This is not a new post however, we have had several emails asking where did the post go so we decided to post it again....Documented in court papers, this is Ella’s Story...
...Ella was born to a healthy 18 year old mother as the first birth in a normal pregnancy in October, 2003. The court documents translated state, “the mother is a registered resident in the city of (X) however; she does not have a permanent place of living and resides in various places with various partners. She is of low income and social background.”
In March 2004, Ella (5 months old) was placed on full state support at the Child House on the request of her birthmother. At this time, she stated she did not have a place to live or income to provide for Ella and therefore, could not properly care for her. Over the next few months, Ella’s birthmother made monthly visits, in time, those visits became further and further apart until eventually the birthmother stopped visiting completely. Since then, the birthmother has not expressed any further interest in Ella’s state of health, made any attempts to initiate contact with Ella, or attempted to contact the Child House or state bodies to inquire about Ella’s upbringing, offer support, or request help to assist her in getting through her situation in order to regain custody of Ella. No additional family members visited or inquired about Ella or her status while at the Child House.
In October 2005, Ella’s birthmother married and took the surname of her husband and has not made any attempts to petition for Ella.
In May of last year, court convened to terminate the birthmother’s rights. The court notified the birthmother of the date, place, and time of the hearing however, she did not appear before the judge and her rights to Ella were terminated. Shortly after her parental rights had been terminated, she appeared at the court. Advised she had missed the hearing and her rights had effectively been terminated, she was advised she had the right to appeal the decision within 10 days of the judgment. No appeal was ever filed.
Ella was now able to be placed into the “system” and made available for adoption after the mandatory waiting period.
Ella’s file arrived on Friday, August 15, 2008 at the SDA and we were shown her file on Monday, August 18, 2008 at our appointment. Ella’s file was the first of the two files we were shown.
Please remember it is not for us to pass judgment on the decisions Ella’s birthmother made. We believe she made the best choices for the health and welfare of Ella under the circumstances she found herself in. It is obvious she loved her baby and made choices to ensure she would be provided for. We are forever thankful to her for the gift of this smart, happy, healthy, and spirited child. She is an absolute joy. We are blessed and thankful God had her in mind for us.
5 comments:
What a wonderful story to know. When you saw her picture - did you know it was your child? I'm nervous about the whole "choice" once I get there...
It's hard to imagine giving up such a sweet little girl. You must remember to thank God that her mother choose to do the best for Ella and remember what a hard decision that must have been for her.
What a stroke of luck that Ella became available 3 days before your visit! God does work in misterious ways.
Lisa and Jim:
Wow, what an awesome God we serve. His timing was perfect! This is definitely an confirmation that Ella was to be your daughter. What are the "chances" of a file for a little girl just "happening" to be available when you arrived. That's no "chance" that's God. How I praise God for the blessing He has bestowed upon your family.
God bless and love to all,
Aunt JoAnne
I have to say, this post has helped me. I have been questioning God why we had resubmit our dossier and why we aren't able to get our date to travel, doesn't He care about our situation? I question but know the truth, He does care and His timing is perfect. Had you gotten your appointment even a days earlier you would have never met Ella! I have been mediatating on Philip. 4 this morning and know God is good and will work all things for our good and His glory. Thanks!
When you learn some of these details, it so often clarifies why God's timing might have been different then our desired timing in the adoption process.
Bless her birth mother for making the choice she did in giving Ella up for adoption.
Post a Comment