As soon as I saw him, I knew an adventure was going to happen. I had almost given up on the idea of having a child. I had been trying to come to terms with the loss of the one thing I had always wanted. Other dreams have come and gone, but the dream of raising a child has always been with me. And then one day his face was looking out at me from an email that I&'d forgotten to unsubscribe from. His story is a sad one. He was abandoned the day after he was born, because his wrists and elbows don&'t bend normally. It must have been an agonizing decision for his birth parents. He was left with extra clothes and formula, outside a police station where he would be found right away. As impossible as it seems to wrap up your newborn and walk away from him, it must have seemed like the only option they had. In America, a defect like his means physical therapy and possibly surgery. It means adapting some things, perhaps, but participating fully in life like everyone else. In China, it means never attending school, always being an outcast, never having the life every parent wants for their child. They must have hoped, through their own tears, that he would be adopted quickly and given a chance to thrive. He&'s been waiting 6 years now. He&'s spent every birthday in an orphanage. And while he has been fortunate to have the best possible care an orphanage can provide, and stability that has at least provided security, it&'s time for him to come home to his family. A year after seeing that sweet face in an email - hundreds of emails, meetings, and forms later - that little boy is officially mine! He knows he has a family and friends waiting for him in America, and he&'s very happy about it. But we need some help to get him home. We&'ve both waited our whole lives for our adventure to begin. Donations are tax deductible and will go toward final agency fees ($4500), mandatory orphanage donation ($5000), in-country legal and medical fees ($2000), mandatory guide fees ($2000), and travel expenses to/from and within China ($4-5000).
