What if understanding your story and God’s purpose for it could change your family’s perspective on faith, adoption, and belonging?

In this episode of the Collide Kids Podcast, host Christen Clark is joined by Emmanuel Jean Russell: first-time author, adoptee from Haiti, and son of bestselling author Karen Kingsbury. Emmanuel opens up about his “shadow memories” of childhood in Haiti, the incredible faith journey of his adoption, and how every child, adopted or not, can discover purpose and position through Christ. They explore international adoption, supporting adoptive families, and how discipleship and family time shape kids to know God’s love in tangible ways.

• [00:05:49] Emmanuel’s early memories in Haiti, and his grandmother
• [00:09:27] The meaning behind Emmanuel’s name (“God with us”)
• [00:13:30] Adjusting to family life in a new country
• [00:14:13] Writing his new children's book: “Hello, My Name Is Emmanuel”

Resources:

• https://www.emmanueljeanrussell.com/
• https://www.tyndale.com/p/hello-my-name-is-emmanuel
• https://www.karenkingsbury.com/onechancefoundation
• Website: collidekidspodcast.com
• Instagram: @collidekidspod

Clip Finder

The Nature of Faded Childhood Memories: "I call my memories in Haiti shadow memories, because I can't fully remember them. But like, if you're like on a beach, you can see the shadow and you know, like, kind of maybe if the person's tall or like if it's a female or male, but you can't see the details. And so my memories in here are like shadows."
— Emmanuel Jean Russell [00:05:56 → 00:06:12]

Dreams That Shape Destinies: "And so for that dream to come true, she gave me up to an orphanage."
— Emmanuel Jean Russell [00:06:57 → 00:07:01]

Honoring Family Through Storytelling: "Well, there are a lot of reasons, but one of the main was, like, as I said, I don't remember what happened to my grandma, but I believe by telling her story and giving her an image, because I don't actually even remember what she looked like, but by giving her an image in this picture book, that it would help the memories become more clear."
— Emmanuel Jean Russell [00:08:54 → 00:09:12]

Finding Purpose Beyond Circumstances: "So by having my story, that it can help kids and adults know that there is purpose and you can find it through him who is Jesus."
— Emmanuel Jean Russell [00:10:59 → 00:11:08]

Helping Orphanages Without Adopting: "But you can always give to those companies that are helping people get the chance to adopt."
— Emmanuel Jean Russell [00:16:04 → 00:16:10]

The Beauty and Caution in Adoption: "But I believe there's beauty in everything. And so if you are willing, if you're looking into it, ask other families who have done it, do research, because you do have to be careful on sometimes where you adopt to."
— Emmanuel Jean Russell [00:16:36 → 00:16:49]

Childhood Mischief Gone Wrong: "And by the time it was 20, we realized we were all getting stung. And so we had to run back to our yard, back to our house."
— Emmanuel Jean Russell [00:19:55 →

Some days, you might play The River for some nice background music. Some days, you'll play it so your kids don't hear anything inappropriate. But some days, you listen because life has knocked you down, and you need help getting back up. We're here for all of them. Our goal is to introduce as many people as possible to Jesus through music and service. You can listen and get connected at https://riverradio.com/

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