Archive for January 20, 2016

#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.

Shanghai in the rain

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.

The interview team!

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

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!

I’m still in need of a family!

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.

I’m still in need of a family!

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!

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.

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!”

J is a healthy, energetic, intelligent 10 year old boy.  While he earned the nickname “The Leader” during his hosting interviews, “Mr. Mechanical,” “Mr. Dramatic,”or “Mr. Lego” might be to other appropriate nicknames. J is a master Lego builder.  He absolutely loves all types of Legos.  When he arrived he proudly pulled out a tiny bag of Legos from his backpack and wanted to play immediately.  Ever since then he has created amazing Lego creations, which are displayed throughout his host family’s house.  He was ecstatic to see the Lego collection his host family had and literally jumped for joy when he received Legos as a Christmas gift.

J is a bright child.  He is great at figuring things out, despite language barriers or lack of instruction. Many of the people who have met him during the hosting program have commented on how intelligent he seems to be.  He has ingenuity about him and he would flourish if he had the opportunity to participate in educational science programs or a robotics program. J also has a bit of a dramatic flair to him.  He can be a little melodramatic, loves to dance around the house and acts out all sorts of scenes.  He also has a knack for playing to an audience.  We could see him stealing the show in any school play or theater program.

J is an energetic boy who seems to be trying to keep up the “big kids.”  But, he is small for his age and has tender moments when he just wants to be nurtured. J has been spending the past few weeks with a host family in California, during which time he has flourished and overcome some fears.  But, what he most wants and needs is a forever family.

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.