If you’ve known me for any length of time, you’ve probably heard me talk about Estefani. I've removed and edited several of my older posts for her privacy; but I wanted to share a short version of what God has done over the years with this sweet girl and what a gift she is. Truly, these words barely scratch the surface of all we’ve been through together. Still, I hope they are enough to introduce you to my daughter and how deeply she is loved.
Estefani started as my sponsored child in 2014 when she was 7 years old. Child sponsorship usually means providing financial support towards education and offering offering discipleship/mentorship through letters for a child who already has a family and just needs the extra support.
Photo from our first visit
When I learned during a visit that both of Estefani’s parents were deceased and her kinship home was not stable, some friends and I enlisted professionals to try to support them. When those efforts were seeming unsuccessful, I looked into adoption. This was a long and complicated journey which lasted several years and provided very few options. Still, during this time, we shared many visits and precious moments together, including Christmas and birthday celebrations.
Estefani’s 9th Birthday, 2015
Christmas 2015
Christmas 2015 with my childhood doll
Estefani’s 11th birthday, 2017
Christmas 2019
Christmas 2019
Estefani’s quinceañera (15th birthday) at the Hilton Princess, 2021
Estefani’s quinceañera, 2021
Adoption didn't end up happening, for many reasons including legal restrictions and changes within Estefani’s biological family. Thankfully, her relatives who she stayed with were thrilled to allow me to come alongside the family and continue to support her. By the time this was decided, I was already several years into parenting as much as possible from a distance. That was a commitment I wasn’t willing to break. For this reason, in my heart, Estefani will always be my daughter. I’m so thankful she was able to grow up in her culture with her relatives, while knowing I will ALWAYS love her as my own.
This year in 2024, Estefani turned 18 years old. Shortly before her 18th birthday, I was shocked to receive a message telling me she had moved here to the US to stay with one of her relatives! 10 years after I originally tried to bring her here, Estefani and I were living in the same country! It’s the best of both worlds, where she can be near both me and her biological family. Now she can visit all the places I’ve written to her about, meet our family and friends, and share even more milestone moments together. This very well may be my last formal blog post about Estefani, because this is now less of a story to tell and more just our daily life. But for any of you who know me personally, I’m sure you’ll continue to see her on my private social media from time to time.
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