After Being Neglected Four Brothers’ Lives Completely Changed

Four brothers who were born in Brazil came from the most tragic of circumstances. Not knowing what it was like to have a stable life, or even one loving parent, the orphans never knew any different.

But in a stunning twist of fate, their lives were about to be turned upside down. As far as the brothers were concerned, their stars had aligned with something new and in the blink of an eye, their lives were about to change.

But let’s go right back to the start. Sadly, the four brothers came from very tough beginnings. Leandro, Cristiano, Enzo and William came from an abusive family in Recife. Aged between two and six years old, the brothers had been neglected by their mother. At such an early stage of their lives, they were taken away and placed in a Christian orphanage on the outskirts of the Pernambuco capital. But the terrible conditions did not stop there.

Not only were the brothers poorly treated in their shanty home, they were also prevented from going to school. Ironically, a lot of kids would probably like to be kept at home and not have to go to school. But for the brothers, this was a permanent restriction. But despite having some of their basic privileges taken away from them, they were four healthy boys. This was in no small part due to Leandro the oldest brother’s “street wise” abilities to protect his brothers.

Things could have been so much worse for the four brothers. In another life, in another household, they could’ve just been kicked out onto the streets. They could have been left alone on the streets of Recife. A large metropolitan area with over 7 million people, this was no place for four innocent boys to grow up in. But eventually, they were taken away from their neglectful mother and placed in a Christian orphanage in the nearby city of Paulista.

It was such a shame. For many children, having two caring parents is a privilege that can easily be taken for granted. But in the first few years of their lives, the boys had never even experienced what it was like to have one parent in the life that loved them and nurtured them unconditionally. Parental love was something they had no comprehension of. And this especially applied to the two youngest brothers. But everything changed in an instant…

Let’s take a trip 5000 miles north of Brazil. Brandon Pratt has spent most of his life in Iowa City. He is a Hawks fan and has developed a career in the culinary world. He has become an entrepreneur, owning a chain of restaurants spread throughout his city. And nearly 20 years ago, Brandon met a farm girl from Jesup by the name of Jennifer. After meeting while studying at the University of Northern Iowa, the couple tied the knot in 2003.

After trying for children, the couple eventually decided to adopt. “We chose to adopt siblings because we knew the difficulty of the adoption process and we wanted to go through it all at once,” Brandon said. But the process to find siblings to adopt would prove to a lot more difficult than if they were to look for just one child. But soon enough, their hard work would pay off and they would be on their way to fulfilling their dream.

It seemed as if destiny had provided Brandon and Jennifer with a fantastic opportunity. They were alerted of Leandro, Cristiano, Enzo and William and that they were available for adoption. Needless to say, the couple were ecstatic by the news and wasted no time in finding out more about the four brothers. Going into it, they expected the process to take a lot longer. But this doesn’t mean that it would be quick for the Pratts, either.

But it would take time, because the adoption process in Brazil is particularly difficult and problematic. Due to the country’s significant kidnapping and human-trafficking issues, many children go missing and if found, are left with dubious identities. Fortunately for both the Pratts, the brothers were all identifiable and fit for adoption. But this didn’t stop the bureaucracy from getting in the way. Brandon and Jennifer registered with a recommended agency to help them adopt the boys, but this was just the beginning.

Brandon and Jennifer are regular attendees of their local church and hold religion very close to their hearts. So when they were put in touch with Paulista’s Christian orphanage, they had strong faith that this would be the right place to give them the children they were so eager to take in. A support group that the Pratt’s had been working with helped raise $2,000. These proceeds went towards basic essentials such as bedding, towels and sandals for the orphanage’s children.

Of all countries, why did the Pratt’s decide that this was the country that they wanted to adopt children from? What made this country different from all others? It turns out that there was a logical answer to this question. Brandon’s sister in law is actually married to a Brazilian man from Sao Paulo. This compelled Brandon and Jennifer to adopt kids from the Portuguese speaking country so that they could have a Brazilian/American culture amongst their family.

So the Pratts flew to Brazil to be acquainted with their potential new children. But things wouldn’t be plain sailing for them, even within a week of arriving in Paulista. Brandon and Jennifer admitted that they almost gave up before they even started. “It wasn’t the kids’ fault,” Jennifer said. “It’s just that everybody got sick right away. We had fevers, a tooth abscess to deal with, head lice and diaper explosions. It was a rough introduction to parenthood.”

The couple’s 58-day stay in Brazil was underway and after getting the first tough week under their belts, they were getting to know their new sons very well. But one thing got in the way – language. The brothers didn’t know a word of English and the Pratts couldn’t speak Portuguese. Also, the couple were required to spend 30 days with the boys before securing adoption. “After that period, we spent another 28 days to get the visas and passports of the children,” they said.

One of the factors that made those first few weeks so difficult was Brandon and Jennifer’s inability to communicate with the brothers. “For us to all of a sudden go from having no kids to four small ones who were sick and unable to tell us what hurts because nobody speaks English – it was awful,” Brandon said. It’s hard enough to attend to one’s sick child when you can speak the same language, but this ordeal was near on impossible.

More issues arose during their time in Brazil. The more time they spent in the country, the more they realized that the brothers needed a new life. “You are in a foreign country with terrible public health care,” Brandon said. “We couldn’t communicate with the doctors, couldn’t even drive, and you’ve got public transportation with about 400 people on a bus. We tried to cook meals in the tiny kitchen we had, but we couldn’t even read the labels on anything.”

The brothers had the misfortune of growing up in a very dangerous part of the world. So the last thing that Brandon and Jennifer wanted to do was expose them to any more of Brazil’s tough streets. And the new parents were still getting to know their four new children. “When we went out, we were worried that the kids might decide to run in four different directions,” Jennifer said. “We were actually in survival mode for two months.”

With time, both the cultural and age gaps began to blur as the brothers got closer to Brandon and Jennifer. And they had a couple of creative ways to make the boys feel more comfortable. “We became experts at charades and kid-Portuguese,” Jennifer said, who endearingly referred to them as her “little cavemen.” It was clear that the boys thoroughly appreciated the Pratts’ eagerness to have fun with them and speak to them in their own language.

What made the experience even more enjoyable was when Jennifer’s sister joined the group with her Brazilian husband for a week. He was originally a professional soccer player and was able to relate to the boys, both through his ability to speak with them in their native tongue as well as their shared love for ‘the beautiful game.’ “He could drive and communicate for us, and we could finally go out and eat at a restaurant,” Brandon said.

After nearly two months of file-filling and bureaucracy, the new family had come to the end of the long adoption process. “We think it is simply amazing what happened,” Brandon said. After nearly three years of searching as well as the long final hurdle in Brazil, all the time, money and effort was finally about to pay off and the brothers were a week away from embarking on their first flight and the first time they had ever left Pernambuco.

In hindsight, Brandon and Jennifer knew from day one that Leandro, Cristiano, Enzo and William were the children they wanted to love and care for. They just needed to meet them in person. “Other adopting families had told us that ‘you’ll just know’ when the right match comes up, and they were right,” Jennifer said. “We knew it the first time we saw their photo.” And the brothers must have felt the same way about their new parents.

With all the bureaucracy and legal issues out of the way, the newly formed family had a well deserved free week to enjoy themselves and do some sightseeing in the beautiful Rio de Janerio. And the Pratts went to world famous landmarks such as the Copacabana Beach as well as the iconic Christ The Redeemer. It was during their time in Rio that Brandon and Jennifer realized how underexposed to the outside world the boys had been…

Before the family were ready to start their new life together back in Iowa City, Brandon had something to say regarding whether or not all the pain and hard work was worth it. He ultimately believed that it was always what he wanted and would go to any distance with Jennifer so they could fulfill their shared dream. But he did admit that there were parts of the adoption process that challenged him and his wife considerably.

But Brandon would do it all over again if he could, in a heartbeat. “I encourage all families who want to adopt a child, who look with care to Brazil. Brazilian children are amazing,” Brandon said. “They are open to the idea of family and the culture is wonderful, easy to handle, which makes the children’s adaptation much easier. The orphanage where our children came from is very cool too, they taught children the Christian principles and values.”

Midway through their long flight, Brandon and Jennifer let it all sink in as they watch their boys sleep. The family had tripled in the blink of an eye. “Lo and behold, here is a family of four young brothers offered to us, healthy and happy, that nobody wanted to adopt,” Brandon said. “It was a God-centered miracle.” And as they landed, the boys woke up to a new morning and a new home – America.

On December 22, 2016, the Pratts touched down at Eastern Iowa Airport. And God had given the brothers an early Christmas present – snow. It was the first time that they had ever seen what they considered to be a strange, but wonderful phenomenon. “They ran out in the snow in flip flops,” Brandon said. “They knew about snow but had no idea it was cold. We had a quick 45-second snowball fight before they headed for the car to get warm.”

The brothers settled into their new home very quickly and within a few weeks of arriving, they were very happy with their bedrooms and had plenty of space to play. And they have already enrolled in their schools. Leandro and Cristiano started on the same day at Wickham Elementary while Enzo, who is little younger, started at preschool. William is still at home with his new mother. But soon enough, he will also be joining his brothers in school life.

Amazingly, some of the common features of day to day life that many of us take for granted were completely new experiences for the brothers. While exploring their new home city, they stumbled across many pieces of modern technology. Automatic doors were like magic to them and they couldn’t understand how hot air could come out of bathroom hand dryers. Most importantly, they couldn’t get their heads around the fact that some vehicles could take off and fly.

They say that children are the best learners of new languages, and the Pratt brothers certainly fulfilled that promise. Within just a few months, Leandro, Cristiano, Enzo and William were able to speak basic conversations in English and were taking great strides with their reading and writing skills. But their parents wanted to make sure that their kids would assimilate well into American culture while still retaining their own Brazilian identity. But in reality, would it be possible?

Recently, the boys delivered a presentation at school to show their class where they came from. According to their father, they showed many photos of Brazil and Brazilian food. Brandon explained that “we want the boys to be connected to the country they were born with. We know it is difficult, but we would love for the children to continue to speak Portuguese, even if they have to relearn to speak the language a little later.”

Now that they had a basic grip on the English language, the boys could enjoy social interactions with their contemporaries a lot more. Riding a bus to school was a completely different experience if they were able to speak with other kids. “We are always on the alert to offer boys as many experiences as possible,” Brandon said. “We saw great progress in language as soon as we arrived in the USA. They’re easy-to-handle kids, and adapting is much easier than we thought.”

And the brothers’ parents can’t believe how fast they have picked up the language. Not only that, they have also been given some incredible news regarding their progress and what level they are expected to reach. “They had zero English, but they can now understand almost everything we say to them, even though they can’t speak it yet,” Jennifer said. “We’ve been told they’ll be fluent in six months.” It turns out that the boys will be having full conversations in English very soon.

It’s not just the boys who are learning from this new experience. Since joining them in Iowa, Brandon and Jennifer can not believe how much Portuguese they have learned from their boys in such a short space of time. “They call us mamãe and papai now, which is mother and father in Portuguese,” Jennifer said with a smile on her face. “They will have dual citizenship with the U.S. and Brazil, and we want them to be proud of their country.”

It goes to show that this family’s adventure together has only just begun. Naturally, caring for the four boys can be extremely tiring for Brandon and Jennifer. But ultimately, witnessing their sheer excitement and trying new things for the first time like eating popcorn or going to a water park makes the whole experience worthwhile. And Brandon already has big plans as to how he wants to spend time with his little entourage, starting with a passion very close to his heart…

The die-hard Iowa Hawkeye now has dreams of taking his boys to watch his team play every weekend. For Brandon, it is his first true “dad moment” since bringing the boys back from Brazil. “At night, I always kissed the boys on the head and told them I loved them,” Brandon said. “Then one night, Leandro said ‘Good night, I love you, go Hawks!’ The rest followed suit, and now we have a tradition that means everything to me.”

Now that the family is fully settled into their new routine, they are able to make plans and have fun as a family unit. As well as playing sports and doing well in their studies, the boys just want to live a normal happy life with their parents and build on the relationships that they first established when they met in Brazil. Brandon said. “We want to travel a lot, play sports and all the things that normal families do.”