The Adoption Process

The following was written by Rachel and Kassidy from Indiana (who also happen to be sisters-in-law):

For the first four days of our Bolivian lives we were all orphans. It wasn´t until Sunday that we were claimed, one set of siblings at a time. The first to leave were Grael and Sara L. It was a sad process, like our group was being divided forever. In reality we would all work together the very next day. We all got claimed until there were only 2 left–the 2 youngest, ironically. As each sibling set was claimed, we took turns doing crazy things for send-off. We created a tunnel to send Kirsten, Alyssa and Margo off. Sad lonely faces for Grael and Sara L. Group hug for Sara M. Amanda tried to run after us when Rachel and I (Kassidy) were adopted. The youngest had to wait another hour before a family decided to claim them. Being in new places with complete strangers gives you the option to build walls or drop them. We´ve chosen to drop ours and the benefits are wonderful. Life in Bolivia is great!