First Child Comes Home from Xiangxi Orphanage

AAI is thrilled to announce that the first child to come home to an AAI family from the Xiangxi Orphanage has finally arrived in the U.S.

Six year old Zhou Jia, who was renamed Paige, arrived home on August 8, 2007, with her parents, Erik and Beth, and older sister, Brooke. So far, Paige is adjusting well to her new family and culture.

For the Hearts Toward China team, Paige’s arrival home is even more special because they became close to her during the orphanage renovation project last October, and because the some of the group’s members worked so diligently to bring her home.

Shortly after the team returned to the U.S., Adoption Associates, Inc. petitioned China to send the agency a referral for a placement from the Xiangxi Orphanage. Zhou Jia, who was classified as having special needs due to a congenital deformation on her left ear, was on the next “Special Waiting Children” list.

Paige’s adoptive parents, who had just switched from AAI’s domestic program to the regular China program, maintained an interest in the Special Waiting Children program. When they saw her on the list, “We just knew,” says Beth. Erik and Beth put in a request for Zhou Jia, and they were chosen to be her adoptive parents last December. They have been eagerly anticipating her arrival home since that time.

Adoption Associates, Inc. expects more children to come home from the Xiangxi Orphanage in the near future. Please watch the HTC blog for further details.

Zhou Zhou and Fu Fu

AAI has the possibility of referring two special waiting girls, ages 9 and 12, from the Hunan Province of China. We had the opportunity of meeting these girls while we were in China participating in a work project for their orphanage in October of 2006.

Zhou Zhou (top) is 9 years old and has kyphoscoliosis. She is an active child despite her disability, and she is an extremely talented little artist. She is always willing to help others. Even though she is teased at school, she tries to see the best in people and help them in any way she can. She is an excellent student. She often stays after school to help teachers and clean the classroom. She has a positive impact on those around her, but she is in urgent need of surgery so she can lead a normal life.

Fu Fu (bottom) is 12 years old and has cerebral palsy. Even though she is wheelchair bound, she exudes a spirit of optimism and kindness that touches all who meet her. Fu Fu cannot walk without the assistance of a walker. She can write, draw, and speak very articulately. She also loves to sing songs and recite poems. She is very respectful, generous, and considerate of others. She is now learning English.

If you're interested in learning more about Fu Fu or Zhou Zhou, please contact Mary Zoet at 616.667.0921 or e-mail mzoet@adoptionassociates.net.

We've reached our goal!

AAI is pleased to announce that we have reached our fundraising goal for the Hearts Toward China project. Thank you to those who helped us achieve this goal through your financial contributions and prayers. Your generosity is greatly appreciated by AAI and by the children in the Xiangxi orphanage in China.

In late November, we received our first referral from this orphanage—a young girl with special needs.

We're home!

Most of us arrived home on Saturday evening (with the exception of Karen who arrived home a few days early and Ming who will be leaving Beijing tomorrow). The pictures have finally been posted, so check the old entries for new photos!

Goodbye

With all of the work on the 7th floor of the orphanage completed (except the installation of heaters), we left Jishou today. It needs some cleanup, but we were amazed with how great it turned out. We are happy that the orphans will be able to move in soon. Often teased at their regular school because they are orphans, they are very talented at art and one has even won a dancing competition in the region.

It was hard to say goodbye to our new friends. Director Peng and his staff have made us feel so honored and welcomed. He wants us to come back soon so we can do some sightseeing and visit his home. We will miss all of them greatly.

We are now at the Zhangjiajie airport awaiting our 8:30 flight to Beijing, exhausted but feeling a tremendous sense of accomplishment and fulfillment. Thanks to all who have supported us in their thoughts and prayers.

Below: Cleanup, one of the rooms, and before and after pictures of the big room and outside hallways.

Fu Fu

We were back at the orphanage again today. We finished painting three more rooms. Eight of the rooms are now completely finished with flooring. We were able to visit the orphans again later in the afternoon. They created pictures for us using the supplies we brought over.

There has been a local television crew at the work site several times during the week doing interviews with our staff. The story will air tonight and tomorrow night on a local station in Jishou.

While we were working on the artwork, we saw a little girl in a wheelchair on the balcony. Ming asked if she could join us. She has cerebral palsy and did not have much use of her hands. We learned that she is 12 years old and her name is Fu Fu. We planned to buy dinner for all of the children at the local chicken restaurant. The children arrived at the restaurant before we did and we noticed that she was not there. Jason and the driver decided to go back to the orphanage to pick her up so she could join us. The children thoroughly enjoyed the dinner which included music, singing, gifts and American food which was a little strange to them, especially the fizzy pop, straws and ketchup.

After dinner all of the children were brought back to the orphanage while Fu Fu and the team waited for the van to come back for us. Our guys pushed her wheelchair down the streets. Three white men pushing a little girl in a wheelchair was quite a sight. The guys even stopped to buy her flowers. The whole evening brought a lot of dignity to this little girl who has suffered much. We all felt blessed by her. Her optimism and humble spirit put us all to shame. We will remember this little girl forever.

Below are Mary and Amanda feeding the babies at the orphanage, coloring with the children, the party, and the guys with Fu Fu.

Making connections

Greetings from Ming:

We are having a nice time working with the nationals on the orphanage project. Our team has made connections with them even though we cannot speak the language. Gordy and Jason found their own way to communicate with the local workers. Gordy gave his baseball cap to one of them and he wore it proudly as he worked. We wore newspaper hats made by the nationals in order to keep the paint and dust out of our hair. Tom really loved his new hat and decided to take one home as a souvenir.

Jason also shared his ipod with a national. It was so neat to see the two of them working side by side as a team while the national was listening to country and western. The nationals like to sing their folk songs while they worked, which we enjoyed immensely. Our student volunteer translator, Polly, loves to sing too. Her favorite song is “Take me Home Country Road” which she had us all singing while we worked.

We are expecting the Pergo flooring to arrive tomorrow morning. We will have a big day. We plan to treat all the children in the orphanage with a treat of their favorite KFC chicken.

Below is the team with some of the nationals we were working with.