Filipino, Russian kids on quest for homes

By KAYLEY MENDENHALL Chronicle Staff Writer

Watching 15 Filipino orphans laugh, play and live an American life for a the past few weeks has been a dream come true for Elsa Geist.

"For me, this is my long-time dream, to help back in the Philippines," Geist, a Bozeman resident and native of the Philippines said. "Philippines is such a poor country. I just want to give back."

Geist has lived in the United States for 26 years, the last 12 in Bozeman.

She is a board member of the local nonprofit Sacred Portion Children's Outreach, which for the past three summers has brought orphans from overseas to Bozeman in search of homes as part of the international Summer Miracles program. Geist has been especially involved with Summer Miracles this year because most of the orphans are Filipino.

"The look on their faces, it's just like it is unbelievable," she said. "To what they came from, this is a lot different."

The first two years Summer Miracles brought kids from Kazakhstan and Russia to live with host families in Bozeman for six weeks. Of the 29 kids from those summers, 21 have come back to live permanently with adoptive families, said Craig Druckenmiller, who founded Sacred Portion with his wife, Jan.

"My husband and I kept saying it would just be so wonderful to be able to bring some kids from the Philippines," Jan Druckenmiller said.

So they made a presentation and were approved by a Filipino orphanage and the country's government to hold a pilot program this year. The kids arrived in Bozeman at the end of June and will leave next week after spending a month doing Montana Outdoor Science School programs, floating the Madison River and taking tae kwan do lessons.

"For them, that's what it's all about, summer fun," Jan Druckenmiller said. "They don't know that behind the scenes we are working really hard to find them families."

Along with the Filipino kids, five Russian boys are also visiting Bozeman. Fourteen of the 20 kids have already found homes.

But the Druckenmillers and Geist would love to find adoptive families for the other six kids before they leave. One of those kids, an 11-year-old girl, has been staying with the Druckenmillers.

"This one that's staying with us is a real sweetheart," Craig Druckenmiller said. "She just does things that are real thoughtful of her. She's real polite, real affectionate. I'd like to see her find a family."

Having the children here has brought out the small community of Filipino people, like Geist, who live in Bozeman. Some people who recently opened an Asian food market in Bozeman taught host families to make Filipino dishes and they have attended some of the Summer Miracles potlucks.

"I think overall the children have the greatest experience," Geist said. "I think it is amazing how people open their home for them, that they really show love."

For more information on Summer Miracles, contact the Druckenmillers at 586-5773.

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