Getting caught up...

Hi everyone. We are making up for lost blog time so please check the past ones.

Since Joe is telling you about Taldy, I want to tell you about Àlena and her friend Valeria.

We could not have asked for a more perfect fit for our family then Alena. She is in 7th grade, just short of my height, and very slender. Where some of the girls have a more mature look, Alena is still child-like. You can tell the girls who have been here for a while. They are much more guarded in their emotions, where Alena shows her emotions on her face.

The first day we met her was crazy. There was nine people in the room and Alena had to walk in to meet her new family. Just prior to walking in she found out she had brothers! She was so nervous. Yet she walked in and after we spent some
time together she started to relax. Once that happened she started to beam. All of the older kids know what it means to be taken into a loving home and all of them dream of having a family.

By the time we were leaving we met all of the girls, saw where they lived, and fell in love with Alena. The kids are all separated into groups of mixed ages. This way the older kids can help the younger kids. That is how Alena and Valeria met.

During the first night Alena brought her best friend, Valeria, down to meet us. Where Alena was beaming with pride, Valeria was hiding her sadness. Every once in a while she would look like she was going to cry. Valeria is almost one year older than Alena and one can tell she has been in the orphanage for quite a while. It is almost as though she has lost hope of being adopted, yet the child in her still dreams of a family. Oh yes and she wants to be an actor!

Since that first night we have gotten to know Alena. She is so sweet and kind. As Joe said there are other American families here with younger kids. Alena played with them just like the guys do. She has been hurt but does not have the emotional wounds that say a child like Valeria has.

Back to Valeria. On that first night the director of the orphanage and our coordinator called the goverment to check on Valeria's status. We were told that she is not eligable for adoption. She has not seen her mother since she was in first grade. Yet, her mother calls every year to check up on her and that makes her ineligable for adoption. We never know what is fact or fiction here, but the intentions are all good and if they could get her out of the orphanage both the Director and our coordinator would do it.

It is so heartbreaking to not be able to help these kids. What they need and want is a family to call their own. Being an orphan carries such a stigma here and going to a university is not something that anyone can do. These kids have few options like kids in America and elsewhere.

Plus, coming here is not an easy thing. It is so far and expensive. This country is so different than anything most of us have encountered that culture shock is a given for at least a week! Not everyone can come to help these kids get what they really want, which is just a family who loves them.

The one saving grace is that we feel the outcome is so worthwhile. Alena will have a chance to have a different life. I am not sure what would have happened to her here. She is an orphan, tiny, and has a lazy eye, which is another stigma in this culture.

Now the world is her oyster, as they say.

One thing this has taught me is America is an amazing place. I am afraid I will have little patience for anyone who complains about our country. We are blessed beyond measure.

Thanks for visiting everyone.

Kelly, Joe, Jonathan, Jameson, and Alena