Bergey Family - 8 kids and living in an RV

[older than allosaurs]

48 minutes ago, Gimme a Free RV said:

 

 

[alexandracabot]

Was there ever a verdict on whether she possibly rehomed a child from China herself, maybe to Fencingmama?

[blessalessi]

On 09/03/2016 at 2:40 PM, Gimme a Free RV said:

 

On 09/03/2016 at 2:40 PM, Gimme a Free RV said:

As to international adoption and going on deputation to raise money to start an orphanage in another country:  these people have GOT to know that there are children in their own country needing fostering, right?  Why do the children in another country get the compassion that the children in these people's own back yards desperately need?

Apart from the fact that they wouldn't qualify for home fostering, I don't think Selina will be doing much childcare or delivering all that much compassion in S Africa.  They are touting college campuses to recruit "helpers" for the orphanage project right now.

I dread to think how they will spend their time in S Africa.  I hope they won't have the position/power to supply "orphans" to a local adoption agency.  I don't think S Africa is at all a soft touch for child trafficking and they must know that. 

 

 

[older than allosaurs]

The degree of post-adoption supervision and support depends on the agency and, in international adoptions, the requirements of the child's home country. In any case, the rules tend to be noted more in the breach than in daily reality. There's money in finding and placing kids; in checking in on them later, not so much.

The Nachtigals, for example, were required to report several times to their children's placing agency in Peru. It seems unlikely that this happened in any honest way. (BTW, their court hearing has been pushed back to June.)

Under U.S. law, once the adoption has been finalized, our adopted children are no more subject to outside supervision than are our bio kids.

[blessalessi]

2 minutes ago, alexandracabot said:

Was there ever a verdict on whether she possibly rehomed a child from China herself, maybe to Fencingmama?

No, we never had evidence. She may equally have been hoping to be the family to adopt the child that went to Fencingmama, but that is only a guess because of the timing.  

As a couple they have lurched from one idea to another so often now, I wonder if they will evr even settle in S Africa before God leads them on to the next thing.

I am shocked by this new adoption more than the other stuff, I think. We know from the recent posts about Trim Healthy Mama that she never stopped trying to conceive, throughout the adoptions.  Now it looks as though she also hadn't stopped trying to adopt throughout the missionary deputation.  I would not trust these people to be part of my work team, that's for sure. There is no saying what else they might be planning as an alternative option, if God blows the wind in another direction one day.

[Pseudoname]

At the beginning of March Selina mentioned that the family acquired a missionary house in NC in order to have a "base".  But of course it was quickly back to the RV after just 1 week 

Given the news about her new china doll   child, I wonder if this was done to satisfy home study requirements?  Is that legal?

 

[Gimme a Free RV]

2 hours ago, blessalessi said:

The only options left to them at this stage are to collect unwanted kids from families that are pruning their collection, or to move overseas and personally round up kids playing out on the streets. They seem to have both options covered and are accepting love offerings right now, if anyone is interested. 

**crickets**

[blessalessi]

If they have sold up their property and are living in a missions home, I don't see why they are asking for additional funds to support the move to S Africa, as well as the monthly donations for their salaries.  

God blessed them with a big house that they no longer need. So why not Praise the Lord and Stop Grifting! 

[blessalessi]

3 hours ago, Pseudoname said:

At the beginning of March Selina mentioned that the family acquired a missionary house in NC in order to have a "base".  But of course it was quickly back to the RV after just 1 week 

Given the news about her new china doll   child, I wonder if this was done to satisfy home study requirements?  Is that legal?

I missed this earlier, good catch! I think they are probably saving money by having the base.  It is basically a luxury holiday camp at hostel prices. They get a house, access to a shared community centre/guest base and access to a food pantry that is stocked with donated food, and staffed by volunteers. For $400 pm, that the missionary fund probably pays.  

For fuck's sake, are there no real homeless people in need of food and lodgings in that area?

 

[blessalessi]

On 23/03/2016 at 11:47 AM, Pseudoname said:

Selina has a new Facebook post up.  They are adopting another child.  It sounds like a rehoming.  5yo boy adopted from China as a toddler by another family.

SMH. 

 

 

Is it me, or has that post been removed?

 

There are now some "rehomed baby" photos up, with no text: https://m.facebook.com/selina.bergey?fref=nf

[Pseudoname]

Just you I'm afraid.

The first post is on Selina's blog's Facebook page, Perspectives in Parenting.  The other pics are on her personal Facebook page.  

[blessalessi]

Well, lucky you Selina, that the previous scumbag family adoptive parents decided to abandon their responsibilities dissolve their adoption.

And shame on the fb fans who are behaving as though "dissolve" is something you can do to a child you don't want any more.

That bus must be creaking now, with all those children in it.  I can't imagine what a traumatised little child must make of his new "home".  Surely he must think they are still on a journey to his actual new home?

[Ungodly Grandma]

On 11/19/2015 at 1:23 PM, laPapessaGiovanna said:

I really can't fathom why fundies don't understand the difference between verbalizing thankfulness and feeling thankfulness. 

I think it is because so much of what they do is for show. 

[picklepizzas]

This is so gross. How is it even legal to "dissolve" an adoption?? I hope that these people are automatically banned from ever adopting again. And that a cps case was immediately opened against them. Bc if you can just throw away one of your children I think there's a fair chance something sick is going on in your household. 

[Palimpsest]

On 3/24/2016 at 1:19 PM, older than allosaurs said:

The degree of post-adoption supervision and support depends on the agency and, in international adoptions, the requirements of the child's home country. In any case, the rules tend to be noted more in the breach than in daily reality. There's money in finding and placing kids; in checking in on them later, not so much.

The Nachtigals, for example, were required to report several times to their children's placing agency in Peru. It seems unlikely that this happened in any honest way. (BTW, their court hearing has been pushed back to June.)

Under U.S. law, once the adoption has been finalized, our adopted children are no more subject to outside supervision than are our bio kids.

Yes, all true.  I'll add that both at the Federal level and in individual states efforts are being made to tighten up oversight of adoptions.  It is actually illegal to privately rehome an adopted child in my state - people have to go through the proper authorities and officially surrender the unwanted child to Child Services so that some attempt can be made to check out new adoptive homes properly.

All attempts at reforming and improving adoption laws are met with incredible opposition by people who view all adoptions through rose-colored glasses.

Here is an update on Hana's Law in WA.  It finally passed (good) but with amendments weakening it significantly (not so good.)

http://lightofdaystories.com/2014/02/14/update-on-hanas-legacy-hanas-law/

Selina makes me sick.  I've been avoiding this thread because she makes me so angry.  She is the worst kind of child collecter and fake missionary.

[older than allosaurs]

The Hana Williams case was my introduction to the evil side of fundie craziness. I live nearby and am acquainted with some of the people involved in getting Hana and her brother placed in that family.  It brought me to Love, Joy, Feminism and then to here. My daughter and SIL have an adoption in process through the state here in Washington, so I can attest that documentation of extended family connections and community resources were indeed part of their home study. 

I don't know anyone personally who has adopted internationally here since the law changed. Those agencies tend to be less bureaucratic than the state, and I wonder how carefully they follow the new rules and how they are checked to make sure they comply.

[Palimpsest]

The Hana Alemu case just broke my heart.  Apparently Immanuel is doing well today but you may know more about that than I do.

Thanks for the information about WA now extending the Home Study and looking into extended family.  My best wishes for your daughter and SIL as they expand their family.

I think WA is trying to follow the law, and many of the recommendations of the Report (the ones that didn't require legislative change) are being integrated into Standards of Practice.  It all costs money though and there is never enough.

Ethiopia clamped down on international adoptions after Hana's death.  There were many Ethiopians already concerned about the thousands of children leaving the country but that case shocked the country to the core.  Several adoption agencies lost their ability to practice in Ethiopia altogether and efforts to help children in need are now being focused internally.  I think that is a good thing really - but it is sad for prospective adoptive parents.  Many countries are now rethinking international adoption.

Some receiving countries have also clamped down because of shoddy and deceptive practices by some of the adoption agencies in Ethiopia.  This is a very thoughtful article by an adoptive mother in Canada.  It pretty much sums up what I think about it all.  http://rowanfamilytree.com/2015/06/22/the-end-of-ethiopian-adoption-how-it-happened/  

 

[blessalessi]

I am glad that many countries are rethinking their policies on overseas adoption.  It is sad for the many prospective adopters that are already so deeply invested at the time of change, but we won't get over the rampant issues of entitlement and wishful thinking that fuel the provate adoption industries unless the changes happen.

My sympathies lie mainly with the adoptees who may have to deal with the very complex emotions, and the questioning around the legitimacy of their own adoptions, as they see the old systems being shut down. As adults we can rationalise that "when we know better we do better", and we can evaluate problems with the current situation without negating the good that has come from the past. It is hard to imagine how a youngster can even begin to grapple with those issues though.

In the UK, there is currently a lot of concern about the ways in which social media makes it possible for young adoptees to research their own family history, and also enables the members of a child's first family to contact an adoptee, despite whatever court orders are in place.  That does bring genuine safety concerns for young adoptees.  And at the same time, I think social media liberates and emancipates so many adoptees who might previously have been told about their histories in very limited and skewed ways. I can't help but think that Selina's blog musings are likely to come back and bite her hard on the arse one day, if and when some of these children crammed into the bus grow up and start researching and thinking independently about their childhoods.

[pnwgypsy]

As posted in the Instagram Barbie Savior thread....if Selina Bergey isn't Barbie Savior, no one is.

[Gimme a Free RV]

On 4/8/2016 at 7:30 AM, Palimpsest said:

The Hana Alemu case just broke my heart.  Apparently Immanuel is doing well today but you may know more about that than I do.

I just spent the last hour acquainting myself with this case.  Yes, @Palimpsest, I agree.  Absolutely heartbreaking.  She was such a beautiful girl and a human being deserving love, acceptance, and belonging.  

If money were no object, I would LOVE to buy a plane ticket and visit Carri Williams in jail for Mother's Day.  It would be a Mother's Day she would never forget, if the corrections officers would allow me the freedom to say what is on my mind.

There is NO WAY the Bible even remotely condones what was done to those children.  Michael Pearl or anyone else can say whatever they want and twist scripture however they want.  Jesus (who trumped the law of the Old Testament) told his disciples to let the children come to Him.  The Bible doesn't indicate He had a plumbing line or a switch from a tree in His hand at the time.

It is hard for me to wait and see justice happen to people like the Williams and the Pearls.  The faith I hold to teaches me that they will answer for their deeds someday when they stand before their Creator.

[Palimpsest]

@Gimme a Free RV  I agree.  Especially about Michael Pearl who weasels out of everything by saying that parents following his methods just aren't doing it right.  

I tend to follow the Ethiopian adoptions gone badly wrong a lot more closely than others but they are all distressing.  Immanuel and Hana were both in a good and loving orphanage and what happened to them is truly dreadful.  Poundpuplegacy.org (adopted children and possible greater risk of abuse) and Hsinvisiblechildren.org (homeschooled children may be at greater risk of abuse) are good sources of information.  

The Williamses both got long prison sentences (unlike the Barbours in PA) thanks to an intelligent and thoughtful judge.  Carri has appealed her sentence but there doesn't seem to be much movement on that so far.  The Barbours just got slaps on the wrist. Infuriating.

Maureen of Light of Day Stories has background on both cases.  She is another really good international adoptive parent.  I wish they were all like her.

 https://lightofdaystories.com/2014/10/12/update-on-kristen-barbour-and-carri-williams/#comments

[accountingstar]

People are count on you to keep me up to date. I discovered that the family adopted a little boy named Andrew. He was rehomed from a family in Texas. They are living in missionary housing in North Carolina and they are moving to South Africa in April 2017. I hope they do better than John Shrader.

I was shocked that some agency approved them for the adoption of Andrew and it only took 5 weeks. He also has a daily medical need.

Also, the blog is back open with some removal of posts! For those you missed it the first time, this is your chance to read it.

http://bergeybunch.blogspot.com

Quote

The biggest news for our family is the recent addition of our ninth child. Andrew joined our family through a disruption situation, and you can read part one and part two of his story here.

We moved into a missions house in March, and will be moving to South Africa in April! Our hearts are already there and we can't wait to begin the next phase of our ministry soon. Sometimes it seems like a dream--moving to Africa, working with orphans.

Here's part 2: http://perspectivesinparenting.com/the-paperwork-the-placement-and-the-plane-ride-our-ninth-child-part-2/

What really bothers me is that Salina didn't take the time to rotate her photos for her blog posts. It really doesn't take that much time. I don't want to tilt my head when I am looking at someone's photos. A pet peeve.