While their initial beginnings could have gone the way of many teen romances, Jake and Tiffany defied the odds. “Yes, Jake and I got pregnant when we were in high school,” admits Tiffany. “Jake graduated, we got married, and we had the baby in June. We started early with a child, and we wouldn’t recommend it, but I finished high school, and we both went to college. It took a lot of hard work but we did it.”
“Early in our relationship, we got involved in church and had several couples enter our lives that mentored us,” said Jake. “They showed us what a healthy marriage should be, and we attended workshops that helped us as a young couple.”
Jake became a youth pastor, and in 2004, he and Tiffany traveled with a youth group to Haiti. “We had been talking about having more children,” said Tiffany. “Jake wanted to adopt, but at the time I couldn’t imagine loving another person’s child as much as I love my own.” But she was in for a big surprise. “Our first day we went to an orphanage and met a little boy named Jimso… he had the most soulful eyes…you could look into them and see forever. All week long, we cuddled and played; he just stole my heart.” Because of the Haitian adoption process, it took three years to officially bring Jimso home.
“Then, in 2008, we went back down to Haiti and took our son Drew. He met Jimso’s older brother, Jedinae and his friend Jaxson; Drew just insisted that we adopt them,” said Jake. “But, it was financially tough for us to do; however, we decided to start working on the adoption to see where it would go.” In January of 2010, the earthquake hit. “We heard that the Haitian government was signing off on adoptions for humanitarian reasons,” explains Tiffany. “Three days later the boys arrived in Miami.”
Although everyone got their heart’s desire, the transition has been a difficult one. “We were unaware of the trauma that these older boys had gone through,” said Tiffany. “How do you show love to two boys who have never known love, who have seen violence and death? It has been very difficult for them to adjust to being part of a family. And, it has been very stressful on our marriage.”
“We learned early on that when things are difficult, our spouse is not the enemy, so we have to make sure that we spend time with each other,” said Jake. “Even if that means getting up early and having breakfast together…we have to stay connected.”
“Jake is my best friend,” said Tiffany. “Even through the difficult seasons of our marriage, I still have the best times with him and I always will.”