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Holt's work in China has grown rapidly since its beginning only a few years ago. From the first, Holt's efforts have succeeded because of the caring people who invested their personal commitment to help children. The following articles are only a small sample of the many ways that people have made a difference for children who need families.
The Warmth of Love Front doors are invariably open, and a pot of hot water is always on the boil-ready for a cup of Chinese tea and a chat. Neighbors are always dropping in. So when I arrived at this dairy farm 30 kilometers from Nanning, I, too, was warmly greeted and welcomed as one of the family. Hospitality seems to be a way of life at this communal farm where Holt's partner agency in China, Mother's Love, has brought eighteen children to be fostered by the families who live and work there. It is a very rural setting. The houses are some walk from the main dairy area where the husbands tend a thousand dairy cattle. In the summer months, the common area between the terraced, two-story brick buildings is always occupied with various people tending young babies. This communal garden is always busy. Mums, dads and grandparents spend much time in this area with their foster babies. While some play with children, others sew, prepare food, do one of the hundred and one things that need to be done to raise a baby correctly. Plenty of trees protect all from the sun as it can easily reach the nineties during the summer. The sight of women and grandparents holding babies amid various dogs, cats and chickens lazing in the sun may not seem as hygienic as a sparkling nursery. But the warmth of love, fresh air and activity all make it more than apparent why the children at this site are happy, healthy and developing wonderfully. Inside, the houses are clean but very sparsely furnished. The only really non-functional items, but the most important to the families, are the numerous photo frames filled with pictures of babies who have been adopted. The lack of facilities is more than made up for by the obvious love and care these folk give to their charges. They always seem to be smiling. Store-bought toys are obviously missing, but the families are very adept at conjuring up amazing things for the babies to play with. A film container with a few dried peas inside makes a great rattle. As soon as word was out that they had a visitor, every one of the mums brought their babies for me to see. After the formalities of being served tea and bananas, the mothers bombarded me with questions about some of the babies who had been adopted and now live in the United States. These mums put so much of their time and love into the little ones that they regard adoptive parents not just as friends, but much like part of their family. I asked them if there were anyway we could help them with or if I could do anything for them. They all gave the same answer: "Please ask the new mums and dads to send updates and, if possible, photographs of the babies once they get home." When I asked for a list of babies about whom they wanted news, they gave me not only names but also actual dates, all from memory! They also suggested that audio cassettes of the children singing songs or just talking would be great. Content with their simple life on the dairy farm, the foster parents desire very little from the adoptive parents who often bring small gifts. Photo frames, T-shirts and caps become cherished connections to families who adopted the children they love. They also appreciate gifts that show where the children are going: calendars with views of America, photos of the children's new homes and communities. I had a super time and learned a lot about true family values. The foster parents made me feel very humble. I will never forget my afternoon at the dairy farm, and I eagerly look forward to my next visit. They are now, every one of them, all very dear friends. Les Wittle MeiMei
When I first saw Shao Lian Yu, she lay in a children's hospital bed, rigid and motionless. The bed looked so big for her tiny body. A single washcloth covered her. Only her eyes made any detectable movement. But the sight of those alert, searching eyes remains strong in my memory to this day. I had heard about Shao when I was a thousand miles away in Beijing. At 11 months old, she weighed only 8.2 pounds. She had traveled eight hours by bus and train from her orphanage in a remote area to meet her adoptive parents from the United States. But her weak body didn't allow her to finish the journey to be home with her new parents. Cut short, her travel ended in a hospital bed where Shao fought pneumonia, high fever and diarrhea. Her tiny body had barely enough strength to hold on, but something about Shao remained intensely determined to live. Earlier, Holt's local staff had tried to have her admitted to another hospital in the province but, because she was so sick and weak, the doctors said there was no hope of saving her. They refused to admit her for medical care. Not willing to give up, our staff finally managed to get her into the children's hospital where she received intravenous feedings and treatment. Her condition stabilized somewhat. A few days later, still dangerously malnourished, her skin seemed to hang from her bones when she was discharged from the hospital. Then I learned that the orphanage had decided to take her back, my anxiety started to rise. If she could not make the journey with her adoptive parents, how could she survive the difficult journey back to the orphanage? I was so concerned for this little girl, I asked a local official to let me place Shao with a foster family and try to get her well enough to travel with an adoptive family. Convinced of how dangerous Shao's condition was, the official gave me the permission to take her to my mother-in-law who had agreed to care for her. In spite of all her problems, Shao's eyes continued to draw me in. She looked wise and sad, cautious and searching. How could eyes, so strong and intense, gaze out from a body so weak? I worried that she had digestive problems or even some undetected cancer. And I worried that my mother-in-law would be too strict to really nurture her back to health. My mother-in law and I had detailed conversations about the baby's diet which seemed too stingy to me-not rich enough for a baby who had been so starved. But she was adamant. "She's too weak for rich food," said my mother-in law. "She needs just flour and water until her system can take real food." The foster mother carefully spooned small amounts of thin liquid into Shao's mouth, and little by little she got some down. A few days later Shao had a bowel movement. "Now I know she is okay and will get well," said my mother-in law. Slowly my confidence in her experience grew to trust, and this precious little child began to recover. She began to eat regularly and we saw the beginnings of life from her fragile body. She began to behave more like a normal child-reacting to life's daily joys and frustrations. She was getting used to being with a family, and she longed for attention. From being completely passive, she became extremely dependent. She would scream in anger whenever somebody left the room. She was alert and intense, and I began to understand why the orphanage staff said she was difficult to care for. She craved attention, love and stimulation, and she let everyone know it. But Shao affected everyone around her as she recovered from her brush with death. She became MeiMei (Little Sister) to everyone who knew her. She changed our attitudes and taught us about the meaning of life, the importance of human touch and caring in the early months of life. My mother-in law had been reluctant at first to care for Shao, thinking that this child would steal away the attention she owed her grandchildren-my children. But she became very attached, protective and determined that Shao would know how much she cared about her. Soon the care of Shao became more than a family project... she became like a granddaughter and sister. My eldest child, at age 5, became this baby's champion, thinking and planning how to find the right family to love her and raise her to be healthy and strong. My daughter's first attempts at writing went into a little book to tell MeiMei's story and to express her love for her unexpected little sister. My son, who was only 3, loved to play with MeiMei, thinking up games and finding any excuse to hug or caress this new baby of the family. But then the my mother-in-law's health made it impossible for her to continue caring for MeiMei. Reluctantly she agreed to allow a neighbor family to take over fostering Shao. But she still feels responsible for this little life. She still checks on her progress, making sure the new foster family feeds her nutritious food, keeps her safe and giving her enough stimulation. Shao's recovery has shown many of us the power of love and the strength of a child's will to live. Her life is miracle that has affected Holt staff, the foster families who've cared for her, the entire neighborhood of people who know about her, hospital staff, and officials. All of these people will forever hold MeiMei in their hearts as they follow her on to the next adventure in her life. The family who originally planned to adopt MeiMei received another child, but they continue to follow her progress with loving interest. Holt is now in the process of finding another adoptive family for MeiMei. Jian Chen LiJen She walked down the airplane's ramp a step ahead of her new parents. Seemingly confident and excited, she exchanged smiles with each of her new brothers, cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents who eagerly awaited her arrival from around the world. After introductions the little girl stood for just a moment in the middle of the crowd as tears welled up in her big brown eyes, and she brought her hands up to cover her face. Perhaps my new niece, LiJen, was overwhelmed with the enormous change that had just taken place in her life. I know I was feeling the enormity of it at that moment as I reflected on the great and awesome wonders a sovereign God had shown to us in His care of a 10-year-old orphan from Nanchang, China. LiJen doesn't know this yet, but I look forward to the day when I can explain to her that her story of coming into our family began even before she was born. Twelve years ago, after completing college, I spent a year teaching at a university in Beijing, China. During that year I developed a deep love for China's people, a fascination with China's history, and a keen awareness of China's "one-child policy". Ten years later, married with four children, I vividly recalled images of China as I read an article about China's orphanages. Over-burdened with the responsibility of caring for infant girls being abandoned as a result of the one-child policy and an ancient system that favors male children, China had opened its doors to foreign adoptions. I knew then that I had to do my part to help save at least one of these little girls. As we began the process of adoption, many people asked us why would we want to adopt a child when we already had four young, healthy kids? And we asked ourselves that question a few times as well, especially considering the fact that our lives were already hectic keeping up with those four little ones, a busy church ministry, and my husband's full-time doctoral program at Michigan State. Our answer was simply this: we believed it was of God. And now looking back, we see that He had far greater plans for showing His glory than we could have comprehended. In the next year, God worked out many, many details enabling us to travel to China to pick up the 8-month-old baby with whom we had been matched. Not the least of these "details" was the financial one. To our amazement, various people who were moved to help with our need gave over $10,000. In November of 1995, we received permission to travel, and were assigned to a group of other Holt families who met in Hong Kong two days after Thanksgiving. While that was good news on one hand, to my husband who was to take his finals during that time, it seemed impossible. We tried to change our travel date, but once again God intervened. It became possible for us to go when we were scheduled. Unknown to us, God not only planned for us to meet our new daughter at this time, but He had also planned a meeting for us with another special little girl. Our daughter was brought from Fuzhou in Jiangxi Province to our hotel in the city of Nanchang. With the exception of our first two days together (when she screamed non-stop) Ellie managed her transition well. We spent several days in Nanchang waiting for paperwork to be completed. During that time, Jian Chen, then Holt's representative in China [now Holt's China Program Manager], "happened" to stop in Nanchang to complete some business. As we chatted with Jian at a meal one day, she told us about a 9-year-old girl. LiJen was abandoned at a train station as a toddler and had spent the last seven years at an orphanage in Nanchang. What made her story especially sad was that two years before, a couple from Canada had traveled to China to take her home as their daughter. But while they were in China to finalize the paperwork, it was discovered that LiJen was a hepatitis B carrier. Because of this condition, the Canadian government would not allow them to adopt her-and a little girl's hopes of having a family were crushed. In working for Holt, Jian had been in many orphanages and had seen hundreds of children, but for some reason, LiJen had stood out. And as we listened to all of this over our bowls of rice in a Nanchang hotel, Jian told us, "if I cannot find a family for this little girl, I am going to quit my job at Holt and adopt her myself!" Jian asked us to spend some time with LiJen while we were there so that if Holt found a family interested in her, we would be able to talk to them. We happily obliged and went home to the United States with videos, pictures and stories of this special little girl who so badly wanted a family. Now a year later, as I was standing in an airport terminal watching LiJen at the start of her new life, I reflected on all that God had done: I have a new niece; my daughter from China now has a Chinese cousin; my sister and her husband have a new daughter; and a beautiful girl from Nanchang has a family. LiJen stood crying in the center of the crowd-but for just a brief moment. For when her Dad saw her hurt, he got down on his knees and took her in his arms. "We're all done," he said. "Let's go home." Postscript: LiJen has been in the United States with her new family since December. She has adjusted beautifully to living with three brothers and two cats. Her fourth grade classmates at school adore her. She describes things she really likes as "cool!" Not long ago she got her ears pierced and has developed her own distinct fashion style. Just recently she asked her Mom when she can get a boyfriend. Sara Dixon |
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