Today an Orphan Died in China

This is a hard post for me to write, but its a post that must be written. 

Today an orphan died in China. 

He was a beautiful, precious little boy who had his whole life ahead of him.  He was living with a foster family.  He was receiving monthly transfusions thanks to the amazing group of thal moms I call friends here in the states.  His paperwork was being prepared for adoption.  Unfortunately, any illness can have a significant effect on the severity of his thalassemia.  When an illness that caused diarrhea swept through the orphanage the last week, it was too much for his little body to handle. He passed from this life into the arms of Jesus.

My heart is heavy again today.  I will never be able to hear of an orphan dying without being overcome by sadness.  This isn't the first thal child who has died...

This sweet girl mattered too.  She deserved a family.  She deserved to get the best doctors coming to her aid.  But she lost her fight and passed into the arms of Jesus too.

I've often been asked "Why not adopt from foster care?"  I've been told that there are so many kids here in the US and we should "take care of our own" before we help the world.  I'm not going to argue these questions or points at all. 

I simply believe that children matter.  ALL children matter.  ALL children deserve to have the love of a family.  Someone to kiss their boo boos.  Someone to hug them and tell them they can do anything.  ALL children deserve to have food on the table.  ALL children should have the opportunity to get an education.  ALL children deserve to get the medical care they need to get better.

Today an orphan died in Yulin, Guangxi, China. 

And so did others... In China.  In Russia.  In Ukraine.  In Ethiopia.  In India.  In Uganda.  In Honduras.  In so many orphanages around the world these precious children, who have already experienced unimaginable loss, continue the fight of their lives.

An estimated 143 million orphans can be found in countries worldwide. 

I believe that all of us have a responsibility to these children.  God calls ALL of us to help. 

Pray for ONE.  If you need a picture, a story, and a name.  I know plenty of them.  Make one child your priority to pray for every day while they wait for a forever family to take over those prayers.

Sponsor ONE.  Amazing agencies are doing amazing work in countries worldwide.  They are making a difference everyday in the lives of children throughout the world.  I would be happy to point you in the direction of some that I know.

Foster ONE.  If you are one of those who has a heart for America's children, I encourage you to reach out to your local social services and find out what it takes to become a foster parent.

Support ONE.  At this moment, I know of at least twenty families who felt God's call to adopt a child, even though they didn't have enough in their bank accounts to cover an adoption, and took that step out to help care for ONE.  I'd be happy to show you families that you could support.

Adopt ONE.  If you think you might be willing to bring a precious orphan into their forever, please email me. MEPSCOASTIE@YAHOO.COM.  I will be happy to lead you to the agency and program that's right for you.

I pray that this message reaches you all.  I pray that a precious little boy's death will be the catalyst for something good to happen.  Today an orphan died in China, but I pray with all my heart that others won't have to.


"Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute.
Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy."  Prov 31: 8-9


"Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me."  Matt 18:5

Thanks for stopping by,
Fannie

Chinese New Year!!

Happy Year of the Horse!!  We celebrated Chengbin's first Chinese New Year with his forever family in typical adoptive family fashion!  We started with a photo shoot in the kids China silks...

 

Then we took a trip to the Asian Food Market.  (We will NOT be going back to that one, it was in a really, really unsafe neighborhood with drug lookouts posted on corners... LOL!!)

 

We ate decorated and ate Chinese food!!

 

And we "tried" to make fortune cookies (yes, we know they are not really Chinese) with their toy fortune cookie maker!!  Results were less than pleasing...

 

Looking forward to having a big party next year!  This year I had just gotten home from a Coast Guard school and Chengbin had surgery scheduled a couple days later.   The kids enjoyed themselves and Chengbin had a special day.  That's all that really counts!

Happy Chinese New Year!!
Fannie, Matt, Kate, & Chengbin

From Orphan to Superheroes!!!!

 

It started with his cousin's love of all things Batman, Captain America, Hulk, & Ironman...
Then Gymboree released a special "hero" line of clothes and a trio of superheroes was born!!!

 

Meet "Lightning"

"Shocker"

 

 

and "Flash"

 

 



A hard working superhero trio ready to take on the world!!

 

Yep, their cousin Little Donald, has made his mark!  I love my cute superheroes!!  We are missing their cousin already! :)

From Orphan to Superhero- that's the story in the Wilks house.  It's a great story...

Thanks for stopping by!
Fannie, Matt, Shocker, & Lightning

Oh tooth fairy!!!

I think as parents we all are excited to see our kiddos lose that first tooth!! They're usually 5 or 6 or 7 and they wiggle that little tooth for weeks and then finally get the courage to yank it out! They get that first big toothless smile and we take the requisite photo to show friends and family then watch them anxiously put their tooth under the pillow as they question whether they could stay awake long enough to see her, the tooth fairy that they've heard all about!.. These are the firsts of childhood.  Rights of passage.  We cherish each one because they just grow up way too fast!!

Well, unfortunately for our sweet boy, this is not his story... He had a sick tooth, a molar, that has had two infections in six weeks.  I had really hoped that a miracle would occur when they X-rayed it and it would be saved.

 

Unfortunately, that was NOT the case... Two infections in a month meant that there wasn't enough time to do stronger antibiotics, it was time to lose the tooth...

So he lost his first tooth- a baby molar!! It's kind of a freaky looking tooth to put under the pillow for the tooth fairy huh???

NOT the picture I had in my head of losing a first tooth, but that's adoption for ya!!!  Luckily for Chengbin, the tooth fairy was happy to give him some money for that tooth anyway. She left it behind & Kate thinks it'd be a great thing for a dentist to use to teach kids about sugar bugs! :)

Yep, another first!!  Finally blogged about a few months late. ;)

Thanks for stopping by,

Fannie, Matt, Kate, & Chengbin 

Success!

Surgery went well. Surgeon was really surprised he hadn't been hurting because he has definitely had it for a while... He showed me pictures of tissue that had grown around a portion of his intestine that had to be removed... Our little guy is gonna be sore!! 

We're super greatful that we listened to God's call and brought home Chengbin!! I can't imagine him going through this on his own in China.  He was soooo angry and in pain when he came out that I didn't even get a pic like last surgery. This time I have one pic. After we got him dressed, he had kicked his legs & fussed so much that he tuckered out!!

Heading home for a week of quality time w mommy & daddy.  I'm so glad the Coast Guard was understanding of our situation & let me come home from school early! We are blessed!!

Thanks for stopping by!

Fannie, Matt, Kate, & Chengbin 

Surgery day!

Well, time for our second surgery in 6 mos of Chengbin coming home. He is having an inguinal hernia repair.  This one was a surprise, but I do think he had it, (just a smaller version) when we got him.

So our sweet boy is headed back for his surgery... 

Please say a prayer for him. :)

Thanks for stopping by,

Fannie, Matt, Kate, & Chengbin