Older Child Adoption

While there are many babies and toddlers available for adoption in China, there are just as many older children also waiting for a forever home ... many will never have the chance to be adopted. and of those who do, many will never be chosen. The heartbreaking reality is that a child in China ages out of the orphanage at age 14. They are either turned out onto the streets, or stay on at the orphanage as a worker. Of the children who are turned loose, I have no idea what happens to them, but I can only imagine.

When we traveled, we became very good friends with a family who were adopting a precious little 7-year-old. The couple were younger than us, and let me tell you, they will be the coolest parents a 7-year-old could have. We also became friends with a couple adopting a 12-year-old. This family lives in Hawaii, and I just thought it was the coolest thing for this 12-year-old ... to go from being abandoned at the age of 5 (yes 5), to living in an orphanage for a number of years, to being adopted by a family who lives in Maui and who already have two children from China. I check in on their blog and that sweet child is adjusting just fine to her new life. What redemption?!?

Anyway, this week I stumbled upon an adoption blog of a family who were in the process of adopting a two-year-old little girl from China, when they got a letter from an older child at the same orphanage. This brave girl expresses the reality of life in an orphanage for an older child and how much she desires a family ... it is deeply moving. Hope you will go read it here.

The family is also raising money for their adoption, so you can scroll down on their blog to find out more about that, if you feel so led. Hope you will go and read their story!