K3202s

Adoption

Ryan Jonathan Collins

Ryan Collins Signature

Collins Cover Announcement 

Adoption

Ryan Jonathan Collins

Ryan is now twenty-one years old and in his third year of college. He aspires to be a high school physical education and health teacher as well as an athletic coach. He is currently on his university's wrestling team. Many years ago when Ryan was still in his beginning stages of youth sports (baseball, soccer, and basketball), he decided to try wrestling - at which he was destined to excel. During his first year in this demanding sport, he accompanied me to New Hampshire for the first day of issue for the 1988 Christmas stamps. What nature had in store for us was truly memorable, and the story of that trip (from my book) is enclosed.

When I traveled to El Salvador to complete the adoption procedure and to bring Amanda and Ryan home, his demeanor was calm, collected and even tempered. Over the years he has grown into adulthood with a steady and friendly personality, excellent work habits and a strong commitment to the family.

Linda and I were very happy to see that an adoption stamp was to be issued in the millennium year of 2000. It gave us a special way of conveying to Amanda and Ryan, as well as to the First Day Cover hobby community, how happy we are that now, almost twenty years later, they continue to share the loving bonds of family with us along with Becky, Tim, and Christy.

We are happy to offer this cover and the previous one for Amanda as special First Day Cover mementos. Ryan Jonathan Collins. Adoption. Item #K3202 - $12.25.

A VERY SPECIAL TRIP

During the last twenty years, I have journeyed throughout all fifty states and Canada. My travels have included trips to Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. But all of the trips combined were not as important as the one I made in March 1982 to El Salvador. It was then that Amanda and Ryan became part of our family.

Linda and I had been blessed with a daughter, Rebecca, and son, Timothy. We decided that we would like to have a larger family, and, with many of the children in the world in need of a stable and loving environment, we decided on adoption. At that time, a civil war was raging in El Salvador, c4using that country to be in a state of turmoil and social upheaval. Many children there needed homes.

A brother and sister were soon located who were in need of a new family just as we were hoping to expand ours. They were two and three years old, and we fell in love with them as soon as we saw their pictures. Our New Jersey social agency worked with a similar one in El Salvador as well as the U.S. Embassy there. A home study was conducted and paperwork was completed. Everything was approved.

The day finally arrived, and before dawn I was on my way to the airport. No covers were with me on this trip, but I did carry a toy truck and small doll as well as a few items of children's clothing. Linda wanted very much to go along but had been advised against it because El Salvador was a dangerous place at that time. Even the airline ticket agent was surprised to see my destination as few people were traveling there. She wished me luck.

Upon arrival, I was struck by the number of heavily armed soldiers patrolling the airport terminal. They were everywhere. After passing through customs, I found a dilapidated taxi for the fairly long drive to the capital city of San Salvador. Along the road, we would occasionally pass a military patrol, and at each bridge or key point, a small guard detail was evident. The abject poverty of the country came into immediate focus because many residents had dug earthen caves in the hillsides bordering the road and were living in them.

I met with a representative of the agency responsible for the children. He gave me some paperwork and the address of the El Salvador Court of Minors where I was scheduled to go the next morning. That night, in anxious anticipation, I didn't sleep much.

Our new son and daughter were cute beyond belief. I only wished that Linda could have been there to enjoy the happy moment. Ryan was delighted with his red, blue, and yellow truck, and Amanda hugged her soft and cuddly doll. The administrative process was extremely slow as is typical for bureaucracies worldwide. I waited on a porch-like veranda where Amanda sat on my lap and Ryan played with his truck. It was a long, hot day in the tropics. At last the paperwork was complete, and it was official. The Collins family instantly grew from four to six. A little over a year later, we were overjoyed when Christina was born and our family was complete.

At the airport, checking in was a matter of routine, but I was anxious to get in the air. In a troubled country, anything could happen. As the plane lifted off the runway, I breathed a long sigh of relief. The three of us were going home.