Thursday, Nov. 27, 2008

Jardine: Holiday is one of many firsts for two brothers

Like so many other families, the Vaughns will sit down to the usual Thanksgiving Day fare: turkey and dressing, mashed potatoes and gravy, salad, hot vegetables and rolls. And don't forget the pumpkin pie.

Welcome to America, Nicolae and Cristian.

For these effusive little Romanian boys -- who became United States citizens the moment they arrived Oct. 21 -- the tradition begins today. Their new mom, Modesto elementary schoolteacher Debbie Vaughn, and an extensive support system of her family and friends will make sure of that.

This family's story is one of love and faith, of perseverance and opportunity. Vaughn made 14 trips to Romania over five years -- logging over 150,000 miles -- to navigate the unpredictable world of international adoptions. She put her life and career on hold to live in Romania for two years, with no guarantee that she'd ever be able to complete the process and bring the boys home.

Throughout the ordeal, Vaughn never lost hope and refused to give up.

"God's got a plan," Vaughn said. "You don't even give it a second thought."

Nicolae is 7 and Cristian is 6. They were born in Bucharest, Romania, the youngest in a family of 10 children. The Romanian government removed them from an abusive home with parents who could not tend to their needs and placed them in foster care.

Enter Vaughn, who went to Romania in 2001 on a volunteer mission to work in orphanages. Two years later, she decided to return for another summer volunteer stint. A member of Big Valley Grace Church, Vaughn applied through Rock Ministries, a Rialto-based organization connected with Calvary Chapel that cares for abandoned babies in hospitals.

"It was what I wanted to do," Vaughn said. "I must have e-mailed 20 organizations in Romania."

As the summer of 2003 approached, she awaited an opportunity. Her twin sister, Bev Vaughn, and friend Ann Kucera, both teachers as well, wanted her to join them on a summer trip to Scotland.

"I told them on a Monday that if I didn't hear from Rock by Wednesday, I'd go to Scotland," Debbie Vaughn said. "The very next day, I got an e-mail from Nann Gonzalez of Rock."

Vaughn arrived in Bucharest on July 17, 2003, reporting to Victor Gomoiu Hospital. She expected to work in the "Big Room," where the children enjoyed lots of music and games. Instead, they assigned her to "isalator" -- the isolation room -- mostly for children with disabilities or special needs.

"One of my friends told me to be prepared to do whatever God tells you to do," Vaughn said.

Nicolae was in that room.

"I fell in love with him right away," Vaughn said. "By day four, I knew I wanted to adopt this child but didn't know if I could."

Romania had all but ceased international adoptions, limiting them primarily to children with special needs, such as Nicolae. Vaughn, who returned to Modesto and resumed teaching at Catherine Everett Elementary School, cleared the first major hurdle in October 2003, when Nicolae's parents signed over their rights to him. Then came the shocker: He had a younger brother. Want two?

Initially, she declined. Being a single mom with one child would be enough of a challenge. Then she was told, "You don't understand. The parents signed over both children."

Taking both, she learned, enhanced her chances of adopting because it kept two siblings together. A month later, she got a photograph and video of Cristian -- her first peek at him.

Over the next several years, she returned to Romania whenever she could. It was discouraging at times, with numerous setbacks and regulatory changes that always seemed to hurt her cause instead of help it.