National Adoption Conference

Once again this year we packed up the car and headed out to Utah to learn all we could from those who know at the Families Supporting Adoption National Conference... and let me just say... we were not disappointed. It was a great conference. There is always something that we take away from it, something that we learn, something that hits us, something that we take back to our local chapter.... something!

This year was great because we were able to be there with a few other couples from the Las Vegas chapter and we didn't have to feel like we didn't know anyone. It was awesome.

The only scary part of the whole weekend is that while we were there Brad, our caseworker, asked us to join him for lunch and a little weekend with the other co-chairs from the SW region and the next thing you know we are on the Regional Board and signed up as the outreach chairs! What? I don't know how these things happen but I just hope we do a good job and don't let people down. We thought it would get us out of our current situation as chairs in Las Vegas, but no such luck! We are doing double duty now!!!

One of the highlights of the conference every year is the keynote speaker on Saturday morning and this year was no different. This year we were able to hear from Troy Dunn who is a member of the church, a current bishop, father of a son currently serving in Moscow, Russia on a mission, and well-known from his television show "The Locator" where he reunites many families (some of them adoptees). He talked to us about many situations he has seen but his best story was the one of his own families. He has a younger brother who is adopted and the thing he remembers about it is his mother telling him that they had to pray and someone else would be praying as well. Heavenly Father would then find the right person and they would be able to "trade prayers" and the adoption would be able to take place. I thought that was a great way to explain adoption to little ones, but it also made it seem so simple as well.

I hope that one day we will be able to find the right person to "trade our prayer" with!