Why China?

I've had many people asking questions about why we chose to adopt from China. Truthfully, we would have adopted from anywhere. We did not have a preference, but once we saw Garrick's picture, we knew we didn't want just any child. We wanted him. It feels like he chose us. China chose us.

Once we said "Yes," we got a crash course in the history of China and it's adoption process.
More than 100,000 abandoned children from newborn to age fourteen (depending on the orphanage) are living a hard life in state and private-run orphanages across China. Over 95% of these unfortunate children are impacted by minor, major, or multiple physical conditions. As children with medical needs, they are considered "not adoptable" in a culture that has only, until recently, long rejected the practice of adoption.

However, many of these children are absolutely adoptable, and many of their physical conditions are either correctable or manageable through the advanced medical resources readily available in the US.

Why did we choose our agency CCAI?
When we contacted Show Hope about Garrick, we were told to contact CCAI, as most all the files of adoptable children in northern China will be designated just to them. Why is this? Well, CCAI was founded by two Chinese Nationals who saw a need and wanted to help fill it. More than 11,000 Chinese children have found homes since 1994 through CCAI, more than any other agency in the world. CCAI has been ranked #1 by the China Center for Children’s Welfare and Adoption (CCCWA) for overall assessment and placements. The CCCWA is China’s highest authority for international adoption affairs. Basically, CCAI is who China considers the most "Trust worthy."

Isn't it easier to get a girl than a boy?
Absolutely not! That may have been the case years ago but no longer. Now that it has been 30 years since the one child policy went into effect there is now 4 boys to every girl. China is no longer offering girls for adoption unless they have medical needs.

Is it safe to adopt from China?
When people ask this question, I know right away what they are really asking is this: "Will the Chinese government honor the adoption when you get there and will they increase the fees at the last minute?" The answer is "NO." Unlike some other countries, China is part of the Hague convention. This means that China and the US have signed a treaty (an international agreement) to establish safeguards to ensure that intercountry adoptions take place in the best interests of the child (e.i. no human trafficking) and conform to both countries laws; this ensures that both countries follow set legal guidelines during the adoption process. China has been participating in international adoptions for decades, they have a very thorough standardized system that they are legally required to follow and have done so successfully.

As we learned more about China, its people and its culture, we have been given a glimpse of a wider world view and great respect for the agencies and individuals who make international adoption possible. We have a desire to continue to encourage Garrick's Chinese heritage as he grows. We hope that he will be proud to be Chinese and to be American.


To learn more about us and help us fund our Adoption you can donate here: http://www.youcaring.com/adoption-fundraiser/germany-family-adoption-fund/330417

Be still my beating heart...

Friday morning is our first home study meeting with our caseworker. This is the first of 3 meetings in which she will determine that we are a suitable family. This is a mandatory process for all adoptions. It may sound scary but it really isn't, case workers are not out to find fault in a family they are out to find all the reasons why this is a GOOD family!
This is exciting as it is one more step closer to this adorable little guy!!

"What can I do?"

First, a word of gratitude to everyone who has been so gracious and generous as our family continues to work toward adopting Garrick. Your encouragement and support of us is so uplifting during a very stressful process.

We have a long way to go, so I wanted to let everybody know about a few projects we're involved in as we continue to get closer to bringing Garrick home.

First, We will be having a large yard sale this summer June 26 &27, where all proceeds will go toward our adoption travel expenses. Any items you would like to get rid of to donate to our sale will be greatly appreciated! We can pick them up (if they fit in our car) or arrange a drop off time. During the sale, if you have time and want to help us or just come give some encouragement we would love that!

Second, we are partnering with Just Love Coffee Roasters. You know Steven and I love coffee so this is a perfect partnership. If you order coffee through our page, a portion of the money will go toward our adoption. So if you want to help out with our adoption while also drinking delicious organic, Fair Trade coffee (they have K-Cups!), feel free to click the link and order something. It costs the same as coffee at the grocery store.

Third, we will be featured on Saturday July 25th at Righteous Que, our local BBQ restaurant. They have graciously offered to donate 10% of their profit for that day to our adoption! So please come out, bring your friends and join us for some good BBQ!

Fourth, a few years ago Steven and his friend Aaron recorded a worship album titled The Well. They are offering that album on Bandcamp for $5.00 (or more if you so choose). Go here to listen and buy.

So in summary, here are all the available ways to contribute (of course, please feel free to give nothing at all; we do not feel entitled to anyone's generosity; this is only for people who want to do something)-

Donate items to our Yard Sale or come help with the sale.

Buy Just Love Coffee

Come eat BBQ on July 25th at Righteous Que

Buy The Well's album

Make a donation at YouCaring.com

Thank you so much for your interest and your support. I'm sure we will be doing lots of other fundraising activities up until we leave for China. But these are just a few things that are active now.
Grace and peace be with you.

Steve & Christa

Orientation Day

Today we got to meet our caseworker at CCAI, our agency, to go over all the nitty-gritty details about our official paperwork and submission to China.
All the forms and official documents can be overwhelming but they walked us step-by-step through the paperwork. Which was awesome. We also talked about our Homestudy process; this entails the case worker making sure our home is a safe place for a child and that we are who we say we are. Home studies are required for all adoptions domestic and international. This also means a lot more paper work and obtaining lots of copies of official documents. We will then have to be fingerprinted and background checks done for the USCIS. Then we can compile all the paperwork we completed and send it off to be translated and delivered to China.

Whew! They aren't kidding when they use the term "Paper Pregnant".

She then went over in detail what our trip to China will entail. We will be traveling with other families in our group and we will have CCAI staff members and translators with us throughout the trip. All our in-country bus rides, flights, and accommodations will be arranged by them.

We will land in Beijing first. China requires that you are in country for 2 weeks, so the first week of our trip will be acclimating to the time change (12 hours forward. ugh.) and then touring. They have you tour areas of significance to help you learn and appreciate the Chinese culture. We will get to see the Great Wall, The forbidden City, Tiananmen Square, etc.
I was totally surprised by this as I did not think we would really get to see anything. Though I'm sure it is mostly just a really good distraction from the fact that we have to wait longer to get our child!

From Beijing we will then fly to Zhengzhou. It is in the Henan province located in central-east China. This is where Garrick is!! We will then get to have custody of him for 24 hours, once the 24 hour waiting time period is up we will sign all the papers to legally be his parents.
We will have a few days as a family until we move on to Guangzhou. Once in Guangzhou we will attend the US Embassy and Garrick we become an official US citizen. Then we will depart from Hong Kong.

So as you can see we have a lot to do! This meeting left us both excited and also with a sense of urgency to get everything done as fast as we can. But realistically, we are still 9-12 months from being able to go to China and get him. Once again, I ask of you friends to pray for us. We plan on doing a few fundraisers to help us raise the money needed to complete our adoption. Please consider helping us if you can, we need all the help we can get =)

Steve & Christa

If you feel led we do have an ongoing donation page:
http://www.youcaring.com/adoption-fundraiser/germany-family-adoption-fund/330417

This kid...

He never ceases to amaze me.

If there is one thing about this adoption that has worried me it is this: how it would affect him? Will he feel replaced? Will he feel like he wasn't enough? Will he not love Garrick like a true brother?

None of these worries are true. He continues to show me that.

Tonight we were playing in the hallway. This hallway has pictures and shadow boxes of special keepsakes from both kids. Gus looked up at the pictures and said, "Mommy we need to put Garrick's picture next to mine since he is going to be my brother". I asked him if he was excited about Garrick coming to be his brother.
"Yes, I will love him. Can he come now?"
"No, we have to wait"
"Waiting is so hard"
"I know, buddy. It is hard."

http://www.youcaring.com/adoption-fundraiser/germany-family-adoption-fund/330417

Easter

For our family Easter week is a bit like the Marine Corps' hell week. It is stacked full of worship rehearsals, extra services, and multiple things that need to be done all so our church goers will be able to experience a meaningful Easter season. It is exhausting and exhilarating.

I say this so you will understand that this year was incredibly hard for me. But not because of any of the things I just mentioned, but because our son was not here with us to experience any of it. He was not sitting in bed while Steve read the Resurrection story, he was not waving a palm branch with his brother in church on Palm Sunday and singing "Hosanna!". I could not see him collecting eggs and consuming a pile of chocolate bliss. I could not hear my own adoption story through Christ without thinking of my son.

He was not here and I was heart broken.

This is something I have been battling since the day we got our adoption approval from China. It is a battle that will continue until he is in my arms. My hope is that this is the last Easter he will be away from us. This is my prayer.

But today my heart swelled. I saw pictures of Garrick decorating Easter cookies and eating them with his nannies and the other children. I will never be able to express to these ladies how thankful I am for loving and caring for him. For teaching him about Jesus. For making Easter special for him.
I will be grieving for his China mommies when he leaves and comes home to us. I know he will grieve leaving the life he has known. I know I will have to walk through that grief with him. It will be considerably hard.

But I have hope.

Just as God made us sons and daughters through the resurrection of Christ Jesus and imputed to us his righteousness and inheritance I can rejoice! In my own adoption and my son's earthly adoption. For he was lost and now has been found. He was once an orphan and is no more.

 http://www.youcaring.com/adoption-fundraiser/germany-family-adoption-fund/330417

This was the picture that started it all. This was the face that stole our hearts.

 http://www.youcaring.com/adoption-fundraiser/germany-family-adoption-fund/330417

Where to begin...

Friends,

We serve a God who often works in ways we don’t expect and who rarely takes the safe route. Such is the case with our crazy story.

Adoption has been something that we have wanted since 2010 when we worked with an orphange in Haiti. In December of 2013 we stepped out in faith and prayerfully began asking God to lead us in the direction we felt called and how to proceed.

In the Summer of 2014 a picture from around the world caught our eye and stole our hearts.

“He looks like Gus!” we exclaimed, noting how the little boy from China reminded us of our then three-year-old son. The boys were even the same age. “He could be his twin.” His name was Garrick, and it would be on our lips often.

We talked about how much we would love to adopt internationally but felt we would never have the money to do it. Garrick’s story had ignited something in us. I kept coming back to his picture, rereading his story, praying for him to have a family. Secretly hiding him in my heart. I couldn’t get him out of my mind.

The logistics of international adoption seemed daunting, but after more prayer and more discussion, Steven and I agreed we didn’t want to be afraid anymore. We could at least look into what an international adoption would require.

We contacted Show Hope, the organization that had posted the prayer request for Garrick, and were put in touch with the adoption agency they work with. Our first question was about the little boy we had fallen in love with. Could he be adopted?

We learned that since his story had gone public there had been a lot of interest in him. His adoption file wasn’t available yet, but our names were added to a list of interested parents.

There were forms to fill out if we were truly interested in adopting. We had little hope that Garrick would be ours, but maybe there was another child out there who could be. We sent in the forms about our family, our health, our finances, and what medical conditions we could handle. (We knew my training as a nurse would be a benefit to a child with special needs and that God was calling us in that direction.)

Then we waited.

For nearly a year, Garrick was never far from my mind. I prayed constantly for this little boy around the world and for the forever family he would be a part of. I scoured Show Hope’s Facebook page for updates on him. I read everything I could find for information on adopting from China, including blogs of families with children who had the same medical condition that Garrick has.

And then at a most unexpected time, we got a call from the adoption agency. After months of hearing nothing, the phone call came just as I was recovering from a stomach virus and a back injury. God doesn’t always do things on our schedule!

The director of the adoption agency left a message on a Friday afternoon stating simply that she would like to talk and would call back on Monday. I almost fell over.

“Could this be about Garrick?” I wondered.

I shared the message with Steven and he helped me keep a level head.

It’s probably not about Garrick, we agreed. Other families want him. The agency probably just wants to know if we want them to keep our information since it has been so long.

But we held on to the hope that we had been matched to him.

Monday arrived. And Steven and I had decided to take the kids to the zoo. We were waiting in line to ride the train--my son’s favorite activity--when the call came.

“I just got Garrick’s file,” the director explained. “Are you still interested?”

The answer leapt out of my mouth faster than my brain could process what I was actually saying.

“Yes!” I told her.

Within minutes I was poring over pictures, background history, medical reports, and a video of this little boy playing with trains. “Trains are our life right now!” I thought to myself. (Gus has been obsessed with them since he was two.) I read Garrick’s birthday and noticed that he and Gus are exactly a month apart. They really could be twins. I broke down and knew immediately in my heart that I was looking at a little boy who could be my son. And in that instant, I wanted desperately to be his Mommy.

It wasn’t until later that evening when the kids were in bed that Steven and I were able to sit and talk. And the reality was so much harsher than we had expected. While adopting Garrick was something we both knew we wanted, it just didn’t seem possible. Adoption is expensive, and we had lost a lot of money since I had injured my back. The timing just wasn’t right.

Devastation set in. All I could do was pray.

“God, I know you are all-knowing, all-powerful, and I know you are sovereign. I know you do big things. I know you are good. You just gave me the desire of my heart and now it’s taken away. Help me grieve. Help me have joy in my grief, and help me bear this loss.”

The next evening we talked about it again. And we agreed that the amount of money we would have to come up with seemed overwhelming. But we decided to talk to the director of the adoption agency and find out what we would need to do to bring Garrick home.

We learned about all the financial options that were available to us, and suddenly the impossible didn’t seem so out of reach. It wouldn’t be easy. We would have to save every penny, apply for every grant, apply for a tax deduction, and fundraise our hearts out.

And that’s just what we decided to do.

The next two days were spent filling out forms, signing our life away so that we could gain another. I talked for hours with our insurance provider to find out exactly what was covered under our plan. An appointment was set with our pediatrician.

We learned that Garrick had been diagnosed with Thalassemia, a blood disorder that affects his body from producing enough hemoglobin. Garrick goes to the local hospital on a regular basis to have his blood levels checked and receives blood transfusions to help manage his condition. This is a very treatable condition here in the U.S. But over in China the blood supply is very low and orphans are not a major priority, therefore they often do not get transfusions as often as needed. Once children age out of the orphanage at age 12, they no longer have access to healthcare. A diagnosis like his is a death sentence in China.

But not here! We soon learned that the Children's Hospital of Atlanta (just 30 minutes from us) houses a clinic dedicated to treating children with Garrick’s same condition. Families travel from all over the United States to Atlanta to be cared for at this facility that is considered the best in the world for the treatment of Thalassemia. We were amazed. We are hoping to adopt a child with special needs, and we just so happen to live a half-hour from the hospital that can provide him the best care in the world. This was not luck. This was God showing up again.

We want to invite you to be a part of our story, and this is one of the ways you can help. Not every family has been called to adopt, but we have all been called to love and care for orphans in some way. We can care for Garrick's medical needs. We can provide him the love of a forever family. But we need help getting him home!

We serve a big God. We serve a wonderful God. We serve an all-powerful, all-knowing God who does BIG things, unexpected things.

This road our family is on will be rough. We need prayer for the journey. We need financial support, because we can’t do it alone. We need you to share our story.

Will you join us?

-Steven and Christa

https://www.youcaring.com/manage-fundraiser.aspx?frid=330417#fundraiser-details