Steven Curtis Chapman
by Kelly Burgess
It's a wonder that Steven Curtis Chapman – singer, songwriter and philanthropist
– has time to even breathe, much less parent. But parenthood is a priority, so
much so that he and wife, Mary Beth, adopted three girls from China, adding to
a family that they long had thought was complete with their three biological children.
In fact, it was his biological daughter Emily who prompted that first adoption,
bringing the word of Isaiah, "and a little child shall lead them," home to the
Chapman's in a way that continues to resonate.
Rather than just adopting their daughters and going on about their lives, Chapman
and Mary Beth went on to found Shaohannah's Hope, an organization devoted to helping
parents finance the costs of adoption. So far, they've given more than 1,500 grants.
In addition, for the second year, Shaohannah's Hope (http://members.shaohannahshope.org)
has joined with a number of other organizations that also focus on the issue of
orphans to develop and lead the Cry of the Orphan (www.cryoftheorphan.org) campaign.
They hope to raise awareness and encourage people to take action to help the 143
million orphans around the world.
Chapman seemed to have it all in 1997. It had been his dream from a very young
age to have a career in music, and now he was one of the top Christian music singers
and songwriters in the world. His music was also beginning to move into the mainstream
market. He had three beautiful children, Emily, Caleb and Will, who were old enough
to be fairly independent. Then Emily went on a mission trip to Haiti with her
mom and came home with another mission: She wanted a little sister.
"Our whole involvement in the realm of adoption and orphan work began with Emily," Chapman
says. "Once her mind was made up, she was relentless. She saved her Christmas
money, bought a book on international adoption and began to talk about needing
a little sister."
Chapman and Mary Beth were reluctant, to say the least. As he points out, they
had an extremely busy life and career and were involved in a few causes that were
important to them. But this was important to Emily, and not just for selfish reasons.
She wasn't looking for a living doll; she had been touched to her very core by
the plight of the orphans she had seen on her trip and she wanted to save them
in a very real way.
Her mom and dad were eventually moved by their daughter's passion and after much
soul-searching of their own, realized that they were being called to adopt. In
March of 2000 they brought home their new daughter, Shaohannah Hope Chapman. They
had gained not just a child, but a passion to change the world for other children.
"You can have a cause, a platform, and you can say the words and think the thoughts,
but when I looked into the face of Shaohannah it became more than just a cause,"
Chapman says. "One person said to me, 'You walk through these places and your
heart is broken and they crawl inside.' We brought Shaohannah home but left a
big part of our heart in China and wherever there are children without families."
Three years after adopting Shaohannah, Mary Beth found herself in China once
again, picking up Stevey Joy. Then, in 2004, Chapman was on a tour in China and
met some missionaries who allowed him to hold one of their Chinese babies. When
he found out her name was Maria, Chapman felt an immediate connection to the little
girl because of a song he'd written years ago called, "Who's Gonna Love Maria."
Chapman called Mary Beth, who at first wouldn't even consider adding one more
baby to her already full house, but she didn't hold out for long. Maria joined
the family later that year.
The Chapmans know that they're blessed to have their three adopted daughters,
but they're also keenly aware that the problems of orphans aren't always as easily
solved. That's one of the reasons they've joined with Cry of the Orphans to bring
awareness to the issue. While adoption is an ideal situation for all orphans,
not all orphans are adoptable.
"Some countries don't allow adoption, but those children are still in need of
a healthy, nurturing environment," Chapman says. "Even if they can't have a family
in the sense we see family, there are other ways 
to make their lives happy and that's part of what this campaign it all about
– bringing awareness not just to adoption, but to the problems and challenges
orphans face all over the world."
Shaohannah's Hope does focus on adoption. What's unique about that organization
is that they recognize adoption is a huge financial undertaking. Their mission
is to ease that burden to make adoption possible for anyone who feels that is
what they are called to do.
Also, although Chapman says that his words will make a lot of adoption agencies
nervous, he would like to see adoption become a process that costs nothing. "I
totally understand the way the system is, there's paperwork and processing and
all that other stuff, but the ultimate dream of Shaohannah's Hope is that anyone
who has the desire to adopt could do so," he says.
Until that day, the Chapman's goal is to make the dream a reality for as many
families as possible.
