Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Adoption: Going Away Party


The next morning we were very busy.  We met the kids at their church that morning.  They were going to be dedicating the children into our family by their pastor.  It just so happened that this particular Sunday we were there, there were other adoption celebrations being announced at the church.  This was just another moment where we knew God was in the midst of us giving us confirmation after confirmation that we are walking in his steps. Most of the children that were being adopted were from other countries or relative adoption.  This was a very special Sunday for many of us there.

Occasionally out of my peripheral vision I would find Alicia staring at me.  I think she was trying to get use to the fact that she now has a mom and this is the lady who was going to take her home.  Nemo was on cloud 10 and all for it.  Alicia was unsure and doing this for her brother.  She was willing to go where ever her brother went.  That did not mean that she was happy.  She just tolerated situations as long as they were together.

During service the pastor did an alter call and Nemo went up and kneeled before the alter.  Little did I know this little boy had many demons he was fighting inside.  Inside of him there was a war going on between good and bad.  It was a tug a war.  I would find out more of course as time went along.  Alicia did not have the same struggles as Nemo but her struggles were more of negativity and anger toward others.  I will share more about that later in another post but keeping somethings private.

One of the family friends were there at church that day.  He was a guy in his 20's that was very special to the kids.  After church service was over Nemo goes up to him in front of all us and puts this shinny silver necklace on him as a going away present.  It was so sweet.  I could tell this meant a lot to this guy.  I could also tell that this meant a lot to Nemo.  Come to find out days later I get a call from the foster parent asking if I had seen a shiny silver necklace.  One of her foster boys cant find it his necklace.  It dawned on me that Nemo had taken the necklace from one of his foster brothers and had given it to this family friend.  I was stunned to think back to that moment when people were all teary eyed watching him put the necklace on him and it was stolen.  Oh Nemo -- He means well but he just needs to figure out how to make honest choices. All this time I was taking notes on things that we were going to have to work on back home.

For a side note -- when you adopt --it is your job to put these kids back together.  They come to you in pieces all broken and in pieces.  For us and their ages -- we have a short period of time to get him to the place where one day they would move out of the home.  We want them to be contributing people in society.  Not people who is taking up a spot in the local jail or penitentiary.  We knew we were going to invest in these kids and do our absolute best.  When they do move out they are responsible for their actions.  We are praying that being in our home is going to be a good change for the both of them.  We were not worried about Alicia in this way as far as picking the wrong road -- that was for Nemo, however Alicia her attitude would hold her back if she didn't forgive and continue on this road the Lord has set before her.

After church we took the kids and went to their going away party.  There was many friends and great food.  I was noticing all Alicia's friends.  They look so similar to her.  They looked very unhappy and people you did not want to mess with (in junior high).  These friends all had family problems.  I felt an urgency to get them home.  I think friends are a good thing however if they are friends that fuel your fire and keep you burning for the wrong things it is something that needs to be extinguished.  You need friends that keeps your fire burning hotter and hotter for the Lord.  That is where you will find peace and joy. Nemo had a few friends there--not many.  I would learn more about his friends situation later - much later.
 This was our first family picture at their going away party. 
The foster parent made a great scrapbook that everyone signed and left messages for them.  It was very special.  They were all congratulating them on finding a family and wishing them luck.  After a year of being with us -- they still look at it.  They got gifts from different people.  Many staff from the school came too.  I thought that was sweet! That meant a lot to the children.

Once the going away party was over we took the kids with us and went back to the hotel.  We only had a few hours to swim and spend time together before taking them back home.  The kids wanted to leave that day so bad to head to Central Point.  There was chance we were going to have to stay till Tuesday depending on how the kids do.  If it was going to be emotional and hard then we would have had to stay the extra day.  I called the adoption worker on Sunday and asked if it would be okay if we left tomorrow for home.  She gave the okay.  She knew the kids were more than ready to leave.  I let the kids know that tomorrow during school we will pick them up and bring them back to their house to load up their things.  They were so happy about that.

We dropped the kids off, gave hugs and told them to be expecting us at the school tomorrow.  Both of them seemed happy about the next day events.

To Be Continued.......................
















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