Kendell and Laurie Clarkston exemplify the true meaning and heart of adoption. As physicians serving in Willow Springs, Missouri, both have directly seen the needs of children living in impoverished conditions and without the love and nurture of a family. While having two biological children of their own, the Clarkstons always felt a tug on their hearts to bring other children into their home.
In 2005, the Clarkstons brought their daughter Claire home from the People’s Republic of China with the help of their adoption agency, Holt International. As soon as they returned to the United States, the family began the process of adopting Ben in 2008 and then Will in 2011. Both of Chinese ethnicity, the boys each had medical conditions requiring treatment. Ben was born with meningocele, a mild form of spina bifida, and Will had a cleft lip and palate.
The Clarkstons love for children and serving did not end with the family’s adoptions. The couple sought to provide others with the opportunity to adopt, an often lengthy and expensive endeavor. Three years ago, Laurie established Orphan Care Ministries at Pomona Christian Church. Through this program, they offer grants to families seeking to adopt when cost is prohibitive. So far, the organization has offered three grants to families living in a rural section of Missouri’s Eighth Congressional District.
The ministry also has a journey care program which provides backpacks full of emergency supplies to children entering foster care. When children are removed from a home, they tend to come without any items of their own. Upon placement in a foster facility, children are given a backpack full of items such as tooth paste, shampoo, pajamas, etc.
On top of these efforts, the family now takes care of foster children and has hosted foreign exchange students. Both physicians also routinely travel to countries such as Nicaragua, Albania, Ethiopia and the Dominican Republic to provide medical care. This year, their older children have the opportunity travel with them thus transferring the heart to serve to the next generation.
