Meet & Greet

We had the opportunity to go to a get-together yesterday organized by our agency for families that are adopting from DR Congo.  A lot of the families in this program live outside of Colorado but it was nice to meet other couples going through the same process.  It was a bit disheartening to be the only couple without a referral, the only couple not able to proudly show off pictures of a new son or daughter that is waiting to be brought home.  We were reminded multiple times by agency staff members that there were quite a few healthy babies waiting for homes right now and that when we were ready to send in our fees, we'd have a pretty immediate referral.  It was nice to hear from other adoptive moms that the fundraising piece is the hardest part of the process but it so worth it once you first "meet" your child by seeing his/her picture.

The best part of the morning was being able to meet Daniel and his wife Sandra and their two children.  He is one of the country coordinators for the Congo program and is in charge of logistics on the Congo side of this process.  He grew up in Congo and moved to the U.S. when he was 19 and now lives with his family in Denver.  He was able to share a lot about how the kids in the orphanages are named, how they are taken care of, and how grateful he is that so many of these orphans will be given better lives in the United States.  He also shared with us about his involvement as president of the Congolese Community of Colorado, a group of Congolese that get together for cultural celebrations.

Sandra made us a lunch of traditional Congolese foods, including ground cassava leaves (pondu), beef samosas, and fried plantains.  We learned that there are quite a few African markets in Denver that sell many of the traditional foods served in the Congo.  She also spoke a little bit about the best way to take care of African hair.

A Congolese woman and a missionary making pondu.

We left the gathering excited to learn more about Congolese culture and how we could integrate it into our new family's traditions.