Urgent plea for 13 year old boy

While I was in Bulgaria visiting Rosie, I was told about a boy.  He lives with Rosie and is also 13 years old.  He is a healthy handsome boy.  He was visited previously by a family with the idea of adoption but for reasons unknown to me, when they left they did not finish the adoption.  So here is this sweet boy orphaned and then feeling rejected.  The orphanage cares very much for this boy and asked me to help them find him his permanent home.  He was helpful coming out to sweep up the area before the Christmas show, he is talented as his portion of the Christmas show included break dancing and traditional Bulgarian dancing (he was Rosie's partner for one dance!)  I have pictures and videos I can share with anyone who is interested in adopting him.  I can tell you all about the orphanage he lives in, the process of adopting and connect you to our agency. Please forward this to anyone you think may be interested!! 

While preparing to write this I came across this on another blog,

"I can't stand your religious meetings. I'm fed up with your conferences and conventions. I want nothing to do with your religion projects, your pretentious slogans and goals. I'm sick of your fund-raising schemes, your public relations and image making. I've had all I can take of your noisy ego-music. When was the last time you sang to me? Do you know what I want? I want justice—oceans of it. I want fairness—rivers of it. That's what I want. That's all I want." Amos 5:21-24

These kids don't have much of a future.  Not many will be the lucky ones to be given the opportunity for adoption and be chosen due to their age. Yet I sat with them and talked with them and it opened my eyes to the fact that regardless of their age, they are kids, kids who need someone to guide them, love them, teach them.  I have come to learn through this adoption that yes Rosie is 13 and in 5 short years she will be an adult, and we have missed much of her childhood.  However when do we stop needing or wanting our parents, who will stand at a wedding, who will cry over their newest grandchild and cheer when they finish college?  Who will they call when life is hard or when they get a bad diagnosis?  Who will they call when their child has their first fever and who's house will they visit on Christmas?  What happens when their is no orphanage to return to when they are too old and yet discriminated against and cannot find a job?  We need parents and family surrounding us for a lot longer then 18 years.

Rosie

What can I say, she is wonderful and beautiful.  I had a great time with her and she really seemed to connect well to me.  Twice in two languages we ordered the same lunch order without knowing what the other was ordering, already in sync!  The orphanage she is in is actually a very nice place, the director was wonderfully good with the children.  The children were ages 7-18 and were such a joyful group of kids.  I had the privilege of watching their Christmas celebration in which they put on a show and Santa came and delivered them gifts of shoe boxes.  It was so moving to see that side of it, I teared up!  I have made those shoebox gifts in the past but to see the joy on these kids faces as they received them was just amazing.  I will forever be filling those now!  Rosie got to be Snow White and help hand out the Christmas presents with Santa.  Being older I let her take the lead when it came to affection.  After the first day she gave me a hug and then the last day when I was leaving she gave me a kiss.  It was hard to leave her behind, but knowing that she is adored at the orphanage really helped me feel better.  We will get to write her letters and maybe even Skype with her while we are waiting for the process to finish.  She is very quiet and shy.  The workers all told me that she is very responsible.  It made me laugh that one of her first questions was, what time do we have to get up in the morning? Teenagers are the same across the world :) 

Help us bring Rosie home!--Link Up

1. Tell us a bit about the child you are adopting - including this treasure's age and name {Please post a picture if allowed.}
We are adopting a 13 year old girl named Rosie.  She is a wonderful girl of Roma heritage.  She is smart, healthy and beautiful.
2. Is the child you are adopting considered "Special Needs"? 
Due to her age she is considered special needs.
3. What country or geographic area are you adopting from?
Bulgaria
4. Have you adopted before?
Yes we have adopted 2 children from the US and 3 children from Liberia
5. How close to travel are you?
We have just made our first visit so we will be able to bring her home within the next few months.
6. Do you attend church regularly? If so, what type of church is it?
We attend church every week.  It is a Christian Evangelical Free church.
7. Do you tithe with each pay {at least the scriptural standard of 10%}?
Yes
8. This week, did you participate in any way with the day of Praise, Prayer by giving praise on the link and then posting your request?
This week I did not as I was in Bulgaria visiting Rosie.
9. Have you read the entire Deadbeat Dad series? {Yes or No} Please read it in full, so you can better understand the heart of God for stewarding the money He has graciously gifted us with.
It is a four part series and can be found here: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4
Yes
10. How did you hear about this Link up we are having?
My 14 year old daughter and I follow your blog and she told me about this link up when I came home from Bulgaria
11. Is there anything, briefly, that you would like to share with our orphan-lovin', God-honorin', Jesus worshippin' bloggy friends reading this?
We have walked into our adoptions without the funds in hand and God has always provided.  We hope that it never stops anyone from adopting one of these treasures.

Finally, understanding that each gift received through this "Response Time" has been entrusted generously for our use from our loving Father, we promise, in the unlikely event that we would be unable to or decide not to adopt the children we are advocating for, we promise to return all of the money gifted to us as a result of this link to International Voice of the Orphan so they can, at their discretion, give to other families currently adopting.

{Please place your initials on the line.}
Yes, I will submit___EW___ No, I am unable to submit to this ________

If you are a "1", then copy, paste the above questions, answer each, link to our Place Called Simplicity and I will have the post up tomorrow for you to link to. 

The Visit

What a week! The first day we walked into the orphanage and their is Rosie walking down the stairs. She was bringing something somewhere, we said a quick hello the I went to the directors office.  She was a wonderful woman, she truly loves each of the kids. We talked and the Rosie came in. She was very shy and unsure about coming to the USA. Who would blame her, she doesn't know us! The staff was very emotional they said they know adoption is best but they all love her. They have been her caretakers for the last 7 years. She showed me her room and we played memory, a good non speaking game! She won each round...memory isn't my strongest area :-). Tuesday we went back and played more memory and drew pictures, she gave me a few hugs and said she was happy. They also had their monthly birthday celebration and since hers was in December I got to share birthday cake and see her get a stuffed animal. Wednesday we were lucky, as it was their Christmas celebration. They performed a show and Santa came and headed out the Christmas shoe boxes, the kids were so excited. I teared up watching them. Today us my last day to visit. I am sure it will be emotional. She is such a sweet girl, and I am totally blessed to get to be her mom.

I made it

Well I made it to Sofia yesterday...or today...the whole time zone thing has me backwards. Its 1am local and I just woke up. I started the trip a bundle of nerves as I had three days notice that I was indeed going to need to come instead of randy and I have never traveled internationally before much less alone. The first flight left at 6:30 am and I sat next to a lady who was traveling with her twenty month old on her lap for the first time. I was able to help her out with him and even held him a bit for her. Then it was 8 hour layover in Newark. Pretty boring I watched looped news over and over. Then my international plane pulled in. I felt like Buddy the elf' I quickly texted randy letting him know it was ginormous!!! I had an awesome seat with no one in front of me...unless you include the line for the bathroom. I watched a bunch of movies and slept for a full 30 minutes. By the time I got to Frankfurt I was so tired  I was shaking. The airport screener double checked and unloaded my backpack because he didn't like my epipen. I explained I needed it for allergies and he let me through. Ohh I forgot my 2 other Buddy moments... First they gave me hot towels I had no idea what to do with it I am not that fancy I guess. I held it and looked around to see what the heck it was for. Then I used the tiny bathroom and managed to knock my head into the wall. Any who I finally arrived after flying over  the Alps, which was pretty cool. Now I am catching up on sleep and getting ready to meet Rosie tomorrow.

I am off to see the Rosie....

Tomorrow morning I leave to head to Bulgaria for our first required trip to meet Rosie.  Let me back up though and give you the story, because everyone who has adopted knows it didn't happen easily :)  Last week we were able through the generous gift of a friend take the whole crew to Disney World.  We had a blast!  The kids all behaved and the drive was fairly smooth, which is saying a lot for an 18 hour drive with 9 people.  Anyway before we left in late November, we were given permission to make travel plans, so the plan was Randy, the experienced traveler was going on this visit and we would both go to pick her up together for my first international travel experience.  We confirmed this with the agency and were given the go ahead, so we booked his ticket and prepared the kids that when we got home on Monday, Dad was leaving on Sat. for Bulgaria.  So we return Monday and Tuesday I emailed the agency to be sure we had all paperwork we needed.  The return email said that the orphanage was now afraid that Rosie would be uncomfortable meeting Randy alone so either I had to come or both of us had to.  So we realized that it would be too hard on the kids for both of us to get up and leave.  Some of our kids have issues with us leaving.  So Wed. we had to cancel Randy's ticket and book me a ticket.  Now I have NEVER been overseas, and I am a general nervous person, so this was scary news!!  I spend Wed. freaking out....Thursday I was more calm, today I have some nerves going on.  Here's the kicker....a few days before we went to Disney I prayed that God would take all my anxieties from me, that he would show me that I can be strong and courageous in all situations because I am leaning on him.  Yeah....starting to think its like praying for patience....all the culmination of my fears is coming together in a week...........  Anyway its so many emotions, fear over the travel, nerves of meeting my new 13 year old daughter for the first time, excitement, sadness leaving my others home........Its like 9 months of pregnancy rolled into 2 weeks :)  I had the sick stomach, nerves, hormones, tears, happy/sad moments.......yep its a girl!! I will post about the trip as I go!