PRAY:

In my last post I mentioned how crazy busy I have been since I got home from PA. It's also been a bit stressful. Sheli (my adopted sister) has a 15 year old half sister. Her name is Ann. Last week Ann tried to commit suicide. She overdosed, was found unconscious having cut herself 14times. She is doing well physically and is still hospitalized in a locked down psychiatric unit but will be released Friday. I don't think it's wise to share the particulars of Ann's story up to this point, but will say that she is in desperate need of a new home situation. Her parents, (Sheli's mom and her boyfriend), are refusing to make any changes, and plan on taking her home on Friday. Ann has become like part of our family. She is one of the sweet highschool girls I work with at church.

Under no circumstances is it ok for her to return home. She has asked my dad for over a year to try to find her a new home, and has had opportunity to move, only to be told no by her mother. There are three options for Friday's discharge, 1) that she go home with her parents (this will only happen if she agrees), 2)She says she won't go home with her family and she becomes a ward of the state, and enters a group home 3) As the guardian and adoptive parents of her half sister, my parents file an emergency conservatorship with California Child services, and bring Ann into our home. There is one other family (relatives) that are praying about taking her but have not been approved by the state as a fit home so Ann would go to a group home until the state investigation is completed. The courts don't like to split siblings, and since we have Sheli and have already had the (extensive) home study, our house is the easiest choice. Filing for conservatorship means an all out custody war. Having Ann here may not be a good thing for Sheli either. There are a lot of other things that factor in as well. Like where will she sleep, who will share rooms, is it smart to enroll her in the same school as Sheli, can I free up my time to be to Ann what I was to Sheli when she moved in and help her adjust, what lax things will need to be structured until she gets adjusted to having rules.....etc.

Having someone join our family is not new for my biological sisters and I. We grew up having random people find a home in ours for months at a time, many of them wayward teens like Ann. That's what I love about my parents. They welcome people into their home as they are, no strings, and love them. Somehow, we all end up better for it. But having stable home is new for Sheli and so is the thought of someone new. While the rest of know the adjustment is hard, it always works out, Sheli is afraid that the family she waited for for 14 years will be taken away, or change, and she'll no longer be important.

The conservatorship needs to be filed tomorrow (thursday) morning, so this will be a quick decision. My dad and the other relative are meeting tomorrow to pray through what needs to be done and have talked to Ann extensively about it. If you would, when you get a chance, or even right now, please say a prayer for my dad and the decision, for Ann and the outcome. Thank you.