The Motherland

I began writing this post on 3/18/2013...

Say it with me......I went to Africa......I went to AFRICA. My husband and I had the wonderful opportunity through our international adoption to be able to go back to the place that our forefathers came from. Our trip to Ghana was much more than just to meet our son. It had so much other meaning behind it! Going to any country in Africa has always been one of the things on my dream places to go. We have had the opportunity to live in  Okinawa, Japan and visit Iwakuni, Yokota, Cambodia, the Philipines and many Caribbean islands since we have been married. Some of those experiences prepared me for 3rd world countries so I was prepared for the most part of what I would see.

Many people have asked me if I was Jamaican and while preparing for the trip to Ghana, it was a running joke that many would think I was African. And yes...the minute I stepped off the plane at the airport, people tried to speak to me in Twi or another dialect in which I had to tell them that I'm American an only spoke English. When describing my nationality, I would say "Black" American because if I said African American, the people there thought I was an African living in America. My husband on the other hand....they called him "half-cast" and said that to them one of his parents would be white and the other African. Besides white people, he was the lightest person I saw while there. In America we are used to the many array of shades people are but not in Africa.

Adoption----We are the 1st Black American people that have adopted from our agency and POA. Also many of the people we encountered, never met a Black American who adopted internationally. I know of one who is Black American and her husband is Ghanaian and was so happy that we connect. They are also a military family!!!! We all were anxious to see how things work doing our adoption....ie when we were out with our son, no one gave us a second look (glance) because he could just pass for our family. There was not immediate concern or alert that we were child trafficking.  NOW the big question.....why don't Black Americans adopt internationally. While Black Americans do adopt domestically the numbers are lower than that of our white american counterparts. There may be Black Americans who adopt internationally but the numbers are very few. I myself believe that it may be a cultural thing, lack of knowledge and awareness. In most (I'm not saying all) predominately black churches missions and orphans are discussed at all or not on the level that it is discussed, encouraged and support in predominately white churches or true multicultural churches.  Please feel free to add your comments; again this is just my thought. I'm praying that this changes and that all people of God get to know all aspects of the Father's heart that He has revealed to us in scriptures.

Boy.... were we welcome by our African brothers and sisters. They made us feel welcomed and right at home. We had the honor to be in company with many brothers and sisters making an impact for Christ in their land and neighborhoods in Ghana. Met some great people and one awesome family in particular, Auntie Comfort and her family. We hug, shed tears, laugh, prayed and blessed each other. A lifetime bond was created in a matter of spending a few hours together. We got to attend church in Africa...and I was overwhelmed with so many emotions while just sitting there and enjoying the service. I don't even know how to explain it but it was like....I WAS SUPPOSE TO BE THERE. We had the opportunity to tour the facility and spend a little time with the pastor and his family! We also were able to visit some other orphanages and when we returned home, we receive a message that the kids were happy to see us, who look liked them, coming to Ghana to adopt!! Whew....that helped calm my nerves and some unspoken fears...lol!! And then our taxi driver....no he is more than that...our brother. Patrick was God sent...he took us everywhere and spent a day and a half with us meaning he didn't work those days his normal routes. We did all that we could to bless him monetarily and to let him know we truly appreciated him. Him and his wife are expecting their first child....a baby girl; he contacted us recently to tell us he bought some beautiful dress with the money we left for him to buy her a gift.

So many more stories I may think about and will post as they come to me....