We were NOT going to Ecuador to adopt a child…how we went from seven children to nine
It was 2:30 am on a cold December morning, and alarm clocks all over the house started going off. Getting up at this hour was not something any of us were used to. We had packed all of our suitcases the night before, including seven large duffle bags full of clothing for children, baby wipes, shampoo, lotion, hand sanitizer, toothpaste and toothbrushes. Our plane for Ecuador was leaving at 6:30 am, and we wanted to be sure to be in Salt Lake City in time. All nine of us were going. My wife Shannon, and I, and our seven children, ages 6-16, were going to have one of the most memorable experiences ever. At least, that’s what we hoped.

We grabbed our Spanish-English flash cards for some last-minute studying on the plane, and met Ashley at the airport along with the other volunteers leaving from the Salt Lake City area. Ashley gave us our travel instructions and a final warning about life in Ecuador before sending us off.

“It’s a safe place,” she said, “as long as you always follow our rules and guidelines. Don’t drink the water. Don’t look the men in the eye. Always be in groups of two or more on the street. Keep your purses in front of you.” Ashley repeated the rules, most of us hearing these for at least the tenth time. I can’t say that my mother-in-law was overly excited about the fact that I was taking her daughter and six of her granddaughters to a third-world country. She was worried about her grandson too (our only son), but so many girls in a place like Ecuador! She was worried for us.

Shannon and I, for many years, had longed to participate in a unique service opportunity in another country with our children, and we felt really good about what we were doing. We had been inspired by another family who had done a similar thing for Christmas and, as we discussed it with our family, they were more than willing to trade their Christmas presents for a trip to Cuenca, Ecuador to serve in the orphanages there for six weeks. Our older children would be changing diapers, cleaning and feeding the children there, while our younger children played with them. We were all really looking forward to it, despite the possible dangers.

We did have a great experience, but this story isn’t about our volunteer experience, it’s about how we went from seven beautiful children to nine beautiful children!

It was very difficult when the time came to leave all those beautiful brown-eyed children in the orphanages. I had some earlier strict conversations with Shannon before we arrived in Ecuador, telling her that we were NOT going to Ecuador to adopt a child, we were going only to serve. Despite all that, after four weeks in Ecuador, I was talking Shannon into letting us adopt two of the Casa children. She was more than willing and, after talking with our children who unanimously and enthusiastically agreed, we began working on the long and politically difficult process of adopting the children into our family. Jorge Santiago was five years old when we were there, and little Alicia Yolanda was only three years old.

We were very tired when we returned from Ecuador, but the very next day we made an appointment to meet with the adoption agency that could help with Ecuadorian adoptions. We filled out forms, forms, and more forms, had fingerprints done, backgrounds checked, and all kinds of fun government requirements from both countries. After nine months, we were cleared to come down and pick up the kids. It was right at the end of November, and there was a good chance we wouldn’t make it back before Christmas. We decided to go anyway, and headed off for Ecuador. This time, Shannon and I brought only Katie, our oldest, with us, and also my Mom who knows Spanish really well.

It was so good to see Lorena and Rodrigo Rosero again. They told us a story about Alicia that happened just a couple days before we got there. One of the Casa kids was waiting for his new parents to come and pick him up, and Alicia said to Lorena, “Yo no tengo padres” (I don’t have parents). She was so sad when she said it! And Lorena wanted to just hug her and tell her, “Yes, you do have parents, and they are getting ready to come and get you right now!” but she wasn’t allowed to talk about it just yet, so little Alicia had to wait.

We arrived after that long trip, and a nice long nap would have felt so good, but when you’re sitting in Cuenca, and your children are in an orphanage…why would you wait an extra minute if you didn’t have to? We quickly unloaded our luggage and said, “Let’s go. We want to go see the kids.” So, we left for Tadeo Torres, and met Jorge and Alicia again. It was almost nine months since we said good-bye before. We had a good time playing together on the first day, and Jorge and Alicia both gave a lot of hugs and smiles to everyone.

We had to leave the kids in the orphanage, and Alicia cried just a little when I said good-bye. I promised her that I would be back early the next morning, and she dried her tears and said she would be ready. The next morning, we did arrive early, and Jorge and Alicia seemed very glad to see us. We were allowed to take them away from the orphanage and get lunch in town and play at the park. We had a great day, and didn’t return to Tadeo until 5 pm that evening. Again, we promised that we’d be back very early the next day. This is part of a bonding process, and the director at the orphanage watches and decides whether the kids are adjusting well or not. Some kids take longer than others to adjust and to bond.

On the third day, we returned early in the morning, and were surprised to be given full custody of Jorge and Alicia until the rest of the adoption process was finished. This meant that they could now stay with us full time while we finished more mountains of paperwork—all in Spanish this time. It was such a tender moment to put the children to bed that night. We were living in the OSSO house (Thanks OSSO!) and Jorge and Alicia were so interested in having different beds in the same house with Mama and Papa. We sang them songs, read them stories, and hugged and kissed them so many times. They didn’t seem to mind at all, and we told them that they can now stay with us “para siempre” (for forever). They might not have understood that when we said “forever” we really meant it, but they did seem to understand, and they went to sleep happy.

After the kids had been with us about three weeks, we decided to go visit Tadeo Torres. The nuns and workers wanted to say good-bye to Jorge and Alicia, and we knew that some of their friends might want to say good-bye too. Jorge was like a little celebrity. All of the Casa kids yelled “Jorge!” and they all wanted to see him and talk to him. They were all jumping up and down and shouting to him. He had on his little grin, as usual.

 

Jorge was very interested in seeing his old bed, and I watched him carefully as he went up to it (surrounded by about seven or eight of his friends there). He touched his old bed and said, “Who sleeps here now?” and they told him. Then he went to Alicia’s bed and touched it and said, “Who sleeps here now?” and they told him. He seemed satisfied, and then he told me that it was time to go. He had some kind of closure with that, and he knew that he didn’t live there at the orphanage anymore.

 

He hugged his friends, and I got a few photos, and then we left. The whole visit was only about 15 minutes. Since that visit Alicia has told us over and over, “No más a Tadeo” (No more to Tadeo) and we always say, “Sí, no más a Tadeo. Siempre con Mama y Papa” (Yes, no more to Tadeo. Always with Mama and Papa). Then, she smiles and gives us hugs.

 

There is so much to tell, and so little time. I had to leave, and I gathered up the rest of our children while Shannon and my Mom stayed in Ecuador with Jorge and Alicia to finish up all the adoption process. Our other children were so happy to have their new little brother and sister finally come home to them. They had Christmas without their Mother, but they knew it was okay, because Jorge and Alicia were having Christmas with their Mother for the first time in their little lives. When everyone got home, we had many great celebrations. I wish I had time to tell you about the story of Jorge throwing his very first snowball at his Mom INSIDE the Salt Lake City airport…

 

There were so many tears of joy and hugs and more tears and more hugs, that you really can’t count them all. Then, the hugs and tears started all over again when we took those little kids to the Provo temple and taught them the real meaning of “para siempre.” We had nine children in the temple sealing room, all dressed in white, and it’s completely impossible to describe what that was like, so I won’t even try.

 

OSSO is a great program. I knew that when I first talked with Kelly and Cherish Newman about OSSO that it was the right thing for us to do. I knew that it would change our lives in good ways forever, but I had no idea how good it really would be.