Well, we are off to China! Hopefully we will be able to update the blog from China on the 28th or 29th with some precious news about the orphanage and children we meet! Stay tuned....

Here at ASIA we are all busy readying ourselves for this big trip to China--assigning duties to make sure everything is covered while Fei and I are away, preparing evaluations for the children, finalizing our itinerary with the orphanage, getting our props together for the mini-camps we'll do with groups of the kids as well as the general scurry that goes on around our agency to continue to process the adoptions that are already in process for our families.

The kids below are kids whose files may be coming our way--too cute!!! If you're interested in a Non-Special Focus child and qualify, apply now and get going on your dossier so you will be eligible.

Right now we have kids from the shared waiting child list from the same orphanage who are now on our individual list. They are quite adorable as well and are mostly Special Focus children by now. If you would like to see their adorable faces, please take a look at our password-protected waiting child list. These kids are definitely not defined by their special needs, they just happen to have some. Take a look~!

New Brighter Futures Kiddos

We are getting the most adorable pictures of children from Changsha and Zhuzhou! Don't they just melt your heart? Look at that incredible drawing the handsome boy above is doing--what talent!

The girl below with the beautiful braids seems like just what so many folks describe when they request girls! We've also gotten pictures of very young girls and boys, as well as older ones. I can't wait to go meet them! And these are just a trickle of the sweet pictures that have poured into our emails. Once we get there, we will start posting much more information about these kids, but for now, take a peek at the 26 new kids we have on our waiting child list from Changsha! If you don't have the passwords, please contact Pattie: Pattiec@asiadopt.org

New Waiting Children!

ASIA received 26 new waiting children from our newest partner orphanage that were waiting on the shared list. Meanwhile they are working on registering the other children they have for adoption. If you would like to see our password-protected waiting child list, please contact me: marcisk@asiadopt.org

 We have 2 weeks until we leave to go visit! Then we will be posting pictures, video and stories from Changsha about the kiddos we meet there, so stay tuned!!!

Oh, Those Cute Little Faces!

Our China Director is currently visiting Changsha #1 Social Welfare Institute, where we are starting our newest partnership program with the orphanage. She has been sending us the cutest pictures of the children there! Those of you who have just applied or are applying to ASIA are in for a treat once we get those files! Time to get those dossiers done to be eligible for these cuties.

We are still hoping that an Occupational Therapist or someone with expertise in developmental psychology will materialize and want to join us on our trip:-) So if you're interested, please contact me: marcisk@asiadopt.org
We do have a pretty great team going already, but that would really make it special!

Now Recruiting Families for Changsha #1

Extra! Extra! Calling All Families! ASIA is now recruiting families to get started now with ASIA to be eligible for our next Brighter Futures program with Changsha #1 Social Welfare Institute in Hunan Province! If you wish to be eligible for the Non-Special Focus children we will have available, you will need to start your dossier process now! If you take a look at our current Brighter Futures Program waiting children (most are only posted on our password-protected website), a great number of those kids are Non-Special Focus, which means they are only available to families who have dossiers logged in with China. So if you're hoping for a young child with minor special needs or an older or Special Focus child, I would encourage you to get started on your process with ASIA now. You can find the application on our website here: ASIA Application

Can You See The Children?

When we post pictures and short summaries of children in a waiting child list format, it is sometimes hard to see the child beyond the special need. But when I have gone to visit these children in person, I don't see their special needs so much. I just see their adorable faces and unique personalities that could just blossom in a family. I see their potential, not their limitations. Sometimes I think that rather than posting what the special need is, we should post their strengths. Most of these kids are amazing survivors, determined little rascals with so much potential and so much character. A good example of this is Shane. In the full pictures, if you haven't met him, it may be hard to miss his special need. However, in person Shane's strength, determination and his captivating personality shine through past any physical need. His special need doesn't seem to limit him much and he is such a tease and the word sprite or imp seems to embody his personality perfectly. He burned an image and a place in my mind and heart that I will not forget. Yet few people have chosen to even have a look at his file. Why?