I think some of you probably have heard the news about the boy whose mother sent him back to Russia because he threatened to burn her house down. I'm sure people will comment this article to us since we are adopting older kids as well, who have been somewhat institutionalized. That's why I want to clarify a few things. First, we chose Colombia as the place to adopt because of the strict process as well as their limitations on adoptions. We both liked this because we did not want to go to a place that was too loose or did not have services for the kids. Some other countries are more loose and provide less services to their kids. Our daughters lived in foster care for a year and then in La Casita, where they are now. In Colombia orphanages are called 'casas' and they are transition places, where the kids wait to be adopted. Our girls have been at La Casita for 2 years. They have been waiting for a while because they were a sibling group. The girls had waited so long that we were asked if we wanted only two girls, as they were ready to split them.
We understand our girls will have issues, we were required by our process to take a 20 hour parenting class that presented us with different scenarios, including issues stemming from psychological, emotional and sexual abuse. Also, Colombia requires that parents go through psychological testing which we did. We also had to indicate for our agency what resources we were going to use (pediatrician, psychologist, dentist etc.) The head of La Casita is a licensed psychologist that has been working with the girls to help them with this transition as well as with any issues they may have. This week we will be setting some appointments for when we come back. We want our girls to get as much help as needed when they get here. Obviously we are not prepared for everything, but we are willing to take on the challenge of raising older kids. If you have any resources you would like to share with us, please let us know. We are happy to look into anything that will help us with new phase in our lives. Thanks!
Check out this blog on Colombia adoptions and culture.
http://raisingcolombiankids.blogspot.com
--MM
Nobody is prepared for everything whatever that "everything" may turn out to be. But you are better prepared than what you may think. You will do just fine because you already love those girls and love is the secular name for He who makes all things possible. Do not be anxious. Anxiety comes from you wanting to be in control.
ReplyDeleteTrust in His Divine Providence. " It is He who fills the shuttle, He knows just what is best..". You just be grateful and happy for the Lord is in charge. Faith is not an idea. It is the Person of an all powerful and loving Father that will guide and watch over every single step you are about to take.
Gob bless.