Kirti, does belonging have any other nuance for you in that conversation?

I think belonging has always...

Growing up, for me, belonging was pretty steady.

I always knew I belonged to the Pickard family, but that word meant something a little bit different when I found my faith, where I could recognize that belonging doesn't just mean through adoption where it's the physical, um, and, like, the legal side.

Belonging is also recognizing that you're exactly where God wants you to be.

So yes, I am a daughter of Sam and Eve, but more importantly, I'm a daughter of Christ, and that means that I do belong here because this is my story.

Um, before a family says that they are open to transracial adoption, Kirti, what would you suggest to those prospective parents about examining their community and their culture and their context to help accept and welcome someone of a different race or a different culture?

I think be prepared, um, for conversation.