Last night, actually, only a few hours ago, I witnessed two children arrive to the airport to be united with their forever families. The children were brought by the escorts, and they all endured a long travel, with the last flight delaying the moment of their union. Everything seems stalled when something so important is at hand, doesn’t it? As we were waiting for the children to arrive, I saw one of the parents standing there without saying much, and I saw another fidgeting like crazy in such anxiety and anticipation. They all had their hearts on their sleeves, hoping that they would finally meet their child and not wait another moment.
It was very quiet at the airport, being close to 3 am and all, and we found out that the babies had arrived at another gate. The parents and Jason and I walked speedily to the baggage claim, but I knew, in their hearts, they wanted to run but was keeping their composure. Of course, their hearts were already there.
And then, at last, the moment they were waiting for.
They each walked to their child and waited eagerly for the escorts to hand over the baby so they could hold, touch, talk to, kiss, and embrace their child. The children began to cry at the strange and overwhelming environment, and they grieved. With their tiny voices, and little droplets of tears, they grieved. It was incredible to see that they could sense that it was a stressful time.
Knowing that those children were abandoned or relinquished, for whatever the circumstances their birth parents were in, and for them to be received into a family to be loved, reminded me of the love that God has for us. We may be, or may feel that we were, abandoned by our earthly parent(s), but our Heavenly Father will never leave us. “In love, he predestined us to be adopted as His sons through Jesus Christ..” (Ephesians 1:5). Those parents exemplified the love of Christ through the act of adoption.
All the while, I was attempting to talk to the parents, take some pictures for them, and make sure everyone was doing okay, but it was such an inexplicable moment for me. I expected this to affect me, but it affected me in an unexpected way. I think when you experience another life being changed in such a powerful way, it undoubtedly changes you.
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
I escorted an adoptee baby when I returned to U.S. back in 2006. I have to go through an interview process to get approval. And then, I meet the baby to get familiar before the long flight. The foster mom had the baby longer than usual, since the baby kept getting sick. He was seven months and 20 pounds. It's a rare case to find an escort going all the way to Atlanta on a non-stop flight, and becasue I looked strong enough to carry the 20lb baby, they decided to send him to his parents, even though he is still bit sick. The departure date finally came. His foster mother cried and said her good byes. It must be a hard thing to say good bye every few months. I was warned about possibility of diarrhea. We were dropped off by a shuttle bus at the airport. He is now in my care. Wow.. He cried a bit, and had some problems with diarrhea. Mostly, he tried to sleep. When he got cranky, I sang softly to him, as instructed by his foster mom. The agency asked me to change his clothes before meeting his mom. They want to make sure he looks good for the pictures. Getting through the immigration took a while for the baby – it's his first time in U.S.
Christin, thanks for sharing that. We hear about the adoptive parents' stories and sometimes, also about the foster mother's, but never the escort's perspective. I imagined it was tough but never heard an escort's personal account before. This will be helpful when I tell adoptive parents about their child's travel experience. Thanks for shedding light to an often unknown part of the child's journey home.
I can only imagine the anxiety the parents were feeling at this point. The baby was very tired and was trying to sleep. By this time, I was also very tired and looked horrible. Slowly, I came up on the escalator at the ATL airport. I was afraid that his parents would not be there and I wouldn't know what to do. As I got closer to the top, I saw a woman with a poster. I couldn't see the poster, but knew who she must be. She pointed at the poster, and I saw a picture of a baby. I nodded as I climbed off the escalator. A crowd of about 15 people came around me. I handed the baby to his mother. He woke up and smiled at his mom. He must have known. He barely smiled or made an attempt to during the long trip, but at the moment of meeting his mom he gave her a big one. What a priceless moment it was. I took a couple of picture with them before going my way. It was a very sad moment, but I have not doubt that he is where God placed him. I am going to Korea with my in-laws next year to bring back my niece next year. I am very looking forward to the trip.