Oxford Family Looking to Adopt a Child Asks For Community’s Help

By Cayman Cottrell
Hottytoddy.com intern

The Gibson family is hoping to adopt a child from India. Photo provided.

Brooke Hutson Gibson, a wife and mother living in Oxford, recently felt led to begin her adoption journey with the help of her family and the LOU community after decided to adopt a little girl from India.

Gibson grew up in a small town called Steelville, Missouri but has lived in Oxford for a little more than two years. As a lifelong fan and Ole Miss alumnus, Gibson’s husband, Timothy, was formerly a professor and department chair for the Christian Studies Department at Lindenwood University in Missouri.

When a new president took over at the university, he made a decision to cut some of the smaller degree programs, the Christian Studies major being one of them. In June of 2016, Gibson started as Education Pastor at First Baptist in Oxford. With her two sons, Whitman and Chamblin, Brooke finished up the sale of their house in St. Louis and moved to Oxford in July.

“I always thought we would stay in St. Louis and just raise Little Rebels from there, but God had other plans for us,” Brooke said.

Since moving to Oxford, Brooke said she felt led to adopt internationally since the highest rate of children in foster care resides in many third-world countries. She has also grown a connection to the culture of India as her brother and his wife adopted twins from India five years ago.

Currently, India has the most orphans in the world, totaling more than 20 million, which makes up 4 percent of its entire population, according to the SOS Children’s Village.

Brooke Gibson with her two sons, Whitman and Chamblin Photo Provided

Brooke and Timothy are hoping to adopt a little girl to provide a loving home to, while already having cousins from the same country. Her husband had been skeptical and caught up in doubts, but decided to step out in his faith and in fall of 2018, they decided to look more into the process, Brooke said.

While meeting with their second adoption agency, Lifeline in Birmingham, Alabama, the representative turned out to be a former student of Timothy’s at Westminster Christian Academy in St. Louis. This was the perfect sign that adoption was the right step for their family.

“We are currently raising money and just encouraging people to spread the word through the community,” Timothy said.

Brooke and her family are currently raising money for the next step in the process. The full cost of adopting in India comes to a little over $35,000. They paid for step one but financial assistance is needed for each additional step and they have created a GoFundMe page for donations. The Gibson family said they can’t wait to welcome a little girl into not just their family, but also the Oxford community.

“Brooke and I have chosen to express our gratitude ‘electronically’ in order to save money on postage during this journey,” Timothy said. “What I can tell you is that each of the donors will be the first to receive a photo of our little girl whenever God brings her into our family. Our hearts overflow with humility and thankfulness.”

The Gibson family has raised more than $7,600 so far. To contribute to their fund, please follow this link.