Welcome to the family

It has been almost 33 years since two incredible individuals came into my life and completely transformed it. My name is Evie, and this is my story.

It all began on a cold day in 1989 when Romania's last Communist Dictator, Nicolae Ceausesu, was publicly executed by a firing squad. This event led to the exposure of a network of child gulags, which housed over 170,000 abandoned infants, children, and teenagers referred to as 'throwaway babies'. Dear reader, I was one of those throwaway babies.

At the time, two compassionate individuals living in the United States had been facing difficulties in conceiving a child of their own. In March 1990, through the efforts of Sonya Paxton, who raised awareness about and facilitated mass adoptions from Romania, they received information that sparked their decision to adopt a child. In June of the same year, they traveled to Romania.

It was during this trip that the paths of these incredible individuals and my brother crossed. They instantly fell in love with him, and their love for him has never wavered since.

Fortunately for me, my father and another prospective father offered their assistance in repairing the orphanage where we were staying. They came to fix a printer, and as a result, they were granted the opportunity to adopt the next two infants available, which included me.

When they looked into my eyes with reassuring smiles and pulled me into their embrace, their arms felt like home.

My birth mother signed adoption papers and left, but it was later discovered that those papers were invalid due to changes in Romanian laws. She had to be located again, and the two incredible individuals embarked on a mission, with the help of a translator, to find a woman who did not wish to be found. Thankfully, their mission was a success.

My adoption was officially finalized in New York City by Judge Judy, and I became a proud citizen of the United States of America. From that moment on, I could finally call those incredible individuals my Mom and Dad.

If they had not found me, I cannot fathom what would have become of me. I am eternally grateful that they did. Their selfless act of love planted a seed within me, which took time to understand. For the longest time, I felt like I didn't belong and didn't know my purpose in life. That all changed when I experienced my first rescue. I was rescued to become a rescuer, and now I have the privilege of teaching thousands to do the same. My story is still unfolding, but bit by bit, I am determined to change the world around me.