GUEST POST: I'm not advocating for a stranger

I had the privilege of being with Kelly to meet this little guy in China and take these pictures of him.  He needs a family and is such a wonderful little boy.  He really would be an amazing son and he wants to be adopted.  Will you please read my friend, Kelly's, blog post about him below and share?  He is such a light and so full of life.  After meeting him in person myself, I just know his family is out there.  Let's bring this sweet son home.

"I was told there were no flights out of Beijing on March 12th. No flights? How could that be? What that meant was that if we really wanted to travel on that day, our trip that would have been a 13 hour plane ride followed by several hours in Chicago followed by a 2 hour flight to Philly just increased by about 10 hours. We had the worst itinerary ever—an early morning domestic flight to another city in China, an 8 hour layover, and then a flight to Chicago and then our flights home. Great.

When I called my friend and traveling companion to tell her the bad news, she suggested we make the best of it, get out of the airport, make it a fun layover, see the town. Then, we both remembered that he lived there. But, there was no way we’d get permission to visit him. I was sure of it.

But, apparently, God was in charge of our itinerary all along.

He was anxious to greet us when we arrived, hurrying to put on his shoes. The boys in his room were calling his name. They all knew he had special visitors coming to see him. He was a little quiet at first and hindered by the gap created by our English and his Mandarin. But, chocolate fixes lots of things. He smiled big, showing off his dimples and at least two Enlish words as I handed him a big chocolate bar from America.

Thank you!

We spent an hour with him, hearing from him about how he likes math and basketball. We saw his classroom and his prize winning handwriting assignment. I saw his second grade workbook where he was doing math more advanced than my son the same age is doing in his American 2nd grade class. I saw the love his teacher and caregiver have for him, a boy who has had a rough start but who very much seems like a normal, active little guy. We heard from him that most of his friends including his best friend have already been adopted. We asked him if he wanted a family, brothers and sisters, a big move to America.

Yes.

I touched his face, tickled his cheeks, patted his head, silently prayed over him in person as I have prayed from the other side of the world.

I told someone there that I thought he’d make a wonderful son and how sorry I was that he was still waiting. That someone typed something into a phone and showed it to me, unable to say it without the help of technology…or unable to say it aloud in the presence of others.

It read in Chinese:

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28

At the end of our visit, we walked him back to his room. I gave him another chocolate bar to save for later and told him how special he was and that we came all the way from America just to see him. It wasn’t about us at all; we aren’t all that. But, I wanted to give him that. I wanted him to know he was worth a trip across the world.

Today’s his 8th birthday. I wonder if he saved any of his chocolate bar to eat today. We prayed for him as a family today, praying that his family sees his face and that God would show Himself sovereign over their itinerary too and reveal to them that he is worth a trip across the world and back again to make him a beloved son.

To read more about my commitment to advocate for him, please see this post.

To read more about my first post about him, please read this post.

If you want to know more about adopting him, please contact me. I would love to share more pictures, some video, and everything I know about him."

Bring Me Hope Orphan Summer Camps

I am honored to have Nicole guest post on my blog today to share about a special way to care for orphans!  If you feel so called, please consider becoming a camp sponsor to give one of the precious Chinese orphans the opportunity to go to camp!  Let then know that someone cares and loves them, and that they ARE important!

                                                                    

I knew that traveling to China to be part of the Bring Me Hope summer camps would change my life, but I had no idea how deeply and permanently it would wreck my heart. 

It was only five days that I spent with those three orphans, but I still remember it like yesterday.  We ate our meals together, sang the silly camps songs, hiked the Great Wall and pasted and glued our hearts out at craft time.  As they opened up and shared their stories, I felt myself coming undone from the inside out.  How do you not when a gorgeous, twelve-year-old girl tells you that she was orphaned after her parents died in a murder/suicide?!  

Shock.  Then heartbreak.  Then the tears.  

Fast forward six years.  My trips to China have continued, my new dream in life is to get to 30 years old so I can bring our own son or daughter home.  From that first week at camp, I saw what a difference five days at a summer camp could make in the lives of chinese orphans, as well as their foreign camp buddies; I never wanted to stop being a part of this mission. Bring Me Hope is dedicated to improving the lives and futures of Chinese orphans. It begins at summer camp and continues with year-round programs to meet the ongoing needs of orphans in China.

We are currently in the middle of four weeks of summer camps in five chinese cities.  A great need right now is raising the rest of the camp sponsorships to make the fourth week of camp possible.  As a sponsor, you will become part of the team that makes camp happen for the kids. Sponsorships of $125 or more will receive a phone call and letter from one of the children attending camp.

Your camp sponsorship will provide Chinese orphans with a safe place to experience healing, be assured of their value, and be given opportunities to explore fun, new things like swimming, art, music and field trips. Camp also connects orphans with people who can advocate for them year-round. 

We would love to invite you to partner with us.  Would you help make these last weeks of camp happen with a camp sponsorship?!  {You can do this on our website here}  We also hope you would consider about joining us at the 2014 camps.  It is an adventure that will change your life.  Most of all, please pray with us that these children's lives could be changed through the power of love and family.

“We learned that orphans are easier to ignore before you know their names. They are easier to ignore before you see their faces. It is easier to pretend they are not real before you hold them in your arms. But once you do, everything changes.” -David Platt

                                                                    

Visiting Orphans

Have you heard of Visiting Orphans?  It is a 501(c)3 non-profit mission sending agency established in 2005 as a way to fulfill the biblical mandate given in James 1:27 to "visit orphans and widows in their distress". They are dedicated to building relationships and working toward long-term change in those they visit and in those they send.  Visiting Orphans currently sends short-term mission trips to visit orphans in 12 countries including: China, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Haiti, Honduras, India, Kenya, Ukraine, Uganda and Rwanda.

My very dear bloggy and IRL friend, Kelly from My Overthinking, is co-leading a Visiting Orphans team to China in March also!  Will you please take a few moments to watch this video and learn all about what Visiting Orphans does?

STUCK and a Giveaway!

If you are in the adoption community, you have probably heard of the new documentary called "STUCK" that has been showing all over the U.S.  It's "a new, award-winning documentary film that reveals the deeply personal, real-life stories of children and parents navigating a roller coaster of bureaucracy on their journeys through the international adoption system, each filled with hope, elation - and sometimes heartbreak."  Words won't do the documentary justice, so please click on the link below to view the trailer!

Oh and here's the GIVEAWAY part!  The producers of STUCK have given me TWO FREE TICKETS to give to one of my readers for a screening!  Go check out the screening schedule to find out if they are coming to your area.  If you'd like to enter the giveaway for TWO FREE TICKETS, go "like" their Facebook page and then come back and leave a comment telling my why you'd like to see STUCK!  One entry per person.  The deadline for entry into the giveaway is April 10th at midnight - you have one week to win!

UPDATE - The winner of the giveaway is KAREN WELLS!!  Congratulations Karen!!  I used random.org to randomly draw a winner:

Kings & Queens

This is my new "kill it" song ... it's been on repeat all morning.  I just adore its beautiful message.  Yes indeed, these could be our daughters and our sons.  Love the purple royalty imagery in this video too, please take a few minutes to watch it!

Would you consider hosting a Chinese orphan?

New Horizons is the largest faith-based host program, facilitating orphan hosting nationwide.  Since 2005, more than 2000 orphans have been hosted through their ministry!  If you are familiar with New Horizons, you know they mostly bring Eastern European orphans over to the U.S. for hosting.  I am thrilled to share that they recently announced a brand-new Chinese orphan hosting program also!  This is so exciting!  As far as I know, Chinese orphans have not been hosted in the U.S, so this is really awesome news.  I think they have about 55 Chinese orphans that they are looking to host here in the U.S. with Christian families during Chinese New Year - approximately January 24-February 1.

So what is required to host?  Without getting into too much detail, you simply need to open your home up to a Chinese orphan for approximately four weeks.  Host families agree to cover the cost of airfare and other incidentals for the child while they are here.  You take care of food, clothing, shelter, etc. ... and LOVE on them.  Show them what it means to be a Christian and be part of a family.  Teach them that they matter and that someones does care.  Show them unconditional love, just they way Jesus loves them.  Let them get a glimpse of American culture, the English language, and what it means to be a part of a healthy, loving, Christian family.  Give them a chance.  Give them hope.  Change their life, and your family's in the process.  For more concrete specifics, click HERE for the New Horizon's China pre-application.

You do not have to want to adopt to host through this program, although I do think they are currently giving preferential treatment to host families who are open to the possibility of adoption, especially this first time around.  Some of the details are still a bit up in the air, as this is the first time they have worked with China to host.  Currently, all children are being flown into Atlanta.  And then depending on where the host families are clustered, certain locations may not be eligible for hosting this time around.  New Horizons needs to guarantee they can properly chaperone the children - doing so means the kids need to be in host homes clustered within an hour of each other, throughout the U.S.  I think the plan is eventually (after this first time is successful) to loosen up on that, although I am not positive.

So anywho, the reason I am advocating for this program is because our family would very much like to host over CNY.  In order to do that though, my impression is that there needs to be other host families in a close-ish proximity to us.  I wanted to get the word out about this program so that as many people can know as possible.  Maybe God will stir their hearts also to host.  Will you help spread the news?  We would love to share the love of Christ with one of these precious blessings and are praying that the door is opened for us.

Photo credit: New Horizons

This one.

My sweet friend, Kelly, over at My Overthinking, advocates for many orphans on her blog and Facebook page.  I also see lots of other orphans advocated for all over the internet ... my heart hurts each time a see a new face.  Another precious one that needs and deserves a family.  Another child with no one to tuck them in and kiss them goodnight.  Sometimes it's just too much!

Every once in awhile, I see the face of a little one that just overwhelms me.  It's the kind of thing where I simply can't stop thinking about them and my stomach gets tied in knots over their situation.  I don't know why some affect me this way and others do not ... but sweet Quinn was one of those precious babes.  This one.  This beautiful girl will turn 5 on New Year's Day and is going blind because of a simple, yet severe Vitamin A deficiency.  A Vitamin A deficiency, friends.  It is a rare disorder called Keratmoalacia. She is not yet completely blind and can still see light.  This disorder can be corrected through surgery, but she needs it NOW.  Like yesterday.  Without surgery, her blindness will become permanent.   And after blindness becomes permanent, there is a 50% chance she will die.  All because of a Vitamin A deficiency ... something that we rarely worry about here in the U.S.

Most immediately, Quinn needs surgery and funding to make that possible.  If you feel called, please consider donating to help financially support doctor's visits and ultimately surgery to restore her vision.  Homeland Children's Foundation is committed to doing everything they can to help her.  Tax-deductible donations can be sent to them at 99 Main Street, Suite 310, Nyack, NY 10960.  Make checks payable to Homeland Children's Foundation and make sure to write Quinn's name on the check.  Please also include your name, address and phone number so that the donation can be returned if they are unable to use it for her.

Quinn also desperately needs a family.  It has been said about her--"She is sweet, gentle, playful and affectionate. She is able to navigate despite her limited vision and is loved by everyone."  If you feel like God is leading you down that path of adopting her, please contact Nancy Reffsin at 413-253-3592 or nreffsin@gmail.com.  A family that is paper-ready or is going to be traveling soon is preferable given Quinn's immediate medical need.  Homeland Children's Foundation is willing to help in any way to get Quinn home, including fundraising.

Advocating works!  Please share Quinn's information.  Let's find her family!

Sunshine's party and a plea for Alea

When thinking about celebrating Sunshine's 2nd birthday - her first one home with us, we wanted to make it really special with a small Chinese-themed party.  We were so honored that our family and close friends wanted to celebrate with us and suggested that instead of gifts, they consider a monetary donation to help orphans, or a donation of items to be mailed to her orphanage for the children left behind.  We were so blessed by everyone's generosity.  Not only did we collect several awesome bags filled with socks, blankets, coloring books, crayons, markers, play-doh, bubbles, puzzles and more, we also raised $405!  Are our family and friends not totally amazing?!?  What a fantastic, spectacular, terrific way to celebrate Sunshine's first birthday home with us ... giving back to the beautiful orphans left behind in the country she came to us from!

I have to admit, we didn't know exactly where the monetary donation would go in China.  We wanted to wait until we knew the amount, and then decide what the best course would be.  We do the majority of our charitable giving in China through Love Without Boundaries and I had kind of assumed that the donations would filter through their awesome organization.  But I knew that no matter how the $405 made its way to China, God would get it to the place it needed to be most urgently.  And boy did He!

Last night, I clicked on Kelly's most recent blog post ... and I met this gorgeous baby girl:

Meet Alea.  She was born in China on September 28, 2011 and arrived at New Day Foster Home on February 22, 2012.  She was born with biliary atresia and needs a liver transplant to survive.  Like now.  Apparently organ transplants are so rare in China that they basically don't happen.  At all.  They are also really expensive.  $65,000 expensive.  So, New Day needs help.  First they need PRAYER for Alea, that a liver donor is found soon and that she stays strong.  And then, well they need financial help to make this surgery happen.

When we read about their Red Envelope Fundraiser for Alea, we knew exactly where the $405 from Sunshine's birthday was going.  Envelope #405.  See, I knew God would use these donations in the most needed way possible!  We are so honored to be a part of Alea's story.  And I know our family and friends that helped to make this donation possible will be thrilled to be a part of it too.

Will you also please, please, please consider popping over to the Hope for Alea website?  And after you read about Alea's zeal for life and the fundraiser to save her life, pray about helping this precious little treasure financially.  ANY amount is helpful - if all 500 envelopes are spoken for, Alea's liver transplant will be fully funded.  Fully funded, friends.  Our God CAN make this happen.  But He needs us - you and me - to be his hands and feet for it to be possible.  NO amount is too small!  Please give this baby girl a chance at life!

And if you truly cannot help financially but still want to help, PRAY and pass on the information about the fundraiser.  Not only will doing that get this out to other people, you'll also get a chance to win a cool Wild Olive tee!

Thank you so much for your consideration in helping this precious child of God, and for your PRAYER!

One less

When I woke up this morning and checked my email, I found some really wonderful, amazing, absolutely awesome news. My sponsor baby, Charlotte, has been adopted, Praise God. I have been sponsoring her for a year and have always been told that her chances of being adopted were not high because her orphanage does not do a lot of adoptions. So when I read the news that she is now one more in a forever family and one less an orphan ... well let's just say I've been floating on cloud 9 this morning! I have been sponsoring her foster care - it started right after she had her cleft lip repair through Love Without Boundaries at their Anhui Healing Home. The last picture at the bottom was from December, I think she is now about 17 months old.

I'd love to find her family so I can pass on all of the pictures I have of her, because I have lots more in addition to her monthly updates! If you know a family that adopted a precious baby girl from the Dingyuan SWI in Anhui Province with a repaired cleft lip, I would be overjoyed if you could send them my way! I'm nosy and would love to see how she's doing and what her "real" name is. But more than that, I just want them to know that someone cared about and prayed for their baby girl for the past year!

Love Without Boundaries asked me if I wanted to sponsor a new child, and of course I said YES! I originally started sponsoring Charlotte to feel somehow more connected to Sunshine before we brought her home. Getting updates of another CL/CP baby made the time go by a little faster for me. And truthfully, I never even missed that small monthly fee! If you would prayerfully consider sponsoring a child, YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE. By helping just one child somewhere around the world, you are answering God's call to look after orphans and widows.

"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this:

to look after orphans and widows in their distress

and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."

James 1:27

There are so many fantastic organizations that help with orphan sponsorship, here are a few of my favorites that I have had personal contact with:

Love Without Boundaries (they work in China and donated cleft bottles to Sunshine's orphanage)

Show Hope (Steven Curtis Chapman's organization that works in China and runs Maria's Big House of Hope)

Amazima (Katie Davis' organization that does work in Uganda and helps school 575+ children - they have temporarily put a hold on new sponsorships but you can sign up to be notified when they open them again)

I am feeling so grateful today to serve a loving God whose heart is kind and who adopts all of us into his Heavenly family.

{Advocating} For A Strong Hero

"Who will be my buddy?"

These are the first words I heard Peter speak (in Mandarin).

It was Day 1 of the Bring Me Hope summer camp for orphans, and Peter was waiting with eager anticipation as he watched the campers get matched up with their buddies. As an exhausted staff member, I had previously decided to not have a buddy that week.

Plans changed.

With one look at this little boy, I knew we were supposed to spend the week together. I walked across the room and grabbed Peter's hand, announcing I was his buddy. The smile that erupted on his face is etched in my memory forever. During that first day, Peter and I bonded more quickly than any other child I had every been matched with--evidenced during Day 2's water gun fights. For over an hour, Peter positioned himself between me and the others shouting, "You can't shoot her! If you shoot her I will get you!" I laughed as I watched him race around, trying to protect me by shooting all the other kids with water.

As the week progressed, my laughter turned into sorrow as I saw this precious boy yearning for love. If I spent one moment with another child, Peter would become jealous. He thought he had to work harder to earn my love. He served me food, filled my cup with water, gave me his toys, stole candy from other children to give to me, and even wrote me notes and drew pictures. The pictures always told the same story. He carefully colored a strong prince and one princess. When he gave it to me he said I was the princess, and he was the hero.

Even though he had a soft heart, Peter was strong. He tried to hide the fact that he wore a diaper because of being born with a myelomeningocele (spina bifida), disappearing for short times to change himself. When he returned, he pretended like nothing happened. I watched all of this and decided that Peter was my strong hero.

Friday came; time to say goodbye. I had been dreading this moment all week and wasn't sure how Peter would respond. Hist strength faltering, he held my hand tightly as we walked to the car door. Before he got in, a small tear fell down his cheek. The first tear I had seen all week. Hesitating for just a moment, Peter turned around and hugged me tightly. As I wrapped my arms around him, a personal responsibility for him grew in my heart. He may be leaving, but I was his advocate.

The car pulled out of the driveway. As tears streamed down my face, it began to pour rain. I looked heavenward and asked the Lord, "Why is he alone? Why doesn't he have a family?" The reply? "Becca, you can speak loudly on his behalf."

And so I am. Would you consider bringing this little boy, my little brother, into your family?

His words are still in my heart: "You're going to find me a family, aren't you Becca?" desperately loving me to his best ability during the week when God redefined love for me.

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This little hero (b. 9/18/2001) is currently on the shared list waiting for his family to find him. A family can use any agency to bring him home.

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Hey everyone, my name is Becca Bolt and I live in California. Since my parents adopted in 2003 and in 2005, my heart has grown into a crazy love for the vulnerable. They need voices to speak up on their behalf, and I knew I could be a voice. I am still a student at San Diego Christian College and will graduate in a few months. Wherever the Lord leads me (which is looking like China), I know I will be loving the helpless, for that is where His heart is.

{Advocating} The Gift of Home

Today I heard a song on the radio by Steven Curtis Chapman. It's a song that sums up every orphan's Christmas wish ... their prayer for a family. With Sunshine happily humming along in her car seat in the back, I cried. The lyrics really hit home for me because almost one year ago, we saw our daughter's face for the first time - right before Christmas. She didn't know it, but she had a family last Christmas and she will finally get to celebrate this Christmas at home.

The following aren't my words. But, they are the words of someone who has become very dear to me. They are the words of the very special person who opened our daughter's file, quickly typed in our names, and clicked a button, changing our lives forever. This very special person announced yesterday that she will be resigning her position as Adoption Director at our adoption agency at the end of this month so that she can stay at home with her toddler son. But, before she leaves, I'd really like to give her a very special gift--one very special match.

Please read and share this link. This Christmas, we want to see [Bo's] family say yes to bringing him home.

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Working in the field of adoption, I have read countless heartbreaking stories of the injustices children are forced to endure. Sometimes, I have to remind myself that each “referral,” each “document,” each “jpeg,” is a child. An actual child. Waiting. Is it easy to forget this fact after opening 3000+ attachments? Yes. Until God sends one of these “files” my way that forces me to take pause. To remember. This day, God sent [Bo] to me.

On an insignificant Tuesday, while searching the list of over 1,600 waiting children, I came across a birth date. A date that is so engrained in my heart, it immediately forced me to open this “file” to meet this “referral.” August 13, 2010. The day I gave birth to my first child, Murphy. One of the happiest days of my life. One of the most nerve-wracking days of my life. On August 13, 2010, I was happy-excited-nervous-scared-in pain-full of joy-exhausted. And, across the world, on August 13, 2010, I know [Bo’s] mother shared these same feelings. Though, her day ended much differently than mine.

I spent the night waking when Murphy woke. Doing my best to feed my baby, change my baby, and cater to his every need. I called the nurse many times throughout the night. Am I doing this right? Is he eating enough? My husband was right there with me, getting me water, cradling our new angel. It was hot and humid outside, and I was cool and comfortable in the hospital. I had all of the supports I could need. And after very little sleep, I awoke on August 14, 2010 to my beautiful baby boy.

On August 14, 2010, at not even 1 day old, [Bo] was on his own. Alone. During the night, after realizing that she could not provide the medical care her baby would need, [Bo’s] mother made the heartbreaking decision to give him a chance at life. Her only option was to leave him outside of an apartment building and hope that a good Samaritan would find him and take him to safety.

I think back to those first few days following Murphy’s birth. He had jaundice. They heard a heart murmur. I was a wreck. But, Murphy also had doctors, nurses, and state of the art medical equipment to care for him--not to mention a mother, father, and countless other people who already loved him and doted on him. Now, I find that I cannot stop thinking about [Bo] on those few days following his birth. The same exact days that Murphy and I experienced. But, [Bo] did not have doctors. He did not have nurses. He had no one.

God sent [Bo] to me. Murphy’s twin, in a way. [Bo] reminded me that each birth date, each “referral,” each “document,” each “jpeg,” are all Murphys–all children of God who deserve the love and support of a family.

Could you be [Bo’s] family?

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Wanna see his file? Please email Sarah and allow her to introduce you to this very special little boy.