Hello! We are Ricardo and my newly adopted son, Leonard
Rodriguez. We are very pleased to tell you about our beautiful family that was
formed through adoption.
About a year ago I started my adoption journey conducting research and gathering
information. Since I was adopting as a single man, I knew that I was going to
encounter plenty of stones in my journey. My journey was going to be harder
because I was interested in adopting from Eastern Europe and their concept of
a single man taking care of a child and being a good parent is not positive.
I contacted several agencies that unfortunately were not able to assist me in
adopting internationaly since their Eastern Europe Programs did not allow single
men to adopt. Finally, I contacted Children 's House International and
its Executive Director, Debbie Price and she told me that she was going to Romania
in a few weeks and that she will find out for me if they are willing to assist
a single man in adopting a child from their country.
Three long weeks went by and I finally received an e-mail message from Debbie
Price telling me that there were three foundations in Romania that were willing
to assist a single man in an adoption. I was so excited and that same day I
received pictures of four little boys ages 2 to 4. Debbie also told me that
she had a video on two of the little boys: Sergiu and Leonard. I told her that
I would love to take a look at the videos and on a Saturday - that same week
- I received the videos. I spent all weekend watching over and over and over
the videos. Both Sergiu and Leonard were two years old at the time. I decided
to adopt Leonard. Monday morning I contacted Debbie Price and told her my decision.
Fortunately for me, my home study was completed and I had all the documents
needed for the adoption process.
On September 22, 1998, all my documents were Fedex to Romania for processing.
Debbie told me that it was going to be approximately three months before I could
be assigned a court date. In the meantime, I had all the money needed for the
adoption process, but needed some cash for the travel expenses and in-country
expenses in Romania. I am an Internet fan and I came across A CHILD WAITS
FOUNDA TION web site. My first thought was "The
Nelson's are extraordinary"!!! Cynthia and Randy were adoptive parents
and they went beyond that: They decided to lend a helping hand to other parents
and ultimately to other children that were in need.
I decided to apply for a loan with them. I sent all my paper
work and within a week I received a call from Cynthia Nelson informing me that
I was approved. She also shared some of her adoption experiences with me and
provided me with comfort and plenty of good advice. I did not only received
the financial support from A CHILD WAITS
FOUNDA TION , but I also received moral and emotional
support and the human touch. There was someone that understood how I was feeling
and what I was going through. I was very touched and very thankful! !!! Cynthia's
words of advice and support gave that extra strength that I needed for the period
of time waiting for the court date.
On November 26, 1998, I received a call from Debbie Price and she told me that
everything was approved by the Romanian Adoption Commission and that a court
date was set for December 9, 1998. If everything went well, I was going to be
able to travel to Romania and pick up my son Leo in early January 1999. That
was my sole reason to give thanks to the Lord that Thanksgiving Day! !!!
During all this time I was in touch with Cynthia Nelson and her positive words
always inspired me to be patient and thankful.
Travel Date - January 21/22, 1999
On Thursday, January 21, 1999 I departed to Romania at 7:20 pm. It was a
long flight and even though I was tired, the excitement of finally meeting my
son did not let me fall asleep. On Friday, January 22, 1999, I arrived in Bucharest,
Romania after a total of 12 flight hours. Everything there looks the way I imagined.
It is true that there is a lot of poverty in the country, but their people are
very warm and very proud. I met my driver/interpreter Marion and he drove me
to my apartment. He informed me that the next day we were going to go to Slatina
- 3 hours away from Bucharest - to pick up my son Leo.
That day I also found out that there was a political demonstration in Romania
and that most of the streets were blocked by the Army. All I was thinking was,
God please help me through this and help me return home safe with my son.
Meeting Leo - January 23. 1999
At 7:00 am Saturday morning we left for Slatina and due to the political demonstrations
we took the long way there and it took approximately 5 hours to arrive.
When we finally arrived, I was a nervous wreck. I did not know what to say or
what to do or what to expect. The Orphanage Director met us at the front door
and gave a tour of the orphanage. It was a very clean and well kept building.
They had approximately 50 children in there ranging from newborns to 3 years
of age. Finally I got to meet Leo and the Director warned me that he might be
a little bit scared of me because the children there are not use to see males
since all their caretakers are females. The Director changed him to his new
outfit - he did not let me touch him at all - and she took him to the car. Leo
was great in the car. He did not cry and held my hand thru the entire trip.
He was observing everything and I was speechless. All I kept thinking was: He
is so beautiful . . . The orphanage experience was very hard. There were many
beautiful children in need of loving homes. It was a very emotional experience.
We arrived at the apartment at 7:30 pm and as soon as my interpreter left, Leo started crying and screaming. I wanted to comfort him so much but it seemed that everytime I got closed to him, I made things worse. I decided to take him to the bedroom and I placed him on the floor and sat next to him. He cried for about two and a half hours and at that time he decided to let me approach him and comfort him. We played for about another two hours and when it was time to go to sleep - I have not had any rest since the time I departed home - he started crying again for another two hours. He finally fell asleep and I believe I got approximately two hours of sleep that night.
The next day he was awake at 6:00 am and to my surprise, he was a picky eater.
He did not want eggs, or ham, or sausages. He only ate cereal. For the next
several days we stayed at the apartment and he did not cry at all and started
opening up to me. I was so thankful! The next few days were great and we were
bonding beautifully!
Doctor Appointment - January 26, 1999/Embassy Appointment - January
27, 1999
The doctor's appointment went very well. Leo cried for a little bit and
then we went home and rested for the next day's journey at the Embassy. For
some reason I was under the impression that I was going to spend such a long
day at the Embassy and that it was going to be a very long process. We got there
at 1:00 pm and it took only thirty minutes for the whole process. The interview
took about ten minutes and we were out of there!!!! Finally, the end of the
whole process. We headed to the apartment and started packing for our next journey
- Flying back home!!!!!
Trip back home - January 29, 1999
Everything went smoothly at the airport and we took the 7:00 am flight out
of Bucharest to Amsterdam. Leo was great on the plane, we had a great flight.
We spent the next five hours in Amsterdam and we boarded the plane to Philadelphia
at 2:00 pm. Leo's behavior was excellent during the eight hour flight and I
did not have any problems at all with him on the plane. He was great! Once we
arrived home, we went thru Immigration and Customs and we headed home! Finally,
WE ARE HOME!
To end this story. I want to thank A CHILD WAITS FOUNDA TION - Cynthia and Randy Nelson - for all their support
and assistance during my adoption journey. It truly makes a big different when
you encounter people that are so genuinely caring and giving. Thanks a million
Cynthia and Randy from Ricardo and Leo. You helped our dream of becoming a family
come true! !!!
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