Hi, I am Jason and I am going to be writing this as a guest writer for The Wheels of Grace.
This is going to be the story of how adoption has changed my life to what it is now. I was taken by the state of Kansas at the age of 2. Not because my parents were bad parents, they just weren’t ready to parent a child. My biological dad has two degrees in computer science, he was a very smart man but didn’t make very smart decisions which lead him going to jail.
My mom she just wasn’t able to take care of me because she had some mental disabilities. The state didn’t let her take care of me because she was incapable of taking care of a kid on her own.
I didn’t know what was going on because I was so young.
The stuff I do remember is being put in the system and traveling from foster home to foster home. Out of all the foster homes I was put in I remember a foster home in Burlington, Colorado. The kind foster parents were Jan and Bob Churchwell. Most of their family were adopted by this lovely couple. I was going to be a part of their family until they introduced me to a family from Yuma, CO. That was the Sanchez family. They came down to see me and they did end up adopting me. But, before adopting me they had to do lots and lots of paperwork.
Whey they did adopt me I remember having to drive all the way to Denver to the court house. We had to wait a while before our case number was up. It was hard to stay still being a 4 year old boy. So we played Uno which made the time seem to go by much quicker. When it was our turn, we went into the courtroom and ended up being adopted that day.
I remember taking a picture with the Judge and then afterwards we went to Chuck E. Cheese and played.
After that we headed back to Yuma, Colorado where I still live today with my adoptive family.
Jason Sanchez was adopted at age 5 and is now 16 years old. He often jokes that he isn’t adopted. In our house we believe in talking about adoption openly. Adoption is a positive word that can change, not only the lives of kids, but the lives of their adopted families as well. Don’t forget to participate in Orphan Sunday this Sunday November 8th. You may have the chance to change someone’s life.
This is a guest post written by Casey Schiel. Casey and Ashley grew up together during elementary, junior high and part of high school. He shares a story of how he got his first job working with Sergio at Ace Hardware.
I will never forget my first job as a teenager. I was walking up the street a few blocks to my local Alco retail store with my very first completed application in hand. A block from the store a random minivan pulled up (I think red) and asked me one very simple and to the point question. “What are you doing?”
“Applying for a job at Alco.” I said puzzlingly
Motivationally and assuredly he said, “I am a manager at the Ace Hardware store, why don’t you stop by there first”.
I didn’t think twice, I took his advice by applying right away. I became a proud part-time employee at Ace, as a janitor. My first job, my first team, my first boss Sergio Sanchez. During my short time employed, I had no idea what a lasting impact the experience would have after moving to another town.
After 10 years of numerous part-time jobs and internship experiences I can say that having a personable, knowledgeable and fun supervisor is crucial when creating an enjoyable work environment. I was very lucky to have Sergio provide that leadership, and guidance. He had an enthusiastic way about him every day I spent working at Ace Hardware.
Becoming the man I am today I have always felt timing has been very fortunate. I can’t help but believe that timing has been strongly connected by my religious beliefs, loving family, and past relationships built through simple interactions that most people would tend to forget or take advantage of. My interaction with Sergio that day walking to Alco happened for a reason and I am very grateful he pulled over to say hello.
I’d go back to those days clocking in only to appreciate Sergio even more supervising me. It was a necessary job to keep the day to day operations running and he was sure to trust me with it. Sergio conditioned this same assurance with everyone to create a uniform and successful working environment. I will never forget my first job as a teenager, thank you Sergio you were a great supervisor and a cool dude!
Thank you Casey for sharing your story! Read another guest post from one of Ashley’s classmates on how Sergio affected him as a teacher.
If you have a story to share e-mail it to ashley@thewheelsofgrace.com to have it featured on our blog.
Yesterday, September 15th marked the first post on The Wheels of Grace. We have each learned so much in the past year. We have grown as individuals and as a team.We wanted to take a look back at the past year and reflect on how far we have come.
Our very first posts by Ashley, Sergio, and Norah give an introduction to us as individuals.
We wanted to share with you our adoption story. We have a video of Sergio and Norah speaking at the banquet for A Caring Pregnancy Resource Center. This short video shows parts of their story as a couple and how they came into adoption. We hope to be able to have more opportunities to speak again and share this story live. Here is a little insight to our story and our lives. This is how we became a family and making the uncommon common.
