Friday, January 7, 2011

"In You O Lord I put my trust." Psalm 31:1a

Hello! My name is Gina Swanson, and I’m the one who sends out the postcards every month. :) I grew up in Grants Pass, graduated from U of O, and then wanted an adventure, so I went to graduate school in Boulder, CO, and ended up staying in Colorado for 9 years. My husband and I moved back to Oregon, & Sweet Home about 3 ½ years ago.

My journey to becoming a mom began with a love for kids. I enjoyed my time as a nanny, volunteering w/ kids with disabilities and babysitting through high school and college, and I studied to be a Speech/Language Pathologist at U of O and then the University of Colorado, Boulder. I worked in the schools as a Speech/Language Pathologist for 6 years, during which time we were foster parents for several years. Then, we got on the waiting list to adopt from S. Korea. We traveled to S. Korea to bring our son James home In May of 2006. He was 6 ½ months old. After James had been home about 9 months, we were looking on the waiting child list, and saw a picture of a little girl, and just knew she was our daughter. The Lord helped to work out all the details, and we traveled to S. Korea again, one year later, to bring Grace home. She was 11 ½ months old at the time. Now, our kids are 5 & 4 ½. It’s amazing how fast they grow!

Because of the way the Lord built our family, I am passionate about a lot of things, adoption being one of them!! Adoption is such a joy and we are so very grateful to our kids’ birthmoms who chose life for them, and decided to place them in a family. I am reminded of God’s love for us and how He is so very faithful in our own lives, placing us in His family and loving us. I also love the beauty of adoption. God’s people are found all over the world- they may not speak the same language, or look the same, but they speak the language of God’s love and God’s redemption of His people. As believers, it’s important for us to have a heart for those around us, using words that are respectful to other people groups, and love that extends to help.