Hello! Thank you for reading my story.
If you are currently waiting to adopt, best wishes to you and your growing family!
If you are an adoptee thinking about reuniting with birth family, talk with your current family about this process. There are private investigators as well as social media. Be safe and be smart. Never meet with bio family alone.
In Limbazi- Photo by Ivo Kruusamagi
I was born in Limbaži, Latvia in January 1991.
Watch the video version from 2013:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMtqITUQMv4
Latvia is one of the small Baltic countries left of Russia.
It declared its independence from Russia in 1991.
In 2004, Latvia joined the European Union and switched to Euros instead of the original Lat currency.
I grew up as an only child, happy and healthy. (I have one older half-sister from my dad's side. She lives near her mother in Chicago.) My parents and I are very close. I thank God for them every day. I grew up a tomboy playing with some boys down my block. We would skateboard, in-line skate, build small bike ramps, and build a stick fort near my house. My female friends and I shared a makeup and accessories hobby as well.
I also grew up singing and performing. My biggest dream was to perform around the world.
In 2015, I graduated from U of A in Tucson, AZ for Linguistics with a Russian language emphasis. My minor was Music.
I was placed in an orphanage just outside of Riga shortly after my birth. My health was poor, and the orphanage did not have much in terms of food and clothing of course. I had a cleft palate that needed to be closed, microscopic tubes needed to be placed inside my ears, and a hole in my stomach lining needed to be sewn shut.
In 1993-1994, I was internationally adopted through the "Baltic Family Blessings" agency, and grew up in Illinois.
My mother's side of the family is Lithuanian. My father's side is French-creole.
At first, my parents started looking in Romania to adopt, then Lithuania, and then Latvia. My parents raised me always knowing that I was adopted.
A handful of "Baltic Blessings" families meets every summer so that adoptees from the Baltics, Russia, and China can spend time with each other.
My parents also raised me knowing that my birth parents loved me, and that they just couldn't give me a nurturing environment.
As seen in my portfolio website, www.evarachal.weebly.com I grew up loving singing and performing, and then branched out into architecture, photography/editing, and related private works.
On my 21st birthday in January 2012, God gave me the chance to meet my birth family online with the help of some friendly Latvians through facebook.
In November 2011, I messaged Latvians with my original last name (provided in my adoption papers), and messaged Latvian women with my birth mother's first name. They messaged back saying that they didn't give up any children for adoption.
Right when I was losing hope; one young woman, Kristine, messaged me near Thanksgiving saying that she would try to help. It turns out, her boyfriend used to live in my birth town. With the help of his mother who still lives in the area, she was able to use an old phone book to contact my birth mother. She let her know that I was searching for my birth family. Kristine told me the exciting news on December 23rd! What an amazing Christmas gift, both from God and from fellow Latvians! Paldies! (Thank you!)
Watch the video version from 2013:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMtqITUQMv4
Latvia is one of the small Baltic countries left of Russia.
It declared its independence from Russia in 1991.
In 2004, Latvia joined the European Union and switched to Euros instead of the original Lat currency.
I grew up as an only child, happy and healthy. (I have one older half-sister from my dad's side. She lives near her mother in Chicago.) My parents and I are very close. I thank God for them every day. I grew up a tomboy playing with some boys down my block. We would skateboard, in-line skate, build small bike ramps, and build a stick fort near my house. My female friends and I shared a makeup and accessories hobby as well.
I also grew up singing and performing. My biggest dream was to perform around the world.
In 2015, I graduated from U of A in Tucson, AZ for Linguistics with a Russian language emphasis. My minor was Music.
I was placed in an orphanage just outside of Riga shortly after my birth. My health was poor, and the orphanage did not have much in terms of food and clothing of course. I had a cleft palate that needed to be closed, microscopic tubes needed to be placed inside my ears, and a hole in my stomach lining needed to be sewn shut.
In 1993-1994, I was internationally adopted through the "Baltic Family Blessings" agency, and grew up in Illinois.
My mother's side of the family is Lithuanian. My father's side is French-creole.
At first, my parents started looking in Romania to adopt, then Lithuania, and then Latvia. My parents raised me always knowing that I was adopted.
A handful of "Baltic Blessings" families meets every summer so that adoptees from the Baltics, Russia, and China can spend time with each other.
My parents also raised me knowing that my birth parents loved me, and that they just couldn't give me a nurturing environment.
As seen in my portfolio website, www.evarachal.weebly.com I grew up loving singing and performing, and then branched out into architecture, photography/editing, and related private works.
On my 21st birthday in January 2012, God gave me the chance to meet my birth family online with the help of some friendly Latvians through facebook.
In November 2011, I messaged Latvians with my original last name (provided in my adoption papers), and messaged Latvian women with my birth mother's first name. They messaged back saying that they didn't give up any children for adoption.
Right when I was losing hope; one young woman, Kristine, messaged me near Thanksgiving saying that she would try to help. It turns out, her boyfriend used to live in my birth town. With the help of his mother who still lives in the area, she was able to use an old phone book to contact my birth mother. She let her know that I was searching for my birth family. Kristine told me the exciting news on December 23rd! What an amazing Christmas gift, both from God and from fellow Latvians! Paldies! (Thank you!)
Then and Now...
Overview of Salacgriva and its coast
On my 21st birthday in 2012, I logged onto facebook greeted by friend requests from two of my birth sisters, Linda and Liga. There was also a happy and informative message from the sister born before me, Linda.
Linda said she remembered the day when I was separated from our birth mother. She was almost five at the time. Linda said that I was born premature, so I was kept in the hospital for three days after my birth. When our birth mom arrived home from the hospital on that third day, Linda asked her why I wasn't home yet. Our birth mom started crying and told Linda that I was gone. At that young age; she didn't understand what that meant, and she was upset by our birth mother's reaction to the question. She didn't ask what happened. To this day, the truth is still unknown.
As my sisters saw my portfolio website, they said I had inherited some good traits from our mother. I grew up enjoying drawing, and it turns out my birth mom enjoyed drawing/painting. I began in Interior Design before going into Architecture, and it turns out my birth mom had worked as an interior designer for a short time.
Music was my first and strongest passion. My grandmother from my birth mom's side, Charite (pronounced "Har-ee-teh"), was a singer. My oldest sister said that I have similarities with this grandma Charite, including the musicianship.
It is also fun to know that my youngest sister, Liga, and I are very similar in appearance and in personality. My oldest sister, Vineta, said: "You and Liga are so similar, like two drops of water." I also look a lot like one of the older sisters, Baiba.
I am the sixth out of seven children! There are six girls and one boy. Oldest to youngest: Vineta, Valters, Inese, Baiba, Linda, (me), and Liga. Two of my siblings live in Salacgriva, Latvia and the other four live around Riga, Latvia. I also met my birth mom's younger sister, Rudite, and her two daughters, Ieva and Zane on social media. They live in Valmiera, Latvia.
Ieva lived in France for a while, and then returned to Valmiera. Rudite battled a cancer scare a few years ago, but she is now doing well. She currently works in finances.
Zane's husband, Kaspars Lacis, is a professional athletic trainer. He travels to host cool athletic shows for audiences, training camps all around Europe, and has also been featured on a Latvian news broadcast and various athletic blogs.
Ieva and Zane work with a beauty school, both as makeup/hair artists and as models.
It has been an amazing experience messaging all of my sisters in Frype (Draugiem), a European social network similar to facebook. I enjoyed learning about my sisters, as well as all of my nieces and nephews. I have not met either of my birth parents or my brother. Linda is the strongest at English, so she and I Skype.
My three oldest siblings speak Russian as well as Latvian due to the USSR when they were growing up. That gave me a reason to begin studying Russian at the UA in Tucson when I was trying out a Geology major in Fall 2012. I ended up doing very well in Russian. I continued the language in spring 2013, declared a Linguistics major, and dropped Geology. I finally felt like I had found my calling. During my senior year, I was a Russian language preceptor and a tutor for Russian 101 classes.
I really hope and pray to fly out to Latvia and see all of my birth family, and also see my native country. College loans and medical bills are financial burdens that have kept me from traveling overseas. Maybe, just maybe, I can find my way over to Latvia and see my birth family some day.
Linda said she remembered the day when I was separated from our birth mother. She was almost five at the time. Linda said that I was born premature, so I was kept in the hospital for three days after my birth. When our birth mom arrived home from the hospital on that third day, Linda asked her why I wasn't home yet. Our birth mom started crying and told Linda that I was gone. At that young age; she didn't understand what that meant, and she was upset by our birth mother's reaction to the question. She didn't ask what happened. To this day, the truth is still unknown.
As my sisters saw my portfolio website, they said I had inherited some good traits from our mother. I grew up enjoying drawing, and it turns out my birth mom enjoyed drawing/painting. I began in Interior Design before going into Architecture, and it turns out my birth mom had worked as an interior designer for a short time.
Music was my first and strongest passion. My grandmother from my birth mom's side, Charite (pronounced "Har-ee-teh"), was a singer. My oldest sister said that I have similarities with this grandma Charite, including the musicianship.
It is also fun to know that my youngest sister, Liga, and I are very similar in appearance and in personality. My oldest sister, Vineta, said: "You and Liga are so similar, like two drops of water." I also look a lot like one of the older sisters, Baiba.
I am the sixth out of seven children! There are six girls and one boy. Oldest to youngest: Vineta, Valters, Inese, Baiba, Linda, (me), and Liga. Two of my siblings live in Salacgriva, Latvia and the other four live around Riga, Latvia. I also met my birth mom's younger sister, Rudite, and her two daughters, Ieva and Zane on social media. They live in Valmiera, Latvia.
Ieva lived in France for a while, and then returned to Valmiera. Rudite battled a cancer scare a few years ago, but she is now doing well. She currently works in finances.
Zane's husband, Kaspars Lacis, is a professional athletic trainer. He travels to host cool athletic shows for audiences, training camps all around Europe, and has also been featured on a Latvian news broadcast and various athletic blogs.
Ieva and Zane work with a beauty school, both as makeup/hair artists and as models.
It has been an amazing experience messaging all of my sisters in Frype (Draugiem), a European social network similar to facebook. I enjoyed learning about my sisters, as well as all of my nieces and nephews. I have not met either of my birth parents or my brother. Linda is the strongest at English, so she and I Skype.
My three oldest siblings speak Russian as well as Latvian due to the USSR when they were growing up. That gave me a reason to begin studying Russian at the UA in Tucson when I was trying out a Geology major in Fall 2012. I ended up doing very well in Russian. I continued the language in spring 2013, declared a Linguistics major, and dropped Geology. I finally felt like I had found my calling. During my senior year, I was a Russian language preceptor and a tutor for Russian 101 classes.
I really hope and pray to fly out to Latvia and see all of my birth family, and also see my native country. College loans and medical bills are financial burdens that have kept me from traveling overseas. Maybe, just maybe, I can find my way over to Latvia and see my birth family some day.
For my Birth Family: In Loving Memory...
On July 7th, 2013, my birth father passed away from lung cancer. He was a quiet fellow, a hard worker, and enjoyed playing with his grandchildren. He wanted to be an airplane engineer, but worked as an electrician for Latvian businesses instead. I never got the chance to meet him. At least he is at peace now and is not suffering anymore. His last happy memory was watching my youngest sister graduate school and celebrate with family.
~Rest in peace (Dusēt mierā) Elmars Sankovskis~
Click on photos to see full image and info:
~Rest in peace (Dusēt mierā) Elmars Sankovskis~
Click on photos to see full image and info: