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Three-Year-Old is Waiting for His New Family
Erin was born was born in August 2009 in the Bulgarian town of Gorna Oryahovitsa. After his (premature) birth, he was placed in an orphanage in the town of Pleven. We have no data on his family...
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“Adoption Granted!”– One Day x 28
Following a simple stroke of a feathered pen, Travis County District Court Judge Darlene Byrne smiled and declared to a packed courtroom inside the Gardner Betts Juvenile Justice Center, “Adoption...
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Interested in International Adoption? Consider Bulgaria…
Lutheran Adoption Services of Texas (LAST, also known as Lutheran Social Services of the South) is the primary provider of adoption for the country of Bulgaria, and we are committed to finding loving...
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Watch ‘A Home for the Holidays’ on CBS Dec. 19th
The Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption® is a wonderful organization and partner of ours in the Wendy’s Wonderful Kids™ (WWK) program, which has the single mission of placing foster children in...
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WILL 2013 BE THE YEAR THESE SISTERS ARE ADOPTED?
Norah, Brielle, and Darielle are sisters currently living in an orphanage in Bulgaria. Norah, age 12, and her twin sisters, age 9, have proven to be able to adapt to big changes in their lives. They...
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Who is This Little Girl in Pink? Meet Jannine from Bulgaria
Isn’t Jannine a cutie? That’s her photo on the left (although Jannine isn’t her real name). She was born in 2001 and will be 12 in May. Jannine lived with her birth parents off and on over the years,...
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The Measure of a Year: What LSS Accomplished in 2012
This past year, as with every year of the last 13 decades, LSS served the most vulnerable members of society. Of those we served, 96 percent are low income or impoverished. Through providing...
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Going the Distance for Jenna: Robstown FIT Parents Team Up
Vanessa Aguirre, family social worker at the Foster In Texas (FIT) Robstown office, says she loves to brag about the wonderful FIT parents she works with. Tracy Arnold is one such foster mom, and...
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Adoption Reunification: Tessa’s Story
It may not be widely known that LSS provides adoption search and reunion services. When one member of the “adoption triad” (adult adoptee/birth parent/adoptive family) initiates a search for another...
View ArticleNational Foster Care Prayer Vigil May 19-26
Many kids in foster care feel like they don’t have a prayer. Let’s change that. – Cry of the Orphan One week in May, which is National Foster Care Month, has been designated by the “Cry of the Orphan”...
View ArticleAdoption Ceremony Celebrates Baby Theresa
On September 6th, LSS staff and a special group of visitors gathered for an epic occasion and celebration – the adoption of baby Theresa Rae Lea by parents Paul and Victoria. Reverend Tom Grevlos of...
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Oh Happy Day! Foster Mom Adopts Siblings
When Emma and Ethan first arrived at the door of Tiffany Johnson’s foster home in Victoria, Texas, they were heartbreakingly dirty, hungry, and medically fragile. Tiffany became a licensed Foster In...
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A Birth Mother’s Adoption Story
By Laura Reyes [Note: some names have been changed for this story] I was 20 years old, living on the couch at my parent’s house, in debt, and making just $9 an hour at a grocery store. I had no...
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Vera – With Love From Bulgaria
Vera (not her real name; this is her actual photo), age 2 ½, currently resides in a specialized institution, the Center for Medical & Social Care for Children, in Bulgaria. She was placed at the...
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ADOPTION: A Lutheran Social Services Tradition – Part 1
This is the first of a two-part overview of our LSS adoption programs. A lot of history, knowledge, and perspective have combined to make our agency one of the foremost adoption resources in Texas....
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ADOPTION: A Lutheran Social Services Tradition – Part 2
Konnie & Karalyn Have Seen It All LSS has its own adoption superstars. Karalyn Heimlich, now retired as the statewide director of adoption for LSS, and Konnie Gregg, current director of...
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What If … these Paralympians had not been adopted?
That’s the big question that comes to mind when you hear the remarkable stories of Oksana Masters and Tatyana McFadden. McFadden’s Story McFadden was born in 1988 in St. Petersburg Russia, paralyzed...
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Think Pink!
It’s a girl! And another girl! And another! There were three (count ’em, 3) domestic adoptions facilitated by LSS during the week of January 12-18, 2014. Adoption specialists Tanya Graham and Kristen...
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Home at Last!
Robert Thomas Smith-Heinzmann, age six, joined his new family in Texas on November 19, 2013. For Jennifer Smith and Tom Heinzmann, this day culminated almost six years of waiting, worrying, and...
View ArticleNational Foster Care Prayer Vigil May 19-26
Many kids in foster care feel like they don’t have a prayer. Let’s change that. – Cry of the Orphan One week in May, which is National Foster Care Month, has been designated by the “Cry of the Orphan”...
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