Help Bring David Home!
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Once upon a time... When we were young and newly married, Tom and I envisioned adopting a child or two. In our mind, that child was always a baby or toddler.
Then life happened... We had six children of our own, we had too many years of intense medical issues with three of our six children, and we got old(er) - too old to start over with a baby. We figured adoption wasn't in the plan for us after all.
Then we got an invitation... Our oldest daughter and her husband were hosting a table at a Bethany Christian Services fundraising dinner and they needed to fill their table. We agreed to attend, figuring it was an organization we could support and hoping the food would be good. If you know me, you know I'm all about the food! :) We decided to call it a date night.
Then we heard the speakers... They were adoptive parents who talked about both the good stuff and the hard stuff. Some of them had adopted children who weren't babies.
Then I had a revelation... There are older children who need families, too!! Profound, I know! I'm even a little embarrassed to admit it. The Lord was opening our eyes. Maybe we weren't too old to adopt after all.
Then we were introduced to David... At each place setting around the table, there was a different bookmark featuring a specific child and giving a couple sentences about him or her. Tom had David's bookmark. He was described as a quiet and calm 12-year-old boy from Bulgaria. Hmm, he's kinda cute.
Then we met Mrs. P... After the evening's program, I was at the back of the room and "just happened" to strike up a conversation with another woman. She noticed David's bookmark in my hand and said, "I know that boy!" Turns out that about 3 years ago, she and her family had adopted a young girl from the same orphanage in Bulgaria where David lives. Not only that, but her daughter and David had been very close friends. This woman had met David twice and had spent time with him. She shared some stories with us. The Lord was opening our hearts. Tom and I had an interesting conversation on the way home in the car that night. What just happened?? All we did was go out to dinner and now we are talking about adopting a 12-year-old boy??
Then we got home... Our then 16-year-old daughter met us at the door. Without a word from us, she plucked David's bookmark out of my hand, read it over, and asked simply, "So, are we going to adopt him?" The rest, as they say, is history!
That was March 2014... We spent 13 months filling out a mountain of paperwork, writing checks, and waiting. It was a bit of an emotional roller coaster for me. I waffled between "this is so exciting" and "this is terrifying!" But Tom and the girls never wavered. This really seemed to be something that the Lord was calling us to do.
Then we went to Bulgaria and met David... In April 2015, we took our first trip to Bulgaria and spent a few days with David. Our youngest daughter (now 17) came with us. It was an amazing trip! We had such a great time with David! We took walks and played a lot of ping pong at the orphanage. We taught David and some of the other children to play Uno. That was great fun! David was willing to be adopted by us. We were smitten! The Lord confirmed to us in multiple ways that this was really something He was calling us to do.
So... On July 14, 2015, in a court room in Sofia, without us being present, 14-year-old David became our son! With the help of his English tutor, we have been skyping with David almost every week since our trip in April. The bonding process is well underway! Last week, we got permission to travel back to Bulgaria to bring David home. We will be leaving Vermont in the middle of September. We will spend a week in Bulgaria doing more paperwork and more waiting, but we will be together! When all paperwork is in order, we will fly home and begin a new adventure.
We need your help... This is the hard part for me - asking for help. In case you didn't know, international adoption is insanely expensive. We will have well over $40,000 in expenses by the time David arrives home. After years of kidney disease, dialysis, transplants, and huge medical expenses, our savings account has been wiped out. We re-mortgaged our home to cover some of our adoption expenses.
Will you help us?... We are hoping to raise $20,000, which is less than half of our current adoption expenses.
Will you pray for us?... There are many unknowns ahead. Even after 6 children, we still haven't perfected this parenting thing. Shocking, I know! This child will come with a whole new set of issues and needs. It will be a huge scary transition for him (and us!). David has some speech and learning challenges which we won't know the extent of until he is home and can be evaluated. And then there is this minor issue of communication. David doesn't speak English (yet!). I'm guessing we'll be gesturing and drawing pictures for a while.
So... Won't you help us bring David home? Please give and pray as you feel led. We sure would appreciate it!
Gratefully,
Tom and Nancy
Then life happened... We had six children of our own, we had too many years of intense medical issues with three of our six children, and we got old(er) - too old to start over with a baby. We figured adoption wasn't in the plan for us after all.
Then we got an invitation... Our oldest daughter and her husband were hosting a table at a Bethany Christian Services fundraising dinner and they needed to fill their table. We agreed to attend, figuring it was an organization we could support and hoping the food would be good. If you know me, you know I'm all about the food! :) We decided to call it a date night.
Then we heard the speakers... They were adoptive parents who talked about both the good stuff and the hard stuff. Some of them had adopted children who weren't babies.
Then I had a revelation... There are older children who need families, too!! Profound, I know! I'm even a little embarrassed to admit it. The Lord was opening our eyes. Maybe we weren't too old to adopt after all.
Then we were introduced to David... At each place setting around the table, there was a different bookmark featuring a specific child and giving a couple sentences about him or her. Tom had David's bookmark. He was described as a quiet and calm 12-year-old boy from Bulgaria. Hmm, he's kinda cute.
Then we met Mrs. P... After the evening's program, I was at the back of the room and "just happened" to strike up a conversation with another woman. She noticed David's bookmark in my hand and said, "I know that boy!" Turns out that about 3 years ago, she and her family had adopted a young girl from the same orphanage in Bulgaria where David lives. Not only that, but her daughter and David had been very close friends. This woman had met David twice and had spent time with him. She shared some stories with us. The Lord was opening our hearts. Tom and I had an interesting conversation on the way home in the car that night. What just happened?? All we did was go out to dinner and now we are talking about adopting a 12-year-old boy??
Then we got home... Our then 16-year-old daughter met us at the door. Without a word from us, she plucked David's bookmark out of my hand, read it over, and asked simply, "So, are we going to adopt him?" The rest, as they say, is history!
That was March 2014... We spent 13 months filling out a mountain of paperwork, writing checks, and waiting. It was a bit of an emotional roller coaster for me. I waffled between "this is so exciting" and "this is terrifying!" But Tom and the girls never wavered. This really seemed to be something that the Lord was calling us to do.
Then we went to Bulgaria and met David... In April 2015, we took our first trip to Bulgaria and spent a few days with David. Our youngest daughter (now 17) came with us. It was an amazing trip! We had such a great time with David! We took walks and played a lot of ping pong at the orphanage. We taught David and some of the other children to play Uno. That was great fun! David was willing to be adopted by us. We were smitten! The Lord confirmed to us in multiple ways that this was really something He was calling us to do.
So... On July 14, 2015, in a court room in Sofia, without us being present, 14-year-old David became our son! With the help of his English tutor, we have been skyping with David almost every week since our trip in April. The bonding process is well underway! Last week, we got permission to travel back to Bulgaria to bring David home. We will be leaving Vermont in the middle of September. We will spend a week in Bulgaria doing more paperwork and more waiting, but we will be together! When all paperwork is in order, we will fly home and begin a new adventure.
We need your help... This is the hard part for me - asking for help. In case you didn't know, international adoption is insanely expensive. We will have well over $40,000 in expenses by the time David arrives home. After years of kidney disease, dialysis, transplants, and huge medical expenses, our savings account has been wiped out. We re-mortgaged our home to cover some of our adoption expenses.
Will you help us?... We are hoping to raise $20,000, which is less than half of our current adoption expenses.
Will you pray for us?... There are many unknowns ahead. Even after 6 children, we still haven't perfected this parenting thing. Shocking, I know! This child will come with a whole new set of issues and needs. It will be a huge scary transition for him (and us!). David has some speech and learning challenges which we won't know the extent of until he is home and can be evaluated. And then there is this minor issue of communication. David doesn't speak English (yet!). I'm guessing we'll be gesturing and drawing pictures for a while.
So... Won't you help us bring David home? Please give and pray as you feel led. We sure would appreciate it!
Gratefully,
Tom and Nancy
Organizer
Nancy Systo Smith
Organizer
Charlotte, VT
