(PHOTO: Jones, left, and Tuck on right from 2009)
Five years ago, on February 6, 2009, our then small family of 5, joined by my mother Janine, excitedly and a bit nervously drove through the gates of the Dong Anh Orphanage on the outskirts of Hanoi, Vietnam in search of our children. Since receiving a call inquiring as to whether we’d adopt twins, our lives became a whirl of meetings with the adoption agency, home visits with social workers, unproductive meetings with State Department officials, conferences with lawyers, and endless paperwork and notary signatures. Just a month before, Lisa and I decided to turn our lives upside down and move the family to Hanoi to unite our family. Without any clue when we could all return to the United States, anticipation was very high that February morning. Now, exactly 5 years from the day, the seven of us drove through the very same gate to show Tuck and Jones their first home.
The family arriving at Dong Anh gates 5 years from the day of first meeting Tuck and Jones
Our gang 5 years ago… everyone’s a little taller!
Project Equator has a few key objectives, one being able to revisit Dong Anh Orphanage and reconnect with some of the people we met when we lived in Hanoi. Unfortunately, almost all our contacts were lost to old technology we no longer could access, so months of trying to get in contact with anyone in Vietnam before we left proved fruitless. Arriving in Hanoi, we were not sure how we would get permission. We did have a picture from 5 years ago of the entrance sign to the orphanage with a telephone number on it, however. Upon showing it to our prodigious host Viet, he got out his cell phone and went to work. In 10 minutes, Viet had reached the orphanage director at his home, who very much remembered Chien (Jones) & Thang (Tuck) – Chien Thang means victory in Vietnamese – and invited us to visit! He also got in touch with Dr. Hong, who was instrumental in helping us navigate the peculiarities of Vietnamese/US adoption, and arranged for her to meet us at Dong Anh.
Tuck showing the orphanage Director photos from 5 years ago
The Director 5 years ago!
Everything at the orphanage is exactly as we remember it, including all of the people who worked there 5 years ago. They all remembered the twins, causing lots of tear-jerking moments as hugs, smiles and love spread throughout the facility. Tuck and Jones really enjoyed the visit as they explored the place where they lived, slept and played. I was a little overwhelmed realizing that the boys were meeting their extended family for the first time. It is comforting to be reminded just how well Tuck and Jones were cared for as babies, and I couldn’t help but feel that the babies and toddlers residing in the orphanage today are part of our extended family.
Jones and Tuck holding a couple of babies who are part of their extended family
Tuck and Jones being reunited with one of their nannies
Same nanny holding Tuck right before we left 5 year ago
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Melts your heart, huh?!
We spent three hours, mostly hanging out with the 18 children currently living at Dong Anh. Dr. Hong explained to us that with the United States no longer adopting, in addition to a layering of more bureaucracy from the adoption ministry of Vietnam, babies don’t leave the orphanage until they are 2 or 3 years old now, if at all. We all held the babies and played with the kids. Using the iPad as a mirror, the boys and girls had fun watching themselves on the screen, and proved to be a great warm-up to interact with them.
Jones and Nam
We fell in love with all of the kids, of course, but a few really touched our souls. Nam, an 8-month old boy, really grabbed on to Tuck, Jones and I. When it was time to go, I could barely give up holding him. A beaming 3-year old boy who has undergone 2 of many surgeries for a severe cleft palette, took hold of Lisa and Otto’s heart. A little girl with a perfect China Doll haircut aimed her big saucer-sized eyes and beaming smile on all of us… They all deserve a family and a home of their own, which made leaving them behind, as we pulled out of the gates, so inexorable; but the loving, dedicated staff provides a small amount of comfort and hope for these children.
Me and Nam
Tuck and Jones with Dr. Hong and two of her kids
Tuck and Jones with the crew!
Lisa getting sucked in!!
What a face!
The visit and experience was everything we could have hoped for. Most importantly, Tuck and Jones had fun, coming away with positive, good feelings about their first home. We also reconnected with Dr. Hong, who has – get this – 5 children, 4 of whom are boys, 3 of which are adopted! How bizarre is THAT! We had spent a wonderful day with she and her husband 5 years ago hiking in the countryside, going to their house and eating at a favorite restaurant. The day after our reunion at Dong Anh, we all went to Dr. Hong’s house where we all were reunited for dinner. The kids are all similar ages, and everyone go along great as we chatted with away about adoptions, our lives and the great luck that we all reconnected. She also invited Thang, our nanny who saved our lives every day in Hanoi, and her husband. They both took Tuck and Jones home with them for a few days when we went to Cambodia 5 years ago as well, so they are also part of the whole, crazy story!
Every day, Thang would come to our apartment in Hanoi for over 5 months to take care of the boys for 3 or 4 hours to give us a break… she came over to Dr. Hong’s house for dinner!!
If you want to read more about what it was like when we adopted Tuck and Jones, check out our adoption blog “The Sharples in Vietnam!?
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