11 Strong celebrates local family

It’s the eleventh book published by Steinbach author Betty Barkman, but the title, 11 Strong, is not a nod to that impressive milestone.

Instead it tells the tale of a local couple, who after raising nine children in previous marriages, decided to listen to God, and adopt 11 children from Ukraine.

Barkman, who is already putting together her twelfth book, featuring testimonies of another acquaintance, said after she met Rob and Sharon Steeves and learned their story, she knew it had to be written down.

“I was there with them. I went to their house,” she said. “I brought them meals. I brought them gifts because I wanted to support their venture, and I learned their story and felt a nudge.”

That nudge is something 85-year-old Barkman tries to pay attention to, saying that’s how God can communicate.

This nudge was also something Rob and Sharon Steeves felt as they enjoyed their married life with their children out of the nest.

But that nudge had nothing to do with retirement plans and even while colleagues their age were considering early retirement, they were looking at something quite different.

They decided to help and adopted three children from Ukraine.

But that wasn’t the end of their story.

“Those kids kept praying that they’d go back and bring out more of their friends,” Barkman said. “They fought it hard, but eventually they went back and got eight more.”

This journey began about six years ago, and currently their house includes kids that range from school age to young adults.

Barkman said it was a tough a journey for the family.

All the children were certified as being healthy, but they quickly learned that wasn’t the case.

“They all had doctor certificates saying they were well but several of them were not, and one was critically ill.”

That child eventually got a kidney transplant and has improved dramatically.

Barkman has an adopted child with Ukrainian roots and also has a Ukrainian son-in-law.

That kindled her interest in telling the story, something she began to do after getting permission about a year ago.

But while the tale is extraordinary, she admits it’s really an example of ordinary people doing extraordinary things.

“There’s nothing unusual about them,” she said of the parents.

As the book came together, Barkman was able to spend even more time with the family, sharing each chapter for proof reading and feedback before calling it finished.

“The kids actually call me Grandma B because they don’t have grandmas here,” she said.

Barkman hopes the book will inspire others as much as the story inspired her, adding it’s for anyone who’s interested in faith and adoption.

And at its core, it’s a story about faith.

“It was only by their faith that they had the strength to go ahead with that,” she said. “It seemed pretty crazy humanly speaking because they were old enough to think about retiring.”

While they were tempted to ignore the nudge from God, Barkman said sometimes the message becomes clearer.

“When God wants to speak to us, he’ll give us a little bit of an elbow,” she said.

While the book is a story of faithfulness, it also gives the reader a very vivid look into the family, both their successes and challenges.

“They were so willing to share their vulnerabilities and faults because they struggled,” Barkman said. “These kids are very real. This family is very real.”

The public will have an opportunity to meet the Steeves family and get a copy of the book just in time for Christmas shopping.

The book launch for 11 Strong will take place in a come and go celebration scheduled for 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Fireside Room in the Pat Porter Active Living Centre on Saturday.

The public can meet the Steeves and have their books signed by the family and the author.

“Mingle, enjoy a snack and listen to the family share anecdotes as together we praise God for his faithfulness,” a paper advertising the event stated.