Grace & Hope

We joined the local chapter of Families with Children from China (FCC), technically First Coast FCC, which it's name is pretty self explanatory. My mom and I attended my first event with FCC the other night - a monthly meeting of the "waiting families" - those who have started the adoption process but are somewhere in "The Wait" phase. It was nice to meet others in our same stage but the most interesting part was the topic of the meeting - Grace and Hope for Children. This is an organization who's purpose is to get children of China out of the orphanages and into foster care. By sponsoring a child for $37/month, a child will get out of a situation where they are one of up to a dozen+ children per caregiver and puts them into a home. The family gets $35/month and according to the speaker, people are eager to be foster parents because $35/home is about as much as a salary. Can we imagine? A lot of people spend more than that on coffee from Starbuck's in a month. I have already signed up to sponsor a child. If anyone is interested, go to www.grace-hope.org (see link to the right). The website would have been a little difficult to understand if I hadn't heard from a volunteer one-on-one about their mission and cost etc. You have to go to "how to help" and then click on "click here to make an online donation". It walks you through whether you want to make a one time vs monthly contribution, which orphange, healthy vs special needs child etc. The man giving the presentation (his Chinese adopted dauther is almost 11 - the first adopted in NE Florida 10 years ago) had just returned from China in April when they were checking on the program and the kids and foster parents. He said when the kids get into foster care, they blossom. He also said when you go into the orphanages, you go into a room full of babies and it's quiet because they have learned quickly that no one comes to pick them up when they cry so they have given up crying. What a sad thought. It's awful that the process takes so long when there are babies just waiting right now to be picked up and comforted. Since I can't just jump on a plane and go get our daughter, not until every i is dotted and every t is crossed, at least I can put a child into foster care. I hope somewhere someone will do the same and get Mia into foster care. I hope she will spend the part of her life that we are not together in a place where when she cries, someone who loves her will come see why. Please do this!