[Others who did it] [About Us] [Caribbean Links]
![[Betsy Burgdorff]](../images/betsy.jpg)
SUBJECT: Betsy's Letter #17
AUTHOR: Betsy Burgdorf, her husband Ted, and the youngest of their three girls - Kara, work with her sister Becky Gates and family in Guyana.
DATE: June 22, 1997
Dear Family and Friends:
In my last letter I mentioned that Kristen had malaria. After 9 days she is finally feeling well again, and we are thankful for that. However, the malaria left her very pale, with bluish lips and fingernails. She looks awful! I had to put a little blush on her cheeks for church yesterday so she wouldn't look like death warmed over, but I couldn't hide the blue lips. We have her on vitamins, iron, and folic acid to try and build her blood up again.
Heidi has decided to go to Laurelbrook Academy with Lina and Katrina Gates, David's daughters (if they get accepted). They will have to leave in 2 weeks to get there by July 13. They are required to work at least 6 weeks in the summer. Laurelbrook is a self-supporting school in Dayton, Tennessee. It's a long way from home, and we don't like that, but otherwise we like what we hear about the school. Katie Gates (David's daughter) just graduated from there and has been telling the girls all about it. One thing we really like is the cost: about $7,500 for tuition, room and board. And by participating in the vocational training program, the kids earn scholarships from $3,600 - $5,850, based on what grade they make. That makes Laurelbrook much more affordable than either Fresno Academy or M.B.A. Anyway, Heidi is excited about it. She wasn't looking forward to homeschooling this year. We hope it works out for her to go to school there, even though I can hardly bear the thought of her leaving home!
This next bit of news we didn't plan to announce until we knew a little more for certain whether or not it would happen. But word has gotten out, so the time has come to write about it.
In February I wrote about a lady in Paruima who died in childbirth with a retained placenta, leaving a baby boy. I was ready to take the baby if he needed a home, but a lady in Paruima took him.
In March (the 5th) when Ted's parents were here, Ted and I along with Heidi, Ted's Mom, and David flew to Paruima for one hour. At that time I met Olive, the lady who took the baby, and also the baby. Olive was so happy to have the baby, since she had a 6 year-old girl and hadn't been able to get pregnant again. I asked whether there were any other children who had been left orphans when this lady died, and found out there were two: a girl, 6 years old, and a boy, 3 years old. I asked if they needed a home, and she said they were staying with their grandmother.
We flew back to Kaikan and I put the whole thing in the back of my mind and didn't think too much more about it. Until 3 weeks later, when the Paruima Pathfinders arrived in Kaikan on their way to Arau. "Aunt Olive says you can come get the children now". Oh my! I don't know if I looked as shocked as I felt. I said, "Well, we'll have to talk and pray about this".
Ted and I decided (first week in April) we better hike to Paruima with the Pathfinders when they went back so we could check out the situation with these kids. So that's how we ended up hiking to Paruima!
We met with the family and got as much information as we could. Youlanda, the grandmother, is a widow and says it is very difficult for her to raise the children. She has 11 children; 2 have died. None of her other kids want to take on 2 more children. Three still live at home.
I fell in love with the children when I first laid eyes on them! Francey is 6 and Corwin is 3. We talked with the family and the Captain of the village and told them we would look into adoption, but couldn't promise anything since we had no idea what adoption laws in Guyana were and didn't even know if they'd let foreigners adopt. We said we'd pray about it and see how the Lord led. We told the family we would keep in touch and see how things worked out. I think they wanted us to take the kids right away, but we couldn't do that, so we left without them.
The first word we got from Georgetown was that it was very difficult for foreigners to adopt. We have 2 contacts in Georgetown: Pastor Quashi, who has a ham radio license and who comes on the radio frequently; and Winston James, who works at the Conference Office and is a very knowledgeable person with lots of contacts. Winston has arranged for a lawyer for us, a Christian lady. We have not met her yet. Everything has been done over the radio so far. We found out that our lawyer has just completed another adoption for a U.S. couple, and we have been told by Pastor Quashi and Winston James, "Don't worry. Just take one step at a time. The lawyer will let you know what to do next."
Last week the Captain of Paruima flew to Georgetown with some documents: Birth Certificates of the children, health records, documents on the Grandmother, and a document from the family officially giving us custody of the children. Now we just need to get the children! Two weeks ago we tried to arrange a flight into Paruima to get the kids, then received word from Paruima that they were working on their airstrip and a plane couldn't land there. That was disappointing. Then last Friday (June 20) we got word that the runway was ready and we could go get the kids now. At this point we are waiting for David to come with the plane, hopefully in 2 or 3 days. We hope to have the children by this weekend!
Last month we sent word that we were ready to take the kids, and as soon as we got the go-ahead from the lawyer, and asked the family if they'd be willing to walk over with the children. But because of rainy season and swollen creeks, that was nor possi- ble. We're trying to be patient and wait on the Lord's timing.
We have done a lot of praying and talking about this, and realize that things will not be easy. But we feel the Lord is leading us in this direction. We continue to look to the Lord for guidance as we seek to do His will. I believe with all my heart that if God wants us to have these kids, that he will be able to provide for their needs.
Ted and I and the girls are all very excited about the possibility of adding 2 new children to our family! Heidi walked with us to Paruima so she met the kids, but Kristen and Kara have only seen pictures, and they can hardly wait to meet them in person. If you have access to the Internet, you can see a picture of them with their Grandmother.
We are waiting now on a Death Certificate for Camelia, the mother. Things are frustratingly slow out here in the middle of nowhere, where you can't just pick up the phone and make a call, or jump in your car and go see someone in person. But at least some progress is being made.
It has been difficult writing letters without saying anything about this, but we thought it best not to say anything until things looked a little more certain, so we wouldn't get people excited (or upset!) over nothing. At this point our departure date is de- pendent on how things go with the adoption. Eleven weeks have already gone by since we first met the kids in Paruima. Things are starting to happen and we hope and pray things proceed smoothly and quickly. We are anxious to get back to the States in time for school to start. Please pray for us that things will proceed according to God's plan. At this point it doesn't look like we'll be home in time for Campmeeting, though, unless things proceed very quickly.
Love, Betsy
You may write to Betsy at: gates@andrews.edu