Special Needs Adoption

I wanted to share with you a glimpse of my child.  Once called Guo Xin.  She had been in the care of an orphanage for 8 years waiting to be 'chosen' to be someone's baby girl.  She waited and waited.  She was determined 'unadoptable' due to her special needs.  Guo Xin had a scary sounding medical report including ambliopia, cognitive delays, scoliosis and pulmonary valve stenosis.   So she continued to wait.  Until finally it was decided that she would be part of a special program through Holt International and this lucky mommy was told that her baby girl was found!  Unsure of what her future would hold, this mommy and daddy took a chance and decided to love Guo Xin with everything they had.


This past weekend was a special celebration for this family.  Not a birthday, not a 'gotcha day'.  Not a holiday of any sort.  But a wonderful celebration of love!  We played at the park.


Guo Xin is now our Elaina Xin May and she is constantly surprising us with her own strength and capacity to love!


Her scary medical file?  The scoliosis is so minor it is a non issue at this time.  Her eyes have been beautifully corrected through surgery and she gets to wear really cute glasses!  Cognitive delays?  Home for just 15 months and she is fluent in English, rapidly learning ASL, beginning to read in Chinese and first grade level in English.  Her pulmonary valve stenosis;  she has had one balloon procedure and will probably have 2 more as she grows.  As an adult she will likely have a valve replacement.

I so enjoy seeing my 'special needs' child running and playing.  She is a delight!

Cooking!

We've received our Approved Home Study and forwarded appropriate documents to USCIS aka Homeland Security.  Now we're cooking!  Now is when things begin moving along!  Now is when we start writing the big checks!  Now it's just a matter of time before we have a new daughter!

God has been so good to us and blessed us with enough money for each step of the way.  Given that, I feel it is time to put together a Ladies Tea Luncheon and Silent Auction.  It's time for me to let go of a few more earthly baubles to add to the teapot as well as clear out my home and heart for my new little girl.

More to come!

URGENT!

This is an urgent call to action from a blog friend, Adeye, 'No Greater Joy Mom' of mine.  Please contact me asap if I can help you with any questions regarding international adoption.

URGENT***URGENT***URGENT!!!

A couple of mornings ago I woke up to an e-mail in my inbox.  "A boy needs help!" I read through the information and my heart broke.  Not really knowing what my role was at that point, I prayed and trusted the Lord that He would send the right family.

I prayed the entire day on Monday for him.  I checked in later that night to see if the many prayers being prayed on his behalf had been answered yet.

No, they hadn't!

Tuesday morning came and all I could think about was this poor young man.  I started thinking about when I was a teenager, and what a blessed life I had--a warm bed, food in my tummy, the opportunity to go to school, and people who loved me.  I put myself in his position and I felt physically sick.

You see, life as this one young man knows it is about to change.  Drastically!

It was then that I knew that I knew that I needed to come to you, the amazing readers of my blog, with another rescue mission.  I realized that, knowing all I know about him, if I choose not to advocate for him, well, I may just regret it for the rest of my life.  I knew I had to try to help, and I also knew that you guys would be so faithful to rush in and help.

Friends, this time a young man, just fifteen years old, is literally on the brink of an absolute calamity!

This is Jonathan.  I don't know anything of his history, only that he is an orphan in Eastern Europe.

On December 31, 2011, Jonathan will turn sixteen.  A huge birthday for most teens.  But a dreaded day for this young man. Soon after the day of his sixteenth birthday Jonathan will be given the "gift" of his freedom.  Together with a small bag which contains all of his earthly possessions and about $30 in cash, he will be set free--no longer to be taken care of by a state orphanage.

Freedom?  

Sadly, not!

Catastrophically, most of the children like Jonathan who "age out" of the system literally have nowhere to go.  They are left on the streets to fend for themselves. With nowhere to turn, and no one to turn to, many end up in the trafficking industry. The majority never make it past their teen years. It is the sobering reality of most orphans who are forced to leave the only place of safety they know.  The statistics are staggering.  It is one of the many reasons adoption advocates fight so very hard to get children out of orphanages before it is too late. They know.

Here's the thing...

Jonathan has a matter of DAYS to find a family.  Mere DAYS!

In order for this boy to be rescued from a life that few of us can even begin to imagine, a family needs to step forward in the next few days and commit to him!  I'm told that as long as there is a commitment and the I600 visa is applied for, he will be kept where he is, and the adoption can be completed later.  That's the good news.

Right now what is needed is a family who has adopted internationally before.  From the contact I have been given, "He needs a family that is married, can travel, and has a homestudy that can be used for immigration approval and is willing to apply for immigration in the next week.  If a family is ready to apply they will work directly with the facilitator who knows him."

One week!  A visa HAS to be applied for in the next week in order to save this boy!

Here's a little we know about Jonathan:

"Jonathan is apparently a very, very good boy. He has a great sense of humor which has been confirmed by other kids in his class and two children who were recently adopted to U.S. He loves to work on a computer, takes part in virtually all theatrical performances organized at the orphanage, just a great actor, very calm when not on stage, never gets in trouble, loves sports and plays soccer, played basketball and trained in light athletics, studies at good level. Jonathan is respectful to adults and older children. He is obedient and always ready to help. NEEDS A FAMILY to file for immigration ASAP, can adopt later. BEGS translator when he visits if he has found his family yet, desperately wants to be adopted. Can be chatted to on Skype as well as email."

Oh, God in heaven, surely someone can go for this precious young man before it is too late?  Surely he can be rescued in time?  My heart cannot even bear the thought of what the alternative is.    

Many, many people have joined in to spread the search for Jonathan's family as far and as wide as is possible.  Many are praying and interceding on his behalf.  Will you please join in?  Would you use your blogs and your social networks to share Jonathan's desperate need for a family?  It is only going to take ONE family to rise up and say yes.  Just one. Surely between all of us we can help one boy to be united with his family...and spared the future he is rapidly heading toward?  I have to believe it.

I believe with all my heart that we serve a God who LOVES to show His miracle-working power through seemingly impossible situations.  He loves to show His power, His glory, and His faithfulness when all the odds are stacked up against us and things seem so dismal.  Of course He can do this!  

Thank you so much for joining us in the search for Jonathan's family!  I appreciate it more than you will ever know.  

Please, I'm begging you to share his story wherever you possibly can!  It is the only way his family will find their son.

If anyone would like more information about adopting Jonathan, please contact Amy atwaitingchildren@gmail.com

Home Study is Complete!

We've had a busy paper filled week. We've received an enormous volume of work titled "China Guidebook". I thought it might be an oversized pamphlet of "things to do". I was very wrong! This tome outlines enough work to keep me out of trouble for some time.

The big news is our home study is complete! Now it goes to our home study agency, Lutheran Social Services for review and then on to Holt International, our adoption agency for approval and then back to us to take to Austin to be notarized, certified and authenticated. Whew! The fun part is all of the documents I have chased down like birth certificates, marriage license, etc all must be certified copies that then go to Austin to be authenticated. When we're done with this part we should be very authentic! :)

Tick Tock

I've decided to share my life more freely. If you should find something of interest here, enjoy. Please feel free to comment should you share a similar experience or perhaps can offer some wisdom. If you have neither to offer, a good "Knock, Knock" joke is always welcome.

Well, yesterday I celebrated my 52nd birthday. Strange I don't feel old. I actually have 5.3 grandkids. Boy, Boy, Girl, Boy, Girl and whosit. I still don't feel old. I call them my monkeys. I once called my three sons monkeys and now their children have taken the title. They have their assigned numbers and answer to their number. They all seem to love their spot in the lineup. All think that their monkey number is the best! Monkey 1 is 7, Monkey 2 is 5. They are brothers. Monkey 3 is also 5 and her brother Monkey 4 is 4. Monkey 5 is our sweet baby girl, 6 months and she will be the big sister to Monkey 6 who is due for his/her homecoming in late July.

So, it appears that I have plenty to keep myself out of trouble. All in all at any simple family dinner we might have my darling and myself, mother-in-law, 3 sons, 3 daughters-in-law, 4 dogs, 1 cat and my precious 6 little monkeys.Full house? Well... I still think someone is missing. I always believed one day we would adopt. I believe that day has come.