We want to thank you so much for the financial help that
you recently gave to us for the adoption of Jeween (Ben) Traya from the Philippines.
God bless you for what you are doing to help parents and children. In the long,
difficult road to international adoption you have been a breath of fresh air.
We are grateful for people like you and those who have been so kind at Catholic
Charities.
Ben came to us through Children's Medical Missions of Lenox, Massachusetts two
years ago; he had just turned four when he came to stay with us. He had colostomy
surgery for Hirchspring's disease and has had a colostomy bag since he was three
days old, so he was very used to it, but I was not! The first time it needed
changing I thought I'd die! I'm no nurse, so I asked God to strengthen me and
then I changed it. Ben looked up with his beautiful flashing black eyes and
said "thank you Momma". It never bothered me after that.
Three months later we brought Ben to Yale Hospital in New Haven, Connecticut for surgery to reconnect his intestines. Sadly the surgeon had to remove ¾ of his colon because of scar tissue from previous surgeries. The prognosis was that he would have little or no bowel control and he would be in diapers for the rest of his life. We asked our church family to pray for Ben's complete recovery. Within three weeks he was fully potty trained in the day time and in another two months he was diaper less at night. We are all truly grateful for this miracle.
Ben continues to grow healthy and strong and gain weight.
He eats as much as my teenagers and runs faster. We live on a lake with many
miles of hiking trails right at our back door. Ben loves the outdoors, even
in the dead of winter. It seems like the colder it is the more fun he has.
Ben will turn six on June 9th and is doing quite well with both reading and
math. It is very encouraging for me that he learns fast because I will be his
teacher. I've home schooled my other children and that is the plan for Ben as
well. My 19 year old daughter and my 17 year old son are a big help. They each
spend one hour a day giving Ben their undivided attention. Bethany does music
and arts and crafts and Jared does boy stuff like race cars and baseball. As
I've observed the time that they each spend with Ben it's hard to tell who's
having more fun. When our two college sons are home Ben is as excited as he
can be. He prays for them every night and talks a lot of how much he misses
them. He can't seem to understand the going away to college thing.
Ben is smart, friendly, loving and very polite. But our greatest joy is that
Ben has come to know and love Jesus, He enjoys praying and cherishes our time
together each morning reading the Bible. His favorite stories are of the Miracles
of Jesus. We often talk about Jesus and the miracle of getting a sick little
boy from across the world, all the way to our home, as an answer to help a child
in need of a Mommy and Daddy to love him.
Mr. and Mrs. David Opalka