Having accepted a referral from a photo listing, obtained most of the required documents, paid all of the agency fees, received updated photos of our daughter and being in a state of completely trusting in Orson Mozes and AIP, we are ill prepared for the truth and consequences that we will experience a few short weeks after the joyous birthday celebration for our daughter.
Having alot of time to adore and pray for this precious child in our referral photo (not posted here out of respect) I wander the Internet in hopes of finding a connection somehow to Ust Kamenogorsk and the baby house in which she is living. I Google Ust Kamenogorsk and much to my surprise and subsequent delight there is a yahoo group ( http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Ust-Kamenogorsk-Adoptions/) dedicated specifically to parents who have, or are in the process of adopting from this very town in Kazakhstan. This yahoo group opened my eyes to blogging, something I had never heard of. Parents who were in the process of adopting, documented their experiences online publicly and kept daily diaries and photo journals.
We were so thankful for a glimpse into a location and a life that had been the center of our consciousness for months. Innocently I stumbled on this site and I am almost transported to the front door of the orphanage where my daughter lives. The ability to visualize this building, in the here and now produces an increased sense of urgency in wanting to travel to the child we have fallin in love with. I commit to memory each detail of this building and pray for the day we enter that front door and begin our lives together.
That reality is almost palpable for us now, because of blogging. The ability to read blogs of others that are there in Ust Kamenogorsk. Adopting their children. Experiencing their miracles and sharing every detail thru their publicly posted words and photos.
A documentation of hope for all of us who wait. A confirmation of answered prayers and God's glory. A living documentary of love in action.
In each blog I read, I experience the magnificence of the immediate effect love has on the emotionally deprived innocent child. It is nothing shy of miraculous. The transformation is striking, as blank stares turn into infectious smiles, tears and fears turn to hugs and security. Loneliness turns to great joy.
The agony of the wait and the journey but a memory, as parent also transforms. The emotional bond strengthens with each precious moment shared with there child.The faces of these parents reveal the intensity of the love they are giving and receiving.
Each blog tells a story and not only gives those of us waiting hope, but much needed information to prepare for our own journeys. As I said the waiting and journey is agonizing much like the agony of physical childbirth.
So the discovery of blogs and how to navigate them gave us information we welcomed to help us hold on and prepare. We were so thankful to these parents who voluntarily publicized their experiences for anyone to read and learn from. Arming ones self with knowledge helped to alleviate certain anxieties with regards to what to expect. We were able to learn exactly how the process goes, the different problems that could happen and how to resolve them if and when they did. In reading what happened to others, we were able to trouble shoot our own issues when they cropped up. Being prepared helped keep those anxieties and emotions at bay. God knows this journey is filled with twists and turns.
Listed below are a just few of the many online public blogs we read in preparation of our journey to Kazakhstan. Each blog a personal account of International Adoption. A wealth of information about the country, the culture, the joys and the issues that surround adoption from a foreign country. We were so very grateful for their sharing we vowed to do the same when we finally walked in their shoes.
As we read each word from families involved with AIP and Orson Mozes we were happy to see their dreams becoming a reality. In the days that followed our daughters 1st birthday celebration we spent hours perusing these online public blogs. We actually logged on each day to read about the adoptions happening in real time. Four families in particular interested us, as they were AIP clients adopting children from the baby house our daughter lived in. Eagerly we read their daily posts and also their archived posts. We studied each photo hoping for a picture in which we might possibly see our daughter in the background....
http://sappfamilyadoption.blogspot.com/ Oct 05 AIP
http://woodstokaz.blogspot.com Feb 06 AIP
http://rockthekazblog.com/ Feb 06 AIP
http://themcspaddenfamily.blogspot.com/ Mar 06 AIP
http://candykaz.blogspot.com/ Mar 06 AIP
http://zalomskiadoption.blogspot.com/ Mar 06 AIP
Other agencies and web sites
http://themccafferyfamilyx4.blogspot.com/Mar 06
http://www.xanga.com/marknpam
http://www.frua.org/chat_main.html
http://kazakhadoptivefamilies.com/index.html
http://www.kazconsulny.org/English/index.htm
1 comment:
Hi I just found your blog and I look forward to following your joyous journey to your child. We too are waiting. I sent you an invite to our blog. I am sorry that you went through the AIP mess, I followed Dawn's blog as her story was unfolding, and cried many mornings over the events of her day. I am sure it was even more gutwrenching being a client of AIP. Our thoughts and prayers are with you.
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