Happy Beginnings (AKA Emptying out the Orphanage)

Just wanted to give everyone an update on some of the characters mentioned in the earlier part of my blog, because we are doing a good job of getting the orphanage emptied out.

If you remember from our trip to the orphanage when Charlie went to say good-bye and pass out presents, we met a boy with albinism who really touched us because his adoption had disrupted the week before we got there to get Charlie. It was so distressing to know that he would probably never get another chance at adoption, since they were unlikely to re-list him after a "failure" like that. (Like it's the kid's fault, right???) Amazingly, a conversation thread started about him on the Yahoo group set up for parents from that orphanage. They were following my journey on the blog and were outraged at his circumstance. Then one of the members said she thought a friend of hers was paperchasing him and she'd invite her to join the group. His name is now Brian. His family loves him to death, and I recently saw him singing "Baa-Baa Black Sheep." He looks very cool in his sunglasses (which he needs to protect his eyes, since his albinism affects how he tolerates light).

The little boy that we got measurements for and pictures of because his adoptive parents already had their referral and wanted to know if we saw him? His name is now Emmett, and he came home a few months after Charlie. He has an interesting story, because his parents originally adopted a girl from that orphanage, and when they went to get her, they saw what close friends she was with this boy. They ended up going back for him so that her best friend could be her brother. You should see their pictures of the two of them together as sibs--they're adorable and so obviously happy to be together again.

Another couple from Canada contacted me for the orphanage director's address shortly after Charlie and I got back. The orphanage director sent me some photos of the child they were adopting to pass on, and Charlie knew the child in those photos, so he was happy to see that this child was also being adopted. Their son's name is now Aidan, and they got back in the late summer/early fall timeframe.

And last but certainly not least....Does everyone remember Jen, my sherpa, and the child she "accidentally" (yeah, right!) made eye contact with while we were in Charlie's classroom? They were a love story waiting to happen. Jen and her husband went through a long period of prayer and contemplation, and then started learning ASL and filling out the paperwork to bring him into their family. God knew exactly what they needed when they needed it, because a part-time job turned up for her husband just at the point where it looked like they would have to send Jen over alone for the adoption. Thankfully, they were able to both go. They got home four months ago, and their new son Eli has settled in beautifully as a member of their family and is much loved by his brother and sisters. He is attending their local deaf school and signing up a storm. (Unlike Charlie, the orphanage had not sent him to the deaf school in China, so he did not know Chinese sign language and grew up without any real language to speak of, making his wants and needs known with gestures.) I am so thrilled that Eli has a home with loving arms and signing hands.

According to Charlie, there was only one other deaf child at the orphanage besides him and Eli, a girl much younger that he didn't know very much about. I don't have any info on her, but I could certainly e-mail the orphanage director to find out if she is still there, if someone is interested in starting a paperchase!

There have been other people join our orphanage's Yahoo group once they get their referrals for children from this orphanage and discover this group exists, and we've seen three newbies over the past two weeks, so the orphanage is still getting kids out there. Unfortunately, I suspect they take in new children just as fast, since the one-child-rule politics in China that cause this situation still haven't changed. But we'll keep growing our group to support each other and cheer on those who are bringing their children home.