b'Full Circle LillyIn May 2018, then 23-year- for Bogot to get job training.never met any of them, and old Lilly Trone was inMy mother was 23 when shenone of them had known till Bogot, Colombia on herplaced me, Lilly says. I wasrecently that she existed. For second trip to her birth23 when I met her. It reallyLilly, it was surreal. country, this time as afeels full circle.volunteer working with And guess whatwe had homeless boys. She wasThen they had cake, whichcake! says Lilly.about to meet her birthis a tradition in Colombia at mother for the first time whenalmost any social occasion,When Lilly returned to Virginia she heard someone sobbing.says Lilly. from Colombia in 2019, one She was already a mess, andof the first things she did I lost it too, says Lilly of herAfter their meeting, Lillyswas call Sue Hollar, Barkers birth mother. They spent thebirth mother informed theExecutive Director, whod led next ten minutes hugging andrest of her family abouta Colombia Homeland Tour crying. Then they talked forLillys existence. A few daysthat Lilly had participated three hours, about everythinglater, Lilly met her brotherin way back in 2010. Theyd and nothing. in person. I have missedreally connected, and now you my entire life, Lilly toldLilly had to share what had Lillys birth mother sharedhim. Then came a trip to herhappened in her year in that she had becomefamilys village. She traveledColombia. Sue told her to pregnant with her at agewith her brother and aunt,come in. 23. When her birth motherand when they arrived at her learned she was pregnant,grandmothers house, 15It wasnt like Can we set an she was living in a remotepeople were waiting, includingappointment? It was When village and was scared to tellher grandmother, two sisterscan you come in? says Lilly. her family. Instead, she toldages 15 and 17, three cousins,I was there for a couple of them that she was leavingan aunt, and more. Lilly hadhours. It was very therapeutic. 14BARKER ADOPTION FOUNDATION'