The Wagners are a hard-working family from Ahavat Yeshua Congregation in Jerusalem. As in many families, for years the children pressed their parents for a dog. Aware of the amount of work and expense a pet brings, the parents consistently refused.
However, as the fifth child graduated from high school and David, the youngest, was left alone, the parents Hannah and Alon reconsidered. A dog could be a helpful companion to young David.
So, they began looking, imagining what kind of dog would fit their family. He must be partially trained, low maintenance, in good health.
David and his brother Shmuel (now a soldier) found an ad for an adoption agency in Tel Aviv and off they went. After surveying the many canine contestants, they decided upon one that almost fit the bill. The parents weren’t sure and said they needed a day to think it through.
On the way home from the kennel, Hannah, a fervent intercessor, received a call. A good friend now living in the US, with whom they hadn't spoken in months, had a request. An acquaintance they had contracted to watch over their house and pet in Israel, was no longer able to do so. They wanted to give their beloved dog up for adoption and in prayer had thought of the Wagners. The glitch, the dog must be picked up that very day.
Ecstatic over this “divine” offer, Hannah immediately agreed. With no further information, they picked up the dog and its papers and returned home.
No sooner had they gotten out of the car, when a man on the street stopped them. “Is that a Corgi?” he asked excitedly, “I grew up with a Corgi and loved it, and have never seen one in Israel!”
David and Shmuel ran inside, checked the papers and opened a search on the computer. Indeed, their new adopted dog was a purebred Corgi, like the beloved pet of Queen Elizabeth. And in addition, the dog's given name was Viva, Spanish for Live. (The Wagners are from a Spanish background.)
The Lord in His infinite kindness had heard the heart of a dog owner and a dog seeker, and blessed two families above and beyond what they could ask or think!
“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to this power that is at work within us…” (Ephesians 3:20 NIV)
