So the caseworker is scheduled to arrive at noon and share lunch with us. Noon and came and went. At 1:00 we decided to eat without her and just hope she was lost and still on her way. Turns out she was delayed at her job for some reason and just got a lot start. We were warned about Colombia time. Punctuality is not a huge deal here. When she showed up she ate and asked Treisy a couple of questions.

“Did you like visiting your hometown?”
“No!”
“No? Why not?”
“Becasue I cried a lot there.”
“Why did you cry?”
“Because that is where Sister (her caregiver, the nun) abandoned me.”

That’s when the caseworker, the attorney and the advocate all told her that was not true and that Sister would never do that. Sister was just giving her to her new family.

“Do you like your family?”
“Yes.”
Do you like your mom?”
“Yes”
Do you like your dad?”
“Yes”

Check. Check. Check. You could almost see the caseworker just checking the basics off her list… not like she didn’t care but simply to get through the formality of those questions. Turns out she was just getting through getting through them as I’ll explain later.

She turned then to Izaac. “How do you like your new sister?”
“Oh, I love her. She’s great!” (note: we’ll see if he’s saying that in 5 years =) He probably will be with some qualifications…)
“What kinds of things do you do with her?”
“I read to her and play with her.”

Next, big sister.
“Do you like your new sister?”
“Yes, I like her a lot!”
“What kinds of things do you do with her?”
“Everything really. I read to her, help her get dressed, play outside with her, push her on the swing, and dance with her.”

And that concluded the interview. The formal part took about 2 minutes. Turns out the caseworker had already filed the paperwork that morning knowing everything was fine. She explained: I’ve been doing this a long time and you just know… you just know.”

She then proceeded to give us some advice. “Don’t be too lenient on her. I had to remove a child from fostercare last week because the parents gave the child whatever she wanted and would never say no or provide boundaries.” We assured her we were not that kind of parents. I think Tracy said (with hand motions included since we don’t know Spanish well): “We are firm but kind.”

Reminded me of St. Paul’s ancient parenting advice: “Fathers, don’t exasperate your children by coming down hard on them. Take them by the hand and lead them in the way of the Master.” So it’s not just “NO!” all the time. And it’s not just “Yeah, sure” all the time. There is personal, loving contact that discerns when to say “no” without exasperating them and when to take them by the hand and show them the way not just let them do whatever they want.

By the way > Happy Father’s day to all the fathers out there.
… and Happy first Father’s day to Treisy! I am so honored to be your father for this momentous occasion. You now have a Papi (on earth as it is in heaven) and you always will…

Dear Treisita,

Yesterday was much harder and much more amazing than we could have ever imagined.

We were warned by many people not to expect you to run into our arms and be as excited as we are about this transition. We had other well meaning people tell us we were different and somehow would be exempt from a hard transition. In a sense both were right. It was a difficult transition as you said good bye to hermana, the sister that raised you for 3+ years. We could also tell it was hard for her as well. You cried hard and I mean body heaving, gasping for air, inconsolably hard for about 20 minutes when we left the office and started for home. But then you fell asleep in your mama’s arms (thanks to a sucker from our driver and a very patient, resilient mom who would not let you go. When you woke up you were in my arms. We transitioned you during the meal when you fell asleep. You never left my arms from that time until we arrived at Bogota 2 hours later. It was among the best and most memorable moments of my life and I will cherish those 2 hours forever. When you woke we ate some chicken, I read you some books, you started to talk tentatively. I had no idea what you were saying (you were talking very quietly and in Spanish words I had not yet learned i.e. most of them) but I affirmed everything as if you were reciting the most startling poetry. To me it was. I could literally feel us bonding and adjusting to each other as the moments passed. I would ask you simple questions and you would answer with a nod of the head or a couple words and the whole time you would look at me out of the corner of your eye but as soon as I looked at you, you would look away. I think you were trying to figure out if I was in fact, the gringo papa you knew would one day come. By the way, you had been telling people long before we even heard of you or started this process that you would one day have a big family with aunts, uncles, grandparents and gringo parents with a big house. When we surfaced, even Hermana was surprised how well we fit the descriptions you used to give. It was almost as if you knew before anyone else. We’ll be watching to see if God is giving you some kind of prophetic gift or if this was just his way of encouraging hope in you. Either way we’re all amazed.

While I’m on that topic, here’s a couple other things the sister said. First she told us you are a leader. She said that all the little kids in the orphanage would follow you around and look to you for cues on how to behave and what to do. Even more importantly you were a caring leader and would always ask for extra of anything you were given and then give it away to the other kids. You always wanted to make sure everyone had enough.

So like i said in a way both those who warned us and those who encouraged us were right. It was a hard transition but in the scheme of things very short-lived. When we got back to the hotel you played and giggled and just grafted into the family like you had always been a part of it. It seemed so natural and right after the ride home. You even started calling me papa and your mom, mama and your siblings “mi hermanos” before dinner. We could not be any happier.

And not it is the morning of your second day with us and you are starting to stir so I’m not about to sit in front of this computer and miss a thing you do or say so I’ll write more later…

much love from su papa!

Dearest Trecita,

Hija mia, te amo mucho! (My daughter, I love you very much) Yesterday, your mom, Izaac, Zoe and I had an incredible day exploring the beautiful city where you have been raised so far. It is absolutely gorgeous and we have fallen in love with it with great ease. We met some new friends, Lilia and Leo. Lilia is an American living in Colombia and working at a school. She is a worship leader and songwriter as well. (Zoe REALLY hit it off with her) Leo is her husband of only 2 weeks! He is Colombian and also an accomplished musician who studied jazz guitar in Bogota. He kept us laughing the whole day. (Izaac especially laughed at his jokes. Something you’ll learn soon enough is that boys never really grow up and their humor can be recycled for years but stays about 7th grade level)

Here’s some of the things we did to experience this wonderful city together:

- We rode the Transmi to El Centro where we saw lots of people, most of them on bikes and many, many pigeons and street vendors as well.
- We ate delicious and super greasy empanadas. Your brother Izaac especially loved them and as you’ll soon find out food is one of the things he is passionate about. We’re not sure if its because he is almost a teenager or if he’s destined to be a chef but he’s really into it. We also thought you’d want to know that Lilia and Leo gave what we couldn’t finish eating to a woman with 3 children begging on the street.
- Next we ate oblea for dessert. That was something I had never heard of until yesterday but I’ll bet you’ve eaten eaten it many time. Thin wafers smothered in caramel sauce, soy cheese, jelly, nuts, pineapples and probably something else I’m forgetting. It was delicious. We shared 2 among the 6 of us so it kinda of felt like dessert AND communion as we all ate off the same wafers.
- Next we went to the biggest plaza in Bogota called Plaza Simon Bolivar. This is also a place of pigeons and vendors. More importantly its the place where most protests happen and from what we hear your people know hot to protest! We like that. We’re a little upset about many things in the world too and protesting often feels like the right thing to do in the face of injustice.
- At this Plaza we ate biche; a sour, salty, peppery mango-in-a-bag “treat”. Papa didn’t like it AT ALL but Izaac and Zoe seemed to really enjoy it.
- We then walked past the president’s house. What we would call in the USA the “White House.” Leo calls the Colombian President’s house the “Brown House” which is also what we call our home in Cincinnati.
- Jaun Valdez Cafe was next. A bit commercialized but great coffee and a needed rest stop for a day filled with lots of walking. We loved it and enjoyed one of the things that your country is the best in the world at: Coffee.
- Next stop: Botero museum. We had a blast here looking at the most famous artist from your country. He has a fascination with people who are… how can I say this… on the chunky side… en espanol, “gordo.” We laughed at many of his paintings but his talent is unmistakable. And his message is important too: Who said that skinny is more beautiful than chunky. Perhaps we got it all wrong and bigger IS better when it comes to weight. Or at least equal. It’s a longer discussion for another day but beauty seems often determined by what society at large tells us. Society at large is usually wrong…
- We ended the day on top of Monserrate, a high mountain overlooking the whole city with a church at the top. When we walked into the church the priest was offering blessings so we went up and told him about you and asked him to bless you and your transition into our family. (by the way, dozens of other people are also praying for the same today. You have no idea how vast the community you’re being grafted into really is but it’ll be fun to introduce you over the years to all of them.) The priest’s prayer was powerful and full of joy. He prayed for you, our family, and our friends who have supported us and you along the way. (we are especially thankful for tu tia Brooke y tio Aaron… they introduced us to you and have been a part of your life almost from the begining.)

As we were coming down the mountain it poured rain out of the heavens. It was amazing! It hardly ever rains that hard in Cincinnati but Lillia and Leo tell us it happens here almost everyday during this season but only lasts for a couple hours. It made the ride home extra fun…

We can’t wait to meet you in a few short hours from now!

con amor,

Papa (para mama y Izaac y Zoe tambien)

We had close to 200 people, dozens of incredible silent auction items, espresso thanks to Larry and Chris, great food thanks to Andy and many other friends… and we raised over $7100.00!! We are on our way….

We leave in 4 hours. More to come as internet access allows….

Thanks be to God, and our friends and family. We have an unbelievably deep and wide community of allies. I feel spoiled in every way. If you’re reading this chances are that includes you…

Up until now we have covered our expenses via gifts, a grant and more gifts. A little money back from our favorite uncle (Sam) also helped. We are making the final payment to Bethany today that has to be made before we leave. That will bring us current on all pre-travel expenses. it will also bring the account to exactly $0.00. This is a good thing. We have seen this all along a practicum in learning to trust God. God has faithfully provided what we needed, when we needed it.

So with that we are going in the fundraising gala this Saturday, 7:00pm @ St E’s (1759 Mills Ave. 45212) (HINT, HINT) with nothing in the account but high hopes and lots of trust.

After talking to Tracy this morning we decided on these as goals for the remainder of our expenses (which include all lodging, food, and travel in Colombia as well as little Treisey’s flight home):

- rice, beans and hostel goal: $5000 (total)
- clean linens and private bathrooms goal: $8000 (total)
- makin’ momma and baby secure and comfy: $10,000 (total)

Heads bowed and fingers crossed…

***

Come and share in a lovely evening of drinks and hors d’euvres (complements of Andy’s Mediterranean grille) and hear the story of the Rains family and their journey toward adoption of little Treisy from Colombia.

There will be several wonderful items up for grabs in a silent auction, including

Kids Birthday Party Package by Soiree Events
Detail by Cent er City Collision
Massage by Equilibrium
TAZA Coffee
Sculpture by Scott Fairchild
Framed Photography by Collin Rowland
Gift pack of Over the Rhine Merchadise
Two Retreats by Sustainable Faith
Framed photography by D.G. Hollums
Signature Cigars
Art by Julianna Boehm
Kids Photoshoot by Sara Green
Custom Knit item by Julie Gross
Art by Laura McNeel
Art by Elizabeth Hatchett
Art by Owen Brock

Suggested donation for admission to the event is $12.