Mazur Family Recounts Their Countless Blessings Throughout November
By Dianna Troyer
Rachel Peters remembers how her parents made Thanksgiving a weeklong celebration for their 18 children.
“Every year, we would make our thankful tree,” says Rachel, a Burley resident. Starting a couple of weeks before Thanksgiving, they cut out pieces of paper into the shape of a leaf every day.
“On each one, we wrote what we were thankful for and taped it to a wall to make the shape of a tree,” Rachel says. “I’m going to continue the tradition when my kids are old enough to start doing it.”
1 thing Rachel and her siblings are always thankful for is that their parents, Steve and Deb Mazur, expanded their biological family of 6 children by adopting 12 children, welcoming them into the family’s home near Declo.
November is a special time for the Mazur family, not only for Thanksgiving, but also because it is National Adoption Month. In 1995, President Bill Clinton made the designation to bring attention to the number of children waiting to be adopted.
“Thanksgiving is a great holiday because it’s the easiest time of year for many of us to get together with our jobs and schedules,” Rachel says. “It’s fun to play board games and do things with such a big family. It brings us all together in a fun way.”
Another family tradition she cherishes on Thanksgiving Day is unwrapping a plastic-wrapped ball while wearing oven mitts. Family members take turns peeling away layers of wrap and retrieving the prizes hidden inside.
“I buy little things all year—gift cards for fast food, candy bars, nail polish,” says Deb, who makes the ball. “I’ll always remember Rachel’s excitement 1 year when she won the final grand prize—a $15 gift card to a fast-food restaurant. The ball is something we’ve always liked doing, whatever our ages.”
Their children now range in age from 20 to 44 and are in college or have careers. 5 of them joined branches of the military.
The Mazurs were inspired to begin adopting in 1999, and started with 2 babies from Haiti.
We felt compelled after reading the Book of Jude,” Steve said. “It emphasizes the importance of having compassion to make a difference in people’s lives.”
In addition to children from Haiti, they also adopted from the United States, Uganda, Ghana, Sierra Leone, and Liberia. Several of the Mazurs’ adopted children are biological siblings.
“It’s been fun to learn about their cultures,” Deb says. “Considering their different experiences and home countries, I taught them through a homeschool program.”
The Mazurs celebrated their adopted children’s birthdays as well as their “gotcha days,” the day they were adopted.
“We went out to eat or had a special meal at home,” Steve says. “All our kids know they are loved."
Raising children and focusing on their family have always been priorities for Deb and Steve. They met in 1991 through a mutual friend at a Head Start center where Deb worked.
“He had 3 children in another center’s program,” Deb says. “After we started dating, we talked about having a big family. We each had 3 kids. He has always liked being around teenagers, and I’ve gravitated to 3-to 5-year-olds.”
The Mazurs agree that some of their most gratifying moments were watching their children deepen their Christian faith as they grew up.
When they officially signed adoption papers before a local magistrate, the children sang “Amazing Grace.”
When Alex, a native of Uganda, did his chores, he often sang.
“When I asked him why, he told me, ‘This is where God wants me,’” Deb says.
Rachel, a native of Ghana, is the only one still in the Mini-Cassia area. She is married with 3 children.
“I’m where God wants me to be,” Rachel says. “It’s a great place to start our family. It’s peaceful here and good to be near our families.”
With their children grown and out of the house, Steve, 66, and Deb, 67, are starting a new season of life. Steve, who worked as an electrician, retired in March, which allowed the couple to take a 6,000-mile road trip to visit their children and other relatives.
“We went to see some of the children in Minnesota, South Carolina, and Colorado, Steve’s 90-year-old mom in Michigan, and my half-sister in Tennessee,” Deb says. “We also visited old friends in Missouri and Colorado. Later, we took a trip to see the kids in Nevada and California.”
Besides traveling during retirement, they have also grown close with a family from their church, Waters Edge Fellowship in Burley.
“They have 5 children,” Deb says. “We go to their sporting events and birthday parties and have celebrated holidays together. We enjoy our neighborhood kids, too. They know they’re always welcome here. Our house is so quiet now compared to years ago.”
Soon, the sounds of family will be back. “We always look forward to having a full house at the holidays,” Steve says.