I'm going to make another attempt at a shorter post this time. Nothing too major happened today. We went out for some shopping in some local markets today. Elizabeth (the director of the last orphanage our children were) came along with us to help show us around. We first went to a dress maker so that Jen and Agape could have matching dresses made. Justice and I will also have matching shirts made. From there we went to the "Old Market" as it is known by. Imagine renaissance times with rows of old wooden stands filled with crafts and souvenirs with people yelling at you to buy what they have. We learned that they have no real price for things.
First, they catch your interest, then over charge you, then you barter for the price you want, they fight for a higher price, you start to walk away, finally they agree to your asking price.
If you thought shopping in America could be tiring, this lasted for a few hours. Agape was a champ through this experience, and even started to say "No merci", which is what you say to the vendors when your just trying to walk through.
Agape is following the normal process for an orphan being adopted. She has periods where she is happy, then followed by periods of silence and being withdrawn. Let's not forget upset times. Her preferred method of this is "dead weight with silent treatment". Thank you Lord for her tiny little body. These behaviors are nothing to be concerned with. Agape has had too many years of insecurity and brokenness from not belonging to a family. Now she is a part of one these feelings need to work themselves out, once they are gone you will see a girl who is secure, safe, and knows it. The other major problem is that we've thrown an African girl into an American family. If you are culturally educated at all you'll know that these two make an odd mix.
Some of our biggest joys of the day are watching Agape with the other girls. Seeing them play, sing, talk and laugh together are the sounds of Heaven to us all. The four girls are truly best friends, and we are so thankful to God that He allowed us to be here together with the other two families. Unfortunately, their time together is as short as our time is in the Congo. Once we return to the U.S. we part ways and return to our homes in different parts of the country. This is very troubling for us, because of how attached these girls are.
In talking with one of the mothers today. She joked that three days ago we were perfect strangers, and now we are sort of like family. Wow, talk about an example of adoption revealing God's kingdom on Earth. He has bound together three families who would have never met other wise, and given us an experience together we will never forget. Surely we will keep in touch with our new friends through Skype, Facetime, etc. Thankfully, technology is only making it easier for people to connect.
Another need for prayer is our Exit Process. In order for us to leave the country with Agape, we need Immigrations to write us an "Exit Letter". This has held other families here longer, and we are praying ours is done on time.
Well, another failed attempt at being brief. Anyone who knows me will say that I am not a big talker, and my wife usually is. I guess after 7+ years of marriage you do start to act like each other. Also, Praise the Lord for spell checker tonight. I've totally massacred so many words it's not funny, for me anyway.
Blessings to you all.
Thursday, October 25, 2012
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
A contrast of people
Will surely talk about our wonderful Agape in this post, but wanted to share with you two experiences we had with locals today.
This morning we were walking in the market with Agape when a lady in a bakery saw us through a glass window. Once she noticed us she began to desperately get our attention and motioned us to come to her. She spoke only French, and we let her know that we could not understand her. She immediately went and found a co-worker who spoke English to translate. The baker was trying to ask us if we could give her any work back in America. We were sad to inform her that we did not know of any work her back home. Gratefully, she understood, and went back to her work.
That afternoon we had the chance to visit with the family that took care of Agape after her surgery (will talk about more). Agape went to say hi to one of the neighbors who lived in a house with no electricity or running water. The family sat in a living room that was smaller than our bathroom back home and welcomed us in to say hello. They spoke enough English to flat out say, "give us some money" when I stepped out to follow Agape down the alley. Jen was tactful enough to answer no in a way that they did not see any point in being pushy.
Not to mention the many street vendors in Kinshasa. They will try to sell literally anything. We have seen a few young boys walking up and down the streets selling travel sized tissues (probably for a high price).
Are you seeing the picture?
Though all of their methods are different, their needs are the same. The people in this city need help, and can't seem to find it where they are. I was talking to a traveling priest who is staying at the same guesthouse doing some work just East of the city. He was telling me how good it was that we all were adopting children, because there is no future for anyone in this country. Many people do not have electricity or running water in the city, outside the city no one has it. He was noting that the world is picking up speed moving into the future, and the Congo is only spinning its tires.
Many skeptics of global charity or missions would say that a country's problems are not ours, and they need to take care of themselves. After reading all this, how is Congo suppose to do that? Is it possible to make something from absolutely nothing? The Congo is one of the wealthiest countries in natural resources, but had no way of harvesting it for their own capital gain. Left alone, and the country will have no way to improve. With our help, they have a chance.
Now back to our little African princess, we love her so much. Getting to know her is so much fun, and we are so proud of the person she is without us even raising her. God has truly been faithful to her in building her character.
As I mentioned before, we and another family went to visit the family who took care of our children after their surgery for the jiggers. The family was a truly Christ loving home of a father who pastors a church, a mother who is a nurse, and their three children. While sitting and talking with the family they told us about Agape. Every parent dreams of hearing this said about their child.
They said that she was full of wisdom and understanding, prays very well, and loves to help take care of younger children (can we say baby Justice!). Later on the pastors family feed the children some beans with rice, and they asked Agape to pray for the meal while our social worker translated for us. If we hadn't of fallen in love with her before we would have then. We could not think of a more sincere and humble prayer come from even the Pope himself (no offense to our Catholic friends). A little girl who, a few days ago, had absolutely nothing still thanked Jesus for what He had done for her, and prayed for those who had less than her.
Yes, I will give you a minute to get some tissues. I need some anyway.
What more can we ask for in our daughter? I'm not at all implying that she is a perfect little angel. She's had her moments today that she wanted her way, and didn't like us telling her no. But it does show you that things don't bring you happiness. A peace with Jesus in your soul will bring you happiness. Agape has found this in what seems to be a barren and miserable land. Maybe America can use some help from some humble Congolese?
Blessings to you all.
This morning we were walking in the market with Agape when a lady in a bakery saw us through a glass window. Once she noticed us she began to desperately get our attention and motioned us to come to her. She spoke only French, and we let her know that we could not understand her. She immediately went and found a co-worker who spoke English to translate. The baker was trying to ask us if we could give her any work back in America. We were sad to inform her that we did not know of any work her back home. Gratefully, she understood, and went back to her work.
That afternoon we had the chance to visit with the family that took care of Agape after her surgery (will talk about more). Agape went to say hi to one of the neighbors who lived in a house with no electricity or running water. The family sat in a living room that was smaller than our bathroom back home and welcomed us in to say hello. They spoke enough English to flat out say, "give us some money" when I stepped out to follow Agape down the alley. Jen was tactful enough to answer no in a way that they did not see any point in being pushy.
Not to mention the many street vendors in Kinshasa. They will try to sell literally anything. We have seen a few young boys walking up and down the streets selling travel sized tissues (probably for a high price).
Are you seeing the picture?
Though all of their methods are different, their needs are the same. The people in this city need help, and can't seem to find it where they are. I was talking to a traveling priest who is staying at the same guesthouse doing some work just East of the city. He was telling me how good it was that we all were adopting children, because there is no future for anyone in this country. Many people do not have electricity or running water in the city, outside the city no one has it. He was noting that the world is picking up speed moving into the future, and the Congo is only spinning its tires.
Many skeptics of global charity or missions would say that a country's problems are not ours, and they need to take care of themselves. After reading all this, how is Congo suppose to do that? Is it possible to make something from absolutely nothing? The Congo is one of the wealthiest countries in natural resources, but had no way of harvesting it for their own capital gain. Left alone, and the country will have no way to improve. With our help, they have a chance.
Now back to our little African princess, we love her so much. Getting to know her is so much fun, and we are so proud of the person she is without us even raising her. God has truly been faithful to her in building her character.
As I mentioned before, we and another family went to visit the family who took care of our children after their surgery for the jiggers. The family was a truly Christ loving home of a father who pastors a church, a mother who is a nurse, and their three children. While sitting and talking with the family they told us about Agape. Every parent dreams of hearing this said about their child.
They said that she was full of wisdom and understanding, prays very well, and loves to help take care of younger children (can we say baby Justice!). Later on the pastors family feed the children some beans with rice, and they asked Agape to pray for the meal while our social worker translated for us. If we hadn't of fallen in love with her before we would have then. We could not think of a more sincere and humble prayer come from even the Pope himself (no offense to our Catholic friends). A little girl who, a few days ago, had absolutely nothing still thanked Jesus for what He had done for her, and prayed for those who had less than her.
Yes, I will give you a minute to get some tissues. I need some anyway.
What more can we ask for in our daughter? I'm not at all implying that she is a perfect little angel. She's had her moments today that she wanted her way, and didn't like us telling her no. But it does show you that things don't bring you happiness. A peace with Jesus in your soul will bring you happiness. Agape has found this in what seems to be a barren and miserable land. Maybe America can use some help from some humble Congolese?
Blessings to you all.
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
She's a keeper
So today was the big day, Agape's "Gotcha Day"! I must say, it couldn't have been more incredible. Our day started out with a less then impressive breakfast at our guest house, but it's free so we're thankful for that. Shortly after breakfast it started pouring rain, and remained rainy for the rest of the day. That's ok, because shortly after us and the two other families were loaded in the van heading to our big moment. To sweeten the deal we were joined by a little orphan girl who was at the embassy earlier this morning. I was the lucky guy who had the quiet treasure in my lap the whole way. We were afraid that she was very uncomfortable around us when not one of us could get a little smile out of her, but shortly into the ride she was sleeping soundly in my arms. The family who is adopting her will be very happy to have her.
Finally it came, we all arrived at the orphanage. Not sure what to do next we all climbed out of the van, cameras ready, and hearts opened to receive our girls. We stepped through the open gates to find a small house with a plain front yard, and a row of orphans staring at us on the front porch. The head of the orphanage started calling out the names of our children shouting "They're here!"
That's when we saw her.
Before I continue I must talk about her confidence. She always has her head held high with a smile from ear to ear. Though she does have a little problem with snatching, I can see a fire of strength blazing within her. I absolutely love that about her.
Anyway, she steps out onto the porch and walks right up to Jen, and is immediately embraced by her. Jen looks her in the eyes and says, "I'm your mama." Agape smiles and repeats, "mama". Jen then turned to me, and Agape says, "papa." I held in my arms, stared into her eyes and we both laughed uncontrollably for a moment.
We spent some more time at the orphanage playing with the children there, and headed off. Now comes the challenging task of building her trust through a big language barrier. But we are all happy. On another positive note, Agape loves her new name. At the guest house she was asked by at least three people what her name is, and each time she responded with "Agape". I feel that this is a very positive sign that she feels a part of our family.
So much more I want to say about her, but it is currently very late here in the Congo. Agape is a very restless sleeper, and has fallen out of bed twice now. We hope she sleeps well tonight. Another blog post will be seeing you all tomorrow.
Blessings to you all.
Finally it came, we all arrived at the orphanage. Not sure what to do next we all climbed out of the van, cameras ready, and hearts opened to receive our girls. We stepped through the open gates to find a small house with a plain front yard, and a row of orphans staring at us on the front porch. The head of the orphanage started calling out the names of our children shouting "They're here!"
That's when we saw her.
Before I continue I must talk about her confidence. She always has her head held high with a smile from ear to ear. Though she does have a little problem with snatching, I can see a fire of strength blazing within her. I absolutely love that about her.
Anyway, she steps out onto the porch and walks right up to Jen, and is immediately embraced by her. Jen looks her in the eyes and says, "I'm your mama." Agape smiles and repeats, "mama". Jen then turned to me, and Agape says, "papa." I held in my arms, stared into her eyes and we both laughed uncontrollably for a moment.
We spent some more time at the orphanage playing with the children there, and headed off. Now comes the challenging task of building her trust through a big language barrier. But we are all happy. On another positive note, Agape loves her new name. At the guest house she was asked by at least three people what her name is, and each time she responded with "Agape". I feel that this is a very positive sign that she feels a part of our family.
So much more I want to say about her, but it is currently very late here in the Congo. Agape is a very restless sleeper, and has fallen out of bed twice now. We hope she sleeps well tonight. Another blog post will be seeing you all tomorrow.
Blessings to you all.
Monday, October 22, 2012
Congo, here we are
Well not too much to post about from today. Spent over 20 hours of travel from Washington DC to Ethiopia where we connected with a plane to Brazzeville in the Republic of Congo. We then crossed over the Congo river to our final destination Kinshasa.
We had been previously warned that the airport in Kinshasa was absolutely chaotic, and we really had to watch ourselves. Truthfully I found this to be a little of an exaggeration. The employees were as cold shouldered as we were told, but we made it through very smoothly and got all of our bags. Now things were a little on the slow side, but we expected this and it really did not cause any harm to us. This all being said, we are very curious to see our experience trying to leave the Congo.
Then we had our drive through Kinshasa. To describe the city in one word the only one that comes to mind is "broken". Buildings in ruins leave little shelter to its inhabitants that stand outside picking through the trash. Armed soldiers stood by on street corners not being bothered by anyone passing by. We weren't sure if these were soldiers from the official Congolese army, or just men with machine guns. The streets were filled with cars with obvious battle from the road wars. We had over an hour drive through the city, and I don't think their was a single stop light or stop sign. Either that, or the drivers didn't abide by them.
After that we arrived at our guest house that provided a surprising tranquility to the bustling chaos we just experienced. To our surprise the room we are staying in actually has a separate bed for Agape to sleep in. This was very exciting for us. At the guest house we met some pretty important people. The first one to greet us was Dido, the social worker handling our cases. He is much to be bragged about. Very calm, friendly, English speaking, knowledgeable, and compassionate to name a few. Dido has worked very hard through our adoption process to process lots of paperwork, and to make sure all the kids are being well cared for. The next person we met was Christian. He is a lawyer who works for J.B. working on the legal aspects of our cases. He was very personable with me, and we have all heard great things about the work he is doing to the kids. The last person we met was Elizabeth. She runs the orphanage that many of our kids were moved to after they recovered from having their jiggers treated. We are very grateful for all she has done for our little girl.
We sat down with Dido and Christian and discussed our time here in the Congo and what would be happening in order to make sure that we are able to leave quickly, yet legally. More importantly, we discussed the plan for going to meet our children tomorrow. Are you ready?
At about 9:00 AM our time (4:00 AM EST) we will finally get to meet Agape!
Don't really know how to think or feel about all this. What do we do? What do we say? (as if it matters, she only knows Lingala) It is going to be a very overwhelming experience.
For now we enjoy the last little bit of time with each other as a couple, and getting to know our fellow travelers with us. We are a very diverse group of people, but couldn't be happier to have them here to share this experience with. After walking to the market together we all enjoyed time sitting around the lobby, talking, sharing adoption experiences and ideas, and trying to all stay connected to a very weak internet connection.
That's all for now.
We are as ready as we know how to be for tomorrow, and hope it comes soon. Did I begin this post by saying I didn't have too much to share? Oh well, it's all relative.
Blessings to you all.
We had been previously warned that the airport in Kinshasa was absolutely chaotic, and we really had to watch ourselves. Truthfully I found this to be a little of an exaggeration. The employees were as cold shouldered as we were told, but we made it through very smoothly and got all of our bags. Now things were a little on the slow side, but we expected this and it really did not cause any harm to us. This all being said, we are very curious to see our experience trying to leave the Congo.
Then we had our drive through Kinshasa. To describe the city in one word the only one that comes to mind is "broken". Buildings in ruins leave little shelter to its inhabitants that stand outside picking through the trash. Armed soldiers stood by on street corners not being bothered by anyone passing by. We weren't sure if these were soldiers from the official Congolese army, or just men with machine guns. The streets were filled with cars with obvious battle from the road wars. We had over an hour drive through the city, and I don't think their was a single stop light or stop sign. Either that, or the drivers didn't abide by them.
After that we arrived at our guest house that provided a surprising tranquility to the bustling chaos we just experienced. To our surprise the room we are staying in actually has a separate bed for Agape to sleep in. This was very exciting for us. At the guest house we met some pretty important people. The first one to greet us was Dido, the social worker handling our cases. He is much to be bragged about. Very calm, friendly, English speaking, knowledgeable, and compassionate to name a few. Dido has worked very hard through our adoption process to process lots of paperwork, and to make sure all the kids are being well cared for. The next person we met was Christian. He is a lawyer who works for J.B. working on the legal aspects of our cases. He was very personable with me, and we have all heard great things about the work he is doing to the kids. The last person we met was Elizabeth. She runs the orphanage that many of our kids were moved to after they recovered from having their jiggers treated. We are very grateful for all she has done for our little girl.
We sat down with Dido and Christian and discussed our time here in the Congo and what would be happening in order to make sure that we are able to leave quickly, yet legally. More importantly, we discussed the plan for going to meet our children tomorrow. Are you ready?
At about 9:00 AM our time (4:00 AM EST) we will finally get to meet Agape!
Don't really know how to think or feel about all this. What do we do? What do we say? (as if it matters, she only knows Lingala) It is going to be a very overwhelming experience.
For now we enjoy the last little bit of time with each other as a couple, and getting to know our fellow travelers with us. We are a very diverse group of people, but couldn't be happier to have them here to share this experience with. After walking to the market together we all enjoyed time sitting around the lobby, talking, sharing adoption experiences and ideas, and trying to all stay connected to a very weak internet connection.
That's all for now.
We are as ready as we know how to be for tomorrow, and hope it comes soon. Did I begin this post by saying I didn't have too much to share? Oh well, it's all relative.
Blessings to you all.
The time has come
This is a late entry for us. I wrote this post actually yesterday while we were waiting to board our first flight. Was having trouble with the internet and spent literally forever on a plane without any chance of having an internet connection. I'll write another post for today, but let's keep things in chronological order first.
"Big things happening right now people. If you are friends with us on Facebook you know where we are right now. Currently we are sitting at a Starbucks in the Dulles Washingtion International Airport, but this time it’s not for a vacation or a wedding.
"Big things happening right now people. If you are friends with us on Facebook you know where we are right now. Currently we are sitting at a Starbucks in the Dulles Washingtion International Airport, but this time it’s not for a vacation or a wedding.
This time we are flying to Congo.
Along with two other families from our adoption group, in less than 48 hours we will be holding our Agape. I type these words, but honestly it really hasn’t sunk in yet. I’m probably doing that sub-consciosly, because everytime it starts to feel a little more real I become over whelmed with too many emotions for a reserved guy like me. This is gonna be huge, and when the time comes when I am face to face with our daughter I’m afraid I will blow up.
Until then we have a bit of traveling ahead of us. We’ll board our plane in about an hour to head to Addis Ethiopia, then take another plane to Brazzeville in the Republic of Congo, and then finally to Kinshasa. It has been our little Jerusalem for over a year now. The place we want to go so desperately, but haven’t been able too. Please pray for us as we continue towards the end of this adoption journey. The exit process for Agape leaving the Congo may be a problem. The court is as slow as usual in completing this process, and are not very careful with the accuracy. We are expecting to be in the Congo for about 10 days. Pray it’s not longer. Also pray for us as we have left our bestest little bud in the care of family and friends. Being away from him for this long will be very hard.
Luckily, we will have little excuse not to update our blog routinely. Plenty of time as we wait to come home. Blessings to you all."
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
Long time no post, but the time is now.
Well our blog has been mostly inactive for awhile. Life has been very busy. We've been working hard at our adoption process, and have come a long way. All of our American paper work is complete, and the final steps rest in the hands of the Congolese Embassy. Also, our son was born on June 17th, Father's Day. Before you ask I'll tell you that "yes he was the best Father's Day present ever". Sorry, but I've been asked that a few times. We've also spent our summer doing our usual travel adventures. This year we were pleasantly surprised by the White Mountains, and lakes of New Hampshire. Just this past weekend we traveled to Kansas to see two of our dear friends wed. Not to mention a few trips to the beach.
But while life has been good here for us our dear little Agape has had very much the opposite. First off, let me remind you that the Congo is a very bad place to live. The average family usually eats ONE meal EVERY OTHER day. Basically I have eaten more food today than the average person in Congo does in a week. Orphans are not even as fortunate as this. I don't have a statistic or fact about how often Agape eats, but frankly, I don't need one. It is very bad. To make matters worse she has jiggers. If you are unfamiliar with these they are flea-like bugs that live in the sand during the dry season in the Congo. A jigger burrows itself into the feet and/or hands of a host where it lays its eggs. It then dies and falls off as the skin is replaced. By then the new eggs have hatched and have most likely found the same host. It's an unending cycle. The jiggers are extremely uncomfortable and painful. Some children have such severe cases that they can not walk. Left untreated could lead to a serious infection and possibly a loss of limb/s. Worst case scenario could be death. Agape also has a very bad ear infection. She was taken to the doctor in March for an ear infection when our adoption director visited the country. It is unknown whether this is a new infection, or the same infection that was never treated properly. Regardless, an ear infection that is left untreated for too long can lead to permanent hearing loss.
What has to be done? Agape will need surgery to remove her jiggers. Our adoption agency is raising money to cover the costs of having all the kids in the orphanage treated. However, three volunteers are needed to help care for the children in a different location to ensure that proper wound care is done, and that the children don't become reinfested with jiggers. Otherwise they would be at great risk for more complications.
This is where we need your help. My wife has shared a link that contains a flyer explaining how our adoption agency is responding to this. Check it out HERE. Keep in mind that the children who have these belong to a family who is desperately waiting to bring them home where they can be cared for properly. Please take time to read the flyer and consider how you can help these children.
Thank you for reading.
http://projectfeet.wordpress.com/
But while life has been good here for us our dear little Agape has had very much the opposite. First off, let me remind you that the Congo is a very bad place to live. The average family usually eats ONE meal EVERY OTHER day. Basically I have eaten more food today than the average person in Congo does in a week. Orphans are not even as fortunate as this. I don't have a statistic or fact about how often Agape eats, but frankly, I don't need one. It is very bad. To make matters worse she has jiggers. If you are unfamiliar with these they are flea-like bugs that live in the sand during the dry season in the Congo. A jigger burrows itself into the feet and/or hands of a host where it lays its eggs. It then dies and falls off as the skin is replaced. By then the new eggs have hatched and have most likely found the same host. It's an unending cycle. The jiggers are extremely uncomfortable and painful. Some children have such severe cases that they can not walk. Left untreated could lead to a serious infection and possibly a loss of limb/s. Worst case scenario could be death. Agape also has a very bad ear infection. She was taken to the doctor in March for an ear infection when our adoption director visited the country. It is unknown whether this is a new infection, or the same infection that was never treated properly. Regardless, an ear infection that is left untreated for too long can lead to permanent hearing loss.
What has to be done? Agape will need surgery to remove her jiggers. Our adoption agency is raising money to cover the costs of having all the kids in the orphanage treated. However, three volunteers are needed to help care for the children in a different location to ensure that proper wound care is done, and that the children don't become reinfested with jiggers. Otherwise they would be at great risk for more complications.
This is where we need your help. My wife has shared a link that contains a flyer explaining how our adoption agency is responding to this. Check it out HERE. Keep in mind that the children who have these belong to a family who is desperately waiting to bring them home where they can be cared for properly. Please take time to read the flyer and consider how you can help these children.
Thank you for reading.
http://projectfeet.wordpress.com/
Monday, March 5, 2012
What's in a name.... ?
Just a short note of something that I found neat today. In an email, our agency director commented that Agape LOVED her new name. Yay! That made me so happy! I mean, we love it, but we are so happy that she does too!
I wanted to write a bit about this just because I have received so many questions on this lately from concerned people who think that we might be “stealing her identity” by changing her name, or that it is going to be traumatic for her to have to change it, etc. I think this is so interesting because this is an issue where Western culture divides from other cultural perspectives. In our culture, and most other western cultures, names reference individuality. PERSONAL rights, freedoms, and ownership are things that we value very highly! Our name is one of the most important words to us, because it is probably our first personal possession, and we feel tied to the notion of our selves as individuals. This is not so for many cultures of the world, who tie names to belonging and value inclusion in community above any notion of personal rights and individuality. Instead of setting apart, names draw inward. Not exclusive, but inclusive, and powerful communicator of identity within a group.
Now, I am not saying that either practice is right or wrong... I think they both have valid points! We need to be individuals, uniquely created by God ... but the point of that uniqueness is not to stand alone, but rather to dwell in peaceful community with one another, so that in the end, we are all whole because of our collective strengths. A beautiful tapestry would not be anything without the individual colorful strands, but the individual strands by themselves fail to meet their purpose without coming together with one another. It’s just awesome how God makes us each different, and then weaves us into just the right communities of diversity... gorgeous!
In any case... back to names... it is really interesting how you view your own name depending upon your culture! We have also been told that in Congo specifically, names hold great significance and meaning, and it is common for people to have MANY names by which they are called. They are given a regular “first” name, a surname, a “Christian” name (with Biblical meaning), and a new name if they are adopted into a family. And the children respond to any of their names! How do they keep it all straight? That’s what I’d like to know! LOL
Anyhow, we chose to change her name for many reasons, but we especially wanted her to know that she is now and forever, undeniably, completely, no question, an integral part of our family with her identity as an abandoned orphan behind her. Yet, her painful past and beautiful culture is still - and will always be to some extent - very much a part of her (and part of our whole family’s story now too), which is why we chose to leave her Congolese name as a second middle name. If she was much older we probably would do something different, like keep the first and add a middle name, etc. Who knows... But we have been so sure that her name IS to be Agape, and so we are just so thrilled that she loves it!
Agape May Mado Shultz: Agape has beautiful Christian meaning: God’s Selfless Love (For God so loved the world...). May is a family middle name passed down from my grandmother, to my mom, to me, and now to my firstborn daughter. Mado is our daughter’s Congolese given name. Finally, Shultz means that she is a part of OUR FAMILY forever more!
So there you have it.... what’s in a name? Apparently a lot, but it just depends on how you are looking at it! :)
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