Austin, Age 8

My name is Austin and I was born in Varna Bulgaria on in 1998.  I went home to Canada with my forever family on March 26, 2000. I want to share with you what it means to me to have been blessed to be adopted. When I lived in the orphanage, I would look through the door for someone to love me and to take me home with them in their arms. It was really sad and lonely without someone to love me the way a parent loves their child. I think if I had stayed there, I would be very angry and probably not a very nice kid.

My mom and dad couldn't have a baby and it made them really sad. My mom told me that she always prayed that one day she would be a mom. God knew that I would be her child and she would be my mother. God made our sadness go away the day that we met each other. When my mom picked me up in her arms, I held onto her hair and it made me feel so good. My mom and dad tell me that when it was time to go and see where I had been living, I walked around so proud. I showed them where my bed was and where I liked to play. Mom and dad took pictures and I am happy now that I can have those memories of my home in Bulgaria.

I have a mom and dad who make me feel so loved and that makes me feel safe and secure. I am lucky to have them because they believe in me and never give up on me. I will be able to go to school and become educated. I will be a good person when I grow up because my parents have taught me how to be a really great kid. My mom always tells me that she wants me to be an incredible man when I am older and I think that I will be. They are showing me how to be respectful and how to care about others.

I think that you should help Bulgarian children find their forever families because it will change their lives and those parents really want a child. My parents encourage me to do research on my Bulgarian history. I am so proud to have been born there and one day I hope to go back to explore where I was born. I also want to adopt a child from Bulgaria one day.

I hope that you will see how happy I am.