6/28/18

Baja Trip 2018 - pt.1


In February we packed up our new van, our family of 9 and headed south. It has been four years since our last Mexico trip. Our longest time away from Baja since we started going there as a family back in 2005.

I was more than a little apprehensive about our ability to wrangle 7 kids including a toddler, maneuver a child with cerebral palsy, and maintain any sort of marital peace but we were excited to go. I had already spent months planning details, booking lodging, and packing what we would need for multiple climates and locations.

We took 4 days to get to South California. That part of the trip is always grueling and we decided to make some time for visiting friends and playing along the way. We rented a beautiful little house in the Garden Grove CA and happened to hit a wonderful winter heat wave. We soaked up the sun like it was breathing life into our winter weary souls.

We spent a few days recovering, did some sightseeing and did one day at Disney Land which in my view was kind of a flop. I hope the kids made some fun memories because all I know is that it was exhausting, busy, and someone peed their pants on Pirates of the Carribean ride...which brought the day to an early end. It too closely resemebled an episode of "The Middle". It seems that maybe our 2 parents to 7 kids ratio tipped the scales this time. What we really did enjoy the most in California was a day spent at Seal Beach, which was totally free. Live and learn. We all just finally got to relax and let go of some pent up travel tension. Spending that much time in a vehicle and hotel hopping with this many people tends to build up stress levels. It was so warm that day, probably the warmest day of our whole trip.









Once we left our rental house in Garden Grove CA.we drove down the Baja and realized instantly just how deeply we had missed it. The longer we were away from Mexico the less we were drawn to making that long trip back, but our memories and affections for this people and place were ignited as we felt like we were arriving home.


We missed the Machado family and it was wonderful to spend some time with these long time friends. These are some of my favorite people on the planet. You can find Amber's blog here
(Kayden and Silas have been buds since they were toddlers)
(These two first met as babies. These amigas were happy to spend time together)


This time we stayed at Welcome Home Outreach and lived in one of their dorms. We had enough space to spread out and we each had our own bed (an improvement from motels). We also had our own bathroom, that we didn't have to go outside for, which I don't take for granted at all. It was very adequate. We really loved our stay with this ministry. They were so very welcoming and open to us coming as a family. We aren't the usual demographic of a "mission trip" group and our capacity to be useful is somewhat hindered. We had a wonderful host named Michelle who coordinated work projects for us and gave us lots of freedom to visit some other ministries and old friends we had made over the years. She was great with our kids, as were all the staff. Everyone from youngest to oldest was included and made to feel useful and welcome. This is very unusual in our years of ministry experience. Children are too often viewed as a liability.

(the girls on one of our morning work projects. Painting a new section of wall)

We were able to eat breakfast and lunch every day in the cafeteria with the daycare kids. Our supper usually consisted of tacos bought in town. When we were in Baja 4  years ago we spent a lot of time at Welcome Home Outreach but we were living in our camping trailer several blocks away. It was much more enjoyable to just stay on site this time and any apprehension we had about having our kids there full time was soon eliminated. I certainly didn't miss staying in a cramped trailer.

You can visit the attached link to check out this ministry and the important work they do. I've also written about it in the past, you can find that post here. We basically just helped out whereever we could, did some projects, washed dishes, mopped floors and just had the privilege of witnessing what God is doing through this place and the staff.  


These ladies are wonderful. They not only allowed kids into the kitchen but they so patiently gave these two a lesson in tortilla making. The girls loved it. 


The daycare cook Cande is as sweet as her name. 
This woman works hard all day making meals for a cafeteria full of kids. She always has a smile on her face. Her love for the Lord and these daycare kids is very evident. 


My kids were all on dish duty after each meal. From youngest to oldest they all got to practice serving. They had great attitudes about their jobs and were eager to pitch in. 


(Michelle introducing Annie to some of the daycare kids)

The Welcome Home daycare picks up kids early in the morning brings them here for breakfast and a day full of play, games and preschool education. The older ones are taken to Kindergarten in town for the morning and then brought back here for lunch. This ministry, and others like it, are so important in this area. There are so many single mother homes where the Moms work long hard days in the fields. The options for most are to either leave young children locked in the house alone or keep school aged siblings home to look after young siblings, which means they don't get an education. When day to day survival takes so much effort things like education get pushed to the side. Which is heartbreaking because it ensures a cycle of poverty continues to the next generation. A basic education, and literacy, here is worth so much as far as opportunity goes. It's a game changer. A daycare like this not only ensures the children have nutritious meals and a safe, stimulating place to spend their days but it's helping break cycles and preventing child abandonment into orphanages. The wonderful staff here also minister to the whole family, on a very personal level, in whatever way is needed. 

Annie and her new amiga. They played together all week since Leyla lives here at Welcome Home. Her parents are the daycare directors. One girl speaks English and the other Spanish but somehow they made it work. 


Our family above with Cande and our host Michelle. Michelle lives and works here at Welcome Home full time. She left her life as a teacher in California and moved down here to serve needy kids here in Baja. She works hard from morning until night doing whatever needs to be done. Anywhere there's hard physical and humble dirty work to be done she can be found there doing it. The rest of the teachers and staff are locals which I also really appreciate. This ministry also does house building for poor families. Our friend Jose is one of the builders. 





We were able to visit some other local ministries including a men's rehab "Casa de RestauraciĆ³n El Sembrador" . Just the guys went this time and I stayed home with the little ones. It was an eye-opening experience for my boys. This rehab ministry has some amazing success stories (some we know personally, such as the formerly deported gang member turned pastor of a thriving and growing church) but it is underfunded and the accommodations are not very weather tight. The need for this type of ministry is so great but it's too often overlooked. "Fund better facilities for recovering drug addicts" isn't quite as appealing as "come hug an orphan" when fundraising or planning mission trips. These guys are hard workers and are active in a local church. When the hearts and lives of men are transformed, all of society goes with it, yet men are so often undervalued when it comes to ministry focus. When men are equipped to be faithful husbands and nurturing fathers so many other societal problems and so much poverty is eliminated. 




(photos courtesy of FB page)

We were also excited to go and visit a new ministry that some old friends of ours began a few years ago.  Eternal Anchor is a school for children with disabilities in the morning as well as an adult life skills school in the afternoons.  I was SO impressed with this facility, its mandate and it's methods.  I can't even say enough good things about this place and how important their work is. They are not only providing therapies, equipment, life skills and education to kids who wouldn't otherwise have access to those things they are working with families and parents to help better equip them to care for their disabled children. They do a lot of middleman work with getting kids to surgeries and medical care. They also take kids to a therapy ranch to ride horses. As a mother of a child with cerebral palsy and intellectual disability, I know the importance of these sorts of life-changing interventions and opportunities. Even just learning how to do proper stretching of spastic limbs every day makes a big difference as a parent. If you have a heart for very underprivileged children with disabilities and also have a passion for abandonment prevention this is an excellent, and trustworthy ministry to support.




Another ministry we visited is one started by another old friend of ours who has a deep passion for helping women. This is a shelter for women and their children coming out of some of the darkest and most dangerous situations imaginable. They are in the process of building facilities on a new piece of land they acquired but they have minimal accommodations at this point. The women and their many children are still crammed into old donated camping trailers. The whole place is on a high hillside so it has required extensive dirt moving work. The view is stunning though. It's secluded just enough to give a sense of peace and serenity to women who so desperately need it.  Another very worth while cause that desperately needs funding. Every little bit helps. If you have a heart for vulnerable women and children trying to rebuild ther lives check out "New Beginnings". You will be glad you did.





Of course while we were in our little town in Baja we spent some time with the kids that call us "Tio" and "Tia"...the kids who we will always consider family. It was so great to see them, as well as their mother Italia. They've all grown up so much and a few new little ones have been added to the family in the last few years! Our dear Minerva (who we had met a decade ago while on staff at a local orphanage) now has 3 children, the newest born a month after we left this spring. She has the cutest little purple house that she keeps immaculate care of. It was built by a local charity last year and I'm so very happy for her. She is such a special young lady. One sad surprise was that some of the older kids were down in South Baja working in pea fields and wouldn't return until after we were scheduled to leave. We were very sad to miss each other. I have been in contact with Alvaro for a couple years now over FB messenger and we write back and forth fairly regularly. We were actually working for many months on bringing him up here for a few months last summer but matters of the heart and responsibility at home changed his mind. I'm so proud of his maturity, responsibility, and commitment to be a good husband and father.  He is the hardest working young man I've ever met. We met when he was just a little boy at an orphanage. His gentle nature and sweet smile stole my heart all those years ago. We also missed seeing Carmela and Ramiro. I miss them so very much. They have grown from small children into mature looking teens. They all do field work now to provide for the family. I wish we lived closer but we continue to love them and pray for them from a distance. Now that all of the older ones have Facebook it's easier to keep in touch.


(Minerva with younger sibling and her daughter)




Louisa, her niece Luz and two little sisters Carla and Gabriella.  Luz (holding the pony) was just a newborn last time we were down so it was so fun to get to know her this trip. She has such a fun little personality. Carla and Gabriella remember us visting 4 yrs ago (they are older than their size suggests). I love these girls and I hope another 4 yrs doesn't go by before we can visit again. 


Walking from Italia's house to Minervas new home across many empty lots being sold for homes. The actual price of the lots would shock you. Its a wonder anyone can afford a plot. Not that long ago this was a field. You can see one of the former campos in the distance where migrant workers were housed until they were shut down. They were pretty horrible places to live. Now most of the indigenous field workers have their own homes and are less transient. I lot has changed in this valley since I first came here 20 yrs ago. 





Spunky Gabriella is around the same age as our Cece (8) although closer in size to Annie (4)


(Minerva's adorable new house. I'm so happy for her)



(Italia, the matriarch of the family, making tortillas. I was relieved to see how well they all are doing.)


(Out for a stroll with Italia carrying her youngest child, Minerva with her two and my oldest Aili) 



(Italia watering Minerva's little garden)


It was so hard to leave the little town we have grown to love after only 10 days. Usually, we settle in and stay in one place for at least a month but we had to keep moving this time. This family trip was special in that it will likely be Aili's final road trip with the family (she'll be graduating next year). Her first trip to Baja was back in 2005 when she was only 4 yrs old. We lived at an orphanage in our camping trailer for 6 months. We returned many times after that, once again for 6 months, and the rest for 1 or 2 months at a time. She has a strong sentimental connection to Mexican culture, food, and a particular little town in Baja. I'm glad we were able to go down for the first, and probably last time, as a family of nine. From now on she'll be off on her own adventures.  Maybe she'll let me tag along on occasion.




(Icecream at the park. A tradition since 2005. This little town really feels like a second home.)


(How we eat out while in Mexico. Taco stands)


(to be continued) 




















5/14/18

Best Interest of the Child

I have recently been pondering some things as I chat with foster Mama friends and hear out their often repeated frustrations.  Bear with me as I try to make sense out of these rattling thoughts.

"Best interest of the child" is a statement that gets tossed around child welfare circles a lot. Whether it is actually considered or not is debatable in any given situation. Words and actions are two entirely different things.

I have recently realized that I dislike this statement quite a lot. This is odd to acknowledge because everything in me cries out for justice and well being for these vulnerable little ones. I live and breath "best interest of the child" in my home on a daily basis. I have dedicated years of my life to this cause.
The problem with this stated policy is that it's entirely subjective. I've noticed over the years that everyone and their dog has a different idea of what this is. "Best interest" is filtered through various political agendas, worldviews/ideologies, social engineering ideas, individual professional aspirations, public relations (whats socially trendy) and is very hard to peg down. "Best interest of the child" is plastered on policies that swing wildly between harmful extremes always cloaked in a sort of high browed idealism that ignores so much reality on the ground.

While everyone agrees that the best interest of the child should be paramount when making decisions affecting children, no one seems to be able to agree on what that is.

Maybe we need to possess better, more specific, language to nail down some priorities within our child welfare and foster systems.

We foster parented for 10 yrs and in that time I saw and experienced a lot. Although not as much as some.  Each fostering journey is unique and comes with its own stories and heartaches. One thing all foster parents have in common is their compulsion to silence. The very real threat of children you love being taken from your home, or the doors of your home being shut for saying the wrong thing or crossing the wrong people is enough for us to keep our heads down.

Sure there are some fostering blogs out there but they weren't common a few years ago and even now they are fairly rare. They are often anonymous and usually very careful. Where foster parent voices and perspectives aren't usually found is in social services offices planning policy, case plan meetings, or being amplified with media attention. With hushed voices we share our burdens behind closed doors with selectively few people.

Foster parents are on the front lines, along with caseworkers, but they have the vantage point of being parents. They parent. That's what they do. They aren't babysitters. They are caregivers who parent children, some for short amounts of time and some for a lifetime. Foster parents are waking for midnight feedings, bandaging skinned knees, calming nightmares, comforting grieving and traumatized children, combing (and delousing) hair, going to school plays and taking children to their dance lessons. They take children to visitation and then come home to put into practice all they know about therapeutic parenting to try to calm the rage ignited in a devastated and confused child. They love, nurture, tend and train the children in their home.

They know stuff. They may be left in the dark about many things surrounding the history and case plan, but they know these kids. They may have known the child in their care since birth as was the case with most of my foster babes. They likely know the kids better than anyone else involved with the case.

Here's what "best interest of a child" means to a foster parent.

* In any given situation what will cause the LEAST amount of trauma to this child *

That's pretty much it. That's what we care about the most. Most foster parents have become well versed in issues of trauma, attachment and the basics of child psychology. We have to be to be any good at what we do. A huge frustration is that too often the people sitting in offices, the managers, supervisors, and directors seem to be light years behind in that area.

"They won't remember it anyway"

"A child gets used to being moved"

Statements like these make me rage internally. Often people directing priorities and policy don't see the damage that ill-conceived ideas and bad decisions create. They aren't the ones parenting children with Reactive Attachment disorders caused by frequent moves in the first years of a child's life. They aren't the ones dealing with the terror that comes with PTSD, anxiety disorders or intense fear of abandonment caused by a loss of caregivers. They don't have to put on a game face and gently reassure a terrified child that going to live with strangers will be ok, when you have very real fears of your own that they will not be ok. The hardest thing about fosterparenting is witnessing or knowing a child will go through grief and experience trauma. No parents wants their child to suffer. Foster parents feel no differently.

If people in offices experienced these things they might view "best interest of the child" differently. Perhaps if they better understood the devastating, long term, effects of trauma it would have greater consideration in decision making.

Of course we don't work in ideals and there is no trauma free fostercare. The very need for it arises out of suffering, brokenness, abuse, death, violence, addictions, and illness....all of the worst things in this world are the foundation. A preborn baby being fed a steady diet of drugs and alcohol is trauma. A preborn child being immersed in constant stress hormones of its mother who is a victim of domestic violence is trauma. Being separated from a birth parent is trauma, even if the child is too young to consciously remember.  It's there. A newborn withdrawing from drugs is trauma. Some of those things are unavoidable but once a child has been placed in care great consideration should be given to not perpetuating trauma, creating more chaos, or causing more damage.

Broken children, who become broken adults, are no small problem and will pay society back in full for it's failure to protect them.

There are many other worthwhile considerations when making case plans and deciding what is best for a child, however, this is at the top for me. I'm convinced that this is the priority that every other factor should be filtered through and weighed against.

If we truly believed in "best interest of the child" we would be far more focused on the long lasting effects of trauma and issues surrounding attachment. I think we would save children and society a whole a world of hurt.









5/7/18

Why I care about Fostercare


It has come to my attention that May has been designated by someone, somewhere, as "National Fostercare Awareness Month". This seems like as good a reason as any to dust off this old platform and try to string together some coherent thoughts.

You might be thinking something like  "Why should I care about kids in fostercare?  They aren't my kids. I'm looking after my own kids. They're not my problem."

On one level that would be correct. Kids in the system aren't my kids. I didn't conceive or give birth to them. I'm not legally responsible for their well being or obligated to care for them. Here are a few reasons why I chose to ignore those facts.

1.  Love compels me, Jesus commands me. 

"For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself" Galatians 5:14

"Love your neighbor as yourself" is also found in Matthew 5:43, Matthew 19:19, Matthew 22: 39, Mark 12:3, Romans 13:9, Luke 10:27, Leviticus 19:18, and James 2:8.

I'm assuming this is really important since it is repeated so often. We are called to love and care for those within our reach. Kids in fostercare are part of our communities, they live in our cities. They are our neighbors. Not only that, they are the vulnerable, the marginalized, the outcast, the fatherless, and the "orphan" that the Bible regularly exhorts us to seek justice for.

I have been loved extravagantly and sacrificially by a God who willingly plunged himself into the muck and the mess of this sin mangled world. I have been neighbored by Jesus. He doesn't ask us to do anything that he has not already done first.

2. When vulnerable children are not cared for our whole society suffers. 

According to every statistic I've ever read kids aging out of foster care, or who have been bounced around the system for years, are at a phenomenally higher risk of every social ill we can think of.  Criminality, incarceration, homelessness, dependency, addictions, violence, mental illness, being victimized, and sex trafficking. This is not because something is inherently wrong with the children but rather because they have been denied the things they needed to become fully functional, healthy adults.

I'll share with you one tangible, close to home, example of the high social cost of failing children. A child who was born into a broken family filled with abuse and alcoholism spent the remainder of his childhood in about 25 different foster homes. He was failed by everyone. His most basic needs for attachment, nurture, security, safety, and love weren't met. Unsurprisingly he eventually turned to gangs, crime and violence. While out on probation he took the life of another man; someone's father, son, and brother. An entire family was rocked and grief-stricken. The pain was multiplied.

A terrible childhood is not an excuse for murder, however, it is a cautionary tale about the cost of wrecking kids. We all pick up the tab in one way or another.


Only 44% of children in foster care graduate from high school compared to 81% of their peers. 

Patterns of brokenness are repeated unless there are people and resources ready to step in and throw a wrench in those spinning cycles. It's messy, it's hard, and nothing is guaranteed but the cost of doing nothing and ignoring the crises happening around us is even higher.  We are the village that these kids need.

3.  It's worth it.  

We recently hung up our foster parent hats after 10 yrs of being a fosterhome.  We are now shifting our energy into raising the houseful that the Lord has blessed us with and finding new ways we can act as a support role to active foster families. I'm not going to lie, being a foster family has not been easy. The system is a mess and so are the situations that bring kids into care but in the middle of all that mess are some really beautiful, amazing, precious kids. Kids that deserve to be loved fiercely. Kids that need stability and safety. After a decade of navigating the child welfare system I can tell you it's been worth it. None of the love was wasted. None of the sleepless nights or daytime tears were futile. The deep joy that lives alongside deep sorrow is something spectacular to experience. These kids are worth loving. So are their first families. They are both our neighbors.

So what do I do now? 

I gave you three reasons why one would care fostercare, it only seems fair to give you some ideas on how you can put that concern into action.

-Become a Foster Parent. 

I don't really like having to add the "not everyone can be a foster or adoptive parent" caveat because that just seems obvious. However, I do believe that more could and should.

Really.

You don't have to be super human, or a saint or some sort of parenting expert. You just need to care and make yourself available. Everything else you'll learn as you go. If my family can do it, with all our quirks and imperfection, anyone can.

 If you are not in a position to open your home to a child in need, there are other ways that you can help. Now that I'm not a foster parent I feel more free to list these ideas without sounding like I'm begging for help myself.

- Be a source of emotional and spiritual encouragement.

Foster families tyically face a barrage of nay sayers and doomsday warnings from various concerned family, friends, and even perfect strangers. Be someone who will get excited along with them as they wait for a new arrival and be a shoulder they can cry on when that child leaves. Avoid "you chose this" admonitions or "this is too hard for you" sort of sympathy. Understand that they did choose this life and its hard. They need support not criticism. Discouragement can hit hard, especially when you're exhausted. Remind them that what they're doing matters. Sometimes a kind word is all you need to keep going.

- Help foster families in practical ways.

*Take a meal over to an overwhelmed foster mom.  Be warned that she might cry when you drop it off because she hasn't had a decent nights sleep in years and is exhausted beyond what she ever thought possible.  If she's going through a tough time or recently said a heartbreaking "goodbye" take over a gift bag full of comfort snacks, a favorite beverage, some chocolate, some bath or body product if she likes that sort of thing. Something that says "I know this is hard, it's ok to cry into a tub of ice cream while sipping wine".

*Find out what you need to do to become a social services approved respite caregiver or babysitter.  This is a HUGE need since we can't drop off our foster children with anyone or call the neighborhood teen to babysit like we can with our bio kids. It's essential that we have people we can call in case of emergency or when we desperately need a date with our neglected spouse. This might be the number one way you can help a foster family in your community. Be willing to jump through the hoops, get a background check, or whatever is required in your area and make yourself available.  They need you. They really do. You might have to remind them a time or two that you are ready and willing.

*Drop off a baby gift or a box of diapers. It's practical and it shows that you notice the new child in their home and see that this child has value. You see them. They aren't just "another foster kid".  Gestures like that mean the world to foster parents. Maybe even throw a "shower" for new foster parents. That would be pretty incredible.

*Spend some time with foster siblings. These are the unsung heroes of foster families. The permanent or bio kids of foster parents share in both the heartaches and joys that come with foster care. They also share their parents, their rooms, their toys and their time. Sometimes their portion of a parents time and energy is meager because the needs of the little ones who come through the door are immense and all-consuming. These kids would probably love to come over and do some crafts, go to an event, or go out for lunch and have someone's uninterrupted time and attention. A luxury not found at home. We love it when trusted adults invest in our kids. There are many gaps to fill and we need all the help we can get. As foster parents, we feel guilty and inadequate so much of the time. We second guess how our choices affect our own kids everytime we see them go without something or witness their hearts breaking when a beloved foster baby leaves. What a relief it would be for someone to take one of our older kids to their basketball game and stay to cheer them on when we're cooped up at home with toddlers and fussy babies. Invite them over, take them out, let them know that what they're doing as foster siblings matters too. Sometimes messages coming from a different voice has more impact.

*Shovel the walk, mow the lawn, pick up some groceries. These are all easy ways to help support families who are in the trenches and doing the hard work of fostercare.

- Be a mentor.  There are many ways to invest in the life of vulnerable kids outside of the nitty gritty stuff of parenting them. Volunteer at a group home or program for at risk youth.Volunteer some time at a crises nursery. Be involved in church ministries aimed at children and youth. Chances are there will be some kids there that need some extra attention. Coaches, teachers, Youth Pastors, Big brothers and Sisters. You are all important. Keep in mind that kids that need love the most may be the hardest ones to like. The more people a kid has on their team the better. They need to know that someone sees potential in them, that someone knows they can succeed, and that someone sees their worth and reminds them of that. You might be the only person giving them that message.

These kids, and foster families, need community.  They need a village.

You are part of that village.