Pastor Steve's Weekly Letter for Thursday, March 26, 2020

Life can take some bizarre turns and twists. We’re experiencing one right now in the form of COVID-19. Today, though, I want to tell you about a strange twist in my brother-in-law’s life. Perhaps it can help us understand how trusting God helps us handle circumstances that seem to change everything. The story I want to share with you is about my wife’s brother, Andy. He gave me permission to share it. Andy is the oldest of the five Perkins siblings, and Priscilla, my wife, is the youngest. For several years, Andy’s daughter, Candi, has been doing a lot of research on the history of the Perkins family. Last year, she and her sister took a DNA test in hopes of learning more. Oddly enough, they did not have connections with any other Perkins family members. They did not think much of it at the time because none of Andy’s siblings had done DNA testing. There was one detail, though, that did not fit. Andy’s daughters had a strong link to members of a Robinson family from the same area in New York state where Andy and Priscilla and the rest of their siblings were born. In fact, one of the Robinson family members contacted Candi to ask how they were related. Candi could not figure out the connection—that is, until last month.

Candi was looking back through family records when she came across her dad’s birth announcement. It was from a Castile, NY newspaper in 1949. It said: “Andrew James to James H. and Shirley Kief Perkins, Sep. 13.” Beneath it was another birth announcement about a baby born at the same hospital. Candi was stunned when she read it. It said: “Philip Keith to Harold S. and Pauline McElwain Robinson, Sep. 12.” In that moment, Candi was certain that her dad, Andy, had been switched at birth! She knew her dad was born in the early morning hours of September 13, 1949. When she searched online, she found Philip Robinson’s birth certificate and learned that he was born late at night on September 12, 1949. Somehow, in the early morning hours of September 13, the Perkins and Robinson babies were accidentally switched by hospital personnel—before they were given identification bracelets and returned to their mothers. Seventy years ago, mothers in that New York hospital were given Ether to put them “under” when they gave birth. Fathers were not permitted in the labor and delivery room. So parents did not see their babies for the first time until after they were returned to the mother once she woke up.

Our niece, Candi, is quite the internet detective, and she found photos of the Robinson family, including Philip—the Perkins baby who was really Priscilla’s biological brother. The resemblance is stunning. In his pre-school photos, Philip looks a lot like Priscilla and her brother, Sam, did at the same age. Sadly, Philip died when he was six years old after battling non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. This was four years before Priscilla was born. Meanwhile, Andy looks a lot like his biological mother and siblings. Last summer, when Priscilla and I were together with all her siblings, Andy looked at a family photo and said to Priscilla: “Who is the one who doesn’t look like the others? Sometimes I wonder if I’m adopted.”

Two days after Candi made her discovery, she went with her sister to tell her dad. He called Priscilla shortly after receiving the news and said, “I have something to tell you that you’re not going to believe.” Then, a week later, he flew to Idaho to tell his mom the stunning news. Priscilla’s 90-year old mom took it well and said, “It’s hard to think that I didn’t give birth to Andy, but he’s still our boy.” A couple of weeks later, Candi reached out to the Robinson family. There’s really no protocol for contacting a family to tell them that their oldest brother had been switched at birth and is still living! Thankfully, they received the news well. In fact, the two Robinson siblings Candi contacted were elated. One said, “This is the best news I’ve ever received.” Additional DNA tests confirmed it. Two weeks ago, Andy’s biological sister, Sally, and her husband visited Andy and his family in Texas and had a great visit. We will never know all the details, and we’re still trying to wrap our minds around this stunning discovery.

While we don’t understand why God allowed this to happen, what we know for certain is he was watching over the strange events that took place in a little hospital in New York state during the early morning hours of September 13, 1949. As the Heidelberg Catechism says, “He [God] also preserves me in such a way that without the will of my heavenly Father not a hair can fall from my head; indeed, all things must work together for my salvation.” That is all we know, but it is more than enough!

This Sunday, March 29, you will receive a link at 8:30 a.m. to a worship video with songs and a sermon. I plan to preach James 1:9-18 on “How God’s People Handle Difficult Circumstances” (Part 2). Finally, on the family front, the four grandkids in our house began their “home school” experience last week. On day one, Priscilla served for a couple hours as their ‘substitute teacher.’ They were required to call her “Mrs. Mathewson.” As I was getting ready to walk to our church facility, I overheard one of the boys say, “Um, that’s not the way our teacher does it at our school.” Later in the day, I heard the same boy confess to his mom that he got a couple of “reminders” from Mrs. Mathewson. Oh the joys of home-schooling! Thanks as always for taking time to read this. Take care. I’ll see you soon!

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