Archive for January 28, 2016

#HostingHappenings: Bring Out the Coloring Books

It’s been a few days since the internet actually worked. Two nights ago, I crouched in the middle of an orphanage hallway that was approximately 12 degrees, holding my laptop at every angle possible trying to hold on to one bar of service to send updates. Last night, I was the strange American in the middle of the hotel hallway, sitting completely motionless because if I moved, everything I was trying to do would crash. I will never take you for granted again, home internet.

We’ve met a ton of kiddos the past few days, and yesterday we saw quite a number of older children (or “big kids,” as one of my hosting parents have affectionately called them!). Older child hosting and adoption is scary for many families – a child who is 11, 12, or even older can have a tough time.. They come with a decade of experiences already, not all of them great ones, and a little personality of their very own. For our families who step out on the limb and take that walk of faith to host one of these kids, though, the rewards are immense. We’ve seen so many older children who so excited to finally be loved, and many of the children we see in China are ready and eager to learn a new language  and step out of the world of their orphanage. The interview portion with these older children can be somewhat awkward – you can’t bring a wind-up toy or a small nerf ball to elicit a smile from these kids. Across all our programs, what helps the most is to break out the coloring books and drawing pads (pro tip for our future host families – coloring contests are a great way to bond with your kiddos!).

 

Miss Sweet Smile (in the orange) and Miss Pony Tail (in the stripe) stood out today – they are best friends and roommates. They share a room with other children, but their beds are right next to each other and they share everything just like little girls do. Miss Sweet Smile told us they love to play cards together, but, she shyly told us, Miss Pony Tail “always wins!” They slowly opened up to us, laughing and smiling as they drew us a couple of little pictures. We see children like them all the time; older children’s files may say “delayed,” but we look at them and know that with good schooling and a good family, they could be anything they wanted to be. The stigma around older children’s “developmental delays” is a hurdle we try to dodge and jump every day – these are kids who aren’t delayed, these are kids who have never been given a chance but have somehow still learned to make a best friend, smile to a stranger, and give a cautious hello. Every time I think about how much these kids have accomplished despite what they’ve been through, I am amazed…but I’m also frustrated. They deserve a chance as much as any child! Hosting is now their chance, and we can’t wait to see how these two little ladies will grow with the proper care of a family that they so deserve. We’d love to see them hosted close together, and we’d love to see the smiles of all our older children smile grow brighter with the love that a family brings.

Until tomorrow (depending on the internet, hallway, and angle of my laptop!) – talk to you soon!

-S

A note from the staff at home: If you’re interested in potentially hosting, and especially hosting an older kiddo, we’d love to hear from you! Get in touch with us to find out more by contact Cayce at cayce@childrenofallnations.com or call (512) 323-9595 ext. 3102.

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#HostingHappenings: What Not to Pack to China

Let me start with this: I am proudly writing this from the comfort of my hotel room, not from a airport back room with airport security staring down at me. Whew!

Every interview trip, we pack toys for the children. It helps them open up in front of us (strangers) who are asking them personal questions (what’s your favorite color?) and staring at them with huge, inexplicable smiles (you are so cute!). In the actual packing of toys, we have to find ones that are small enough to fit 100+ in one suitcase, “fun” enough for the children to be interested by them, gender neutral enough for the boys and girls to play with, cheap enough not to break my bank account…and on and on. We’re usually left with small rolling cars, bouncy balls, and cheap, knock-off Nerf guns. That’s where the troubles came in today.

I told our guide, Veronica, that we were out of toys after meeting the children last week and needed to picked up some more. She saved the day, meeting me at the airport with a few dozen dolls and cheap pop guns, and she even already had them perfectly packed like a Tetris challenge into a small box – I’m still not sure how they all fit. We rolled up to the security check point and were told the box couldn’t be checked onto the flight, it must be a carry-on. It wasn’t until we approached the end of the security line that we started to question the sanity of our plan to carry 50+ toy nerf guns onto a plane in China. Unsurprisingly, they were less than impressed with our protestations that these were just toys, opening the whole box, pulling out each toy for inspection, and finally only letting us through after verbally warning us, “Do not pull them out on the plane!” You got it! Note to families who may be traveling soon: attempting to carry on a box of toy nerf guns is probably not the best idea. #lifelessons

We made it Sichuan safely, though, and the children there were happy to have their toys to play with! There were a number of kiddos who I know will be great matches for host and forever families, but Mr. Inquisitive stood out today. What a cutie! He was so talkative, chatting away with his translator and laughing at our questions. He can’t see out of one eye, but that didn’t stop him from trying to figure us out! He kept asking, “What are they saying? Why are they talking like that!” When his caretaker explained we were Americans speaking English, he immediately replied, “Why would I know English? I’m only in first grade, and we don’t learn English until 3rd grade! My teacher hasn’t taught me yet! I’m ready to learn!” His humor and smile filled the room, and he was a joy to be around. His file, like many, has been on the shared list for years, and we know that once families see what a sweetheart he is, he won’t need to wait anymore. I love hosting for this reason, and every trip is worth it to meet children like him.

After a day and a half worth of work rolled into one, tomorrow is a day full of travel to our next destination. From China, with love and a little humor to keep the journey going!

-S

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#HostingHappenings: Delivering Good News Is THE BEST

A quick update over the weekend – sometimes we return to these orphanages and have to face the question, “Have you found a family for this child yet?” It’s usually a child who has been hosted before, who has watched his or her friends return back to the United States and find a family.

Today, I got to smile and deliver the best news of all! Two of our boys from last summer’s program have been waiting for a family to step forward for them. After months of waiting, I can happily say that these two will be coming home! The orphanage staff were moved to tears, and taking this photo of these two boys filled my heart with purpose for this program and a true sense of mission. We had an amazing group of children this past program, and we’re so happy to have seen so many of these children coming home.

From China, talk to you soon!

-S

A note from the hosting staff at home – we have children still waiting from our current winter program to find a family, too! If you’re interested in finding out more about them, please visit our Advocate Kids Page and get in touch with us! You can also contact us with any questions you may have about the hosting programs at cayce@childrenofallnations.com.

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#HostingHappenings: Try, Try Again

Let me start this blog post with a funny story. As many of our families who have traveled to China know, the culture is…….different. We always tell our families that everything down to the toilet is foreign, and it’s so true. One bathroom I went in had “helpful” photo instructions on how to use the toilet – which in China, is a small trench on the ground. Today I saw a lady dressed completely in a cow print onesie lugging around a paint bucket as her suitcase for an intra-China flight. I don’t know if I’ll ever get tired of seeing things like this! It also reminds me that my rush out to the store early morning Saturday pajama outfits are okay even in other countries.

It’s little moments like these you have to enjoy because interview trips are a whirlwind. It’s get up at 5:30 am, catch the train at 6:30 am, meet the kiddos, hop on a train, repeat until you somehow land at your hotel in a haze of exhaustion, email your coworker with everything that’s happened to you (including the cow print jammies), and then try to sleep to do it all over again tomorrow. The excitement each morning, though, keeps you awake and carries you through all the worries of the day. I was hoping to see some of our past winter and summer hosting kiddos who are waiting for their families, but to my disappointment, almost all the children were off at school across the street.

The children for hosting were there for the interviews, though, so all was well. As our staff returns again and again to meet the children for the next program, we start to see some of the children we’ve met before but who are still waiting for their forever family. We’re faced with that unanswerable question, “Why are they still waiting?” After promising to myself yesterday to find one child a family no matter what, today I’m speaking with one who has smiled, answered our questions, and sat on our photolisting for the past two programs, patiently waiting his turn to be chosen. He’s a handsome boy with an infectious smile that lights his whole face , and in this past year has become a bit of the darling of the orphanage. His caretakers made sure we knew he was one of the “very best boys” at the orphanage, and they hoped we could find him a family. He smiled and laughed along with us while we talked to him, and we learned he rides the local bus to school and…wait for it moms…even has learned to do his own laundry!

He’s one of many children we see who has little time left. In about a year, he will age out of the orphanage system, and he’ll no longer be eligible for adoption. We’ve talked in depth before about what it means to age out for these children, and I worry about each one of the children who faces this in their future. He’s going to be on our photolisting again, and we’ve been told that this summer will be the last time we’re able to advocate for him.

So here I am, struggling to keep my eyes open in a cab and trying to cram in every detail from the day, including one little boy and his last chance. We will try again and again and again until we’re told we can’t try anymore…because every child at every age deserves a place to call home.

-S

A note from the hosting staff at home – if you’re interested in getting matched with a hosting child, you can start your application! Early applications are considered VIP and will get access to the photolisting for a limited time before it is launched publicly. You can also contact us with any questions you may have about the hosting programs at cayce@childrenofallnations.com.

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#HostingHappenings: The One that Steals Your Heart

It happens to all of us – we try so hard not to have a “favorite” of the day…but then one kid sticks in your mind. You think about that kid when you leave the interviews, and you go home and email your coworker and say, “Look how cute he is!!” You are positive, happy, thrilled to have met this child, but your heart also aches on each step of the journey, knowing there is another child waiting around the corner to stick in your brain, keep you up at night, looking for his family.

Before I got to meet him, I woke up to nerves and worry set to the backdrop of the beautiful mountains of Dabu. There was fog this morning, and our cab driver gave us the quickest of history lessons of this “rural” town (500,000 people is rural in China!). We saw family villages and compounds where up to 100 family members live together, some with their own private family schools. Dabu’s Social Welfare Institute (or SWI) is smaller than some other cities we’ve visited and houses four sections of the SWI system – children, the elderly, retired soldiers, and a community of people with no living relatives. There are just 27 children in this particular orphanage, and small orphanages like this get the kind of care we’d like to see all children have. The director clearly deeply cared about the children, what would happen to them in the future, what my intentions were. She was excited about hosting, though, and knew how important it was for these children to find families.

That’s when I met him! Mr. Thoughtful, as I’ve already nicknamed him, was so eager to meet us he was already chattering away in Chinese like we were having a conversation before we even met (and like I knew everything he was saying). He was curious about all of our things, and took time to pick up our cameras and phones, inspect them, and then shyly smile to ask for a selfie together. The power of the selfie, it appears, transcends even orphanage life! What pulled at that bit of my heart reserved for all these children was when he tugged at my shirt out on the playground, staring into my eyes very seriously. I caught the Chinese words for “momma” and “daddy,” and I turned to Veronica, our translator, with a question on my face. She slowly repeated his request, “You will help me find a momma and daddy?” I couldn’t stop myself. I gave him a big thumbs up and a smile, and my chest swelled. Of course I will find you a family!

How can I break that promise now? It happens to us every trip – the hosting staff fall in love with particular children, and then we come home knowing, promising to ourselves: I will find homes for as many children as I can, but I’m not resting until I find a home for this one. He’s my child of today, and tomorrow I will wake up to the same nerves, the same worries. Which child’s eyes will I look into tomorrow, knowing that he or she is the one I can’t leave behind?

-S

A note from the hosting staff at home – if you’re interested in getting matched with a hosting child, you can start your application! Early applications are considered VIP and will get access to the photolisting for a limited time before it is launched publicly. You can also contact us with any questions you may have about the hosting programs.

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#HostingHappenings: The Long Journey Home

It feels so quick sometimes – it seems like the winter children just arrived, and I was hearing news of first hugs, first taste of a hamburger, and of course, as kids do, a few temper tantrums. We worried constantly, “How are the children doing? What if someone falls down and breaks something? What if a family misses their flight to the airport”? For us, the journey is removed from the daily tasks and struggles that our host families courageously take on, but it’s deeply personal. I’ve met each one of these faces on the interview trip, and their future weighs on my mind when they return home. But the work for orphans never ends, and now, I’m pushing on into China to meet the group of children who will hope and wait for the next few months to meet a host family, maybe a forever family. The team in Texas is working daily to help the children of the winter program find their family, so it’s my privilege now to move forward to meet, fall in love with, and find a family for the children who still wait.

It was a 5 am start this morning, and Shanghai was wet and drizzling. We took a ferry last night into the city, and the lights were all around.  It’s a decidedly beautiful city, but I’m more excited about the mountains here in Dabu, a “small” rural town that doesn’t see many foreigners. You may want to rethink your idea of rural, though, because in China it means a town of only…500,000 people! The sheer size of China always catches my breath – you never get used to the number of people pressing up against you, and when you get back to the States, you sometimes forget yourself and stand too close to someone in a line. I’ve also discovered that the new latest craze in China is to pop on some latex gloves and chow down on chicken. Fried chicken, grilled chicken, chicken wings – doesn’t matter. One lady on the train pulled out her gloves and chicken from her purse and just started eating. It’s probably no different than some of the things we do in the US, but it was still novel for me.

Tomorrow, our trio will head out to start the first rounds of interviews. Our guide, Veronica, has been amazingly helpful throughout the process of finding children and guiding us through the maze of people and cultural differences. I’m also happy that Celese is back – she’s been willing and able to serve as our interview trip doctor for the past two programs, and she’s done an amazing job. Her knowledge not only of the children’s needs but of life in China and the adoption community is vital to helping us get good information for each and every child. I’m excited but reserved; it’s difficult to come back time after time to fall in love with each and every child, knowing that I can’t help each one. But I’m ready – it’s a hard road worth taking, and tomorrow I’ll wake up and begin the work to help these children on what has been, for them, a long journey to home.

-S

 

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China Summer Interview Trip Begins!

Get all your hosting related questions at our “Ask the Experts” hour on Facebook on Tuesday, January 26 at noon CST or sign up for our hosting webinar Tuesday, February 2 at 4:30 PM CST.

On Friday, the children from the China and Latvia Winter Hosting programs returned safely to their countries. For many of these children, the long journey home has just begun – over half of the children in our program have found a forever family! For some, though, there is still a wait. To meet the children who are still in need of a forever family, head on over to our Advocate Page at this link. As many of you know, the work of an Orphan Warrior is never complete!

And as one journey starts on a new path, we begin again down the road to hosting! Tomorrow starts the first days of interviews for the children participating in our China Summer 2016 Hosting Program! Our staff is thrilled to be back in China and ready to meet the newest group of kids for hosting. Each year, we see about 70-80% of the children who are adoptable find a forever family. These kids are often considered “difficult to place” because of their age or needs. When the children get here though, families are able to see them for the wonderful kiddos they are!

Early Applications for our China Program will start on Monday, January 25 and extend through Friday, February 5. Families who submit their application during this time will have FIRST ACCESS to our hosting photolisting with our brand new faces on it. Early Applicants will have the opportunity to get matched with their host child before the general photolisting is launched.

Our Early Applications for the Latvia Program will begin the second week in February. Follow the blog to see the journey of both interview teams!

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It’s Departure Day (but it’s not too late!)

Today the children of our China and Latvia winter programs depart to return to their home countries. It was a whirlwind experience for families and children alike, and it always feels like departure day comes too soon. Many of our families are starting their journey towards becoming a forever family, and we couldn’t be happier!

Some of our children, like Miss Pigtails pictured below, are still waiting for their forever family! Hosting was a great opportunity for us to find out more about the children, learn about their capabilities, and become stronger voices of advocacy for each and every one of them. Miss Pigtails learned so much on her trip here, and while her notes say she is delayed, her host family believes she has a strong ability to learn and grow into an amazing young girl.

Every trip teaches us something new, and this program we’ve found that it is our families dedication to finding these children a forever family that makes orphan hosting so special. Next week, our staff will depart to China to begin the process anew, with a fresh set of eyes and renewed faith in the mission of creating forever families, one orphan at a time.

To learn more about Orphan Hosting, contact the team at info@orphanhosting.com.

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A New Year for New Faces

As we look back on 2015, the hosting team is so happy to say we’ve seen many of our host children come home to stay with their forever family. It’s been a year of happiness for children, family, and our team members alike, and we wanted to take a moment first to say THANK YOU to all the amazing Orphan Warriors out there whose hearts work tirelessly to find these children a family.

Looking forward into the 2016, we know that the work of finding families for older children and children with special needs is never over. You can meet the children of the current hosting program in need of advocacy over on this page, and read below to find out more about one of our special kiddos, “J!”

This bio was written by his host family, who is advocating for his adoption. If you’re interested in learning more about “J,” contact us at meredith@gwca.org today.

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