Four years ago, my husband and I adopted a young girl who was 9 from LiShui, Zhejiang. We didn't get to visit the orphanage at that time, but later after an orphanage assistance project was done for this orphanage, the vice director YaJia, asked me to try to find families for two children before they aged out at 14 years. The girl had less than a year and the boy had a little over a year before this would happen. When it was 5 months to the day from the girl's birthday, I called my husband, and the process to adopt Bonnie began.
We got her the day before she turned 14.When we went to China for her, I did get to go visit the orphanage and I met the boy, who at that time had a
little over 4 months before he would age out, and I still had not found a family for him. After returning from China, I tried again and a family was found.
This boy, now named Michael ended up
in a family just 2 1/2 hours from where I live. Bonnie and Michael have met a few times again since their adoptions, but the latest of these was Friday evening. It was great to see Michael and see how happy he is and how well he is doing. I am so grateful for his family for going for him and for the chance they have given him! It was great to see him, as I hadn't seen him for almost a year and now I was able to communicate better with him than before.
When I was there at the orphanage in Jan. 2008, I also met 2 girls, neither of whom can walk. With blogs on them through LWB, we have been able to find a family for them and they are going to be sisters legally in just a few weeks when there mom goes to get them.
I just got these 2 pictures of them. The one of the two girls and the woman show YaJia, the woman who first asked me to find families for Bonnie and Michael.
I still have my work cut out for me, though. There are still 6 or 7 kiddos who I know are at Lishui and they don't have families yet. I am still working on it! Part 2 tomorrow will be a list of where you can see their sweet faces and see if you want to join the group of us Lishui parents by adopting one of these precious kiddos.