A few days ago I mentioned I was looking for a certain video I wanted to share. This is it. It was a little over a year ago that we drove to the airport to greet Zinabu. This video is very bittersweet to me--I can remember being scared out of my mind. Meeting a perfect stranger who was essentially my child! I see Zinabu in this short video clip and cannot help but comment on how incredibly brave he is. He had just left his home country, had flown for endless hours with strangers, could not understand English, was exhausted, was already getting sick with the mumps, and had to meet his new family. Can you imagine?

Although it is hard to see in this clip, Z walked with a definite waddle, almost like he was wearing cowboy boots that were too big for him. His legs had atrophied muscles and he was incredibly bowlegged. Partly from malnutrition, we suspect... It's hard to know. He had a very difficult time on playground equipment when he first arrived, and all his muscles were frighteningly weak. In the past year his legs have bulked up and there are no lingering issues. He has grown almost 10 inches this year. TEN INCHES!!! Amazing what nutrition will do.

So although this video is a milestone for our family, I grieve because it was such a traumatic time for Z and a blatant reminder of how much he needed good food and a family. I am still processing all of it. I feel so strongly about adoption, the call for decent families to step up and give an orphan a home, the need for children all over world to have a decent meal and heath care each day, the reality that too many (millions) die from hunger and preventable diseases...

I implore you to make a difference!