“We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope.”
On Martin Luther King Day 2019, we are hopeful for our future. There’s a lot of negativity in the world right now, a lot of which we can’t control. However, one thing we can do is control how we feel and how we use those feelings to impact the world around us.
It’s one big lesson we can all learn from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. who said:
“Every man must decide whether he will walk in the light of creative altruism or in the darkness of destructive selfishness.”
It’s interesting to think about ‘creative altruism’ in these dark times we live in. Everyone is struggling to get by, even those who seem to have it all. Yet we have a choice, to walk in the light or remain in the dark with our own self-destructive thoughts.
So from here on out, dear reader, I’m choosing to be hopeful.
I’d like to share a story of hope.
In the summer of 2018, I had the opportunity to join the mission of Trinity Community Ministries in downtown Atlanta. Trinity (or TCM) is housed in a historic building on the same block as Ebeneezer Baptist Church. The building itself was once Hanley’s Funeral Home, where MLK’s body was prepared after his assassination.
The tragedy of socioeconomic disparity is broadcast in broad daylight walking through Downtown ATL, especially since the shuttering of the Pine Street Shelter. Men and women are sleeping on the streets while the affluent commute to the glitzy office buildings towering above. I saw this poverty every day that I worked Downtown.
Atlanta is not alone in this problem, but with our keen focus on Southern hospitality, we should be expected to do more.
It’s why I wanted to help raise awareness for the good work happening at Trinity. And on Saturday, Jan. 19, 2019, over MLK weekend, Trinity graduated 17 men from the Trinity House-Big Bethel program.
This photo was taken before the Kalonji name changing ceremony. With every graduating class at Trinity, men are selected to be given a Kalonji name which will represent a new life after having been through so much. Kalonji means “Men of Victory” in Swahili, and all names are given in Swahili.
“The significance of graduation represents the beginning of a new life… Graduation for our guys means that they have made a commitment, to fighting a good fight against addiction. The fight wasn’t easy but to understand that you have an addiction, made the step to understanding you are suffering from addiction, and making the step to fight it.” –Trinity Lead Case Manager, Clyde “Ali” Wilson.
Each year the goal for Trinity Community Ministries is to successfully return residents to their families and communities as mentors and leaders. The vision is to help attain a future based on peace and justice, which would eliminate violence, racism, and poverty in order to establish what Dr. King called the “Beloved Community.”
The staff, clients, and volunteers working in Trinity’s programs are actively working to eliminate poverty, build community, and foster peace through nonviolent social change.
When a man is accepted into Trinity, he has to go through a phased approach to rehabilitation. Through his months at Trinity, he will focus on his recovery, become reunited with his family, and define his belief system.
It’s important to note Trinity is non-denominational and does not preach one faith. All that is required is a man discovers his own spirituality, which is why the program gleans inspiration from African influences.
Another example is the use of the word “hotep” throughout the program. It means “at peace” or “peace and blessings”.
During my first visit to Trinity, I spent about an hour with a “senior brother” who was in prison before he came to TCM. He was facing felony charges of possession of crack cocaine with intent to distribute. Instead of jail time, the judge introduced him to Brother Ali (quoted above) which was basically a vetting process to be sure Trinity was the right fit.
After getting into Trinity–and there is always a waiting list–after getting on a path to healing for overcoming his addiction, he learns more about self-care. Eventually, the guys are ready to go back to work and Trinity helps them with finding jobs. In order to graduate, the man must have a certain amount of money saved in his own checking account.
So how can we scale Trinity’s success model?
First, it’s important to see how far TCM has come since it was officially incorporated as a 501(c)(3) organization in 1988. In response to the growing homelessness in Atlanta, TCM began as an emergency overnight shelter in the basement of Trinity United Methodist Church (UMC).
Over time, this community outreach expanded to provide food and subsequently added a Sunday soup kitchen known as Trinity Table. While TCM and Trinity Table are no longer affiliated, Trinity Table is still the only regular source of free food on Sundays in the area and now serves approximately 200 guests per week, aided weekly by volunteer residents of Trinity House.
During the 1990s, TCM evolved into a transitional, residential recovery shelter with the mantra of “A Tough Program for Tough Times” and a reputation for helping men who truly wanted and were willing to work for sobriety, stability, and self-sufficiency.
For guys on the street, Trinity has a reputation for being known as a tough program.
In 2004, TCM entered into partnership with Big Bethel African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church, the owners of the former Hanley Building in the Sweet Auburn District of Atlanta, where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s body was prepared for his funeral, and where TCM’s administrative offices and Trinity House-Big Bethel program (the 36-bed supportive housing and rehabilitation) are still housed today.
Trinity Living is TCM’s newest initiative. Launched in November 2012, and serves homeless men with disabilities, many of whom are veterans, in a permanent supportive housing environment. The program features eight, two-bedroom apartments leased in partnership with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) together with supportive services such as job readiness and placement, addiction counseling and rehabilitation, financial and life skills mentoring and management.
And Trinity’s program works. Every three out of four men who come through the program never go back to the streets.
So how further the success of Trinity and Dr. King’s mission to help everyone who is homeless and needy in Atlanta and beyond?
Y’all know it all comes down to three things: money, dedication, and time. There are a lot of people who have donated to Trinity over the years, and good work has been done, but there’s so much more we can do.
First, there’s a GoFundMe campaign to replace all the windows at Trinity House, which have become even more problematic this chilly winter.
We’re very close to meeting the $75,000 goal for all the repairs. You can also donate to Trinity here.
Next, every Friday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., Trinity hosts a fish fry. And as a food blogger, I can tell y’all this is some of the best fried fish in Atlanta.
Your group, Bible study, or tribe of friends can also bring dinner to Trinity for a T.E.A.M. dinner.
There’s also the Trinity Combine coming up in May 2019 so stay tuned for more details.
Because y’all, my big ole Pretty Southern heart just has to do more. And then there’s this…
On my most recent to Trinity for a fish Friday, I got to go on the roof of the building with Trinity Community Ministries Executive Director, Derek Duncan, and Lauren Priest, Trinity’s Director of Development. Derek shared his vision for how Trinity could build a new center on this vacant lot.
“First one building, then another, the whole block, then multiple campuses throughout the city,” Derek said. I love this vision and am honored to be part of this mission.
Because we are better than homelessness. Our generation has to step up and find new ways to fix this very old problem. It’s one thing we absolutely can do: to help by focusing on our “creative altruism”. Because as Dr. Kind said:
“There is nothing new about poverty. What is new, however, is that we now have the resources to get rid of it. The time has come for an all-out world war against poverty … The well off and the secure have too often become indifferent and oblivious to the poverty and deprivation in their midst. Ultimately a great nation is a compassionate nation. No individual or nation can be great if it does not have a concern for ‘the least of these.’”
Want to be part of this story of hope at Trinity?
If you want to join me for a fish Friday lunch or a T.E.A.M. dinner, comment below.
Our hopes for Atlanta and our country are high, especially when we see miracles happen and lives restored,
P.S. – if you want to read the full transcript of MLK’s “I Have a Dream” speech, you can do so, here.
Editor’s note–the following is an excerpt from a manuscript by Andrea Walker
The day I knew I wanted to be a writer was also the day I went “missing” and my face almost ended up on a milk carton.
I was nine years old and had finished reading an excerpt from Walden by Henry David Thoreau. In the book, he talks about the woods as his inspiration to write. My young, impressionable brain thought that I should do the same thing and venture into the woods myself for inspiration.
I packed a bag which included my two favorite Barbies, a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, and my brand new diary with its own lock & key. I left mom a very detailed, well-written note about my whereabouts and knew exactly where I wanted to go.
Our house was surrounded by forests but the spot I had in mind was a creek bed that was deeper into the woods. It was mid-afternoon. After I found my writing spot, I placed my pink Barbie travel bag on the ground and perched on top of it. I was always a very peculiar child where I could sit and daydream for hours and had no recollection of time. So I honestly can’t really tell you how long I was out there staring up at the trees and scribbling various thoughts in that diary. By the time the sun was going down, I knew I needed to get home and my little adventure had come to an end.
As I got closer to my house, I noticed that there were several police cars in the driveway. I instantly started to panic and thought something bad had happened to Mom or Dad. When I walked into the kitchen, two policemen were talking with my Mom. They all turned to see me wheeling my travel bag behind me, looking as perplexed as they did. Needless to say, I was grounded for an entire month and I was banned from taking anymore writing sabbaticals.
But my love for writing never stopped. I would go off and write plays, stories, poems, and proudly show them off to my parents. Our fridge became a collage of my budding passion.
As a child who was always in her head, writing has always been a way for me to connect the dots, to explore the “whys” and “hows” and try to understand why things happen the way they do. Writing opens up the door for me to document the journey, so to speak. Interestingly enough, I knew deep down that one day I would have a story to tell.
When Dad died my senior year in high school, the last story I wrote was called The Body which recounted me seeing him in his coffin at his funeral. I never shared that story to anyone. I quickly burned it after writing it and never spoke about my father to anyone. After that, I wrote hardly at all. I hardly talked about what was going on inside my head. I stayed in a shell, always writing in my own head but never having the courage to put it words.
Years later, as my mother’s health worsened, I stopped writing altogether. She used to whisper to me sometimes as she struggled to breathe, “I miss your stories, Andrea. When are you going to write for me again like you used to?” When she died, that’s when I started working on this book.
For the last couple of years, I’ve tried to piece together my life like scenes in a movie, trying to recollect all those moments from my childhood, my young adulthood, to where I am now–and figuring out how the story may end. All the people around me, the many people I have loved, lost, hated, admired, adored–all of them weaving in and out of my memories, shaping my existence then and feeding my need for recollection now.
Like my nine-year-old self, I want to go back out into the woods from my youth. I want to hear my father’s strong, calm voice and feel my mother’s touch. Honestly, I can’t really remember what they both sound like now. I want to rewrite the pain from their lives and create a new story for them. I want to turn my heartaches into love stories that last forever.
“Why?” I ask God. “What do I do with this all this?”
I don’t believe that life is a series of happy or sad accidents. There’s intentionality to the people we meet, whose lives are intertwined in our own. Each person, each moment is part of a bigger picture of our existence, that makes us who we are and breathes life into us. Each moment is like a thread that intertwines over time. I celebrate those moments in this book. The mountains that I have climbed. The peaks and valley of my existence thus far. Maybe…just maybe…I can pay homage to all those souls who came into my story over the years.
I dedicate this book to my parents, to the people that I have loved and loved me in return. You know who you are. I have grown to appreciate this complex, dark, rich and diverse world in which we live In.
So I tell you, my reader, that the hardest and most beautiful thing about this world is to live in it.
But you already know that.
Andrea Walker is a true Southern woman having been born and raised in Alabama and currently living in Atlanta. She received her journalism degree from the University of Alabama Birmingham and spent several years in broadcast journalism before moving into marketing. This excerpt is from her first memoir and is super passionate about mental health and women’s empowerment issues.
Editor’s note–the following editorial is contributed by Kevin Sprague
Where have all the gentlemen gone?
I have pondered this question for a few months, since I read Peggy Noonan’s op-ed “America Needs More Gentlemen” in the Wall Street Journal.
In the piece, Noonan laments how men in our society seemingly have “lost track” of what it means to be a gentleman, failing to demonstrate even the most basic values and commitments that society once expected them to embody. And this loss is most clearly visible in how men and women relate to each other today, especially when it comes to romance.
Our society is reeling. Norms and expectations that we once implicitly agreed upon as appropriate conduct between the sexes have blurred, and this has come with consequences–sometimes serious ones (for example, the #MeToo movement).
For Noonan, part of the blame falls on men who have forgotten how to behave like gentlemen. But she also believes social media shares some of the blame. The freedoms social media grants–specifically the ability to express one’s unfiltered opinions instantly, without repercussions–often contradict classic gentlemanly values. Users feel emboldened to express their basest desires which, according to Noonan, ultimately “[spread] like a virus.”
To restore healthier relationships between the sexes, Noonan argues that society must reclaim the lost art of the gentleman.
The piece doesn’t strike me as generationally tone-deaf; in fact, I agree with her: our society needs gentlemen back. But I am convinced it will take more than the individual effort to successfully bring them back. We men will need help at least in the following ways:
The term “gentleman” will need a societal deep cleaning. We’ve allowed contradictory values to infiltrate our understanding of the term, particularly when it comes to male-female relations.
We’ve assumed that individualistic fulfillment, unhindered self-expression, and instant gratification would do no real harm; but we were wrong. Clearly, it has. These modern values have lowered our once lofty standards for gentlemen, allowing men to mask juvenile desires beneath a polished, well-groomed veneer.
Men must stop justifying voyeurism and objectification as simply “visiting the gentlemen’s club” or harmless “locker room talk.” To succeed in producing more gentlemen like Macaulay Connor (Jimmy Stewart’s character from The Philadelphia Story, whom Noonan references in her piece), the Barney Stinsons of society must no longer fit our definitions.
We will also need a clearer, more desirable vision of the gentleman’s life. In a time where social responsibilities are losing the force they once had, men will need to see why living as gentlemen is a more desirable life. Humans are led more often by desire than reason. We, men, need a vision that can captivate our minds and hearts if we are to become true modern gentlemen.
Finally, implementing this vision will require deep, personal connections with like-minded men. Digital mediums (i.e. podcasts and blogs) can spread concepts effectively, but they cannot ensure real-life application. Young men will need personal training from mentors.
Bringing gentlemen back will not be easy. It will take effort and require support.
But in the #MeToo world, we could sure use them.
Kevin Sprague is a writer originally from Marietta, Ga., currently residing in Pasadena, Calif.
A voracious reader and self-proclaimed purveyor of puns, you’ll most likely find Kevin reading at a coffee shop, spending time with his wonderful fiancée, Lindsey, or indulging in his favorite topics: sports, culture, faith, and art. You can find follow on Twitter @Kevin_D_Sprague or Instagram @kevin_sprague.
Editor’s note–for further reading on the ideals of chivalry, check out Jesus the Gentleman.
Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
On March 29, 2018, Samantha and Alex Tutterrow left their home in Georgia to adopt their second baby girl from Japan. The Tutterrows had adopted a Japanese orphan, Annie, in 2016, and were on the way to adopt her sister.
The Tutterrows started the adoption process in late 2017. On Jan. 9 they learned Annie’s birth mother had given birth to another baby girl, but she couldn’t keep this baby either. She asked the adoption agency if her children could be together. Alex and Samantha happily agreed. They went through all the proper protocols and legal proceedings to adopt their second daughter.
Sydney is still stuck in Japan because the U.S. Department of State DENIED her orphan visa.
This is Sydney, next to a picture of the family waiting for her in America.
We must share this story to #BringSydneyHome since the State Department has now said the Tutterrows have to complete the adoption in Japan, changing up decades of precedent on how international adoptions have happened between Japan and the U.S.
We also need to talk about how nefarious force seeks to tighten control of international adoptions by American families, nearly eliminating the immigration of international orphans.
Here is the Tutterrows story to #BringSydneyHome
Samantha and Alex Tutterrow are your quintessential young Southern couple. They met in July 2001 at the University of Georgia through mutual friends. “We have been together ever since growing, maturing, and living our best life together,” Samantha said.
They married in 2006 and celebrated their 12th wedding anniversary on April 22. In addition to Annie and Sydney, the couple has two biological sons, Hunter (5) and Nathan (3).
In December 2015, Alex and Samantha decided to pursue adoption. “We educated ourselves on the process of domestic vs. international adoption we decided international was the best fit,” Samantha explained. “We originally chose China because the process is very clear compared to some other countries where there are lots of fluctuations with rules.”
During the process of compiling their dossier, the family heard through a friend about the Japan program with Faith International. The organization keeps 10 families “paperwork ready” to be matched with Japanese orphans. The Tutterrows knew they could quickly switch their immigration paperwork and be paperwork ready for Japan in a relatively short period of time.
“The Japan program took many of the benefits of both domestic and international adoption and combined them into one program,” Samantha said. About two months after the family was paperwork ready, they received a referral for their daughter, Annie. Two weeks later the family traveled to Japan to meet their new daughter and obtain an orphan visa to bring her back to the U.S. to finalize her adoption in their home state of Georgia.
Baby Annie joined the Tutterrow family in 2016 and has had a happy home ever since.
There’s about 20 years of precedent for how adoptions have been handled between the U.S. and Japan. The Tutterrows followed these rules to a tee the first time around with Annie, and the second time with Sydney.
The State Department changed its policy at the last minute
Here’s a timeline of what’s happened over the past few months to see how the State Department decided to change the rules literally as the Tutterrows arrived at the U.S. embassy in Japan to get Sydney’s orphan visa.
As of June 14, Sydney is still stuck in Japan. The family has rented a temporary apartment and is traveling back and forth between the U.S. and Japan to be with Sydney while they complete the adoption in-country.
Editor’s note – the following are posts from Samantha’s personal Facebook account.
“In late September, we felt called to adopt another child. We had been blessed with the inclusion of our first daughter into our family and thus, chose to apply with Faith International’s Japan program again. We submitted our application in early October and began the process again, with the understanding that it would likely take a year or so to receive a referral. We completed the appropriate paperwork and another home study. Unbeknownst to us, Annie’s birth mother was pregnant with her second child during this time.
Dec. 21, 2017 – We are excited to announce that we are going to be adopting a GIRL! We look forward to welcoming Sydney Tutterrow into our family sometime in 2018! Our home study is complete and we mail our immigration paperwork off to the agency tomorrow. My heart is full this Christmas as we celebrate the birth of our Savior, the one who gives us the hope and faith we cling to daily as we walk through this journey of adoption again!
January 2018 – We were contacted by Faith International and informed that the birth mother of our first adopted daughter had just given birth. She had just made contact with their Japanese partner agency, Baby Life, to advise them of the birth and stated she wished to again pursue an adoption plan. While she knew the chances were unlikely, she asked if there were any possibility that this child could be adopted by us. We were grateful that we had already completed our home study and filed our immigration paperwork and happily agreed to move forward with this plan.
We received the formal referral documents and continued with the immigration process. All required forms were submitted and approved by USCIS and the National Visa Center, and we then waited for permission to travel from the US Embassy in Tokyo.
Jan. 22 – We received our fingerprint appointment time today from USCIS. This means we can now attempt to be seen as a walk-in. We ask for your prayers tomorrow as we try this to help expedite our case. They don’t have to see us or say yes. We pray for our story to be heard by a kind soul who will say yes!
Jan. 23 – not only did they accept us as walk-ins but we totally goofed and went without an appointment card for Alex. Since only mine came in the mail, I thought it was for both of us. The kind souls today worked with Alex and got it taken care of! One more step done! We are anticipating and praying to have approval within two weeks! Hoping to be on a plane to meet our baby girl around the time she is a month old if all continues to go smoothly.
Prior to the issuance of a visa interview, the US Embassy has the right to request an interview with the birth mother. This interview is conducted to ensure a child meets orphan status, to confirm the mother’s marital status and social history, and to ensure that the birth mother understands her legal rights. The US Embassy decided to conduct an interview with the birth mother prior to our travel clearance.
Feb. 12 – We finally heard back from the Tokyo US Embassy. They want our NVC number before they will even book the birth mom interview. Once immigration is approved they mail stuff to the National Visa Center who then processes it and creates a case and mails the info to the embassy that it affects. Once they get this info they will book her interview and then the week after our appointment. So if things run on schedule, we are looking at potentially having that number next week, her interview the following week and then our appointment the week after that. My heart is absolutely crushed and broken right now to know we are still a few weeks out for travel and that’s all with best case scenario timelines.
I know God loves her so much and that she is being well cared for and I have to find comfort in that. My prayer requests are that things move quicker, they consider waiving the birth moms interview once we get to that step (doesn’t sound likely though), and that we can just have peace during this waiting time and not allow our minds to be filled with all that unsettles us.
March 12 – We FINALLY heard from the US Embassy in Tokyo. They do want to interview the birth mom. She couldn’t do the date they gave so we are waiting to hear from them again to coordinate a new date. Praying it will be next week. Once that is confirmed we should have a better idea of our interview date which will ultimately dictate when we can travel. We are one step closer!
A major shout out to Kelsey, the assistant director and social worker extraordinaire at our agency. She has been so encouraging and supportive! She puts up with my venting and frustrations towards the inefficiencies of the government’s systems. She has gone over and beyond to help us in every way imaginable! We are so grateful for you! Without you, none of this would be possible!
March 22 – The birth mom completed her interview with the US Embassy last night! One step closer! We are now waiting for the US Embassy in Tokyo to schedule Sydney’s visa appointment. Once this is booked we can travel!
March 24 – That interview was completed on 3/22. We were then notified of our visa interview date of 4/2 and cleared to travel to Tokyo.”
An empty crib is waiting for Sydney in the Tutterrow home.
Editor’s note- It’s important to note here that the US Embassy would have never scheduled the visa appointment for Sydney if they thought she did not meet orphan status.
We’re going to pause to give you more background about what’s happening to independent adoption agencies while the Tutterrows were going through this process to adopt Sydney.
During this time, a woman named Trish Maskew became the head of the State Department’s Adoption Division. Among the adoption community, she’s earned the nickname “the devil”.
From Federalist: “The State Department has created a climate of fear and mistrust. In every interview I conducted, a single name emerged as the primary source of this adversarial relationship: Trish Maskew, chief of the Adoption Division in the Office of Children’s Issues.
“Maskew was appointed in 2014, and the relationship between the State Department and the adoption community has deteriorated ever since. Where the State Department once reached out to the field—attending the annual Christian Alliance for Orphans’ Summit, for example—that collaboration soon ended. “She came in and we started immediately seeing a greater focus on punishment of agencies, and trying to get countries to tighten up their rules,” says Ron Stoddart.”(more here).
Regulations were proposed for a “country-specific accreditation,” or CSA, a required additional designation for every designated foreign country on top of already-existing accreditation. (more here)
In 2008, Maskew authored a paper titled “The Failure of Promise” which basically said the Hague Convention didn’t go far enough to protect orphans from corruption like child trafficking. In another paper Maskew co-authored, she challenged Harvard Law Professor Elizabeth Bartholet, one of the leading legal minds on international adoption. The second to last sentence of Maskew’s conclusion serves as an indicator to why this happened to the Tutterrows:
“We cannot responsibly conclude that a child must be adopted internationally before we know how the child got to the orphanage, where his or her parents are, and whether the cause of the family separation is permanent and cannot be remedied in a less radical manner than moving the child from its original family and culture to another.”
Now here’s where it starts to get ugly
The Council on Accreditation (COA) is a 40-year-old organization that provides accreditation for more than 2,000 agencies in a wide variety of social service fields, including adoption. It has been accrediting adoption agencies for 25 years, both before and after the United States ratified the international Hague Adoption Convention.
In the past, adoption agencies would reapply for their accreditation with COA but in August 2017, the Department of State announced the designation of Intercountry Adoption Accreditation and Maintenance Entity, Inc., (IAAME) as an accrediting entity. In February 2018, IAAME announced a new fee structure that would effectively bring down the majority of independent adoption agencies.
Editor’s note – the following comes from Kelsey Melvin, Assistant Director at Faith International, who worked with the Tutterrows on both Annie and Sydney’s adoptions.
“Every agency is in fear that there will be a target on their back.”
Kelsey’s work has taken her around the world helping to do God’s work by placing orphans with loving families. This photo comes from an orphanage in Africa, where 52 kids lived in a two-bedroom house.
These kids crossed a busy road to get their drinking water from a brown river. They could die from drinking from that water but surely would die had they not.
“On this same trip, a little boy held my hand and told me he wanted to go to heaven. He begged me to find him a family. I held dying children in my own arms and had to walk away, leaving them in an orphanage,” Kelsey said. “This happens all day, every day, in the same world we all share, yet our own government is contributing to the decline of adoptions. Things have got to change…Every child has the right to a permanent and loving family and they need our voice.”
“We are fighting an uphill battle against the Department of State. We are not the only agency, but we are one of the first, to truly experience the detriment DOS is bringing to children and families.”
“To share a (somewhat) condensed version – we began the process of Hague re-accreditation in May 2017, starting early, so we would easily be done before our expiration. COA was the accrediting entity when we began the process, and has been since the Hague was implemented in 2008. While in the midst of our re-accreditation, COA withdrew as the accrediting entity, as they disagreed with the actions and requests of DOS. At the time, they were the only accrediting agency.”
“All agencies whose Hague accreditation was expiring in 2018 (including us) were told that we were grandfathered in and that COA would conclude our re-accreditation process, as they would remain the accrediting entity through December 2018. We continued the re-accreditation process for many months.”
“While going through this process, a new accrediting entity was hand-picked by DOS: IAAME. Again, we were told that our re-accreditation would continue under COA, despite this change. COA was required to transfer all other agencies to the new accrediting entity by April 1, 2018.”
“During the re-accreditation process, our staff (including overseas) were interviewed for four days. All our files for the past five years were reviewed. COA interviewed past and present families and had the opportunity to review anything and everything they wished. Following the completion of a site visit, it is COA’s responsibility to advise all agencies of improvements that can be made. All requested information was provided by our agency to COA in an expedited manner.”
“It took months to hear back and for our documents to be reviewed, pushing us closer and closer to our expiration date on March 31, 2018. All the while, we were caught in the crossfires in the battle between State Department and COA.”
“The week before our expiration, COA asked for one additional report. We submitted it within one day to allow COA to review prior to our expiration. Rather than doing so, they informed us that they were incredibly busy with the transfer of agencies to the new accrediting entity and that they would be unable to review the documents we had submitted until April 19. This meant our accreditation would lapse. At that time, we were fine with this decision, as we anticipated receiving the new accreditation certificate around the 19th, and had very few families who would be impacted in the interim. We immediately informed our families and began to await the 19th.”
“One day prior to our expiration, we were notified that DOS had made a sudden change and that if COA did not issue our approval by the expiration of March 31 (rather than April 19th), we would essentially have to start the accreditation process over completely, under the new accrediting entity. This is after being in the process of re-accreditation for nearly 11 months!”
“COA informed us that this statement by DOS went against their memorandum of agreement and told us that they would address it with DOS. Their agreement with DOS remained in effect at that time, allowing them to continue the 2018 accreditations through December 2018.”
“The State Department gave no one the chance to refute their statement. On April 1, DOS sent out a notice for multiple agencies (including ours) stating that pending Hague renewals were refused! We received this notice at the same time it was made public – with no contact from DOS prior to issuing it.”
It was also during this time that the Tutterrows arrived in Japan to get Sydney
Editor’s note – so while Faith International is going through its reaccreditation battle, Alex and Samantha are already in Tokyo to adopt Sydney. The U.S. embassy in Japan then suspended all of Faith International’s cases except for the two families that already had scheduled visa interviews schedules, the Tutterrows and another American family.
It’s also important to note that the Tutterrows and the other family who were adopting a Japanese orphan transferred agencies immediately when they learned Faith International’s accreditation would lapse.
So just to catch everyone up here: the State Department is now getting involved with the actual accreditation process for independent adoption agencies.
We’ve seen what a mess the DOS has turned into, especially with the departure of Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and all the other hullabaloo from America’s current administration.
But for now, Sydney Tutterrow is being kept in Japan without her visa because the State Department denied Sydney’s orphan visa and told the Tutterows to complete the adoption in-country.
The most important thing here is the Tutterrows have done nothing wrong. There was also no ‘grace period’ for changing these laws.
There’s about 20 years of precedent for how adoptions have been handled between the U.S. and Japan. The Tutterrows followed these rules to a tee. At the finish line, the State Department decided to change the rules, and that’s inherently wrong. It’s illegal to change the rules at that late in the game, especially since the Tutterrows have already legally taken custody of Sydney.
“Nobody really seems to know what’s going on…This is bureaucracy at its finest and it’s disgusting. No one is thinking about the well being of our family, and the babies that are waiting for their homes.”
Now, the family has to shell out thousands of dollars a month to live in a temporary furnished apartment in Japan while they try to complete Sydney’s adoption through the Japanese courts.
You can help support the Tutterrows by donating to their GoFundMe. Between the five roundtrip tickets to Japan, nearly a month of living in the Westin, and how having to rent an apartment, the expenses are “more than any of the cars I’ve ever bought,” Alex said.
Please call your representatives. Sydney needs to come home now. Don’t take American citizens and hold them hostage in a country, Japan of all places, where there are decades of precedent.
“At this point, we feel like our family is being held hostage by our own government while they review a program that has been operating without incident for 20-plus years. We are begging for your help to get her home.”
Winter 2018 is pretty much the worst for Georgia fans
The Dawgs narrowly missed our first National Championship win in nearly 40 years. The Falcons lost in the playoffs relinquishing a shot at redemption in the Super Bowl.
And because we’ve been so caught up in football (at the time of writing this piece), the Hawks have a record of 11 wins and 31 losses, putting them at the bottom of the Eastern NBA conference. Don’t even get me started on the Braves.
Being a sports fan in Atlanta pretty much sucks right now.
Love hurts
The mood on Monday, Jan.2, in Atlanta shifted from joyous to morose in less than 24 hours. High from a Rose Bowl win, Georgia fans were optimistic about playing on our home turf at the new Mercedes-Benz stadium. As I was driving to watch the game with my fellow UGA alumni (and very supportive Tech husband) I had butterflies in my stomach. I was nervous about this game but in the best way possible.
The bar I was at felt like a college bar in Athens on Game Day, except we were at the Battery in Atlanta. Everyone was riled up in their red and black with only a smattering of Bama fans in our midst. After three scoreless quarters, no one expected the Dawgs to “pull an Atlanta” and go through what happened to the Falcons in the Super Bowl.
The only thing that hurt worse than my heart breaking was that drunk Bama bitch who dropped her elbow into shoulder when she was jumping up and down at the end of overtime.
On Tuesday, Jan. 3, it was a dark day for the Bulldog Nation. Tired from a late night and our hearts shattered like we’d just been through a breakup, I talked to some of my fellow Dawgs fans about how being a Georgia fan is like being in a long-term relationship. I got multiple responses that it’s “an abusive one”.
Except that it’s not.
We could be in the same boat as Kentucky, Vanderbilt, Tech, or most of the ACC teams knowing that our football season will always suck. That’s not the case for Georgia fans.
Love is about compromise
When you’re in a long-term relationship, it’s about giving and receiving and understanding things don’t always go as planned. You never get everything you want, and if you do, that might mean you’re getting spoiled.
Alabama fans of late don’t know what this is like with their five National Championships in nine years. For Georgia fans, we haven’t ridden a wave like the Tide. Our love has had its ups and downs with wins and losses.
My sister, Mandy (also a UGA alumni) with her supportive boyfriend, Andrew, after the Dawgs devastating loss to Tennessee in 2015
Love has its let downs
In relationships, especially long-term ones, they come with disappointments. People are fallible. The only perfect love is God’s, and as hard as we prayed for the Dawgs to win, the Good Lord had other plans for the National Championship.
But remember, y’all, the 2017 football season was the best one we’d had in years! It was the first time we’d been to the Rose Bowl since the 1940s, our first SEC Championship since 2005. And yes, losing the National Championship in OT totally sucked, but we made still it there!
Love gives us hope
There’s nothing better in the world than being in love. Every time I arrive in Athens, Ga., my heart swells with the same passion I felt the first time I set foot on UGA’s campus at 16.
Tailgating before a big game, sitting in Sanford Stadium as the trumpet sounds, cheering as loud as possible with your favorite people in the world, that’s what love feels like as a Georgia fan.
Yours truly with two of my favorite Bulldogs, Matt and Katy Ruth.
To all the newbies who hopped on the Dawgs bandwagon, welcome to the party! We’re happy to add more folks to the Bulldog Nation. We love the South, our homeland, and our boys in the silver britches.
“It’s been an unforgettable season for UGA’s football team. Despite the game’s outcome, there’s still plenty of reasons to be proud of the Georgia Bulldogs. This year’s squad demonstrated what it means to give it your all, to work together, and to play with heart. The results speak for themselves.”
We are just getting started
This was only Kirby Smart’s second season as UGA’s head coach and he got a shot at the Vince Lombardi trophy. As fate would have it, I was eating at the original Antico Pizza in Atlanta a few days ago and this poster with words from Lombardi himself was hanging above us.
One day soon, we’ll share all of Lombardi’s wise words. Perhaps we’ll save it for the 2018 football season. Until then dear reader, have faith in our boys in the silver britches. Yes, Roquan Smith may be going pro but we have the best recruiting class in the nation coming in! Jake Fromm will only be a sophomore, and if we’re lucky we’ll have him for two more seasons, maybe three.
And Lord, hopefully Coach Smart will continue his momentum and we’ll find ourselves back at the National Championship next year. For now…
“The Devil went down to Georgia,
He was looking for a soul to steal”
“He was in a bind, ’cause he was way behind,
He was willing to make a deal”
On Tuesday, Jan. 2, President Donald Trump tweeted about how his nuclear arsenal rivaled North Korea’s. On Wednesday, Jan. 3, he decided to attend the college football national championship.
There is enough circumstantial evidence to decide that Trump is unstable, and a menace to society.
Trump is willing to do anything at this point to divert attention from his complete ineptitude. Between the Mueller investigation, Michael Wolff’s book launching, and all the other shit he’s trying to sweep under the rug, he’s in a big ole bind. Whoever on his team thought “oh let’s send him to ‘Trumpland’ for Georgia vs. Alabama” what a completely asinine idea.
I am uncomfortable with this situation, and y’all should be, too.
“Cause hell’s broke loose in Georgia and the Devil deals the cards”
Atlanta already has a target on its back because of the CDC.
Trump hauling Air Force One down here is like a fat fucking bullseye for disaster.
We still don’t know how our city and Georgia Power are going to prevent another blackout from happening at the world’s busiest airport, but Trump doesn’t give a shit about that.
Atlanta traffic was already going to be bad with 72,000 people attending the game, not to mention the fact it’s a Monday. Schools and local government offices may be closed due to “inclement weather” but we’ll still have more than a million other people on the road.
In 2015, when Vice President Joe Biden rolled through during rush hour, I got stuck on Peachtree Street waiting for the motorcade to pass. That shit was awful. I probably sat parked in Midtown for more than half an hour.
But shit y’all, Trump doesn’t care about the rest of us and the impact his presence will have on our city.
“Fire on the Mountain, run, boys, run!”
Lest we forget, it was almost one year ago that Trump gaslit Atlanta with tweets trolling Rep. John Lewis.
Congressman John Lewis should spend more time on fixing and helping his district, which is in horrible shape and falling apart (not to……
But when you’re losing your damn mind, your short-term memory is shot so we’ll see what the old Trumpster fire tweets this time
“The Devil’s in the house of the rising sun”
In July 2016, Trump held a rally at The Fox Theatre where Vince Dooley and Herschel Walker endorsed the man for president. I haven’t been able to look at these men as heroes of the Bulldog Nation ever since. They tarnished themselves.
One of the purest parts about 2017 was the beauty of the University of Georgia’s football season. The Dawgs are going to our first National Championship in a millennial’s lifetime. Yours truly and our pals at Pretty Southern weren’t even born the last time Georgia was declared the best team in the country. Trump’s bloated ass is literally tainting this game.
Trump is not a president — he is a charlatan with enough brand recognition and influence to be used by more powerful, wealthy and evil people to hijack our country’s democratic process. I will not stay silent about this shit any longer.
We the people expect better. Shit y’all, we were calling for Coach Mark Richt to be fired after losing a few games, and he’s a great man. But Trump can threaten North Korea with nuclear war and we still haven’t shoved his ass out the gotdamn door?!
Trump is neither Southern nor hospitable, and we should give him no quarter. He is an enemy of the state. He insulted my home. Trump is a Damn Yankee.
“I done told you once, you son of a bitch, I’m the best there’s ever been”
Trump, you are not welcome in this city. The resistance can’t stop you from coming, but we can call ‘foul!’ as loud as possible. There was a brief moment where I considered not watching this game out of protest (resist fully or not at all) but then I was reminded that I am a Bulldog in more ways than one.
I bleed red and black, and my heart loves the red, white and blue.
The Bulldog Nation is woke as fuck. We ain’t going back to sleep.
Whatever this event may bring, we are ready for it.
#GoDawgs
Editor’s note – image created by Radio Valenica, found via Google. Lyrics from Charlie Daniels Band
