The Other Side of the World

The following post doesn't have a whole lot to do with adoption or parenting, but it does have a lot to do with our family, so I'm putting it here.

For the past few years I have been working as part of a team that has formed a non-profit organization called Congo Animal Traction Initiative (CATI). Our goal has been to bring the knowledge and skills of animal-powered agriculture to Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), one of the poorest countries in the world. This project was initiated by Jules Mboka who is a Congolese pastor currently serving as president of the Covenant Church of Congo. Cattle have multiplied throughout northwestern Congo since the civil war that ravaged the country from 1997 to 2003. Since the war, Pastor Mboka has looked around at all the cattle having a free lunch, while all the people are struggling in poverty - still farming by hand and carrying goods on their heads – and thought, “Why aren't we putting these cattle to work?”

Because of the work that I had done in Congo with oxen in 1996 as a short-term missionary, Pastor Mboka contacted me to see if I would help bring animal power to the Ubangi region again. I said I would help as I was able (meaning, I will try to help find someone else to do this job). Thankfully, someone else did emerge. May Sanguma, a Congolese and American citizen with a background in Congolese agriculture, has taken on leadership of CATI.

Once May was on the scene, I thought I was off the hook. But May informed me in one of our early conversations that he was going to be hanging on to me. And so, he has lived up to his word. As we struggled to design a sustainable training program – one that would not be indefinitely dependent on outside expertise or funding – more people joined our team. My dad waded in and breathed life into the project by helping us create a business plan. Tillers International formed a partnership with us to help lead classes for training oxen, farmers, and CATI staff. They have also donated a number of tools to the project. May has assembled a board for CATI that has worked incredibly hard to launch the project and build an accountable 501C3 organization.

In November, an organization called CongoVoice caught CATI's vision and saw the difference ox-powered farming, transport, and road repair could make in NW Congo. They gave us a grant to start our work! So we got busy planning. And now we are ready to start!

May Sanguma and Jessica Johnson, a volunteer from Tillers, have been in Gemena – the village where we are starting - for 10 days, getting everything set up and ready for our first training of oxen and trainers. Two of Tillers Int'l staff from Uganda have flown in to lead the 2 week training. A second volunteer from Tillers who was slated to help with our program ended up having a last-minute change of plans, leaving us short one person. So guess who got to pack her bags and fly to Congo to fill in! That's right!!

Greetings from Kinshasa, y'all.

Tomorrow, the Ugandan trainers and I will fly up-country to Gemena to get class started.

I am incredibly proud to be a part of this team and thankful to have a part in the work of literally lightening the load our brothers and sisters in Congo are carrying.

Back home, Ed – with the help of a crew of babysitters - is doing the heavy lifting of single parenting while I am away for 2 weeks. We would appreciate your prayers for our family, for the people of DRC and for CATI. Our hope is that this project will bring lasting change to the lives of many who struggle under the weight of extreme poverty.

To see more about CATI, here are a few additional links:

http://blogs.covchurch.org/ekstrand/?p=2845 

Missionary Pete Ekstrand's blog post and pictures of CATI's beginnings in Gemena

http://www.congovoice.org

The CongoVoice website has a page about CATI

Facebook users can also check out the Congo Animal Traction Initiative Facebook page.

Cloud 9, Baby!

The final hoop. At last we are through it!
March 9 was finalization day. According to the law, Harper's our girl.

Most people are surprised that we're just now wrapping up with Harper 8 months old. Here are the questions we are most frequently asked about finalization of adoption:

1. How come it takes so long?
Every state has its own adoption laws. We - as adoptive parents - tend to think that Wisconsin adoption laws are a bit on the tough side. Some states require that a child be in adoptive parents' custody for 3 months before the adoption can become legally binding. Wisconsin requires 6 months. Up until that point, adoptive parents have the legal standing of foster parents for the child. Practically there's few restrictions on us as "foster parents," but the 3 ways that we feel most bound by this legal status are:
             -We are required to have monthly social worker visits and fill out monthly reports. 
             -We can only use a licensed childcare provider or family member for babysitting.
             - Our healthcare provider does not recognize Harper as a family member until the adoption is final, thus requiring us to buy a separate healthcare policy for her for the interim.

Once 6 months have passed with the child in their custody, adoptive parents can petition the court for finalization. So once we hit the magic date (January 15 to be exact) we hustled down to the courthouse as soon as we could, at which time we were informed the earliest court date we could get was 6 weeks away. 6 weeks!? At that moment I was sorely disappointed, but as time does, it went by quickly.

2. Is there any chance the adoption won't go through before you finalize?
Once birth parents have terminated their parental rights to a child (TPR), they cannot reappear to claim the child. In Harper's case, TPR happened back in July. Here is another area where WI laws are tough: in WI birth parents' parental rights cannot be legally terminated until the court has been petitioned and and a court date set, at which time both birth parents must be personally present for the hearing. This leaves adoptive parents hanging in limbo with an at-risk placement for however long it takes to get that TPR. Friends from our adoption group just got TPR for their son. It took many months and 4 separate court dates - due to birth parents not showing up or changing their minds - before the judge finally granted the termination of parental rights. We had the great joy of celebrating together with them, their precious baby boy, and his big brother over the weekend.

Adopting out-of-state spared us from the emotional roller coaster of wondering whether a birth parent would show up to take Harper out of our arms. Georgia law, where Harper was born, requires a 10 day waiting period after TPR documents have been signed. After those 10 days, TPR is legally binding - which is why we waited to meet Harper until she was two weeks old. We weren't willing to chance losing her if she wasn't going to be ours for keeps.

During the 6 month waiting period the family's adoption agency keeps tabs on the adoptive family, making sure the child is safe, and that the family is fit to raise the child. Monthly social worker visits mostly consist of a half hour of small talk with all family members present - sometimes at the agency office, sometimes at home - with an occasional bit of paperwork. If a social worker raises a red flag because she sees problems during post-placement visits, the adoption agency can take custody of the child. It's all part of the hoop-jumping sport that keeps adoptive families nimble. Thankfully Nikki, our social worker, was pleasant and Audrey especially liked having a monthly opportunity to entertain.


Last Monday's court proceeding was quick and painless. Nikki was there to vouch for us and tell the judge that we are a fit family. We answered a few questions under oath, and then the judge proclaimed that Harper's adoption was final. This being sort of a formality, I was not prepared for the tide of emotion that rose up in me at that moment. The thought "we're done," floated through my brain and the next thing I knew, I was awash in a flood of relief and joy. A week later I'm still riding the wave.

Before leaving the courthouse, we took a picture (at Audrey's finalization I was too nervous to bother the judge), filled out some more paperwork, and shook Nikki's hand. As Nikki was leaving the courthouse, she asked "so when's the next one?" That question just makes me laugh a tired kind of laugh. Right now - no plans. We're just enjoying being off the adoption treadmill and out from under scrutinous eyes for the first time in 6 years. And for the first time in 9 years, that waiting-for-children part of me is, at last, done waiting-for-children.

We celebrated our big day by going out to lunch. When Audrey offered me one of her strawberries, the small, kind act made my heart just about burst with happiness. This little family is truly a gift.

We're so thankful for the Lord's mercies all along our way. And to everyone who has helped us become a family we owe a great debt. We are so grateful.

Here are some of our pictures from the past 8 months.