This story is short and sweet, but I really love it because it illustrates the "catching" effect of adoption. :) It's amazing to me that the Worsleys and so many family members all made the decision to adopt from Romania. I sure wish I could talk my three sisters into adopting all at once!

Fortunately, we have the next best thing in our little ward. Three sets of close friends are all in varying stages of Haitian adoptions, and we look forward to the day when our kids, too, will have "cousins" nearby.

All of a Kind Family (Romania)

Ensign, Dec. 1993, 57

Cheryl and Steve Worsley of the Santa Anita Ward, Arcadia California... more

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This was the first of several major operations our little son, whom we named Derek Kim, would endure over the next few years. He survived each one with the help of blessings, special prayers, and fasting in his behalf. The high medical costs of these surgeries brought a change in our life-style. We sold our luxurious home and other material things to pay the bills. My counseling career was replaced by nursing classes at our local college as I slipped into my new role as a home health-care provider. Many friends could not understand how we could give up so many of our material possessions. My feeble attempts to explain that worldly goods didn’t mean that much to... more

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Before long, word came that the orphanage would soon send the baby. A few days later, we received word that the baby was on his way. But when the flight arrived, he was not aboard. Our hearts sank as a flight attendant informed us that the baby had taken a turn for the worse and the airlines would not allow him on board until he could be stabilized. So we waited. Then another flight was arranged; the baby would arrive at midnight. Again we waited. Finally the announcement came that the Korean jet had been delayed but would land at 1:40 A.M.

As the passengers stepped from the plane, the tension mounted. The last of the passengers walked past us. After what... more

Who Will Adopt a Dying Child? (Korea)

By Carole W. Hankal, Ensign, Oct. 1989, 62

A tiny, abused, and badly burned infant lay dying in a Korean orphanage—a forgotten child. He was the unwanted child of an Asian mother and an American serviceman: the product of two cultures, but accepted by neither because of the great prejudice in that country against mixed blood.

Several thousand miles away in America, I drove on a warm summer’s evening to join my husband at a board of directors’ meeting for Heal the Children. This nonprofit organization relied upon hospitals, medical specialists, and volunteer families to help poverty-stricken children... more

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April 30, Brian’s birthday, dawned bright and clear. Brian rose early and came running downstairs to find his new sister. With tears in my eyes, I told him that she wasn’t here. Sensing my distress, he wrapped his arms around my neck and said, “Don’t worry, Mommy. My party isn’t until this afternoon.”

Feeling the need for some support, I telephoned my husband at work, but he was performing a surgery. “He should be out in about 15 minutes,” his nurse said. “I’ll have him call you.”

When the phone rang, I grabbed it and burst out, “Chuck, I need you to talk to Brian. He’s really expecting a baby sister today.”

After a short silence, a woman’s... more

When we were waiting to adopt our first daughter from China, it occured to me to search through the Church magazine archives to see if I could find any articles or stories about adoption. I found several, and they buoyed me up and kept me going when I felt discouraged or frustrated. Over the years, I've compiled a fairly comprehensive listing of them and decided to share some of them here. Some are recent stories, some are rather old. They deal with domestic adoption, international adoption, special needs adoption, sibling group adoption, transracial adoption, newborn adoption - you name it. No matter what kind of adoption you may find yourself involved in, you can be blessed by those... more

Who should evaluate your child

In our program, we have a multidisciplinary clinic that meets together a few times per month. We evaluate three children in the morning, with a rotating system, and then meet with the parents in the afternoon to discuss our findings and recommendations. Many early intervention programs offer a similar clinic.

In other programs, the different professionals assess a child one at a time, often in the child’s home. In some cases, the evaluating clinicians meet together at the end to compile... more

How to get an assessment for your child

In most cases, a parent’s first step is to get a referral from their child’s doctor. Unfortunately, there are far too many physicians who prefer to take a “wait and see” approach, and this is absolutely inappropriate for a child “at risk” because of his or her birth/developmental history. Parents themselves can also make the referral, so while a physician referral is ideal, it isn’t essential.

If you have a child under the age of 6, you’ll need to connect with your city or county’s... more

Most families who adopt waste no time having their children seen by a pediatrician or other appropriate physician. Particularly when children are adopted internationally, there are all sorts of things to rule out and check for (parasites and malnutrition being two we’re still battling, three months later). Those who adopt newborns domestically with known drug and/or alcohol exposure also are typically given a medical care plan at placement, and older, domestically adopted children can have their own medical issues that need to be addressed. ... more

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Also at this open house, I asked about adopting from Ukraine, but was put off with comments that Ukraine was not a good place to adopt from because they "put up roadblocks". We went home frustrated (me) and angry (my husband). When we got home, he said that if I wanted to continue with this, I would have to find a way to do it independently. That night I got on the Internet and found Cathy Harris' group Ukrainian Angels. She detailed her adoption struggles in Ukraine and told about how she decided... more