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Thursday, March 13, 2008
Coming into focus
Diary Observations
" It's important for us to articulate the vision that talks about helping the babies where they are and reaching them with nourishment, nutrition, and of course, the Holy Spirit and witnessing Jesus Christ to them where they are. We are outside the political fray and want to assist the government. However, the government ultimately chooses to pursue things."
just wanted to tell you a little bit about this wonderful country. We keep learning more and more each day. The impression of the orphan industry is quite varied. There are those who think it will be a continuation of past initiatives and that the attorneys that provide the adoption services will ultimately go on and continue as if it's business as normal. Many others believe that the change will be more profound.
The perception of these baby meetings and these mass meetings of the babies with American adoptive parents took them to be potential for a number of years to certain hotels for meet and greet opportunities. The stories of children who were stolen from their mothers and those that were encouraged to get pregnant, stay pregnant, and have babies for compensation, are quite compelling and emotionally they are very challenging. The problem is, is that nobody has a good idea what the percentages are, how many are in the different categories, and how much it has really changed. It's important for us to articulate the vision that talks about helping the babies where they are and reaching them with nourishment, nutrition, and of course, the Holy Spirit and witnessing Jesus Christ to them where they are. We are outside the political fray and want to assist the government. However, the government ultimately chooses to pursue things.
This recent tumultuous history of this country is incredibly complicated and frightening. The perception of these various factions within the country that have very different interests is a concern. We heard the attorneys that specialize in adoptions referred to as the mafia lawyers, and that this was in essence an unorganized or semi-organized group of attorneys that were making a great deal of money and were unscrupulous and powerful and dangerous. Still very much a sense that if you're on the wrong side of any activity, your life would be put in danger and need to be very cautious in dealing with anyone who may have something to hide. The article that Greg had written was perhaps a bit viewed as perhaps a bit incendiary or potentially contentious, and we would need to be very cautious in how we pursued that line of reasoning and that thought process. All in all, a massively wonderful day. This is an incredible country, a beautiful place, wonderful people, and incredible natural resources, and just a real exciting place to be at this point in time.
March 12, 2008.
" It's important for us to articulate the vision that talks about helping the babies where they are and reaching them with nourishment, nutrition, and of course, the Holy Spirit and witnessing Jesus Christ to them where they are. We are outside the political fray and want to assist the government. However, the government ultimately chooses to pursue things."
just wanted to tell you a little bit about this wonderful country. We keep learning more and more each day. The impression of the orphan industry is quite varied. There are those who think it will be a continuation of past initiatives and that the attorneys that provide the adoption services will ultimately go on and continue as if it's business as normal. Many others believe that the change will be more profound.
The perception of these baby meetings and these mass meetings of the babies with American adoptive parents took them to be potential for a number of years to certain hotels for meet and greet opportunities. The stories of children who were stolen from their mothers and those that were encouraged to get pregnant, stay pregnant, and have babies for compensation, are quite compelling and emotionally they are very challenging. The problem is, is that nobody has a good idea what the percentages are, how many are in the different categories, and how much it has really changed. It's important for us to articulate the vision that talks about helping the babies where they are and reaching them with nourishment, nutrition, and of course, the Holy Spirit and witnessing Jesus Christ to them where they are. We are outside the political fray and want to assist the government. However, the government ultimately chooses to pursue things.
This recent tumultuous history of this country is incredibly complicated and frightening. The perception of these various factions within the country that have very different interests is a concern. We heard the attorneys that specialize in adoptions referred to as the mafia lawyers, and that this was in essence an unorganized or semi-organized group of attorneys that were making a great deal of money and were unscrupulous and powerful and dangerous. Still very much a sense that if you're on the wrong side of any activity, your life would be put in danger and need to be very cautious in dealing with anyone who may have something to hide. The article that Greg had written was perhaps a bit viewed as perhaps a bit incendiary or potentially contentious, and we would need to be very cautious in how we pursued that line of reasoning and that thought process. All in all, a massively wonderful day. This is an incredible country, a beautiful place, wonderful people, and incredible natural resources, and just a real exciting place to be at this point in time.
March 12, 2008.
Day 1 Dinner notes
Wonderful dinner with our new friends - Wonderful believers and followers of the Lord. They have big hearts and serious concerns about the babies.
We have several ideas of the people that we can learn from. The focus of the project continues to get more clear. Assure all our friends and potential partners that we want to help the babies wherever they are and as long as needed. We also want the Holy Spirit to guide our efforts.
Many aspects of the Adoption process are functioning well and we need to learn from them and see where there may be needs -
We have several ideas of the people that we can learn from. The focus of the project continues to get more clear. Assure all our friends and potential partners that we want to help the babies wherever they are and as long as needed. We also want the Holy Spirit to guide our efforts.
Many aspects of the Adoption process are functioning well and we need to learn from them and see where there may be needs -
Day 1 Travel - Dinner Plans
Arrived at airport in Guatemala City. Waited indefinitely for the hotel shuttle to arrive. Eventually gave up and took a taxi. Spoke with many people about what their perceptions were in terms of the orphans and the adoption process. Most people, three of the four people I spoke to at first, seemed to think that it was business as usual that the adoption agencies were still able to help or get the babies adopted to the United States, but then I spoke to a fellow who said he works at the hotel and that there was an American woman from New York who has been down here three or four times and unable to get the child out of foster care. That apparently is perhaps where the challenge will be finding these many foster care homes that may or may not be registered with the government and that may be also where, as they run out of money, their lives could be significantly more difficult. So I had spoken to four or five people at length just as the point of view of the man in the street and encouraged that it doesn't appear to be as immediately disastrous as we were concerned about, but that the long-term situation does need significant assistance and guidance. E-mails have been pouring in from friends in the states and I think there will be many people that we can speak to, but I ultimately think that it is the foster care system that could be the focus of our research. They call it Casas Hogar. So, we will get together with Florie and Emilio tonight for dinner and get the ground running in the morning. Thanks for your prayers and interest.
Day One Travel Thought
Well we are changing planes in Houston. We arrived at Newark Airport this morning at 4:30 and are a little tired. One of the thoughts and concerns about the research project is that somebody had mentioned that the orphans in the adoption pipeline may have been grand-fathered into the adoption process and that many pundits are not as concerned or anxious or fearful that the tsunami of unwanted babies will occur. Part of me wonders if there may be a certain amount of business as usual, in other words, the 15 babies a day being exported to the US may be continuing and the transition to government supervision may be more of a soft transition or not the hard stop that we had been led to believe. That still begs the larger question, is there essentially a baby manufacturing component to the Guatemalan economy and my inexperience, my lack of experience in this area, makes me realize that I do not know or do not understand what the implications of that are, so those are my thoughts and will try to frame the research accordingly.
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