Our Story
We are very happy to share our story with A Child Waits, since you were an integral part of our adoption process. I'm not sure how we would have managed without your help.
When we were in Korea in 2003, picking up our three-year old son from his orphanage, I took pictures of the other children so that I could share them with interested prospective parents. One child, who had only been in the orphanage for a few days, seemed to be grieving-he just lay on the floor and did not interact with us at all. The fleeting thought crossed my mind: Wouldn't it be funny if this was our next child? Nah, I thought. Still, I took his picture. Maybe someone would want him.
A couple of months later, I was searching the orphanage web site for our next child. I kept clicking past a picture of a little boy whose smile was contagious and full of joy. I, however, was interested in another child, and did not pay a lot of attention to the boy. An online acquaintance eventually put two and two together, and connected the boy's picture with his Rainbow Kids listing. It was the boy at the orphanage.
I inquired about him, but it was about 6 months before the adoption agency representative was in Korea to see him in person, and in the meantime, another family had become interested in him. Strangely enough, this same family had wanted to adopt our first son. Anyway, they began the adoption process, and so we bowed to the inevitable. Still, I kept the video and pictures I had been sent. He sounded like such a good fit for our family…
Five months later, as I kept in touch with the other family, I found out (on my birthday) that he was going to be available again. Korea had denied their request to parent him. We began the adoption process almost at once. The other family was unbelievably supportive, and we are still in touch with them. I am so grateful for the generosity of their friendship in their time of loss.
On July 5, 2005, David came home with us to America. Everything I saw in his picture is true about him. He has a contagious smile and is full of joy. He is also a wonderful fit for our family, and we could not be happier to be his parents.
He was definitely worth the wait.
The orphanage is called the AMSA rehabilitation center,
and is very nice and clean, with kind caregivers and many volunteers. David
was three years old, and had a history of hydrocephalus. He seems to have leveled
off in his head growth, however, and is doing well. We are amazed at his progress
in English and also in his coordination. He could not hop when he first came
home, and ran awkwardly. Now he runs well and hops, and is working on a one-footed
hop.
He LOVES matchbox cars, and is very creative in his
play along with his brother and sister, also adopted from Korea. We sent him
a Build-A-Bear while he was in Korea, with a button he could push which we recorded
a message saying we loved him (in English and Korean) and would come get him
soon. He still loves pushing that button. We live near his grandparents, and
he loves his Halmoni and Pop-pop very much. What a blessing he is!
On this trip, we stayed in the apartment of some friends
of ours who teach in Korea. They were in Guam for their daughter's wedding,
so it worked out perfectly. We shopped locally and cooked for ourselves, as
well as visiting the local restaurants (always a treat!). It gave us a different
perspective on Korean everyday life than the business district where we stayed
the two previous times (once in the guesthouse, once in a motel). We like to
shop at Namdaemun Market, where you have to bargain a bit, and also at Itaewon,
where we got hanboks for our children. We also spent time with a Korean friend
of ours who stayed in our house last fall for a couple of weeks while an exchange
student in the States. We would actually consider living there, if it came right
down to it. I mean, they have Starbucks. ;-)
As far as your Foundation goes, I'm not sure my husband
would have been quite as gung ho about proceeding with the adoption right away
if we hadn't been able to count on your help. It really helped tip the balance.
We are so grateful for what you do. Our family has been enriched by calling
Choi, KaRam our son (now David Wayne KaRam Murschell).
Thanks so much,
Mick and Beth Murschell, proud parents of Andrew, David, and Bailey
