Originally published in Christian News
A police officer in New Mexico recently adopted a homeless woman’s baby after finding the woman and her male friend shooting up heroin on the street.
According to reports, Albuquerque police officer Ryan Holets was investigating a reported robbery at a convenience store in September when he spotted a man and woman behind the building. He turned on his body camera and approached them, seeing that the woman was injecting a needle into the man’s arm.
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Then, Holets noticed something else: The woman, Crystal Champ, 35, was pregnant. She told him that she was seven or eight months along and addicted to drugs.
“Why do you have to be doing that stuff? It’s going to ruin your baby. You’re going to kill your baby,” Holets stated, as heard on the bodycam footage.
Champ then began to cry. She told Holets that she hoped someone would adopt her child.
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Holets felt God tugging on him to help the woman. He pulled out a picture of his wife and four children and showed it to Champ, and offered to adopt the baby.
“I was led by God to take the chance,” Holets told CNN. “God brought us all together. I really don’t have any other way to explain it.”
Champ was taken aback.
Holets, instead of charging the two with drug possession, then went to find his wife and explained that he had just met a pregnant woman who was addicted to drugs and offered to adopt her baby. His wife immediately agreed as the two had already been discussing their desire to adopt children someday.
“We feel God has called us to do that,” Rebecca Holets told CNN. “It’s been on our hearts for a while.”
The Holets’ were present in October when Champ went into labour, and named the baby Hope. The child experienced withdrawals for weeks, but is improving and is now at home with her adoptive family.
Champ says she knows she did the right thing in giving her daughter up for adoption since she is not in a position to give her a stable life at this time. Champ still struggles with drug addiction and remains homeless. She cries when talking about her situation.
“I did give up. I just decided this was going to be my life,” she stated. “It just keeps coming back and ruining my life.”
Champ has expressed thankfulness for Holets and his wife, and says there needs to be more people like them in the world.
“I am so thankful and blessed and humbled that we are allowed to have Hope in our family,” Officer Holets said. “[It’s] no coincidence. It’s like providence.”
