2008 Schedule
Jun 3 . . . St. Louis, MO
Jun 10. . . Little Rock, AR
Jun 21 . . .St. Charles, MO
Aug 5 . . . St. Louis, MO
Aug 5. . . .Kansas City, KS
Aug 12. . . Tulsa, OK
Sept 6. . . Orange County, CA
Sept 9. . . Little Rock, AR
Sept 16. . .Dallas, TX
Oct 4 . . . Orange County, CA
Oct 7 . . . St. Louis, MO
Oct 7 . . . Kansas City, KS
Oct 14. . . Tulsa, OK
Nov 11. . . Little Rock, AR
Nov 15. . . Orange County, CA
Dec 2. . . .St. Louis, MO
Dec 9 . . . Tulsa, OK
Pre-Adoption
Workshops
2008 Schedule
May 17. . .Dallas, TX
May 31. . .Little Rock, AR
Jun 21. . . Orange County, CA
Aug 9 . . . Tulsa, OK
Aug 23. . . Wichita, KS
Sept 6 . . .Orange County, CA
Sept 13. . .St. Louis, MO
Sept 13. . .Little Rock, AR
Oct 11. . . Tulsa, OK
Nov 8. . . . Oklahoma City, OK
Dec 6 . . . Orange County, CA
Dec 6 . . . Tulsa, OK
Dec 6 . . . Dallas, TX
OFFICE HOURS (CST)
8:00 AM - 5:00 PM...Mon-Thurs
8:00 AM - 4:30 PM...Friday
LOCATIONS:
In Oklahoma -- main office
3227 East 31st Street, #200
Tulsa, OK 74105
Voice: 918/749-4600
Fax: 918/749-7144 Email this office
In Arkansas --
4702 W. Commercial Dr., #B1
North Little Rock, AR 72116 and
1882 North Starr Road
Fayetteville, AR 72701
Voice: 501/791-9300
Fax: 501/791-9303 Email this
office
In California --
18001 Irvine Blvd., Suite 101
Tustin, CA 92780
Voice: 714/734-8600
Fax: 714/734-8688 Email this office
In Kansas --
5934 East 10th Street
Wichita, KS 67208
Voice: 316/682-2595 Email this office
IIn Missouri --
1 First Missouri Center, #115
St. Louis, MO 63141
Voice: 314/576-4100
Fax: 314/453-9975 Email this
office
In Texas --
P. O. Box 2785
Coppell, TX 75019
Voice: 972/263-1539
Fax: 972/624-8241 Email this office
Burns Data Control, Inc. "Adoption Software Designed By And For Adoption Agencies"
Discovery Weekend
Discovery Weekend is
designed for all adoptees, 12-17 years old, who were adopted
internationally and transracially. (Transracial
adoption means placing a child who is of one race with adoptive
parents of another race.) This special weekend is held
each year at Camp Carter YMCA, which is located in Fort Worth,
TX. Below is a list of some of the typical activities
adoptees will have the opportunity to enjoy during the weekend:
Swimming
Canoeing
Movie night
Cook out
Talent show
Night hike
Devo's
Ethnic cuisine
Ropes course
Fellowship with
other teen adoptees from around the globe
"I am only one, but I am one.
I cannot do everything, but I can do something;
and what I should do and can do,
by the Grace of God, I will do." --anonymous
The weekend started early in the morning, but
we were ready for over 60 teenage Korean adoptees to begin
descending upon the Dillon office.
Phones began ringing....papers flying...planes
arriving...luggage everywhere...with the excited teenage chatter
increasing as old friends were reunited and new acquaintances
made.This would be a weekend strictly for adoptees, facilitated
by adoptees.
This was my first Discovery Weekend and I had
no idea what to expect.I had already learned that the first weekend, which was
held in 1995, had had only five adoptees attending.I marveled how much the weekend event had grown over the
past five years.
One of the first attendees shared with me how attending that
first Discovery Weekend had completely changed his life.Until then he had never addressed his adoption story, his
being Korean, or his uniqueness.Out of that first Discovery Weekend experience, he went on
to co-found a very influential adult adoptee group.And so I was prepared for this to be a very powerful
weekend.
There
was no time to catch my breath as the day progressed, and soon
it was evening and time to depart for Shangri-La Resort.I looked around the parking lot as we loaded luggage into
several cars and vans.
I felt at home surrounded by the sea of black hair, almond eyes,
and fellow adoptees who shared my hunger to be around others
with a similar adoption story.Feelings of excitement, contentment and relaxation washed
over me.
After arriving at the resort, we separated
into groups for discussions on racial identity, birth family,
the adoption process, peer pressure, dating and relationships.Each group reminded me of my own childhood and the issues
that I had faced as I grew into adulthood.As I listened to various teens, I became aware that the
issues they are confronting now seem more pressing than the
issues I had faced only five years before. However, the need to
"fit in" and the desire to be needed and accepted for who they
are hadn't changed.I was reminded how the road to self-identity and
self-assurance has many twisting and winding curves, coupled
with questions about race, adoption, and heritage. The teens
were asking the same questions that I had once asked myself, and
I realized that the same hopes, fears, and doubts adoptees face
are timeless - unique in fashion but identical in pattern.
For many teen adoptees, this is perhaps one
of the most fragile, yet wonderful, times in their lives.It is a time of discovery through questioning.It is a time of clarity mixed with confusion and
apprehension.It is
a time to soar, reshape and redefine who they are, where they
are going and to reflect on where they have been.
Just like these teens, I had journeyed the same road to discover
what it meant to be Korean, American and everything in between.Just like them, I had wondered about my heritage and birth
family, who I might look like, and how to fit in with peers,
family and American society.But I also wondered how I would do on my SAT's, if I
would
have a date for homecoming, and whether I would pass my driver's
test on the first try.
The weekend proved to be as powerful as had
been promised and a strong reminder of the special function that
educational events such as Discovery Weekend provide for our
teens to get together and share their experiences and grow from
each other.As parents and facilitators of teen weekend retreats,
remembering to keep an open door to adoptees' questions, fears,
joys and everyday experiences is vital and important in
maintaining healthy and strong relationships.Although they may not openly talk about the issues
confronting them at this stage in their lives, it doesn't mean
that teens are not thinking about them.Essentially, our teenagers just want to know that there
will always be someone there to hear them, to ask them how their
day was and to lend advice and support in an honest and loving
fashion.
Train a child in the way he
should go, and when he is old, he will not turn from it.
--Proverbs 22:6
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