A Tale of Two Boys {Part 2}

I feel like you need to understand my journey in order for me to actually communicate what I want to say, so I'm going to tell you some of my thoughts and struggles. It seems the children that we see in Taiwan are happy where they are. They are well cared for, they have people who care about them. So is it truly in their best interest to find a family in America for them? I wrestled with this, not for the younger children so much, but for the older ones it is only right to think about these things.

I watched as someone showed caregivers pictures of a child who had been adopted months before and I watched them smile at the adorable pictures, happy for the good family he was in... and it struck me, the children are cared about, no question. But they deserve to be the center of someone's universe. They need to be so important to someone that that person's world would shatter without them in it. That is what is missing.

Even older children need that. I think of my boys. Casper will be 13 tomorrow. Freeland is 16. Douglas is 18. They still need us. They need us in a different way than little ones do, but I try to imagine them navigating the teenage years and launching out on their own without the steadfast love of parents and family and I can't do it.

So, with all of that background I want to tell you about two boys.

Here they are. Taiwan has privacy laws that prohibit the sharing of a child's full face.

They are not biologically related, but they feel like brothers and they want to be adopted together. What are the chances? They are 9 and 11 years old.

Anderson is 11. He has experienced some things in life that make him fearful and he lacks self confidence. He wants a family, he wants to belong. But he feels much more confident when he is with Morgan. Morgan is 9 and is good at math. He is a quiet kid. They are in the same foster home. They belong together.

They belong together and they deserve to be loved like my boys are loved. Do you see the difficulty here? Do you see why my heart has been heavy since I got home from Taiwan? Do you feel the burden I feel?

Could you possibly be the family for these boys? Or maybe you know someone who could be the perfect fit. It isn't easy to find families open to older boys. And especially not two older boys at once. But I am going to try.

They deserve that I try.

I am praying that I am going to write a part 3 to this tale telling you their family found them. Will you help me make that a reality?

If you want information about Anderson and Morgan email Mary Chapman at mary.chapman@gladney.org.