Introducing...

In February, we received the long awaited call that we had a court date for the adoption of our daughter, Jemma.  March 27.  We were extremely excited!  And yet torn because this date clashed with a play that our oldest daughter had been working on all school year.  Her performance date was March 29.  No big deal, right?  Wrong.  The court was in Uganda and we had planned to take our whole family. How was this going to work?  Probably sounds like a no-brainer from the outside, but to us as parents we knew a heart was going to be broken.  A school play is a big deal to a 6th grader, nerves and all, and they want their parents in the audience.  And how could she back out at the last minute?  What does that teach a young girl about commitment?  Plus, who wants to be left behind as the whole family meets the newest family member?  Questions swirling in our minds as we tried to create a plan of action.  Unfortunately, you don't just call the courthouse in another country and say, "Hey, can we change our court date, something came up?"  So there we were with a decision to make...

Thankfully, an amazing family friend, Toussaint Goudeaux, agreed to escort Jadyn to Uganda after her school performance.  He ended up spending a week in-country with our family before traveling home for work.  What seemed like a scrambled, fumbled plan really turned out to be best.  Uganda touched the Borst family, for sure.  But without our date clash, Uganda wouldn't have touched Toussaint.  At least not in April of 2012.  But it did.

Tous (as we call him) became part of the Borst family.  We went to Uganda to adopt our daughter and we ended up adding a daughter and an uncle to the family.  Two beautiful additions.  Now Toussaint is joining the Village to Village Intl. family as a board member.  Graduating from Princeton University and working as a consultant in Chicago serve well on his resume.  But even more so, his love for children and his ability to ask questions that move us beyond our box.  When asked, "What are you most passionate about when it comes to caring for vulnerable children?" He responded:

The smiles. In the midst of struggle, lack and pain a child can find the inkling of hope and mirth. Their grin, for a moment, pushes everything away for them and for anyone who catches a glimpse at it for the magical second. It's a wish that those grins would be so much more frequent.







 

   

Giving Back!

Aaron and Nichole Marshall share how Village to Village Intl. helped their family bring home their son, Zurich:

"Village to Village Intl. has been such a blessing to our family in our adoption journey to help bring home our precious Ethiopian son, Zurich Abraham Marshall. Village to Village Intl. has such a heart for adoption and helping orphans all over the world. We were amazed at how God truly provided the funds for our adoption. Family, friends, and people we didn't even know donated generously to help us bring our son home... We have been extremely blessed by Village to Village Intl. and we want to give back, so we have signed up to automatically give each month to other adoptive families. Please join us in this incredible movement of helping orphans around the world."

Thank you Marshall's for giving back!!! 

She's Still Eatin' Pandas

She is an unashamed city girl.  Although her first few years of life were in Iowa, Chicago is now home to our 12 year-old daughter, Jadyn.  When her city classmates learned that she lived in Iowa they assumed she knew how to milk a cow, laso a horse, drive a tractor, and lip-sync to popular country songs.  But they were wrong.  This little Iowan had her sights set on a far-away land - China!   Floral silk fabrics, bamboo plants, and panda birthday cakes. 

As parents, we pass along many things to our children.  However, Jadyn's obsession for China wasn't passed down but was sprouting from within.  It was mysteriously growing on us, a curiosity for a foreign land that had captivated our little girl for years.  Plane tickets were purchased and father and daughter set out.  The Great Wall, The Forbidden City, Summer Palace, Tiananmen Square and New Day Foster Home filled the itinerary.  Each place created memories, but the little round faces at New Day made the top of her China story.  China became more than a place with amazing historical sites and culture.  Each child at New Day has a medical need, some requiring surgery, but this doesn't deflate them of life.  Rather it fanned fresh air into the life of this pre-teen.  When she returned we hooked the camera up to the TV and listened for hours as she spoke of Claire, Nicole, Vincent...sharing detailed stories about each child at New Day.  Philip, Joshua, Landon...she loves them all!  They were China to her!

Her send-off party before she headed to the airport.

When Jadyn heard that Village to Village Intl. was headed back to New Day in the Spring of 2013 she pleaded to join her dad's side and help lead the team.  Never underestimate the power of a child!  Jadyn's love for the children in China has infected our family and we hope it sparks a curiosity in you too.  Follow the children at New Day Foster Home here.  And join Village to Village Intl. in providing formula for the children with medical needs.  We want to deliver cases of formula this coming Spring.  Dates are being finazlied for our trip and Jadyn would love for you to join her.   

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All Faces Have A Story!

Toes clenching the balance beam.  Fingers stretching for the wall.  Necks reaching, leading bodies across the finish line.  Emotions captured in young eyes.  Tears of relief and tears of disappointment.  I love the Olympics!  The dedication and discipline.  The highs and lows.  And most of all the stories.  I love the stories!  The athletes become people.  The people have names.  The names have faces.  And the faces have a story!

Gabby Douglas and Michael Phelps have become more than athletes to many people.  Their stories have been broadcasted around the world and they are known for more than just their accomplishments.  Bob Costas is called a sportscaster, but I think he's a wonderful storyteller.  Great achievements catch the attention of journalists and TV personnel.  With their skill they captivate our hearts by sharing stories.   But these stories started before the gold medal was placed around their neck.  Their stories started before the Olympic trials and their stories will continue long after the TV endorsements end.  But in our generation, we have connected to Gabby and Michael and are proud to know their stories.   

There are many wonderful stories out there.  But some stories will never be broadcasted for television.   Little Philip, living in China, may never win a gold medal in diving for his country, but his determination rivals that of an Olympian as he defies the doctors that said he'd never walk.  Helen and Hulagerish may not be well-known like their countryman, Bekele, who will hopefully win a medal for Ethiopia this year, but their faces shine a charming story.  We hope that one day they will be educated and able to read for themselves of their country's hero, Bekele.  These stories are yet to be written.  Many unfinished paragraphs and chapters.  We invite you to be a part of these stories! Because these little people have faces.  And their little faces have a story.  And we love stories!  Because They Matter!

Dr. Terry Waggoner visited Helen and Hulagerish in Ethiopia. 

Welcome Home Lil' Renee!!!

We raise the megaphone to our lips because this announcement is worth hearing!  Skip cartwheels with us and blow up the balloons because we are celebrating!  The Wellings family is home from China with their two-year-old daughter, Renee!  

Four years ago, Tim and Lisa Wellings, felt God leading them to adopt, but they never imagined the rough road ahead.  After two years of waiting to adopt a child from Nepal, adoptions from this country were suspended, leaving the family emotionally exhausted and financially wasted.  Grief over their personal loss and for the children in Nepal weighed heavy.


"We did not know if we could find the resources or the strength to try again to adopt internationally," said Tim and Lisa.  "When we heard about Village to Village Intl. it gave us new hope and we saw it as an answer to our prayers as we looked to God to help us raise the money we needed to start again."

In January of 2011, they set out again to adopt, but this time their path led them to China.  And in March of 2012, they arrived home with their precious daughter, Renee.  Now a family of seven, sprinkled with more love and a little more pink, they thank you for your support.

"We don't always understand the ways of God, but it is an awesome thing to see God take the ashes of the failed adoption and create beauty.  We want to thank you for making it possible to bring our daughter home. Your gifts to us paid for our round trip airplane tickets and Renee's airplane ticket home. It was such a blessing. She is an amazing little girl!"

I KNEW you were fighting for me!

 The hands on the clock stopped for one adopting family last month.  A journey that began with anticipation landed them in a detention center in a foreign country.  This family was in the process of adopting four siblings and had traveled to be with them when they were falsely accused of child trafficking and arrested.  Stuck in a detention center, they were separated from their two biological children and the four children they were adopting.  Why?  What??  How??? Questions must have flooded this family's head as they sat in the middle of "unknown." The mother commented on this time after they were released and admittedly detained for no reason:

         "I remember sitting in the detention cell wondering "how much longer?"  and asking God all the "whys" when it dawned on me...EVERY child is worth fighting for even at the expense of being detained for false accusations." - Christine Moghadam

In the midst of this "unknown" situation their 13-yr-old adopted son said that he KNEW his new parents would fight for him and the rest of his siblings.  His hope during this unknown situation is beautiful.

It is the reason Village to Village Intl. exists.  It is the reason we invite you to join us.  We want vulnerable children to KNOW that someone has their back and that they are worth every ounce of effort.

Pack Your Bags...

He raced me to the door and gestured that he could open it.  I backed off to watch as his arms strained to pull his limp legs across the room to the door.  With determination he reached up to the window's ledge and pulled himself up.  Once standing, with his body weight supported by his little arms, he stretched out his fingers for the door knob.  Grimicing and twisting, he managed his goal.  He opened the door for me.  A little toddler, with so much will, accomplished something that I don't even realize takes effort.  I was proud of him.  He was proud of himself.  His name is Joshua.  He taught me something that day.

There are many more children like Joshua, full of life and will, at New Day Foster Home, and I am anxious to meet them.  This time we invite you to pack your bags and travel with us.  In the Spring of 2013, Village to Village Intl. will be hosting it's first trip to Beijing, China.  Please consider joining us.  Because They Matter!  Dates for our trip will be announced in the coming weeks.  

Click here to see how Village to Village Intl. is currently partnering with New Day Foster Home http://www.villagetovillageintl.com/pediasmart-drive-family-12.php