Special Post - Melia's Art

This is a special post... a bit longer, but it's a good story.

Growing up, Emily Insko (Wilkins) lived in a town near mine. We went to different schools, but everyone kept basic "tabs" on people through friends, etc. (we all lived in one big "valley" with several small schools.) And given my last name was Wilkens (note the "E" - remember my maiden and married last names have only a 1 letter difference!) we couldn't help but be aware of each other. I would say the first "real" start to our friendship was when we both attended Girls State (a program to help teach kids how government works.) Anyway... I went to Linfield College, where it also turned out her older sister attended, so that was another connection we had.

But many years have gone by since those days... and lot happened over the years (college graduations, weddings, moving around a lot, careers, kids, etc...)

In 2010, after the earthquake, the Inkso's (Tom, Emily, Melia and Lara) started following our story on the adoption blog. And this past November, Emily wrote me an email after all of these years saying:

The story of how your adoption story touched our family . . . I don't remember how I heard that you were adopting Samuel from Haiti but I started occasionally reading your BlogSpot. After the earthquake, however, your blog became a regular part of my day and your efforts part of our family prayers. The girls loved the beautiful pictures of Samuel and we all rejoiced when he came home.

Melia, her daughter, will be going on a trip to Haiti this summer, as a part of a church group. And in order to help fund her trip, she was invited to do an art showing at a church in Portland. Melia primarily draws animals but Emily had suggested she try and draw an image of Haiti to include in her show. Emily said when she first saw Melia's drawing, she was astounded at the image she had remembered... This image is what she thinks of when she thinks of hope for Haiti:

Original Picture and Melia's Drawing

When Emily emailed me a copy of the drawing - tears came to my eyes. Among all of the wonderful/special pictures we have from getting Samuel after the earthquake, this photo is my favorite because it captured those precious seconds and froze in time an incredible life-moment. No matter how many times I see that photo, all of those feelings come rushing back... such an overwhelming, special day. So when I saw the drawing of it, I was completely moved...

And Sunday? We were invited to go to the church for the opening day of Melia's artwork in the gallery! We were fortunate enough to spend time with the Insko family before it opened and snap a few pictures - very special indeed!

We wish Melia the best... her artwork is fantastic. She is a beautiful young lady and we are so excited that she will get to experience Haiti this summer. It's not always easy to see hardship and witness the extreme differences from what we have in the US, but I believe it offers a beautiful perspective that everyone should experience in life. We love Haiti and its people - I know this trip will touch her heart is some very special ways, and we all feel touched that she has this connection to Haiti via Samuel's story. It is a small world and we are all connected...

The art!  Jill, Samuel & Melia

Emily, Jill & Melia

Tom, Lara, Emily & Melia Insko

Luke and Melia (he always goes for the hair!)  :-)