Journey of the Heart

I would like to introduce you to two of Maria and Zack's friends....S (in yellow) and J (in jean jacket). When I picked Maria up over a year ago I heard these boys' names everyday! They were her friends who had moved onto the older children's orphanage in Stara Zagora. They too were favorites, well loved by many. They too were kids who were rejected due to differbilities beyond their control. S, a sweet and quiet boy who loves those who love him. J an amazing fighter who defied the odds time and time again.
After a family step forward for Zack last fall, my focus went to helping Maria's other friends. Our friend Manuela asked if it would be possible to find them families too. Another adoptive mom and I had chatted a lot about these boys, because her daughter was in the same group with them. This amazing mom, felt that both J and S were suppose to be in their family...however, her husband was not at the point where he was ready to adopt again. We started talking with an NGO and discovered that the boys were not on the waiting child list. This started a 10 month ordeal of trying to get the boys on the list. Everything came to a head in February when a human rights activist, who was helping attempted to get some answers from the local social service agency. What started off as a horrible experience that day ended up with both files being sent complete within 24 hours. It was a major victory! But it still took several more months for the boys to be registered. S was registered this summer and J was registered in September.
The NGO who had worked so hard to get the boys registered had been told she would be allowed to request their files first. She was able to get S's file, but due to a small mistake J's file went to a different NGO. I was so upset.....since these boys were little they have always been together....they really are like brothers. My dream, wish and hope was that they would continue to be able to be brothers. I shared the boys with many people....still hoping that my friend's husband would see them as his sons. As the month went by...no one requested S's file, my friend was at the point of giving up.
One night on FB, my friend messaged me that all hope was lost on her husband. He had said no and nothing was going to change his mind. Not even 5 minutes later her husband had messaged her to look at the boys files again and said if she could explain out all the logistics to him then he would consider it. We didn't dare to hope, but prayed instead. A few days later I got the message that her husband had emailed the NGO to see the files of more children. They plan to bring home J, S and another boy!
We have been so excited that J and S are not only going to have the family they deserve, but also will be reunited with their friend who will be their sister. My friend and I talk about reuniting the Stara Zagora five and what a reunion that will be. Adopting older children can be a huge challenge for many different reasons, but it can also be rewarding. I have already seen Maria reunite with one friend....I can't imagine what it will be like for all five of these kids to come together again!

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