Preparing to Host a Superhero!
Each year we have so many incredible families that advocate for the children in our Orphan Hosting programs. We like to think of these families as #OrphanWarriors, as many of them dedicate weeks, months or even years their lives to helping Waiting Children find loving families. This host family, however, considers the children the superheros in their story, as each child they welcome into their family changes their lives forever.
Below is the latest blog post from this family. They have just signed up for our winter hosting program, and are preparing to welcome Joy –a superhero with an extra special chromosome– into their family for the holidays!
With Lin’s beautiful forever family submitting the initial paperwork to bring him home, that made 132 million orphans in the world … minus one.
But it left our family with a void. There is nothing we wanted to do this Christmas more than love on and host a superhero who needed a VOICE. Without Lin as our winter superhero, we didn’t know who we should become advocates for.
We had tried to host the two oldest girls on the hosting list.
One girl already had a host family.
We had tried to host an older girl and a 3-year-old boy.
There were issues with the sweet girl’s file, and she became unavailable for hosting.
We had tried to host the 3-year-old boy, who we had nicknamed “Lin” after part of his Chinese name.
My sweet childhood friend stepped forward to both host AND ADOPT HIM!
Supersoldier, the man I admire and respect so much, requested that OUR BOYS, not we, look through the files of the children still available for hosting and pray about who needed an advocate most. Because frankly, after watching God perform miracle after miracle throughout Superman’s adoption and DJ’s hosting experience, both Supersoldier and I have somewhat of a reckless (if that’s possible) trust in God to provide WHATEVER it is we need to support a superhero-in-waiting. Diagnoses and delays on paper don’t scare us. And with Supersoldier’s training as a physician assistant, no medical needs on the list concerned us very much. So he wanted our boys to be the ones to pray and choose and decide. As host brothers. As fellow children. As valuable members of the orphan advocate team.
After looking over and praying about the remaining children on the hosting list, the boys selected four children they thought most needed a voice and who would fit best among the personalities of our home.
One of them was under review by another family.
One of them was the top choice of an incredible woman and now friend who ATTENDS OUR CHURCH (AND WHO, in a crazy move only God could orchestrate, IS NOW HOSTING this superhero this winter! WHICH MEANS WE’LL GET THE PRIVILEGE OF PLAYING WITH HIM ANYWAY!).
Two 7-year-old children, both with Down syndrome, remained on our superheroes’ carefully selected and highly debated Top Four.
One was a boy, one was a girl. Both were absolutely precious.
And, because the boys were at school and the husband was unavailable when I received the full information for each, I confess that I watched this little girl’s video in the parking lot of Superman’s occupational therapy appointment, fell in love with her, sent the video to my mama, who also immediately fell in love with her, and emailed back the hosting coordinator that we had decided on the girl.
Yup, me, myself and I. Totally plural.
Clearly, I told them later, Jesus wanted to gift me with estrogen this Christmas. Even my dog is male. This was my unapologetic, I-absolutely-rigged-the-system, this-sweetheart-is-more-precious-than-a-million-dollars-and-I-want-to-take-her-to-the-Nutcracker confession.
And I don’t even feel bad about it. 🙂
So this winter, we are not hosting two 11-year-old girls.
We are not hosting an older girl and a younger boy.
We are not hosting a 3-year-old boy.
We are actually now hosting a 7-year-old girl who we are all totally smitten with who just ROCKS OUT her extra chromosome and SPARKLES in all our eyes. (And yes, my mama is already planning a hand-sewn Christmas dress.)
Meet Joy, our NEW winter superhero, coming to a Cuthrell home near you from December 16-ish through January 15-ish this year!
Warning: This video may cause a SERIOUS desire to adopt. Watch with care. And watch your heart melt before your eyes. <3
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BzYp7sIuxmvfQkg5Y0J6RHR0Q3c/view?usp=sharing
JOY — what we see in her eyes and what we KNOW ALREADY she will be. A perfect advocate name for a perfect girl whose Chinese name also has three letters and starts with a “J.”
And what a SEASON for JOY!
JOY TO THE WORLD! <3
#changejoysstory #changetheorphanstory
Resources:
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Forever Home for the Holidays
One year ago this beautiful girl was listed on our Orphan Hosting photo listing with the nickname “Miss Happy.” When our interview team met her in China, they were captivated by her incredible smile and her playful spirit. She was excited to play dress up, and show everyone her drawings, but behind her smile was a girl who was holding on to hope. She was hopeful that meeting with these strange people and answering their questions might lead to something new – something outside of the orphanage.
Last winter, Miss Happy was matched with an amazing host family and she had the opportunity to come to the United States to live with them for one month over the holidays. She had the chance to see life outside of the orphanage and she had the opportunity to experience the love of a family.
Now, less than one year later, Miss Happy’s host family is in China preparing to bring her back to the United States and welcome her home forever. Although we’ve simply been following their journey through photos, it’s clear that Miss Happy has already gone through a huge transformation. While her smile is still as big as ever, it has changed in so many ways. It’s the smile of a beautiful girl who finally has the opportunity to be carefree. After years of worrying and waiting for a family to come get her, she finally gets to relax and be a kid, because she’s not “Miss Happy” anymore – she’s Celia Stark. She is a daughter and a sister, but most importantly she is loved.
Celia will never have to spend another holiday season longing to be part of a family, and she will never spend another birthday worrying that she’s one year closer to “aging out.” The days ahead of her hold so much love and so many firsts, and we can’t wait to continue following the amazing journey that began with Orphan Hosting.
There are so many children in China that spend their lives waiting. They are overlooked not because of choices they’ve made or because of things they’ve done, but because of their age or their special needs. These kids are INCREDIBLE, and our Orphan Hosting program gives families the opportunity to get to know them, not as they’re described in their medical file, but for who they really are.
We are currently matching children for our upcoming winter Orphan Hosting program, and we’re so hopeful that these kids will have the same experience that Celia did. If they are hosted this winter, they may never have to spend another holiday season in an orphanage. Our host families play a huge role in helping these kids find families, whether they themselves adopt their host kid, or whether they advocate on their behalf. There are only a few days left to be matched with one of these amazing kiddos, so if your family or someone you know is interested in learning how you can become a host family, contact our hosting coordinator at shannon@gwca.org today! Together, we can end their wait.
Congratulations Celia, and safe travels home!
Resources:
- Visit the Orphan Hosting photo listing
- Contact a hosting coordinator
- Learn more about our Orphan Hosting program
Ya Ya’s Story
I was innocently browsing through Facebook one day this fall when I saw the post. “Host families needed” it read. Intrigued, I clicked on the link and quickly requested a password to see the profiles of the waiting children. One smiling face stood out and I was immediately drawn in. I called and received more information over the phone and the anticipation set in; the anticipation of having a familiar conversation with my husband. “So, I was on the internet today and I saw this little girl…” it began. We agreed to host Ya Ya over Christmas and advocate for her.
We drove through the night that cold December morning and arrived at O’Hare airport before the sun rose. We met with some of the waiting families and soon, a group of children, led by chaperones started towards us. And there she was! She was much, much tinier than we had imagined, full of smiles and not afraid. I motioned to her and she came right over and gave us hugs. Our 9 year old daughter gave her a doll and she latched onto her right away. She was amazed by everything around her, automatic flushing toilets, doors that opened on their own, everything was new and exciting.
We arrived home and were greeted by the rest of the family. Ya Ya immediately was drawn to our son, Ashton, who shared something in common with her, Down syndrome. They became good buddies over the month she was here. Ya Ya was sweet, gentle and kind with him. She fit in very well with everyone, after a few initial struggles between her and our almost 3 year old son. I believe he thought she was much closer to his age as she was so small. Once they (he!) worked out their “differences,” all was well!
Ya Ya fit in amazingly well! Everyone around us wondered how she would adapt, how would she understand us, what if she is upset, how will you communicate with her??? We used Google Translate and she understood very well! She is very expressive and we could tell by her reactions if she understood or not. Her English was pretty limited, but that did not stop her from playing and interacting. She enjoyed showing us that she could count in English and liked to use the phrases that she picked up. We discovered her love of dancing around the second week here and dance parties were a regular happening around here!
Ya Ya is bright, inquisitive and catches on quickly. The fact that she had Down syndrome really wasn’t a concern of ours as our son has Down syndrome. She could do far more than we imagined! She was completely independent with her personal hygiene; showering, brushing teeth, getting dressed, combing her hair she did all by herself. Honestly, I think she trumps our 9 year old when it came to taking care of that independently! She enjoyed playing with dolls, our play kitchen, coloring and painting. Her artistic “skills” were a bit lacking, but she played well with toys.
As our visit drew to a close, I found myself panicked and a bit weepy thinking about sending her back “home.” After some discussion, we made the decision to move forward with adoption. It just felt right, especially after being able to see how she fits in with our family. I have to admit that while she was here, I found a message board discussing hosting programs. Several people posting on the site were aghast that children with Down syndrome were being brought over as part of the host program. They wondered how they would understand what this was all about and how would they react when it was time to go back? I can say first hand that she handled it great! We started talking about going back to China about 10 days before her departure. We talked about how excited her friends would be to see her and that she could share her new things with them. At the airport, she played and interacted with her friends while waiting for the plane. When it was time to go, she gave Baba a big hug and boarded the plane waving with a smile on her face. We are so grateful for this experience and for this ray of sunshine we will now have in our home forever!
- Find out how you can participate in our Orphan Hosting program!
- Visit the Orphan Hosting Photo Listing
- Learn more about the China adoption process
12 Days Left to be Matched!
There are only 12 DAYS LEFT to be matched for our winter Orphan Hosting program, and these 12 kids are in need of host families!
In adoption, older children are constantly overlooked as many families prefer a younger age range. Our winter hosting program offers these incredible kiddos the opportunity to spend the holidays in a loving family as they take one step closer to finding a family of their own.
If your family or someone you know is interested in hosting this winter, contact shannon@gwca.org today. Will you give the gift of family?
Visit the Orphan Hosting photo listing to see all of the host kids that are still waiting!
Resources:
– Visit the Orphan Hosting photo listing to request a child’s file
– Contact our Orphan Hosting team
– Learn more about our Orphan Hosting programs
One Step Closer to Family
This #ForeverFamilyFriday we wanted to acknowledge all of the kids from China and Latvia that have been matched for our upcoming Holiday Hosting programs! While each child has to return home after their hosting trip, this program plays a role in helping them take one step closer to finding their Forever Families.
Reviewing files can be overwhelming, and it’s easy to assume the worst when reading a diagnosis that’s listed in medical terms. The reality, however, is that many children’s needs can fall anywhere on a spectrum from very mild to more moderate or severe. This is where hosting steps in, to put a face and a personality to what was once just a medical file. By spending a month in America with a host family, these kids have the opportunity to experience the love of a family, and our host families have the opportunity to help change a child’s life forever.
There are still several children in need of host families for the winter. Will you help a child take one step closer to finding their Forever Family? Visit our Orphan Hosting photo listing today to learn how you can be matched!
Click here to visit the Orphan Hosting Photo Listing!
Read MoreWhat will your story be?
