The April 2009 Edition of our Angels of Hope Newsletter is now available online at:

http://www.gwca.org/files/wc_newsletter/April-2009/

Enjoy and happy reading!

Today, we were able to finish up with our individual meetings of the older children. After we were finished, some of the children gathered for a small closing ceremony. A few of the children had prepared presents for us, and they were so proud and excited to present them. The orphanage and CCAA directors who helped with the camp expressed to us their gratitude for giving these children a chance.

I continue to be so incredibly overwhelmed by this entire experience that I don’t even know where to begin to describe what this has been like. To be able to see these children face-to-face, to experience firsthand their strengths, and to truly, wholly realize that their limitations don’t really matter in the grand scheme of life, has touched my heart so immensely that I will never be the same. Each of the children we have met and interacted will forever be in my heart, and I am so incredibly humbled that I was able to be a small part of their lives. With some of the kids you would never know that there was something out of the ordinary on their medical exams, and some will continue to have greater needs, but each one of them desires and deserves a family of their own. The orphanage is their family, and each child is a brother or sister, but they all know that there is something more out there. Our job now is to find a family for each and every single one of these precious little souls.

Today was one of the greatest gifts I have ever been given in my lifetime, and I do not even know where to begin! We started the day early, carrying enough gifts and supplies for the children and trying to shake our nerves after we were told that all of the top directors of the CCAA would be in attendance today. We walked into a room with close to many children, plus staff and nannies, and were completely overwhelmed. There were children who not only would be participating in our camp, but also many children who have already been matched with families and are waiting to go home. The CCAA directors each gave speeches about their commitment to finding homes for each and every child and their love for the children of China. Then, we presented information to the children about life in America, with culture aspects and customs, along with photos and videos of children who had already been adopted. The kids loved seeing pictures of other children, just like them, living with their families in the U.S. Then, we learned that the children of the orphanage had put together a talent show of sorts, and we were entertained for several hours by song and dance. The children were absolutely beautiful! After lunch, the camp officially began. The children played a lot of games and goofed off and had fun, and then we broke into the rodeo! The kids loved their backpacks and cowboy hats, and were thrilled to learn how to lasso a cow (or blow up donkey, which is all we could find!). We were able to interact with each child and get to know a little bit about their personalities. The love and excitement in all of their faces was beyond words. We ended the afternoon with one-on-one evaluations of several of the children, and will continue with those tomorrow. We hope that our interactions with these children and the information we have been able to obtain will help families come forward to bring them home! Now, on to what you really want to see!!!! Here are pictures from today and many of our beautiful angels:

Today we had the perfect mixture of work and play! We started out heading to the Great Wall and we had the choice to either go to Badaling, where our guides usually take the families, or Mutianyu, which is less visited by tourists. Mutianyu it was, and what a climb!  We had to hike for close to an hour uphill, but even with the clouds, the view was breathtaking.

After our exhausting 800 mile uphill hike, we headed to the Beijing CWI to begin organizing for the camp tomorrow. We were able to meet several CCAA officials and the director of the orphanage. They were so incredibly welcoming and excited as we are about these next two days! After making sure the projector worked and a beautiful dinner hosted by one of the CCAA directors, we headed back to the hotel to prepare our presentation. We also made sure the children’s backpacks were ready to go!

Tomorrow, we will begin the camp with a large opening ceremony where all of the directors from the CCAA will attend! From there we will do some presentations for the children on life after adoption, and then begin fun activities and evaluations! We are so excited to meet these little ones!

For our first full day in Beijing, we began with a trip to New Day Foster Home, a place where children with special needs are able to receive the love and medical care they so desperately need. We are so grateful to have been able to a be a part of the lives of a few children who have spent some of their time in this home.

Each one of us was touched by our opportunity to see these children face to face, to see their smiles and the hope in their eyes. Many of them will be going home with their families soon.

We are so grateful to Karen and Carrie for their hospitality today!

We followed up with a visit to the CCAA. We were able to see each different department and speak to different officials who have a hand in the adoption process. We did our best to convey our gratitude for their work.

Tomorrow we will move to a hotel closer to the orphanage and begin to prepare for our camp days! We are overwhelmed and so humbled to be here, and we cannot wait to meet the kiddos!

Congratulations to our 5 families who received their Letter Seeking Confirmation AKA LSC’s this week! We look forward to getting you to China as soon as possible!