Do you ever feel like there is no light at the end of the adoption tunnel?    After three years of waiting, a bright light came into this family's life.   

Nick arrived the weekend of Halloween, and was joyfully inaugurated as an American kid!   His big brother, Alec (the pirate, adopted from Kazakhstan in 2007) dressed him up, and taught him the fine art of candy collecting. 

The adoption process in Bulgaria is very simple.  It's a Hague country, and the central Ministry of Justice accepts paperwork and matches children.   They focus primarily on special needs and school-aged child placement, and work with accredited agencies worldwide.  The tough part of this program?   The LOOOOOOOOOOOOONG wait for a younger child with minimal to no special needs.  

An adoption trip to Bulgaria is short and sweet- the attorneys are with you all the way, the trip is 5 days.    You return home while court occurs, and return several months later for another 5 days to bring your child home. 

One of the best parts of being an adoption coordinator is checking in with families after they return home.   I cannot tell you the joy of hearing the children chatter in the background.    Nick was talking with the family dog while I was on the phone with his Mom :).  

 

Are you considering international adoption but not sure where to start?  With programs in Kazakhstan, Colombia, Hungary, Congo, Uganda, Bulgaria and Ukraine we can help you find a program that suits your family's needs.  Join us on July 24th at 7:30 p.m. Central time to learn about:

• children available in each country
• travel times
• bringing siblings along
• planning finances for your adoption. 

So many families coming home now started their journey on this teleconference.  It would be a privilege for us to help you bring your child home!   

To sign up send an email to info@littlemiracles.org with the subject: Getting Started.

This evening at 7:30pm Central Time, we will explore the joys and challenges of adopting the older child. Email info@littlemiracles.org for the dial-in number!

Older children are near to LMI's heart. They are the children often left behind, through no fault of their own. They are the children who want nothing more than to be loved. They know what a parent is, they want parents.

When I traveled to Kazakhstan, I was touched by two older children. As we adopted our baby, a family was there adopting an 8 year old. I'll never forget the transformation of that little girl in the month we spent together; you can see it in the photos and videos I took throughout. A child who looked at her feet and whispered the first few days was jamming with an air guitar like my now 8 year old daughter does.

The second child who touched my heart is the one who led me to my role as Program Coordinator at Little Miracles upon my return. A 4 year old boy approached me on the orphanage playground, and looked at the baby in my arms. He asked the same question over and over and over.....we looked at our translator for help. "Will you be my Mama and Papa? I want one!" That was it, folks, my lightbulb moment filled with guilt, sadness, and motivation.

Over the years, I've had the opportunity to help many families through the adoption process. Each is amazing. We can all agree that the best communications we receive from families is the recognition of new trust between a child, and the new parent.

In the spirit of preparation, education, and realistic expectations, please join in the call!!

Andrea Jacobs
Mom to Haley and Mitchell, Kazakhstan Little Miracles

Join us on Tuesday, January 18 at 7:30 p.m. Central time as we discuss the joys and challenges of adopting a child in this age group. As many countries have fewer young children to adopt they are focusing on finding homes for the overlooked orphans--those who are age 5 and older. Andrea Jacobs will lead this discussion and we will also hear from a family who recently adopted a 6 year old boy through LMI. Please send and email to info@littlemiracles.org with the subject "OLDER CHILD" to join this teleconference.

International Adoption Crisis. BothEndsBurning.org from GloboxMedia on Vimeo.

Join the Campaign at BothEndsBurning.org

Stand up for children worldwide who need families! Join us in our campaign to reform the system of international adoption so more orphans can be matched with loving, nurturing families. SIGN OUR PETITION and help us make REAL CHANGE!

Spread the word about the need for international adoption reform in your community. Join the Both Ends Burning movement, which engages policymakers, government officials and the private sector to make a real difference for children.

A family is a child’s most basic human right. Both Ends Burning is a broad-based campaign to create a new system of international adoption so that the world’s orphaned and abandoned children can benefit from the support of a permanent family.

Children who have families thrive and lead healthy, meaningful lives. Children who do not suffer from unmet needs and developmental, emotional and intellectual challenges, and even permanent damage. They lead wasted lives, wrongfully detained in substandard orphanages, or worse, left to fend for themselves in homelessness or slavery.

Through creative works, grassroots outreach, and social and traditional media, the Both Ends Campaign works to shed light on the crisis that is strangling international adoption. Adoptions to the U.S. have fallen by 50 percent in the last six years. Countries are closing their adoption programs to overseas families. Would-be parents face hope-crushing delays, expenses and bureaucracy under the existing system. Meanwhile, the number of orphans continues to grow.

Both Ends Burning provides an alternative common-sense solution to replace the current process. What’s needed is a new international adoption system that works to match waiting children with eligible families in a time frame measured in a few months, not several years.

The current process is broken. Help us force the creation of a new one. Please sign our petition calling for a new international adoption system. Your involvement will help us provoke change. The time to act is now — too many children are suffering, too many families have lost hope and given up. Help us provide orphans with what every child deserves: A loving family.

Produced by: Craig Juntunen

Direction & Cinematography : Thaddaeus Scheel
at Globox Media Group, Inc. NYC

Creative Concept: Tripp Baltz and Jay Ferracane
AngryBovine.com

Special Thanks: Mark Fedyniak, Roy Leland

Copyright © – 2010 BothEndsBurning.org All Rights Reserved.

Watch this video on Vimeo. Video created by GloboxMedia.

What:  Why Bulgaria?  Bulgaria Adoption Information Teleconference
Date:  Thursday, September 9, 2010 
Time:  7:30-8:30 PM CDT
Where:  Little Miracles Adoption Teleconference Line