China
Guatemala
Russia
Vietnam
Brazil
India
Thinking of adopting internationally? Think you're too old?
At 49, some people think I am. I can see it in their expressions, I can feel it in their uneasiness. Many mornings, as I drag myself out of bed, I question whether they may be right.
But when I'm greeted by little outstretched arms and cries of "Mommy, Mommy", I know that love knows no age and that a baby's smiles are not only for the young.
At a time in my life when most people my age are traveling, enjoying leisurely dinners out, relaxed evenings and buying fancy cars, I'm still dealing with diapers, doctor visits, a headful of mashed potatoes, anything but relaxed evenings and a used family van. Next year, I can join the local senior citizens club...I must check to see if I can take my 2 year old.
People ask how and why did you decide to do this? Why would you want to start over? The answer is very simple...they needed a home and I had one.
The "they" are four year old Hayli adopted from China in 1996 at 14 months old and 20 month old Isaac adopted from Guatemala in 1998 at 13 months old. These are my two blessings who simultaneously keep me young and make me old.
I have never felt like I have been forced to make sacrifices. Quite the contrary—nothing can compare to seeing the world through the eyes of a child who might otherwise have only seen the walls of an orphanage; to hear the laughter of a child who might never have laughed. Even when I'm awakened in the night, I thank God for the privilege of being chosen to answer the cry.
Yes, decisions such as these do not come easily. My decision to adopt did not strike me like a lightning bolt. It was a lingering thought for years. However, I find that God provides in His own time.
After raising four biological children, 10 years as a single mother, I was looking forward to time to myself. But God remembered what I had forgotten. Five years ago, I married Mike, father of one grown biological son. A year later, I read an article in a local newspaper about a couple who had traveled to China to get their daughter. All my previous desires to adopt resurfaced. I knew the Lord was opening doors, and I was now ready to follow.
In May of 1996, Mike and I traveled with seven other families to Xiamen, a city in the Fujian province to receive Hayli. This child fit so perfectly into our family and gave us so much love and joy that we were soon ready to return for daughter #2.
Again, a change in plans. China had now tightened the guidelines and we no longer qualified for a healthy infant**. So we waited for an answer and shortly it came. Keith with FTIA was opening a new program in Guatemala and would we be interested in a little boy? Hmmm, Chinese girl? Guatemalan boy? Close enough. We already knew God did excellent work all over the world. Therefore, we traveled to Guatemala City in October 1998 and received Isaac, an absolute ray of sunshine and the perfect addition to our family.
We have been greeted by overwhelming acceptance almost everywhere. Most gratifying to us is the way Hayli and Isaac have been accepted by grandparents, aunts and uncles, and especially by our five grown children and seven grandchildren. They have become just one of the gang and fit right in.
Was adoption at my age right for me? YES, YES, YES!!! Is it right for you? I don't know. I only know that somewhere there is a child waiting to smile.
Mike & Rosie
Indiana
812-357-2813
**At the time of this adoption, China required families wanting to adopt a healthy infant have no other children in the home. This requirement is no longer in place.
