Chapter Three : This Can’t Be Happening
/As I sit to write this post, I realized I am writing it on the 31st anniversary of the infamous phone call. The call that changed our lives forever, the call to come! This set off a new chain of miracles, seen and un-seen. I have no doubt there were angels on both sides of the veil working overtime for us!!! Things in Romania were getting hot, and Val was concerned adoptions would be shutting down for good. Nancy requested that we overnight two copies of our paperwork to a man who was leaving for Romania in two days. His name was Father Tofan, and he was a member of their Roman Orthodox Church. Father Tofan would be meeting up with Val and would give him our paperwork to begin the process prior to our arrival. I was nervous sending these precious documents through the mail to a man I had never met. I prayed about it, felt good, and got them in the mail immediately. I didn’t get a response from him or Nancy, and prayed they had arrived in time.
No sooner had I gathered all the things we would need for a baby girl, than we received another call from Nancy telling us that adoptions were shutting down and someone else had already adopted our baby girl! Words can't express the protective mother instinct I felt inside as I knew this was not the way it was supposed to turn out. I KNEW this child was mine! The spirit had born witness to me of this truth. Whatever I had to do to change things, I would do it. Somehow, I would figure out a way to bring her home to the family she was always meant to be a part of, and that was ours!
Up to this point, dad had been an unwavering pillar of support. As the process seemed to go from bad to worse, he was the one who kept encouraging me to move forward and not give up. With this latest news, even he began to waiver. For the first time in this entire process he said, "Maybe it's just not meant to be." Deep in my heart and soul I knew otherwise! I was under the impression the woman who had supposedly adopted Errin lived in another state or country. Nancy didn't give me a lot of information, but the whole thing just felt a little off.
Kim and Kris Randall, the couple who introduced us to Val and Nancy, had been checking in on us periodically to see how things were progressing. With everyone around me now doubting, I asked for a priesthood blessing. I’ve mentioned before that we are members of The Church of Jesus Christ Of Latter-Day Saints. The foundation of our entire adoption process was based on our faith in Jesus Christ, and His guidance through the Holy Ghost. Our religion is not just something we do on Sunday, it’s the way we strive to live our lives every day. I feel it’s important to explain here a little more about the basic doctrines and practices of our church, the following thirteen statements known as “The Articles of Faith” give a general over-view of what we believe in.
1. We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost.
2. We believe that men will be punished for their own sins, and not for Adam’s transgression.
3. We believe that through the Atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel.
4. We believe that the first principles and ordinance of the Gospel are: first, Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; second, Repentance; third, baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; fourth, Laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost.
5. We believe that a man must be called of God, by prophecy, and by the laying on of hands by those who are in authority, to preach the Gospel and administer in the ordinances thereof.
6. We believe in the same organization that existed in the Primitive Church, namely, apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers, evangelists, and so forth.
7. We believe in the gift of tongues, prophecy, revelation, visions, healing, interpretations of tongues, and so forth.
8. We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly; we also believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God.
9. We believe all that God has revealed, all that He does now reveal, and we believe that He will yet reveal many great and important things pertaining to the Kingdom of God.
10. We believe in the literal gathering of Israel and in the restoration of the Ten Tribes; that Zion (the New Jerusalem) will be built upon the American continent; that Christ will reign personally upon the earth; and, that the earth will be renewed and receive its paradisiacal glory.
11. We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how, where, or what they may.
12. We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law.
13. We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men; indeed, we may say that we follow the admonition of Paul – we believe all things, we hope all things, we have endured many things, and hope to be able to endure all things. If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things.
Based on these statements, we believe in the “laying on of hands”. This is what a priesthood blessing is.
It is sacred, and is given by one or more men who hold the Melchizedek Priesthood, which has the keys of all the spiritual blessings of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. In a priesthood blessing a servant of the Lord exercises the priesthood as moved upon by the Holy Ghost, to call upon the powers of heaven for the benefit of the person being blessed, as they speak for the Lord in giving a priesthood blessing.
There are different kinds of priesthood blessings, and they are available for all who need them, but are given only upon request of the person desiring the blessing. Persons desiring guidance in an important decision, or who are in need of extra spiritual power to overcome a personal challenge can receive a blessing. We believe if we are in tune spiritually, we can receive a confirming witness of the truth of the promised blessings. We are encouraged to ask for a priesthood blessing whenever we are in need of spiritual power. These are typically given by family members, ministering brothers (members of our ward), or priesthood leaders who hold the Melchizedek Priesthood. Priesthood blessings can help us in the small and great decisions of our lives, and is of great significance in helping us overcome obstacles on the path to eternal life. I requested a blessing of comfort and counsel. As priesthood holders perform these blessings, they follow the Savior’s example of blessing others. Priesthood blessings provide access to God’s power. Blessings are to be performed with faith in Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ and according to the guidance of the Holy Ghost. They can be recorded and kept in family records for the personal spiritual guidance of the persons blessed.
I know this is a lot of information, but because of the seriousness of situation we were facing, I felt it necessary to explain this part of our religion in a little more detail. You can learn more about priesthood blessing on the official church website www.churchofjesuschrist.org This decision would affect the rest of our lives both here on earth, and throughout all eternity. I NEEDED help and direction from my Heavenly Father, through His Son Jesus Christ, administered through the Holy Ghost. I had the FAITH necessary to do whatever the blessing encouraged me to do. If I was told it was not meant to be, then I was willing to stop and not say another word about it – hard as that would have been. However, if I got the impression to continue, I would do whatever was necessary to bring our daughter home.
Because the Randall’s were an integral part of our adoption process, we called them to come and participate in our blessings. Dad received his blessing first and it told him we were to go, and that we would be preparing the way for missionary work which would soon be coming to the country of Romania. At the time, the closest missionaries were in Hungary. They were allowed cross the border to serve in the orphanages, but could not proselyte in Romania at all. Dad’s blessing said that through the Priesthood, we would be blessed. My blessing told me, this little girl was always meant to be ours, and not to give up. For whatever reason, the adoption was not yet complete and I would get my chance. Mine also contained information about missionary work. The feeling of missionary work was so strong in my heart, that I immediately went to the LDS Church Distribution Center in Salt Lake City and purchased an entire case of Romanian copies of the Book of Mormon. It was only a partial translation at the time, and so was about half the thickness of a standard copy of the Book of Mormon. It was my hope and prayer that these books would help bring LIGHT and HOPE to God's children who were suffering greatly in that distant land. In order to fit them into our already bulging luggage, the only thing I could take out was my own clothing. I am a huge clean-freak, and this was no small sacrifice. I bathe every day, wash my hair every day, and wear a clean set of clothing every day. I wash everything after it's been worn once. I had the clothes I would be wearing, which consisted of a pair of jeans, a long sleeve T-shirt, a sweatshirt, and another sweatshirt with a partial zipper in the front. I took one more pair of pants, another T-shirt, and a knit one-piece jumpsuit. I hoped and prayed I would have the ability to wash and keep clean once I arrived. I would later discover not ALL prayers are answered how WE want them to be.
After the blessing Kris told me not to give up. I could immediately sense she knew more than she was letting on. What did she know that I didn't? I pressed her and told her it was evident she had information I didn't know about. She then shared that she knew of a woman from Salt Lake who was in Romania at that very moment to adopt a little boy through Val.
Her name was Catherine Wilson, and like us, had also completed paperwork to adopt two children. She was just about finished with the adoption for her son Taylor when Errin became available. Val was doing everything he could to get these children out of the country before adoptions shut down permanently. Evidently, Val didn't think we would be able to get there in time, and complete the adoption within the time that was left.
Catherine had gone to the maternity hospital in Galati to see little "Florina" and her mother, Dumitra Vasile. Catherine had tried to submit the paperwork to get Errin, however, the same woman who refused to notarize the translation of our papers, also refused to notarize Catherine's papers and it didn't matter what Catherine said or did, this woman at the tribunal in Galati, was unbending. Catherine really wanted to help this tiny baby girl get out of the country, but not at the risk of Taylor's adoption being finalized. She needed to get back to Bucharest and finish the process and couldn't wait any longer. Catherine evidently knew of me, and felt strongly that Errin was not her child, but that she was mine. Putting her trust and faith in the Lord, she traveled back to Bucharest. We met after I got back, and we realized somewhere in between we would have passed each other not even knowing. While I was on my way to Galati, she was on her way to Bucharest.
We spend Memorial Day every year in Morgan, Utah with Ron's family. May 28th of 1991 was no exception. We had been up there all day and were just walking in the door at 8:00 PM to the sound of the phone ringing. I ran up the stairs and it was Nancy asking us how soon could we get to Romania? Val had evidently received word from Nancy that we were still coming and had full expectations that we would return home with Errin.
Our carefully laid plan went into immediate action. I called our American Express Travel Agent on her home phone number she had given me months earlier. With only two flights going into Romania a week via Delta and Pan Am we were able to secure very expensive last minute flights for the following day - Tuesday. We would fly Delta to Dallas Fort Worth, change planes to another Delta flight to Frankfurt Germany. Then change planes again to fly Pan Am into Bucharest, Romania. We weren’t able to do any of this on the internet back then. Everything had to be done in person.
We would have just enough time to pick up our paper tickets at the Downtown Salt Lake American Express Travel office on our way to the airport. Our flight left around noon.
We had also been instructed to get a Gamma Globulin Shot before going to Romania. We remembered that at about midnight, and called our pediatrician, Dr. Bruce Jorgensen. He had given us permission to call him anytime day or night, and he just happened to have them on hand at his office. We made arrangements to meet him there Tuesday morning at 8:00 AM. That shot felt like Elmer’s Glue going in, and made for a miserable flight having to sit on a sore hip. Thankfully, our bags and boxes were already packed, weighed, and ready to go.
The reality hit me full force as we got to the boarding gate. At the time, family members could go all the way to the gate to see people off, and to see them come in as well. It was all I could do to restrain the all-out-ugly-sobbing welling up in my chest. Steph was there and playing with a new toy I had for her. She had fallen on the cement step going into John and Eileen’s house the day before in Morgan, and her top lip had a big ouchy on it, where her front teeth has just about gone all the way through. One of her teeth was already turning dark, and I worried she would lose it. I wouldn’t even be home to comfort her, and that made it even harder for me to leave. It broke my heart to leave her, not knowing for sure when or if I would return home. My morning sickness kicked in full force at the gate and I felt more nauseous than ever. I choked back the tears as I gave Ron and Steph a last minute hug before boarding the plane. The thing I had been working to accomplish the past nine months was FINALLY coming to fruition, but I was sick, scared to death, sad, happy, anxious, and prayerful that my FAITH would carry me through, and that we would return in record time.
As the plane took off, I looked out over the beautiful Salt Lake City, and thought to myself, I hope I get to see this again soon! Blind faith requires a lot from deep inside. Without the LIGHT of the gospel, and the LOVE of my Heavenly Father and our Savior Jesus Christ, I couldn’t have done this on my own. More to come on our adoption story next month.
Love Ya Lots, Les ☺