A Change In Direction

It has been many, many months, now turned into years since I have written and so much has transpired.  I will begin, well, at the beginning....
Just as we were about to get into the heavy duty lift of dossiers and down payments, UNICEF used their influence to virtually halt adoptions from Ethiopia.  I don't doubt that their intentions were noble, but I'm not sure stopping a program in its tracks served all involved, especially the many, many children in orphanages bursting with children. Referring to my earlier post, so many people want infant girls, and there was real concern that baby girls were being sold to unscrupulous orphanages for adoption.  Please, anyone considering adoption, remember those precious boys - they are a blessing, too.
We sadly decided to withdrawal while our investment of time and money were at a minimum.  I felt rather lost, as I had felt so sure that this was the path we were meant to take.  I still felt that we were meant to go forward, to stay open to possibility, but we were definitely in adoption limbo until.....
A late night (typical for me) in March 2011, an email blast from Rainbow Kids http://www.rainbowkids.com/ (please check out this wonderful website, if you are considering adoption), an amazing photo that captivated me immediately, and the rest is history in the making.
Our journey is not complete, as our little boy is still in Haiti.  We also discovered, well into the process, that our son does not have clubfeet, as was the original diagnosis, but a much more serious and challenging condition.  We have been to Haiti twice, rode an emotional roller coaster as we processed the information regarding his condition, and are now eagerly awaiting his homecoming.  There is much to tell, and I will expand on all of the highs and lows, as I seem to have been led to share our story again, but in the meantime, here is the photo that won our hearts...

    

  Samy Leo Michel

Why Ethiopia?

Why Ethiopia?
Heartstrings pull us in the direction we think we are meant to go. Our inner voice sometimes speaks quietly, and then sometimes, becomes insistant, like a drum. I wonder, if our connections in life are preordained, and when the time is right, we are called? I feel a call from far away. I feel my heartstrings being pulled. Why Ethiopia?
I borrowed a few facts from another blogger, and I thought I'd post them. Hopefully this helps answer a few curiosities. These are stark realities that children of Ethiopia endure. These,among many other reasons, will bring us to Ethiopia.

Ethiopia's doctor to children ratio is 1 to 24,000
-1 in 10 children die before their 1st birthday

-1 in 6 children die before their 6th birthday

-There are 4.5 million orphans in Ethiopia
-720,000 children have been orphaned by AIDS alone

-1.5 million people in Ethiopia are infected with HIV

-60% of children in Ethiopia are stunted because of malnutrition

-1/2 of the kids in Ethiopia will never attend school

-88% will never attend secondary school

...not too many requests for toddler boys

We've submitted an initial application to an agency that handles Ethiopian adoptions. We have so much going on right now, so we're taking our first baby steps in what is sure to be a strenuous journey....we know the drill. I spoke to a representative from the agency, and told her we would like to adopt a boy, someone between one and three. I was thrilled to hear that since we wanted a boy of that age, the time to complete the entire process would most likely be less than a year. When I inquired as to why the time frame was so short, she said, "We don't get a lot of requests for toddler boys". Hearing that broke my heart, but in the same instant, my heart opened wider. I need to stay in the realm of possibility, hope and conviction for myself, my family and for all those toddler boys.

Hope and Beauty

Hope and Beauty

In the smiles of children everywhere

Children smile everywhere

In our homes and in our care

In orphanages far away

Children smile, laugh and play.

Homeless, motherless, so sad you say

Yet children seem to find their way

To puddles,dirt and magic wands

To laughter, friendship and special bonds.

Nighttime is the hardest

With its darkness, shadows and fears

Loss and lonliness come upon them

fighting back their tears.

A mother's embrace and gentle kiss

These things far beyond their reach

Morning will come, the sun will shine

We look to them to teach.

Teach us to smile despite it all

To laugh and play and dance.

Can we do something to change the course

Do we leave it all to chance?

Loving words and actions

Ripples in the sea

Change the fate of one or two

Countless wonders yet to be.

Children smile everywhere

In our homes and in our care

One less orphan far away

Home at last to laugh and play.

L.W.

April 13, 2010