Those who wait...

Something that has been weighing heavy on my heart since returning home from China is all of the children that are still in there ... waiting.

Most of you know that Greg and I switched from the non-special needs China program to the waiting child China program at the end of last May. The wait for the non-special needs (NSN) program is around 4 years right now and still growing.

This time last year we began looking into the special needs (SN) program in China. What we found was that this program had changed a lot since we were first logged in in 2006...there are now many, many children with very minor, correctable special needs ... such as heart murmurs and other minor heart conditions, cleft lip and palate, missing or extra digits and skin conditions such as birth marks, to name a few. In the SN program you are allowed to specify what needs, age, and gender you are open to. China releases a monthly list of available children and there are also agencies that have lists of children waiting to be adopted. Once you are matched the time frame to travel to bring your child home is anywhere from 3-5 months.

We don't talk a lot about Anna's "need", but she had a diaphragmatic hernia and it was already repaired in China when she was 6 months old. We are very blessed that she was able to have surgery in China and she is now a healthy, happy girl!!

While Greg and I aren't yet in the position to adopt again (praying that this day will come soon though), the one thing we can to do now is advocate for those children that still wait for their forever family.

Maybe you are interesting in adoption or maybe you would just like to sponsor a child waiting to be adopted. I'm going to start working on a list of agencies and organizations that can help you do either or both! Also, if you have any questions about the China SN program, please feel free to email me!