Imagine for a moment that you are just an average Jane, 30 year old, single person.
You are settling into the groove of life after moving to a new town about a year ago. You have bought a house and just got it all fixed up the way to like and everything seems to be going well.
It is at this point that you realize that it is time for you to start giving back to others. You are blessed that you now work at a place that is very active with volunteering both locally and worldwide. You realize that now is the time for you to begin helping internationally.
Your co-workers introduce you to the world of orphanages, the thousands and thousands of children who no longer have families for various reasons. Many of these children have disabilities and are struggling to survive. You realize that by going with a TEAM to another country, you can make a profound impact on a child who has very little.
SO, you decide to go to China with a TEAM of coworkers. You are a group of pediatric PT, OT and Speech Therapists who are going to bring therapy equipment (braces, wheelchairs, standers, KT Tape, special cups, etc) and knowledge to an orphanage and a local hospital.
HOWEVER, before you go, a co-worker tells you the story of a child that they came across in a Chinese orphanage who was in desperate need of surgery. They advocated for this little guy and got enough concern from the orphanage officials that they seeked out placing him in a foster facility that raises money for children to receive the surgeries they so desperately need. This is how I found New Day!!
Now, this little guy that had been found by our TEAM had a fairly large following of people here at home. They daily looked on the foster page's blog for new images of him. They were in constant prayer that his forever family would be found. I, of course, went to the blog and started looking at not only this little guy's image, but the pictures of all of the children.
http://newdayfosterhome.blogspot.com/
The New Day Story from
New Day Foster Home on
Vimeo.
THIS is how I found my son! I saw his image and INSTANTLY knew he was supposed to be with me. It is an unexplainable phenomenon that only God could have orchestrated! I couldn't even scroll down to another picture - I was frozen in time, enamoured by his eyes and sweet gaze. A sweet, smiling little boy with multiple issues. A child with significant impairment that most other people would just glance over and not even give a second thought. HOWEVER, I knew we were meant to be together.
How could this be?!! Remember, I was average Jane. I was just getting into the groove of life after moving and buying a house!! Adoption?! This was NOT what I was preparing for. Adoption?! But, I couldn't get this little guy out of my head!! I went to China and did my volunteering, but the whole time was thinking of this little boy that I had never met.
2 months after first seeing his picture, I decided that I really needed more information. This child was in my every waking thought and I needed to make a decision. I was able to contact a friend in the China adoption world- "we'll see if he has a file", she said. Hours tick by and then there was a reply ... "he doesn't seem to have a file". Oh, ok ... what does that mean?! How can a child who desperately needs a family not have a file to be adopted?
After making a few more contacts, it was found out that this sweet child's orphanage had decided that he was too involved, that his disability was too great and they decided to not make him a file .... deciding that he was unadoptable just the week before I decided to get more information. You see, orphanage's only have so much money - files are expensive to make- it was a tough decision. Unadoptable!? How can this be?? This child is precious and so full of life, YES he has significant issues ... but unadoptable?!
I am SO blessed that I was put in contact with an amazing advocate. "I will see if the orphanage will make a file since someone is interested in him becoming part of their forever family". Oh how thankful I was that she advocated for him ... and so grateful that the orphanage said "YES"!!!
All of this has occurred within the last 8 months. I was not planning on this, but God laid this child on my heart. For him to go from "unadoptable" to a forever family is something that his orphanage and his foster facility never thought that they would see. BUT IT IS HAPPENING!! This road had been so full of speed bumps, pot holes and hurdles ... but it is moving forward.
The largest hurdle of adoption is the financial aspect. MOST of us do not have an extra $34,000 laying around to give to various agencies to adopt a child in need. I knew this from the beginning, but, for him, I am willing to do anything and will MAKE it work! How could I not?! My SON is at stake!
So, here I am - working 6 days per week to help bring this precious boy home. With each week a little more is put into the adoption fund ... but it is not enough. I have applied for grants, but have not yet heard back from any. There have been multiple fundraisers (and more to come I am sure) ... each adding to the fund, little by little. However, with each step comes more fees due. Homestudy - $2500, Sending dossier to China - $5250, Being matched with my son - $4300 .... it is overwhelming.
Where am I in the process currently?! Well, I am waiting on US Immigration to approve me bringing a child into the country. Once I receive this approval, I can send all of my documents to China. All these documents include my certified birth certificate, a statement of my health, my finances, a statement that I am single, a letter requesting to be matched with my little boy, images of me, my family, my home and passport photos just to name a few.
Once these documents arrive in China, I will be finally matched with my son! This will be a great day! A day that I have been waiting for since I officially started this adoption journey in January. When this day comes, I will finally be able to post his picture for all to see!
I am so thankful for everyone who has joined me in this journey. I am happy to share it all, the ups and the downs. I pray that this journey continues to be shared now, when I am in China and even after we are home. This brave little boy has such a journey ahead of him and I have a feeling he will be an inspiration to us all!
Want to know about current fundraisers?
T-shirts are now available in Kids sizes!!
Canvas Shirts for Adults.
Hanes Tagless Ts for Kids and Adults
Only 6 days left to get yours!!
AdoptTogether is a non-profit, crowdfunding platform that bridges the gap between families who want to adopt and the children who need loving homes. This platform allows donors to receive a tax write-off while still donating to families in the process of adoption.
Prayer requests:
- That fundraisers are successful! There is $3550 due in the next week or so - this will completely wipe out the adoption fund. Please pray that funding comes in!
