Eli - in the news

A FAMILY BECOMES COMPLETE

This is the first photograph taken of the family of Brian and Sandra Bryant of Carmi after their recent adoption of Eli, who was born in Kazakhstan. Also welcoming the boy into the family were sisters Isabelle and Abbie.
By Barry Cleveland
Carmi Times
Fri Aug 29, 2008, 04:23 PM CDT

The family of Janice and Richard Gates is, in a sense, a microcosm of America.
It is truly a melting pot.
The rural Carmi couple's oldest daughter, Sharon Douthitt, spoke to the Kiwanis Club of Carmi Aug. 14 and brought along her daughter, AnnaMaria, whom Sharon and her husband Jeff had adopted and brought home from Central America last year.
It was the turn Thursday of the youngest Gates daughter, Kiwanian Sandra Bryant, and her husband, Brian, as they spoke to the Kiwanians about their experiences in adopting a son.
AnnaMaria and that son, Eli, were born a day-and a world-apart. AnnaMaria was born Oct. 20, 2006 in a village in coastal Guatemala. Eli was born Oct. 21, 2006 in the central Asian nation of Kazakhstan.
But the two are cousins now, and Americans.
The Bryants (whose story was told in detail in a Times story by Braden Willis published Feb. 22) brought Eli (among other family members) with them Thursday; they showed color slides of Kazakhstan, displayed some items they brought back from that country and answered questions from Kiwanians and guests.
The couple said they decided in November 2006, after much thought and prayer, to adopt a child. "I researched both domestic and abroad," said Brian, adding that with a domestic adoption, "you just had to wait so long."
Children available for adoption from Kazakhstan were reported to be generally healthy, and the waiting period was shorter than in some other countries, he said. The couple located a Christian-based agency in Kansas which had experience in helping Americans adopt Kazakh children, he said, and that agency handled the initial contacts.
Last fall, the Bryants learned that they were in line to adopt a child; they received a photo of Eli just weeks before they and their daughters (Abbie, now 9, and Isabelle, now 6) left for the Asian nation in November. They had hoped that the process could be completed in three weeks, but instead it took five. The family returned home to the U.S., but Brian was able to return about three weeks later, get Eli (whose 18-year-old birth mother gave him up for adoption) and bring him home to White County.
Brian spoke first Thursday, giving the Kiwanians some background about Kazakhstan. It declared its independence in 1991 and was the last of the former Soviet republics to do so, he said. Russia lies to its north, China to the east, the "stans" (other former Soviet republics) to the south and the Black Sea to the west.
The ninth largest country in the world, in terms of geographical area (about four times the size of Texas), it ranks about 62nd in population, Bryant said. Its people are largely ethnic Kazakhs and Russians; Islam is the predominant religion, but there is a significant Russian Orthodox minority.
The country has vast reserves of oil and gas, which the U.S. is helping it develop, and it could be among the world's top ten producers on oil if those resources were producing, Bryant said. It has many other mineral resources, and its farmer produce livestock and cotton. Kazakhstan is the world's seventh-largest wheat producer, he added.
The terrain is diverse and the climate is harsh; the high temperature in the summer reaches the mid 70s, while in the winter it is very cold. It was 40 below when the Bryants left in December.
Technically a democracy, in fact the country has been ruled by the same president since 1991. But Bryant said it's a safe place, with a very low crime rate and a heavy presence of soldiers and police officers. In fact, the club was told, the Americans were "tailed" everywhere they went when they visited a mall.
The family flew into Pavlodar in the northern part of the country, near Siberia. They had a nice fifth-floor apartment (with no elevator) with two bedrooms and a TV which got CNN (in English) said Sandra, and they had a nice shower and tub, but the water temperature was uneven. They were next door to a Canadian couple who were also adopting. They saw few Americans during their stay.
The Bryants made these other observations:
-- The Kazakh people, by and large, were very kind, particularly to the Bryant girls.
-- There are significant cultural differences. They tried horse meat, a local staple, and it "wasn't too bad." They found some restaurants which they enjoyed, and the food was less expensive than in this country. But they also took food with them when they left the U.S., and they ate all of it before coming home. And "don't drink the water," Sandra said.
-- Those who use public toilets must pay for the toilet paper.
-- Although there were some beautiful churches and mosques, most of the architecture was of the Soviet era-concrete and drab.
-- They showed slides of varied scenes, including a Korean Christian church in which they worshiped, native dress, a typical Kazakh home, ice sculptures, a hockey game (with a team from neighboring Russia), the bazaar outside a mall, the orphanage where Eli was living, restaurants, a sampling of the food, an unusual (for Westerners) toilet
Their "lifeline home" was an internet cafe. They took a computer with them and set up a blog. They also communicated with their American families by e-mail and occasionally by telephone.
-- Their translator accompanied them "everywhere," loved to practice her English and soaked up information about the U.S. Their driver was the father of the Kazakh lawyer who handled the adoption.
-- The orphanage (which housed about 100 children up to age 4) was clean but not very modern, by American standards. Eli shared a room with ten other children. The children did not have diapers; instead, sheets were wrapped around their legs and they were "potty-trained" at a very early age.
-- There was one high chair for every ten children. The process of feeding the children was quick-they were spoon-fed-and the food did not always taste or smell very good, according to American standards.
-- The Bryants got to spend about three hours a day with Eli, six days a week (never on Sundays), during their time in Kazakhstan.
-- Eli (the name they gave him) was not walking when they arrived, but he was within a few days. The Kazakh doctor attributed it to the Bryants' love of the child.
-- The Bryants took gifts for the orphanage with them to Kazakhstan (including some diapers); Brian took some flowers and a cake to the orphanage director when he returned for Eli.
-- People told them not to get sick, as the quality of healthcare was substandard and people went to hospitals only if absolutely necessary.
-- They got homesick just once-at Christmas.
"It was the best experience of our lives," said Sandra of the family's visit. "It was the best family time we've ever had."