what kinds of connections make for support systems, what makes for parentage, what makes for family. I found three specific degrees of connection. First, a father, when claiming a child as their own, will call them his own. These children are mine. This was the discontent I felt when I recognized its lack in the way the pastor described the children in his home. Some were his and some were being cared for. A father calls his children his own when they are his. Secondly, a father’s name takes its place as the surname of a person. My name is Nicholas and my surname is from my family which I take great pride in. We are Forrests! In East Africa, the child is known by the name of their father, so my name would be Nicholas Bradley of the Forrest clan. Finally, a father claims children as his own when it comes time to divide up the inheritance. A child, a legitimate offspring, is given a portion of the inheritance. The oldest becomes arbiter of its disbursement and the youngest gets a double portion coupled with the responsibility of caring for the parents into their old age. But every legitimate child gets a portion. This research drew a very practical and important picture for me as my wife and I made distinctions about our own families. And we did so with Tanzanian culture and the scriptures in mind. Isaiah 43 says this about our Heavenly Father: But now, this is what the Lord says - he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are mine.” When Yahweh sees us as part of a family of God, we are recognized as those called God’s. God sees that which was created in God’s hands and says, “these are mine.” Yes, God cares for us. Yes, God provides for us. But there is more. We are not only those that God cares for nor only those that God provides for. We are God’s. We belong.  2 Chronicles 7 points to some significant responsibilities we…