Monday, February 15, 2010

Our Adoption Story

Post by: Micah


How the girls entered our lives:


Maudline (14 years old) and Gerline (11) are both beautiful, kind hearted, hard working, fun-loving, bright young ladies. They were brought to the orphanage by their mother who was unable to care for them in 2004. They are two of the oldest, longest tenured girls in the orphanage.

I first met Maudline and Gerline in 2004 during a missions trip to Kingdom Kids Orphanage in Port au Prince, Haiti, and instantly connected with each of them separately (not learning until later that they were sisters). As my trip to Haiti went on, I became increasingly captivated by them.

Maudline (8 years old at the time) struck me with her incredible strength and poise. Unlike many of the younger kids in the orphanage, I realized she was old enough to understand where she was and my heart absolutely melted as I saw a girl who desperately desired to be loved, but would not beg for it. I continue to use the word "strength" to describe her because there is no other word to capture her calm maturity and refusal to pity herself, despite a heart that I know had experienced so much pain and heartbreak.


Gerline (5 years old at the time) I first bonded with during our day trip to the beach in which she decided to inexplicably latch onto me for the day. She so thoroughly kept me in arms reach that we joked after about my "Gerline tan" that was the result of having to hold her the whole time I swam. Unlike Maudline, who stayed near me, but refrained from showing dependence or weakness, Gerline was a little more fragile and wasn't shy about forcing her love on you.

As the trip went on I continued to fall in love with these two girls who were so vulnerable and fragile, yet exhibited so much kindness, joy and resolve.

I returned from my time at the orphanage with pictures and stories of these beautiful, strong little girls who had completely captivated my heart. My heart broke for them, as it did for much of what I experienced and witnessed during my time there. I decided then that if I were ever in a position to provide a loving home and family for children in need that I would. And I prayed that God would watch over these girls, as well as the rest of the children in the orphanage at that time.



Some of the difficulties facing the girls:


Being the oldest child in the orphanage, Maudline has been a big sister to not only Gerline, (the two are very close), but also the rest of the over 40 children in the orphanage since her arrival.

She also struggles with an undefined learning disability and is falling behind in school and testing very poorly. She is, of course, unable to get specialized attention to clearly identify her learning struggles and help her overcome them.

In addition, both girls have watched as several children have come into the orphanage and been taken out by families who have chosen to adopt them. Since 16 is the cutoff age for children to be adopted in Haiti, time is running out for them to have the opportunity to be given a home and loving family.

If our adoption were to fall through, it is still very possible that they could find a home. However, it is probable that they would need to be split up for this to happen.




Our family (from my perspective):


My parents had always had a desire to provide a home for orphaned children, going as far as to begin the process of becoming approved as a foster home while my sister and I were younger. That process was ended because of a rule prohibiting foster parents from home schooling foster children. At the time, my sister and I were home-schooled, as my mother was activist for the home schooling movement and for providing special education to children with learning disabilities.

Her passion in this area came about as a result of my older brother (and my sister as well) being highly dyslexic and struggling in conventional school settings. After being told my brother was testing out at below a 2nd grade level and needed to be re-educated before entering the 6th grade, she and my dad decided to take him out of school and get him caught up at home, successfully helping him overcome his previous struggles and test out where he needed to be at the start of 8th grade.

After the experience with my brother, my parents decided to home school my sister and I until high school to ensure that we entered high school with all the tools needed to succeed. I watched my sister struggle with her own dyslexia issues, which made basic things, like reading and comprehension, a severe challenge for her. I also watched her overcome those challenges and go on to become an honor roll student who thoroughly enjoyed and thrived in her high school experience.

Because of my parents desire to continue homeschooling us, they were forced to put their desire to provide a home for children in need on hold.



Our decision to adopt:


I never specifically discussed the idea of adopting the girls with my parents and never really thought about it being a possibility. Then, after the earthquake, my roommates, who had they had been in the process of adopting for about a year and half, were finally able to bring Kemly (as well as 3 other boys who were being adopted into homes in Massachusetts and Vermont) home to finish the remainder of the adoption process here instead of in the orphanage. However, this left 41 children behind in the orphanage in the midst of the worst circumstances the orphanage has been through.

I was discussing the remaining 41 children with my mom and she cut me off by telling me she wants to adopt. Had she asked me about the possibility of adopting, or some specifics of what she could do to help, I would've thought that was cool. But instead she resolutely informed that they would adopt. There was no doubt in her voice. I was basically floored.

My parents then took the next couple days to pray about it and told me they know without a doubt that this is what God is calling them to do and they wanted to begin the process immediately.



Beginning the process:


After getting things rolling we asked Laurae Richards (President of Servants for Haiti) if there were any reasons that it would not be the best thing for the girls to come here. She responded by expressing concerns about Maudline's learning disabilities (which we were previously unaware of) and that since the girls were older and spoke only Creole, it would be a large undertaking to bring them here and provide them the education and resources they would need.

Laurae was also unaware of my parents history with homeschooling as well as the fact that my mother's first language is French (not the same as Creole, but a good foundation to help bridge the language gap).

We quickly realized that, ironically, the issue that prevented my parents from being able to take in children in the past, gave them a parenting experience that almost ideally prepared them for bringing the girls home.



Where we are now:


My parents' passion and sense of urgency to bring them home is at an all time high. We are going through every channel to secure all the pieces necessary to bring them here.

However, the obstacle of finances is a large one. We need to come up with approximately $24,000
in order to get both girls out of Haiti and into our home. A large amount of that money (approx. $12,000) is needed pretty much up front.

We have just begun the fund raising process and are continuing to be prayerful about this. We believe that we serve a mighty, loving God who has orchestrated this entire process and who we know will see it through.

We are so thankful for all the help and support we have received and continue receiving on our journey, financial and otherwise. We have a ways to go, but we are excited to have the opportunity to offer the girls the love and support that they so desperately need.

Thank you for reading and for your prayers.

We will do our best to keep this updated with the status of the process, as well as any fund raisers we put together.


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