Erin Johnson Making An Impact On Her International Son’s Life

By Alyssa Hernandez | WeINSPIRE Journalist

PEMBROKE, N.C.– According to PRWeb, Marjorie Margolies is the first single American woman to adopt internationally. Margolies also wrote about her personal experiences and more in her memoir  “And How Are the Children?: Timeless Lessons from the Frontlines of Motherhood After Raising a Family of Adopted, Hometown, Step, and Sponsored Kids.”

Erin Johnson is on a similar journey with trying to internationally adopt her son and documenting her experience via social media. Her story starts with a foster home her aunt owned in another country. When she was 18, she traveled to the foster home and found one special little boy who she calls her son. Her family started the foster home for children with disabilities who were not cared for at their previous institutions.

Before she considered going to the foster home, her aunt had brought back a photo album, and she saw kids who looked like her brother who lives with Down syndrome.

Erin Johnson and her brother. Courtesy of Erin Johnson.

“I knew in my heart that I was going to go to this place. In 2012,  four or five years later, when I was a senior in high school, I started making travel plans to go to his country,” Johnson said. 

When she had decided to visit the foster home at 18, she did not know any of the kids there. Johnson described the foster home as having many kids in each room, but they were all being properly cared for. She walked into a room where all the children were ages 2 and under. This would be the room where she meets her son.

“ I walked into this room, and all the kids were two and under. It was the baby room. Most of them were recently brought to the foster home. This little boy had no interest that there were people in the room. He was rocking in a chair,” Johnson explained.  

 Erin Johnson and son. Courtesy of Erin Johnson.

Johnson found this interesting, so she went over and interacted with him. She then knew that she was meant to adopt him. Johnson being spiritual equates it to God.

“I equated it to God connecting our hearts together. I have been his spiritual mother since then. Someone who thinks of him and prays for him,” Johnson said.

She has not yet been able to adopt him. This is because her son’s country requires parents to be 30-years-old before adopting a child. She and her husband have two years until they can officially adopt their son. Another hurdle for them is their son’s country being closed due to the pandemic.

The country does not have to be open for Johnson and her husband to start the paperwork to adopt their son. However, it will need to be open in order for them to bring him home.

Erin Johson, her son, and her husband.  Courtesy of Erin Johnson.

Johnson’s son was sent back to his old institution after his foster home shut down. They could communicate with him while he was quarantined in the hospital. Johnson says it has been a while since they have had a real update. 

Once Johnson adopts her son, she plans to integrate his culture into her family’s life. She and her husband are taking classes in their son’s native language. Her husband has also been meeting with a tutor. She would also like her children to learn some of her son’s native language. She would also like to incorporate holidays from her son’s country. She is working on learning as much as she can about his culture, so the transition is easier for him. 

@erinadvocates now on the road to adopting him! #adoption #gangnamstyle ♬ original sound - kooze

Johnson’s son is nonverbal, so they will also be teaching him sign language as a way to communicate. Johnson hopes that by sharing her story, people will see the need for adoption.

“I would hope people would see the need for orphan care and adoption. I also want people to know adoption is not a band-aid. Adoption is about meeting a need,” Johnson said.

To follow her journey, visit her TikTok, Instagram, and her website.