SUMTER, S.C. — Today numerous families in Sumter county are giving thanks for the blessing of adoption and solidifying their forever families.
"There are no words to describe, honestly nothing but God that’s for sure" says Bethany Mackins.
A prayer was answered for the Mackins family and it came in the form of 6 year-old Jordan O’ Neal Mackins who Bethany and Arkivious have officially adopted as their son.
The pair describes him as "Bubbly, friendly to anybody" but it wasn’t a fast track to get here, as the Mackins describe the nearly 2 year journey.
"We just knew God wanted us to adopt. We were approved in March of 2018 and didn’t hear anything at all" says Bethany Mackins, "We inquired about many many children we were very discouraged at first but kept our faith in God and we got a call about Jordan in June and met him in July and here we’re now."
"We were kind of thinking the only thing we would be able to do is just foster" says father Arkivious Mackins "But like she said God answers our prayers
Penny McGahan is excited to be a grandmother and is thrilled that her daughter chose to adopt just as she did nearly 20 decades ago."19 years ago I adopted my son and today I get my first grandson and he’s adopted today and I’m every excited" says McGahan, "We give all the praise and glory to god for that."