Two Oceans, One Family

When I pursued the adoption of Owl I never gave her birth country any thought. I just wanted to be a mother. I didn't think of living conditions, why birth mothers placed their children for adoption, was the process ethical and transparent. I just wanted to be a mother and Guatemala was the country I chose to make that dream a reality. Thankfully I chose, orchestrated by God, an ethical agency to work with, and I feel confident that the process was above board. My case manager was amazing, she held my hand through from the beginning to the end. I thought for sure she would quit working with adoptive parents after working with me, but she is still there helping the children and adoptive parents. I actually received four referrals, all boys before I received Owl's. Each fell through for various reasons, two because the birth moms changed their minds and decided they wanted to raise the boys. I can understand that, it hurt, but I understood it. This is also why I knew my agency was a good one, they allowed the birth moms to change their minds in the middle of the process.

Now, that I am a mom I can look at Guatemala and realize the level of poverty that exists there. Attached are some stats for the country.

Total population (million),
2003:
12.3
Population density (people per km2), 2003: 113.5
Number of rural poor (million) (approximate): 5.4
Poor as % of total rural population, 2003 59.4
GNI per capita (US$), 2003: 1,910.0

Population living below US$1 a day (%), 2000: 15.9
Population living below US$2 a day (%), 2000: 37.4
Rural population below the poverty line (%), 1989: 74.5
Population living below the national poverty line (%), 1998-99: 56.2
Share of poorest 20% in national income or consumption (%), 2000: 2.6

I visited Guatemala twice so far, there are parts that are extremely poor, while at the same time there is an incredible beauty and peace there. It is a country that continues to call you back. If you have never gone, you may not be able to relate, but I strongly encourage everyone to visit and see what I mean.
Skylar was born in La Gomera, the Pacific Lowlands, an area of the rural poor.

Hawk's adoption is different. I again want to mother another child, but this time I am keenly aware of what the life in Haiti is like. No, I haven't visited yet, but I am doing my research this time. I plan to go at least twice, once to visit with him and then another to pick him up and bring him home. I may even go a third time if I have a hard time waiting for his permanent presence in my life.
Gabryel was born in Jereme, Haiti, a rural area.
Haiti statistics:

Haiti is a small island (it actually shares an island with the Dominican Republic) and with a surface area of just 27,797 square kilometers (km2), Haiti is second only to Barbados as the most densely populated country (306 people per km2) in the Americas.
Here are some staggering facts about the situation in Haiti: ·
Haiti is the poorest country in the western hemisphere· 50% of all Haitian households live in extreme poverty using the U.S. standard of a $1 per day ·
Extremely poor households have about twice as many children as do the nonpoor.
·The country’s per capita GDP, has fallen by about 50 percent to $332 in the last two decades·
Most of the approximately 3.9 million who are extremely poor live in rural areas.
About 4 in every 10 adults cannot read and write.

My kids, one born November 29, 2005 along side the Pacific Ocean in Guatemala, the other born April 5, 2006 in the Caribbean, Atlantic Ocean in Haiti. Two different oceans, fours months apart, yet both chosen by God to be in my family, brother and sister to each other, and me living in the USA, chosen to be their forever mom. Sometimes one can't help but sit back and say

"WOW".