I haven't blogged much because I want to make sure I word things correctly since many don't understand why we would do this with an older child. I get that. I have also thought people were in over their heads with what they have chosen for their families. Everyone is called to do something! I have seen families really struggle. But, I have also seen many successful outcomes. Of course, I pray several times a day that we have the successful outcome. I am relying on my complete faith in Christ Jesus that He will see us through this as we are trying to be his servants here on Earth and do what we have been called to do. I am not naive in that I think that will make everything ok and wonderful every minute. I also believe that my faith will get us through any issues that may arise, because they will arise. Look at the big picture with me for just a minute. You are 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 years old. You watch parents from America and other countries come and adopt your friends, but no one comes for you. In the back of your head you are starting to wonder what happens when you are too old for the orphanage. You are jealous of the kids that get to have parents and be loved. You really don't know what that means but everyone said it is wonderful. You want that. Can you imagine the excitement when you find out some parents from America want to come and meet you? Then you find out that there are brothers and sisters? And you get to talk to them? They give you some small gifts! And a picture book of your new home and city and family!!! Now you have something to show your friends! It is finally your turn to have a family, just as you were starting to give up hope....
Max has been shy. He might be afraid to ask questions, but we keep encouraging him to ask anyway! By the end of the day he opens up a little! He asks about his siblings and wants to know if they play sports, what they do at school, etc. He wants to know if Julian will play soccer with him. He loves soccer and wants to make sure that he can continue to "train". We have assured him that he can be as serious as he wants to be. He wants to know about school in general and if he gets to play sports during school. The education here is only about 5 hours a day and it is broken up into 2 sessions before and after lunch. In between they are allowed to leave for lunch. It does not sound very organized. I am nervous about how he will feel about school in America, but we will work through it! He asks about driving age. It is 18 here so he is happy that it is younger in America. We didn't mention yet that he will need to be ready according to us. Who knows! He asked about drinking age because it is 18 here. Bad news buddy.... Vladi, our translator, heard him telling his friends how he got to talk to his siblings! That made us feel good! Tomorrow I hope that he can talk to Julian! Vladi helps them talk to each other! Max says, "Hi, my name is Max" to them and they liked that. Max is still not comfortable saying many things in English so this is a big deal! I brought a book for myself that is a Bulgarian/ English phrasebook that is very handy. When Max and the director from the orphanage saw it they loved it so I let them keep it. I also brought an ESL book that has a disc he can use to help understand how to start saying some things! I know that no one here will teach him, so I hope he is a little motivated to teach himself with the help of the disc that will show him how to pronounce things and how to start having short conversations when greeting people. He likes to play video games that are similar to Call of Duty when he is inside. He also likes Facebook. This is normal for his age. He seems pretty open to trying new foods. We have told him that i will try to make some Bulgarian type food for him sometimes, but it won't be as good because of the ingredients available in America. Him and his director are going to show me how they make Banitsa tomorrow! We are all looking forward to it! Then we will take Max to get his picture for his Visa! On Thur we will sign the papers that we intend to adopt Max and give them his name that will be on his new birth certificate. I will announce his official full name tomorrow. He will still be called Max by everyone! This is what he wants and we understand and are perfectly ok with this!
Max did the sweetest thing today. It reminded me of Taylor. He offered to bring Matt andI coffee. Then brought us cookies! Then he brought in a card he made for me! I will post pictures, but it melted my heart and he even wrote the word 'love' inside. I will post a picture. It will take some time for him to learn how to have relationships with each of us, but he will be able to learn and we will lovingly encourage him do the right thing.
And I thank God that I have soon many friends that have been through this and have seen everything! They are an endless source of support and information and I can't possibly thank them all enough! Crazy that most of them I have never met in person, but I have relied on them so much for everything! Together we will get through all of our struggles and our children will accomplish things that their hearts never imagined possible.
As an example, we asked Max what his dream is.... He thinks he wants to be a cab driver.... He has no idea..... The future has endless possibilities....
