National Adoption Month: Introducing, Part 1

The family I am going to introduce today is a brand-new addition to my reading list. Although I knew that they had adopted a little girl transracially and have enjoyed reading the husband's thoughts on that from time to time, I had never heard their story in full.

Now Noël Piper, inspired by Orphan Sunday, is writing daily installments of their adoption story.

Noël is the wife of John Piper, preaching pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis and author of many books which challenge believers in their Christian walk. One thing I appreciate about John Piper's ministry, especially as a missionary living overseas, is that he makes all of his teaching and writing available free of charge on the Desiring God website. Much of the material is already translated into Spanish and other languages.

As an adoptive parent, however, what I appreciate about the Pipers' ministry is the high value they place on adoption. Not only have they experienced it themselves, but within their church family it is also celebrated and supported - or as the church website describes it: "Adoption Is Part of Bethlehem's Culture." Two adoption grants organizations, the MICAH Fund for minority children and the LYDIA Fund, are affiliate ministries of the church. Most importantly, they focus on adoption not only as a means of growing families but of reflecting the heart message of the gospel; expressing commitment to life; responding to the needs of orphans; advancing racial harmony; and sharing the gospel to various "tribes and tongues."

So without further ado I will direct you to Noël Piper's blog. Her adoption story begins at the link below and at the end of each of her posts you can follow a link to the next chapter of their journey. Enjoy and be blessed!

http://nations-be-glad.blogspot.com/2009/10/orphan-sunday-118-something-that.html

Lesson Learned

I didn't make it to English class tonight.

Minutes before our babysitter was due to arrive, the scene in our house was one of emotional chaos. Three children fighting, crying, arguing, and altogether falling apart. Two parents with frazzled nerves, short tempers, and conflicting responsibilities. In a moment of clarity I recognized that it was simply not worth it for both Pedro and I to walk out on our children in this state, and he agreed.

Correction was applied where necessary. Daddy went and Mommy stayed. Serious conversations took place. Apologies were offered and accepted. Emotions cooled. We prayed; we read a story; and then it was off to bed with everyone fully cooperating. What a change!

We've learned a lesson the hard way this year. Even though the overlap between our leaving and the children's bedtime is only half an hour at most, it's half an hour too long for both Mommy and Daddy to be gone twice a week. Even though we have a faithful babysitter who the children trust and like, it's still not the same as having a parent kiss them goodnight. Tonight I asked them to have patience for just a few more weeks as we finish out the commitment we have made, and promised that in the future at least one of us (either Mommy or Daddy) will be home with them at night.

Last week we returned from English class to find Eva asleep in our bed. A handwritten note lay on the pillow beside her. In her cute childish scrawl and amidst several little drawings she had written: "Mommy and Daddy I cry alittel wen you are not here! Mommy and Daddy I (heart heart heart heart heart) love you."


Lesson learned, indeed.

Adoption Grants and Interest-Free Loans

(new links added)

Shaohannah's Hope - http://www.showhope.org/

LifeSong for Orphans - http://www.lifesongfororphans.org/

147 Million Orphans - http://147millionorphans.com/

Both Hands - http://bothhandsfoundation.org/

Lydia Fund - http://www.lydiafund.org/

Operation Starfish - http://www.op-star.org/

God's Grace Adoption Ministry - http://www.ggam.org/

Heaven Sent Adoptions - http://heavensentadoptions.org/

Katelyn's Fund - http://www.katelynsfund.org/

Gift of Adoption Fund - http://www.giftofadoption.org/

The Micah Fund - http://www.micahfund.org/

Our Creator's Hope - http://www.ourcreatorshope.com/

The ABBA Fund - http://www.abbafund.org/

National Adoption Month: Introducing

Those who have been around this blog in recent years know that November is a very prolific month on here. In fact, according to my archives the highest number of posts ever written in one month on the blog was in November 2007 (with 80 posts, although not all were adoption-related.)

While adoption is always a prominent theme in our lives, during National Adoption Month I enjoy writing about it even more. Sometimes I might share experiences we ourselves have faced but often I like to direct you to the stories of other families and ministries that inspire and challenge me.

I've decided to entitle this series "National Adoption Month: Introducing" and will share a little each time about a different family or ministry, along with a link to their site. I hope you will be blessed as I have been by "meeting" each one.

Before doing so, however, I want to share a little bit from my heart.

Last November, I had several conversations with my sister who said that my many adoption posts made her feel a bit guilty. Though she has a heart for adoption, God has chosen to grow her family biologically instead. Her comments gave me pause and made me want to share the following.

While adoption may be the focus of my posts because that is my personal experience, nowhere in God's Word does it say that every Christian must go out and adopt. However, the Bible very clearly emphasizes the importance of believers caring for the orphans and widows (James 1:27.) (Even as I was writing this, I stumbled on the blog of another adoptive family who stated it better than I, and I encourage you to go read that post.)

I believe many Christians are caring for orphans in ways outside of adoption. It may be through prayer, or giving, or working with children from broken homes in children's ministries at home or on the mission field. Many others care for the orphan by supporting an adoptive family throughout their adoption journey. This has certainly been true in our experience. Those who have left encouraging notes on our blog; who have prayed and even fasted for our family; who have donated time and energy to helping with our fundraising efforts; who have cried alongside us through the long wait and the disappointments; who have given gifts both large or small; and who have welcomed our children home with so much love and compassion ... each of those - each of you - have loved the orphan through loving us.

And I just want to say thank you ... so very, very much.

Wear It Out Loud: Adoption Tees, Part 4

ADOPTION

The wait is so long,
but so worth it.

Cry of the Orphan Simulcast

Heart and tears overflowing as I watch tonight ...

It is so amazing to me that in this modern era, even living here in Chile we can often participate in events taking place around the world. I just learned that on Orphan Sunday, November 8 there will be a live webcast of the Cry of the Orphan event in Nashville. I hope to be able to tune in, and thought there might be others interested as well. If you click on the link below it will take you to a site where you can register (the broadcast is free) and view a schedule of the day's events:

http://316networks.com/cryoftheorphan

Snips and Snails and Puppy Dog Tails

... that's what little boys are made of. This picture was taken at Owen's pre-school this year and is another that I recently uncovered in a drawer. How he makes me laugh and smile and enjoy the fun differences between little boys and little girls. I am thankful for this sweet son.

The Joys of Family

This picture was taken while visiting Humberstone. As you can see, Owen was tired of pictures and utterly uncooperative; still I love how this picture captures the reality of our family at this stage in life. Not perfect, but truly blessed.

Education Exasperation, Part Three

At 4:00 p.m. that same day my husband received a phone call, which he promptly passed on to me. It was Mr. D. Apparently one of the three people who received my e-mail had forwarded it to him, and he was not particularly happy.

He told me that he felt my mentioning him by name was an attack on his character, which I of course assured him was not my intention. And then, once he had made clear how he felt about that, he simply said: Come to my office tomorrow and I will fix your problem.

Voilá.

What is it they say, it's all who you know? Apparently Chile is no exception. Pedro and I arrived bright and early to Mr. D's office this morning, and after one more brief airing of his feelings about the e-mail he sat down and wrote a simple letter. Once that was completed he glanced through the photocopies of my children's carnets (identity cards), stopping to question us about Owen's skin tone. One moment of levity, as he was obviously impressed with our cute son! He then stood, picked up his copy of my e-mail, slowly and deliberately tore it into pieces and said: Now we can put this to bed. (For the record, that was Pedro's favorite part of the meeting. He thought it was absolutely classic!)

The letter was then passed on to Mr. A for typing and we were told to follow him to his office. When I stepped gingerly inside (because I had the distinct sense that everyone in the building knew who I was and what I had done) Mr. A said something along the lines of, "You're walking so cautiously. Don't worry; the scare is over now!" which broke the ice and made us all chuckle.

A quick typing and signing and a few minutes later, we left the building with a letter for each of children's schools. The letter authorized "permanent matriculation" for our children without reservations. The director of the girls' school rejoiced to receive it, while the director of Owen's pre-school informed me that she is going to drop my name the next time she goes to the Ministry of Education since she herself has been repeatedly unsuccessful at seeing Mr. D! In the end, everyone agreed that unfortunately in Chile this is the way it has to be done: pushing your way to the top and being "cara dura" (hard nosed) when the situation demands it.

And while I am thankful that we can finally put this chapter of our ever-exciting life behind me, I am tired. Exhausted, really. Here's hoping that the resolution of this tramite is a foretaste to the resolution of them all!

Education Exasperation, Part Two

With a sense of relief and expectancy I waited for my turn outside office number 6 at the Ministry of Education building. This is where all foreigners go to give and receive paperwork pertaining to their children's education, and my interactions with this particular agent (we'll call him Mr. A) had been pleasant in the past. On this day, too, his manner was pleasant; however, the news he gave me was not.

Mr. A explained that strictly speaking, without the birth certificates in hand by November 30 the Ministry would require that our children be removed from school and that we pay the balance of the schooling costs that the government would normally subsidize. The only advice he could offer me was to talk to the man sitting in for his boss, who was in Santiago for the week.

I did so and for the first ten minutes that I sat in Mr. J's office I listened as he called downstairs to Mr. A and rebuked him for not explaining to me that foreigners must follow the rules as they are written and if they cannot fulfill the requirements they simply must bear the consequences. While not speaking directly to me, he made sure that I heard every word of his lecture before addressing me personally. By the time he did so, I was seething inside but attempted to be polite and well-spoken. I laid out every step we've taken for the past eight months and my frustration was somewhat assuaged to see his manner soften and to hear him admit that "there are foreigners and there are foreigners" and that obviously we had done all that we could and ours was an "extraordinary" case which was now outside our control.

His recommendation was to write out everything I had shared with him and return Monday to speak with Mr. D, the head of the Ministry of Education in our province. I gritted my teeth at having to do this yet again (echoes of writing a letter to the governor for our residency paperwork) but did it immediately upon returning home. On Monday morning I arrived with letter in hand, only to learn that Mr. D was out of the office and would be in meetings all afternoon.

I was given the phone number for Mr. D's secretary and told to call for an appointment, which I did later that same day ... and the next day ... and the next day. Each time the phone would ring and ring and ring and finally start beeping as though it was busy. (Needless to say, the stress levels were rising.) When the director of the girls' school told me that the Ministry of Education office had gone on strike, I couldn't believe it. For crying out loud! She recommended that I try another office, which technically would be Mr. D's boss' office.

Frustrated beyond words, I went online in search of a phone number for Mr. D's boss. The number listed produced a "no longer available" message and I didn't want to waste my day running to an office which might also be closed for the strike. Instead, I edited my original letter and added the details of my unsuccessful attempts to reach Mr. D. On the Ministry of Education website, I found three e-mail addresses and decided they were worth a try (all the while convinced they would be "no longer available" as well.)

Finally, I clicked "send" and waited to see what would happen next.

To Be Continued ...

Education Exasperation, Part One

I used to think that education was the right of every child. But since attempting to navigate the choppy and confusing waters of obtaining just the right documentation to satisfy Chile's Ministry of Education requirements, I am no longer so sure.

If you will, back up with me to this entry posted on February 24, 2009. Eight months ago we began the paperchase to ensure that prior to November 29th of this year our children would be "regularized" students within the Chilean educational system. Doing so entailed a trip to Santiago to obtain stamps from Chile's Department of Exterior; mailing the documents to the United States and specifically to the state of issuance for each birth certificate; mailing the documents to the Secretary of State in Washington, D.C.; attempting to straighten out an issue with Pedro's birth certificate since the state of Michigan did not recognize the registrar who signed his original BC (for the record, this is still pending and since Pedro wasn't the one going to school we opted to put his on hold for now); learning that we needed translations from Chile's Department of Exterior in Santiago; obtaining those translations; waiting for the documents to be returned; paying for notarized photocopies of each and every documents; and finally submitting all of the above to the Civil Registries office in Iquique.

And that's just the shortened version.

It took two days to successfully submit the proper documents to the Civil Registries office, which I did last Friday, October 29. The process which is actually taking place is that our children will now be formally enrolled in Chile's national list of students. They will receive a birth certificate printed by the Civil Registries office, and that birth certificate is their ticket to final acceptance by the Ministry of Education.

However, before I could breathe a sigh of relief for having completed this step with a full month to spare ... the clerk announced that their certificates would take two months to be printed. At my look of horror, she said that surely the Ministry of Education would accept an "in-process" receipt in the meantime.

Unfortunately, she was wrong.

To Be Continued ...

Wear It Out Loud: Adoption Tees, Part 3

ADOPTION

is another word for Love

Had to Share

These pictures were taken earlier this year on a dress-up day at Owen's pre-school. I may have blogged about this before, but I don't think I had these pictures at the time. I found them in a drawer this morning. Each child was supposed to come in dressed as a professional of some sort, and we decided to send Owen as a policia de investigaciones de Chile (a Chilean police detective.) The teachers at the jardin even made a badge for him. Apparently he wasn't too keen on having his picture taken by the photographer that day, but he still looks awfully cute!

So, I just had to share. :)

Wear It Out Loud: Adoption Tees, Part 2

{ADOPTION}
worth the wait

The Titus Task

Recently an online search for "haiti adoption" led me to The Titus Task, a 501c3 organization in Northwest Arkansas which has as its purpose to "support local NW Arkansas families who are in the process of domestic or international adoption ... [and] to provide practical support for orphans worldwide to sustain life of those waiting for a family."

It is the story behind The Titus Task that touched my heart. In 2007, Noel and Lori Tugwell traveled to Haiti to meet their two beautiful sons: Silas, then 21 months old and Titus, then 7 months old. Titus in particular had suffered from malnourishment and at the time of their visit weighed only 9 pounds. Sadly, just two months after their visit the Tugwells received the unexpected and heartbreaking news that Titus had died in his sleep at the orphanage.

It was this loss that prompted Noel and Lori to create The Titus Task. Recently they hosted their First Annual 5K and 1-mile Run Family Fun Run with a total of 234 runners and walkers. As Lori described it: "It was everything we had prayed for and more. God was present and Titus was remembered. People gave from their hearts to help more orphans, like Titus, have a family."

As we wait to bring home our own two boys from Haiti (one of whom also suffered from malnourishment and weighed only 6.5 pounds at 4 months old) I cannot help but feel tremendous empathy for this family and admiration for how they have allowed God to turn their sorrow into a ministry for others. I have added the Tugwells' blog to the list on my sidebar and look forward to following their continuing journey. Their son Silas arrived home in March of 2009 and although they did not plan or expect it, God chose to place another son in their lives as well. Louis, who will be twelve years old this month, is still in Haiti and they are praying for his homecoming before Christmas.

I am praying that Christmas will be a time of homecoming for us all.

Wear It Out Loud: Adoption Tees, Part 1

adoption
every child deserves a home

I love to wear shirts that celebrate adoption. Recently I discovered that if I can't find (or afford) them online, I can make my own! This one I designed using free coupons from Vistaprint (www.vistaprint.com) It was fun and I was pleased with the result. :)

The Best Way to Start

... National Adoption Month is learning that dear friends are embarking on their own adoption journey.

I can still remember sitting across from Tonya, Craig, Donny, Jordan, Kevin and Jack in our tiny dining room in Santiago and telling them all about the process of beginning our Haitian adoption. This was in March 2008 while we were knee-deep in the dossier paperchase and prior to the loss of our first referral and subsequent match with the two precious boys who now carry our last name.

What I recall most clearly is Tonya's comment that she would love to adopt and was completely open to the idea but did not feel God was leading her to seek adoption out ... if/when He wanted their family to do so, she believed He would be the one to clearly put adoption in their path.

Apparently now He has.

I am so excited to watch their Ugandan adoption unfold. This family is very special to us and they have supported and encouraged our own adoption efforts in tangible ways. I look forward to seeing the wonderful plans God has in store for them. Not to mention, I've already suggested an arranged marriage if they should bring home a little girl for one of my three little boys! :)

Craig and Tonya and family, God bless you on your journey!

November is National Adoption Month

... and Sunday, November 8 is Orphan Sunday. The video and links below provide resources for you (and your church) to take part in this very special day:

Orphan Sunday from Christian Alliance for Orphans on Vimeo.

"It is not merely by speaking to children about spiritual things that you win them over.

If that be all you do, it will accomplish nothing less than nothing.

It is the sentiments which they hear at home, it is the maxims which rule your daily conduct the likings and dislikings which you express- the whole regulation of the household, in dress, and food, and furniture-the recreations you indulge

the company you keep-the style of your reading the whole complexion of daily life this creates the element in which your children are either

growing in grace, and preparing for an eternity of glory or they are learning to live without God, and to die without hope."

- Rev. W.B. Mackenzie

The @ Series

Uncle Mike left early this morning to return to his current place of ministry in southern Chile. I added one final entry to "The @ Series" of photographs which chronicled the fun times we had during his visit to Iquique! Below is a brief summary of the who/what/when/where of those events:

@ Los Lobitos - This is one of our favorite beaches and we took Uncle Mike to see it last Saturday. We "tailgated" on the beach and ate ham and cheese sandwiches on fresh marraqueta bread; afterwards, most of the group enjoyed some rock climbing.

@ Kids' Club - This is our children's club in Alto Hospicio, held every other Saturday. The kids look forward to it and enjoyed participating again this week.

@ Humberstone - This is a former nitrate mining camp about 45 minutes from Iquique, towards the interior of the desert. It is now an official "ghost town" and open to tourists. It was our first stop on our Wednesday day trip to the desert.

@ Pica - This literal oasis in the desert is known for its fresh fruits, especially the limones de Pica (small but very tasty limes.) It is also known for a natural hot spring pool where people go to bathe. We visited Pica after Humberstone, and had an additional visitor with us that day. Hugo is our neighbor Maggy's brother who has been staying with her family for the past month or so. He returns to southern Chile soon and appreciated the chance to see some sights outside of the city of Iquique before he left. (And for the record, we honestly didn't notice the "do not climb on the sculptures" sign until after we took that picture!)

@ Playa Cavancha - This is the swimming beach of Iquique, filled during the summer by tourists and locals alike. On Friday, the day before Uncle Mike left, we spent the late afternoon at Cavancha. It was a beautiful day, the water was relatively calm and everyone enjoyed splashing in the waves and/or playing in the sand.

@ Playa Cavancha

@ Pica

@ Humberstone

@ Kids' Club

@ Los Lobitos

Permanent Residency, or Perpetual Tramite?

(Note: Find a definition of "tramite" here.)

I realize this is the second post in a row about frustrations we are facing in our current city and culture here in Iquique. So before going any farther I want to post a disclaimer that we really do love it here, headlights or no headlights, tramites or no tramites. Really, we do! :)

Some of you might remember that on August 14, 2008 we applied for our permanent residency here in Chile. It was a little crazy, but we did it (see part 1 & part 2 here.) Six months later we submitted our paperwork to receive our residency documents but received the first of many extensions instead (see previous post here.)

Just for fun, let's review the process:

August 14, 2008 applied for residency

February 16, 2009 received first extension
April 16, 2009 received second extension
June 16, 2009 received third extension
August 16, 2009 received fourth extensionOctober 16, 2009 received fifth extension

Now the kicker is this: We received notice that our residency documents were issued in Santiago well over a month ago. Since earlier this year when we moved to Iquique we did the necessary steps to transfer all of our documentation here, we naturally expected that we would received the residency documents at our local office. However, when we went to the office the first week of September, we were told that our documents had been issued in Santiago and were waiting for us there instead! Since the documents must be picked up and signed for in person, the options we were given were (a) to fly to Santiago and pick them up or (b) write a letter to the governor of Iquique requesting that she contact the powers that be in Santiago and have our documents transferred here.

Naturally, we chose option (b) for the sake of time and money. I wrote a letter to the governor and Pedro delivered it to her secretary on September 10, 2009. The secretary told him that we should get in the line at our local office the following Wednesday to receive our documents. And so we did. I joined the hundreds of foreigners who wait daily for documents and stood for three hours waiting to squeeze through the tiny door at which three lines converge. Finally I sat across the desk from an agent, only to be told that the governor's secretary was obviously misinformed and that there was no way our documents would arrive for at least three more weeks!

I think I was polite. But I was fuming. I explained our situation in detail and calmly inquired as to why the right hand doesn't know what the left hand is doing in this office. (I'm afraid I shouldn't have said that. I tried to do it nicely. But I didn't get a clear answer.) I asked whether I could get an appointment when I returned in three weeks so that I didn't have to wait for three more hours for no good reason. Appointments are reserved for those beginning their paperwork and the agent said, "Oh, you wouldn't want to do that." I said, "Actually, I would." And I did.

So last week Pedro and I arrived on the appointed day and at the appointed time, waited an hour since they were running late, and once again we sat across from a (very nice) agent. She expressed surprise that we would think that our documents were here, even after we painstakingly explained that someone in this very office had told us that they would be. She checked online and discovered that indeed the documents are still in Santiago, and she nonchalantly remarked that often the Santiago office simply forgets to send these things. She wrote them a reminder e-mail and told us that she had already prepared another two-month extension on our paperwork ... the only problem being that the governor had been otherwise engaged this week and had not been able to sign them.

So, you guessed it ... Come back next week! Only this time she said we could come to the front of the line with Pedro's passport and she would hand the papers to him. Should have been simple, right? Unfortunately when Pedro returned today to do this she first got us confused with our colleagues who are having their own paperwork issues, and insisted that one of our children's passports is expired (it's not.) Then she finally handed him the paperwork and he left, only to discover that she had only returned documents for three out of our five family members!

Needless to say, today was not a happy morning in the Garcia household. I tried to call the agent to inform her of the mistake, but I think they were just picking up and hanging up the phones this morning (it would ring and ring and ring, then the busy signal would start.) The only saving grace is that the missing paperwork belongs to two of the kids instead of to Pedro and me, since it is important that we have these documents if we are ever stopped by the police here. We've decided to wait to track down the other two because after all ...

We were told to come back again next week. Aargh!!

It Had to Happen Sometime

Our first robbery, that is.

Perhaps tomorrow I will provide the photographic evidence to accompany this post, but for now I am still just plain mad and would rather not look at the gaping empty holes where our car's headlights and turn signals used to be.

Ironically, the former owner of our vehicle warned us that the headlights of this particular model car (a Toyota Ipsum) were in high demand on the black market. He personally went so far as to have the lights cemented/glued in place to hinder the possibility of their being stolen. The cost of replacing them isn't cheap; one turning signal cost us 30.000 Chilean pesos (approximately $60 USD) when the car was repaired following Pedro's accident back in March.

Having seen other Ipsums around town with missing headlights, we knew this was a possibility but it was the furthest thing from my mind when I parked in the same lot as always across from the doctor's office and facing the ocean. The lot was full, but when we returned two hours later only a handful of cars remained. Immediately I caught sight of the maimed car and upon closer inspection Owen even found the screwdriver which had been used for the evil deed.

I called Pedro to report the bad news and then proceeded to interrogate everyone in the immediate vicinity. The family in a nearby van was stretched out on their reclined seats with the doors open to let in the ocean breezes and said they only arrived minutes before and saw nothing. The couple directly in front of us sitting on the seawall and snapping pictures also saw nothing. And the man washing a white van behind us claimed to have arrived only half an hour before and - you guessed it - also saw nothing.

Talk about fuming. Let me just say that it would have taken the thief quite a bit of time and effort to remove those headlights and blinkers, and they are not small. It is not possible that no one saw him doing this. What it is even more frustrating is knowing that when we go to purchase these parts again, we will most likely be buying "recycled" parts ourselves. Not that we could know for sure nor would the seller admit it, but as one friend remarked when I told her of the robbery, unfortunately here in Iquique the headlights for these cars are "custom ordered" - meaning when someone comes looking to purchase them, someone else (in this case us!) loses theirs as a result.

And to top it all off, my devotions this morning were in Romans chapter 12. Do you suppose that "Bless those that persecute you; bless and curse not" (verse 14) applies to car thieves?

Somehow ... I'm afraid it does. (sigh!)

Adoption, Attachment, Bonding, Baby Wearing, Baby Carriers, Russia

I have titled my post as such in hopes that it might attract attention from some been-there, done-that parents of adopted children. The purpose of this post is two-fold: to request information for me, and for a friend. Any appropriate insights and advice will be much appreciated!

Me: I would like to have the option of "wearing" or carrying my boys when they come home. I don't know how often I will do this because from what I read, much of it depends on their individual temperaments and bonding needs. Either way, I would like to have the option but the only baby carrier I've ever used is a Snugli and it wasn't the most comfortable for me. I need to have my hands free and I want it to feel as natural as possible, so I am thinking along the lines of a sling that allows a toddler to "sit" on my hip more or less. I should, however, point out that I am not the most coordinated person in the world and need this baby carrier to be very user-friendly! (I know, I'm not asking much, am I?) At any rate, if you could offer me some pointers - remembering that my boys will be toddlers, not infants - I will thank you from the bottom of my heart. :)

My friend: My very dear friend adopted siblings from Russia at ages 2 (daughter) and 3 (son) years old. They are now 7 (daughter) and 8 (son) years old. They are struggling with their daughter, who frequently lashes out in anger and expresses that she thinks her life would be better back in Russia, etc. etc. I offered to mention this on here in hopes that someone with experience and insight regarding this issue would be willing to communicate with my friend via e-mail. If so, please leave me a comment with your e-mail (I will not post the comment if you prefer to keep your e-mail private.) Thank you in advance for your encouragement and help in this way!

Uncle Mike

This is an exciting week at the Garcia household because "Uncle Mike" came to visit! The kids have been waiting anxiously for his arrival and have not been disappointed. Owen loves having a roommate for a change, especially a roommate as fun as this one.

We first met Mike in Santiago, where he was working as our mission accountant for two years. Shortly after making his acquaintance, he offered to watch our kids "anytime" since he has quite a few younger brothers and sisters back in the States and missed being around them. (Little did he know what he was getting into!)

Our kids loved the times "Uncle Mike" came to babysit and since Pedro and Mike also hit it off famously, he has become a special family friend. Soon he will be returning to the States and we have been harassing inviting him for months to come to Iquique before he leaves. We’re glad he finally was able to make it! Stay tuned for pictures as we show him around the sights and scenes of Iquique.

(P.S. In case you are wondering, yes, he really is that tall. He creates quite a stir in Chile. Yet another reason he and Owen make a great team!)

The Giving Tree

" ... and the tree said Come boy, come and climb up my trunk and swing from my branches ..."

- Shel Silverstein, The Giving Tree

Beautiful Beyond Words

Jessie Baldwin is a talented photographer whose heart was stirred to offer her friends the gift of a lifetime.

As her friends Tisra and Eric prepared to travel to India to complete the adoption of their daughter, she offered to travel with them and photograph their story of meeting Dorothy and bringing her home.

Today I visited Jessie's blog and began to read the stories and view the photographs of their journey to India, and both are beautiful beyond words.

If you want your heart to be blessed and uplifted today, visit the blog below. The adoption entries should be the most current; however, you can also type "adoption" into the search box in the upper right hand corner to see those specifics posts. What an amazing story, and priceless gift!

the speckled bird art blog