Adoptees share perspectives on transracial adoption re adoptee be found ars websit . ars.cadarvll By Maggie Walker My surname, Walker, has Scottish origins, but I'm not Scottish. My current surname is not the only one I've held because l"m adopted. Before I was adopted, my surname was Yi. the surname given to me by the Chinese orphanage I was adopted at 12 months and gained the surname Walker, my family's name. How does growing up church on the topic of harbored unforgiveness. He was convicted and decided to pray about forgiving his birth mother. Though he didn't want to admit it. Geist had been wrestling with the question: "Why did you abandon me?" in a family with a different culture and ethnicity from me affect who I am now7 Maggie Walker "Even if I didn't want to admit, I had some animosity," he said. "I needed to confess and forgive my birth mother, Not that she had done anything wrong because she made the right choice Adoptees who grew up in transracial families have wrestled with these questions and still wrestle with them today. Below are the stories of adoptees at Cedarville University who shared their perspectives on growing up in transracial families and their journeys of thinking through their adoptions. We were born in foreign countries and grew up in the United States, yet each story and journey is unique. Will Geist was adopted from Almaty, Kazakhstan, at 8 months, in October of 2001 - a month after 9/11. Family and friends urged Geist's parents not to go. but Geist's parents felt God's call. one beyond their sense of safety. Geist has no memories of Kazakhstan. but his parents were open about his adoption. They told him his story when he was ready to hear it. Geist's birth mother couldn't support him and gave the adoption agency permission to place Geist in another family. Soon after learning about his story, Geist heard a sermon at his 16 CED6RS "The Lord was gracious to forgive me of that and give her the forgiveness that Christ has given me." But that doesn't mean Geist hasn't grappled internally with coming to terms with his own identity. It is fascinating, to be brought up in and understand a completely different culture and people group than the one you were born into. It seems that by nature. adoptees subvert expectations and stereotypes. But that only happens when people are willing to see adoptees past their racial profile. A frustrating phenomenon in Geist's own experience is being racially generalized. When interacting with adoptees, Geist advises, "Just remember that everybody's different. Everybody's unique." "Ask me where I'm from before you make a generalization and say, or assume, that I'm Chinese. Just because I'm adopted or look like someone who's from over there." Geist said. "Even if the numbers say that most adoptees come from China, that doesn't mean the one you're talking to is going to be from China· Now, Geist is focusing on how his journey with adoption has been a reminder of God's faithfulness in his life. "Is it moving on or moving forward?" Geist asked. "I would say it's moving forward. I acknowledge what has happened in the past. grasp what I have learned from it, and move forward in life. I feel like moving on has a connotation of forgetting. And I think that, as an adoptee, I have to be careful not to forget I don't want to forget because it's who I am. It's what God has used to make me who I am and who I will continue to be· Senait Scheie and her brother were adopted from Ethiopia at 6 years old. When her birth family couldn't support them anymore, they moved to an orphanage and then a Christian children's home before being adopted. While her family celebrated adoption, Scheie admits the journey of reconciling herself with her identity was hard. Through it all, her adoptive parents gave her the love and support she needed to get through the struggle and encouraged her to seek God through it all "I did struggle with my story a bit and how to reconcile everything, but I think that overall, through the ups and downs, my mom would tell me, 'This is your story, a clear testament of God's grace:· Scheie said. "And that's how I met the Lord and gave my life to him. I knew my powerlessness at that point, how weak I was and how much God had to do." Scheie's family was intentional about praying for her birth family as she grew up, and she learned some of the cultural traditions in Ethiopia. When she was older, her parents took the time to make her aware of the implications and baggage that came with her ethnicity. particularly about America's history of racism. "At that point I still didn't have a Fall 2022
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