A Child Waits Foundation
Adoption Grants & Adoption Loans
International and Domestic Adoption
Family Stories
International Adoption 2018
In 2018 we awarded grants to help 223 children to be adopted from 21 different countries. Some of their wonderful pictures and adoption experiences are recounted below in the family's own words.
Emma - China 2018
We received a grant from your Foundation in December! We returned home with our daughter on Dec 20 - just in time for the holidays! Attached are a couple of photos of our new addition.
Thanks so much for your support!
Ella & Alex - China 2018
We would like to express to everyone how very touched our family is that we were chosen for a grant to bring our Twins home.
With love and blessings from our family to yours.
Ava - China 2018
As we sit here this evening, our hearts are overflowing with joy as our daughter Ava sleeps peacefully in our home. We are very aware that none of this would have been possible without the generous support of A Child Waits. There are no words we can ever begin to write that can adequately thank you enough for making this miracle happen.
Our journey to bring Ava home lasted over two years. As most adoption stories go, it was filled with many ups and downs. However, I can truly report that it was an absolute miracle that brought her home and into our arms. Alone, a family who wishes to bring a child into their home from afar, stands little to no chance of success. The sheer administrative hurdles without sound professional counsel would make the process unachievable. Additionally, the financial burdens of the journey weigh heavy on the hearts of those seeking to adopt. Many, like us, would have joyfully gone into extreme debt to bring our daughter home. Thankfully, thanks to people like you who seek to aide the world’s abandoned children and the families who open their hearts to them, we were not forced into that dire situation.
Thanks to you, our daughter Ava’s future is bright. We are not only able to provide her with more Love than she can ever begin to fathom, but now we are able to provide her with a home where her basic needs will be met and opportunities afforded to her that would have otherwise been impossible.
Please accept our most heartfelt and sincere thanks and appreciation for your love of Ava and our family.
Caleb - China 2018
As I reflect on last week when we celebrated Thanksgiving, it reminds me of how God has orchestrated things in our lives. God has blessed our family greatly through adoption. We now have 3 wonderful children (all from China) to round out our first family of 3 wonderful biological children. God has completed our family. Donna and I know that we are where we are at because God brought generous people together make adoption a reality. On our own power, we would still be wondering if we should adopt and how we could ever afford to adopt.
We would like to thank A CHILD WAITS FOUNDATION for its very generous contribution to helping bring Caleb Matthew home from China. Your gift took away the final burdens of travel expenses. We know without your generous donors that this would not be possible; we pray that God continues to bless the contributors for their willingness to feed into God’s Kingdom.
GuGang Chen aka Caleb Matthew, adopted September 11, 2018, and arrived home September 21, 2018, is a thriving 6 year old boy with plenty of energy and spunk. We have been home a little over 2 months and he is already speaking some English. He definitely understands English better than he speaks it. His transition to his new home is going well, with only typical expected issues. He loves his older sisters (both from China) and his older brothers they are learning to be siblings.
Once again, Thank you for your generosity and allowing God to use your organization to further HIS Kingdom.
Kensington - South Africa 2018
I had no idea how I would be able to adopt as a 27 year old single woman, but God knew. He knew my heart’s desire to bring a child into my family through adoption, as He had planted that seed years back, and He would not allow that desire to grow without following through with His plan. After researching and speaking with several different adoption agencies in my area, I had narrowed it down to one and sent in my preliminary application in September 2017. The next 10 months have been a total whirlwind. My application was accepted, and they determined which countries I was eligible to adopt from as a single woman with my income. It came down to two, and I felt as though God had been preparing me for Africa since I was a small child, so choosing to move forward with the South Arica program was a no brainer for me. By early January my home study was completed and approved.
At that time, I had been praying over a child I had seen on the waiting list. I chose to pursue her, and sent in my letter of intent to adopt, knowing that two other families were also pursuing her. While waiting to hear back regarding that child, I didn’t pray for her to come home to me, I asked God to bring her home to the family He had chosen for her…and it turned out to not be me. During that time, God had shown me a small child, and all her beautiful details. A child I hadn’t seen before. When my adoption agency called me to inform me that she had been matched with one of the other families, they asked me if I would be interested in a child that had recently come available for placement but wasn’t on the waiting list yet. I told them I would love to pursue her after reviewing her information, and while I worked on writing my letter of intent to adopt for her, I received an email from the agency with her photo. The photograph I stared out, was the same face God had shown me. My official referral for her arrived in April, and by July I was in South Africa finalizing the adoption. I had been told to expect the process to take 2-4 years. It was 10 months.
I could not have done it without A Child Waits Foundation. It was a blessing to have such a quick process, but with one income, that also meant less time to save and less time to fundraise. Some families had years to raise funds to bring their child home. I had 10 months. It has been the most beautiful, frantic, love shattering journey. My daughter is perfectly created. She was 15 months when I met her, but I have been praying for her for years. I can’t imagine my life before her. God had been preparing me for years, to be her momma. A daughter of the King. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you for reaching out and supporting my journey to bring an end to the orphan crisis for one child. Thank you for helping me bring my daughter home in a short 10 months. Thank you for giving me hope when I didn’t think I could do it. When I didn’t think I would have enough time to raise the funds to bring her home. You were there, cheering me on, supporting. Thank you.
Lavanya - India 2018
We are home with baby Lavanya! We wanted to say a big THANK you to A Child Waits Foundation again. We are thrilled to be a family of 5 and begin our new adventure with Lavanya.
Thanks once again for your support!
Maverick - Haiti 2018
Thank you so much for providing a grant to bring my son Maverick home. We arrived home on Thursday. There have been much adjustments for him (obviously) but he is coming along. He has grown fond of my daughter and copies her which seems to help with his transition. He speaks Creole but does understand English. We do seem to be able to communicate with each other. I'm also thankful the place he came from understands trauma and worked with us in Haiti to have a smooth as possible transition.
Zenha - Ethiopia 2018
I am thrilled to share some photos of my newly arrived daughter, Zenha Ibsituu. She is three and a half years old and one of the happiest people I have ever met. We have been very busy settling in as a family and it is as if she has always been here. Ibsituu means “shining light” in Oromo and she lives up to her name in every way.
We are so grateful to A Child Waits Foundation for your generous gift. It was greatly needed and paid the entire cost of travel.
I would like to formally thank you all again for the support and being part of this very long journey over the last two and a half years. Sadly, Zenha Ibsituu was indeed one of the last children to be adopted from Ethiopia. We were in the second to last group of families to be permitted to complete the adoption. Thank you again
Caden - China 2018
I’ll never forget the day we got the referral for our son Caden. It was the afternoon of 11/14/17, and our agency called to tell us they had a child they felt was a good match for us. When I heard he was only 10 ½ months old, I nearly burst with joy. We were hoping for a baby, but with International Adoption that doesn’t always happen. God had answered our prayers, and after considering his medical needs, praying, and having his referral looked at by experts, we said yes, knowing this was the child God has chosen for us. Now that we knew who our son was and could see pictures of him, it was hard to wait to go bring him home. I remember the day we were sent a few short video clips of Caden. Seeing and hearing him in video format was so much different than just a picture! We got a glimpse of his personality and felt like we were meeting him for the first time. It brought me tears of joy and made me long to pick him up and love on him.
Due to the timing of our referral, we knew there was a chance that our travel could be delayed a month by the Chinese New Year holiday in February, but we kept praying that all the needed documents would come in time for us to leave before that. To make a long story short, God took a seemingly impossible situation and made a way for us to travel just before the Chinese New Year. He also provided the majority of the funds we needed for our adoption, which was a huge answer to prayer.
With great joy and excitement we met our son on 2/5/18. He started attaching well to us immediately, and has continued to bond with us and our children. He brings great joy to all of us and is a perfect fit for our family. He's loving, happy, outgoing, friendly, curious, and adorable. Everywhere he goes, he makes friends by waving and blowing kisses to just about everyone he sees. He has had 2 surgeries so far for his cleft lip, will have cleft palate surgery in November, and will have more surgeries and therapy in his future. It's been challenging walking through surgeries, etc., with Caden, but we're so thankful God has provided wonderful doctors and the resources we need to help him. He is a precious gift from God, and we look forward to seeing him continue to grow, and to growing in our relationship with him.
Lainey - China 2018
Greetings to all at A Child Waits Foundation,
It is with great excitement that we introduce to you the newest member of our family! Lainey XiaoYu has been with us for seven weeks now. She is a delightful addition to our family. Lainey is growing by leaps and bounds every day. In the past week she has begun to repeat everything we say, she is expanding her vocabulary everyday!
Lainey will celebrate her second birthday on June 13th! We are so thankful that we were able to travel in mid April to meet her and bring her home. She is adjusting so well to her older siblings and they are quite smitten with her.
We are so thankful to your foundation and for choosing to bless us with an adoption grant. It was extremely helpful in assisting us with travel and allowing us to give generously to Lainey’s orphanage in China. We will forever be grateful for the work you are doing in assisting families become whole. Lainey makes one less child waiting.
Frances & James - Liberia 2018
My wife, Rachel, and I are so appreciative for the financial aid and partnership your organization provided our family during the adoption of Frances and James from Liberia. Adoption is full of stressors to a family, especially when having to leave family stateside for long term international travel required by a host nation. Because of A Child Waits financial partnership, my wife and I were able to travel without the financial burden or stress which allowed us to focus our time and energy on bonding with our two newest children. We are so grateful for your generosity and consideration towards our family.
Both Frances and James are back in the United States with us and integrating well into our family. They are wonderful children that have a bright future ahead of them, a situation that was not possible inside the orphanage they lived in prior.
We're grateful for the opportunity to be their parents and are constantly blessed at their gentle spirits and loving hearts.
Again, thank you so much for your help.
Zoe - China 2018
Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for awarding our family a grant to help us bring home our precious Zoe. She has been a part of her forever family for almost 3 weeks now. Zoe is a very happy child and brings us so much joy! It was a magical and wonderful first Christmas together. She loves playing with her new sister, taking care of her babies and riding her tricycle outside. We used the grant money to help pay for the flights and fees in China. Finalizing two adoptions in two years was a stretch for us financially. We had some unexpected medical expenses and reduction in income this summer that really set us back. We had to step out in faith and trust that the necessary funds would come together when they were needed. We ended up with exactly the amount needed to bring home our daughter. Thank you for the wonderful work you have done and continue to do. A Child Waits helped us expand our family when we were not sure it was possible and we will be forever grateful. May your work be richly blessed this year and in the years to come.
Arkadii - Ukraine 2018
We are so happy and grateful to be home! Thank you for your help in getting us here. We desperately needed the grant that you awarded to our family to bring our son home. Adoption is a miracle of birth, so special. Abundant blessings to all of you for your work, which is clearly a labor of love. Words just can't express our hearts. To God be all the glory. He cares for the orphan and gives love, hope, and peace. So many families assume money will prevent them from adoption. But, we have been a part of a massive effort by family, friends, church, community, and business to bring our boy home. I know that, with our Father in heaven, nothing is impossible. Thank you once again for being a very important part of our story.
Cate - China 2018
I just wanted to reach out and send you an update - we have been home for over six months now- and so much has changed since our first update I sent in July!
I still can't believe we have the privilege of being this kiddo's family.
Cate is doing amazing. She has adjusted perfectly to our family - and might even be considered the "boss" to an outsider - although we try our best to not let her know.
All three of the kids still can't get enough of each other - and Wyatt and Cate's relationship astounds me. I was so anxious about them being so close in age -and boy have they proved me wrong - they are the best of friends and Skylar is basically a better mom than me - so there's that. Wyatt and Sky are Cate's biggest cheerleaders and have also become secondary therapists during playtime helping her meet all of her therapy goals.
Cate talks all.day.long. We still can't believe our file review said non-verbal. I am so thankful for this - even on the days when I am certain my ears are going to fall off. She has astounded all her doctors and is making awesome progress in all of her therapies. She has wrapped our community around that little pinky of hers and never meets a stranger.
She has brought us so much joy. We are still so overwhelmed when we think of your generosity towards our family. Thank you from the very bottom of our hearts. We are so grateful.
Caleb - China 2018
Caleb has been home for a month and he is an amazing addition to our family. He has settled in quickly and is a happy, funny little guy. He especially enjoys his big sister. She was able to make him smile from day 1, and loves singing songs to him. I can no longer imagine life without him. His adoption went very quickly, taking just 14 months for the entire process. I had been fundraising since I began the process, but when it began to move quickly I struggled to come up with the final payments in time. Thanks to both the loan and grant I received through A Child Waits I was able to travel as scheduled to adopt Caleb. It came at just the right time and was such a blessing to our family. We cannot thank you enough for helping us complete our family!
Sofia Lynn - Colombia 2018
Danna, who is now Sofia Lynn, is doing well. We have been together over a month. And arrived in the US on Thanksgiving Day. Sofia is a strong-willed child. She loves music, and is always listening to songs and dancing around the house. She wants to help those around her. She is smart and clever.
Mduduzi - South Africa 2018
We've been home for about 6 months and have been adjusting as a family, and homeschooling. I wanted to thank you on behalf of our family, for the generous grant you blessed us with. It truly was such a blessing and we are so grateful for you.
God bless you and your team! We will always be grateful for you.
Susie - China 2018
I am writing to express my gratitude for the crucial support your foundation provided. The trip went smoothly, and Susanna Rose (Susie) is doing so beautifully. She's curious, affectionate, and imitates everything. And I think you'll agree she's adorable!
Charlie - China 2018
Charlie has been home a little over a month, just in time to celebrate his second birthday, and we cannot imagine life without him! He is the most joyful, fun-loving boy, who lights up a rooms as soon as he enters. This was my second adoption as a single and I was fully aware of the financial challenges when I said yes to once again welcoming a child with special needs into our family. How would I pay for the adoption? Would I have enough after to pay for medical co-pays and deductibles? What about other unknowns and financial emergencies? However, just as with my first adoption, I was confident that when God calls, He provides the means. In both adoptions, He did that in part though the generosity of A Child Waits. News of the grant award came just as I was preparing to travel, faced with those costs as well as a substantial orphanage donation. This generous gift not only helped me cover these final costs, but, along with other personal gifts, paved the way so I could return from China still having some savings for Charlie's future medical needs and other unknows. As a single parent, it is such a relief to know that I am not starting our new life as a family of three in debt. As an adoptive parent, grant recipient, and adoption professional, I am forever grateful to your wonderful organization and all the work you do for children and families.I am forever grateful to your wonderful organization and all the work you do for children and families.
Grace - China 2018
I am reminded of all those who have encouraged and supported us along the way. Grace is adjusting so well. I think it helps so much that she has an older sibling who understands her language and she is picking up English rapidly.
Thank you to you and your staff for your contribution toward our journey. Thank you again and many blessings.
Elton - China 2018
“Bao Bao” has come home to his forever-family!
Thank you from the bottom of my heart for helping me bring my son home to join his forever family! We have been anxiously awaiting his arrival for so long, it seems like it would never come.
While in China, we had the opportunity to visit my son’s orphanage. When we arrived, his eyes lit up at the sight of his caretakers and friends on the playground, and he nearly burst out of the car to run and see them. When we went inside, he showered his caretakers, friends, and us with hugs, going from one person to the next, like a game of musical arms. It was so special to see this precious, incredible expression of the care and love he had received there. Momentarily, the thought of taking him away made me sad, and yet his little room and little playground composed such a small world... Thanks to the generosity and compassion of A Child Waits Foundation, his world is growing exponentially richer with care and love every day!
He is finally home with his mama, grandma, grandpa, and two dogs! He is giggly, adventurous, curious, loves to play outside, and loves music! His first English word was “moon”. With every passing day, we marvel at how it seems we were meant to be together—an unpredictable yet perfect match! As a single parent, the financial demands of the adoption process seemed daunting and sometimes unsurmountable. I could not have funded this adoption on my own and am grateful beyond words to A Child Waits Foundation for helping me bring him home!
Caitlyn - China 2018
Thank you so much for the grant that you awarded us for our adoption from China. We are humbled and grateful that you chose to assist us in this way. As requested, here is a brief story of our adoption.
My husband Robert and I were married in 1999. After several years, our doctors determined that we were infertile. In 2005, we began investigating the various adoption options, and in the end, we felt that God wanted us to adopt from China. Our dossier was eventually logged in with the Chinese adoption authority in February of 2007. Then we waited as the Chinese adoption process slowed down to a crawl. In the meantime, God healed my infertility. My precious biological daughter was born in 2011, but our Chinese daughter remained on our hearts as we continued to wait to bring her home. Finally, in November of 2017, we got the wonderful news that we had been matched with a daughter. We were overjoyed! We also had significant concerns about how we would afford to bring her home. International adoption comes at a considerable cost in terms of fees and travel expenses. We are incredibly grateful that A Child Waits Foundation chose to assist us with those costs. It lightened our load considerably to have those expenses covered for us.
Once all the paperwork was complete, we were able to travel to Guangzhou, China, where we finally met our daughter for the first time in July of 2018. All of our lives are forever changed, and A Child Waits Foundation helped make that possible. Thank you again for partnering with us to bring our daughter home.
JJ - China 2018
Thank you so much for your financial assistance during the last leg of our adoption journey. We are immensely grateful for your generosity and kindness. Your wonderful communication throughout the grant application process was an added bonus.
We have had our son, JJ, for a little over a month and are slowly adjusting to our new life together. JJ is a joyful, sweet, and spunky toddler. We are all learning from each other as we figure out our new normal. What an adventure!
From the bottom of our hearts - thank you for helping to bring this family of three together!
Chelsea - China 2018
Chelsea and I arrived home a few weeks ago. I cannot begin to thank you all enough for the grant that your organization provided us. The money was instrumental in ensuring our travel was successful and any unforeseen costs were covered. However, I want to also give thanks beyond the money. The treatment of my family and this adoption by your staff was amazing.
During a stressful final few weeks of the adoption process, it was a wonderful calm to work with you all and to feel all of the support. Your mission is changing lives for generations.
My sweet daughter is 11. She was in the orphanage since she was 2 or 3. Her file had her listed as blind and having cerebral palsy. Many families viewed her file and declined to proceed due to her listed medical needs (this according to her orphanage social worker).
As we grew closer to travel, it became apparent to me that Chelsea was not blind but was visually impaired. I was also uncertain that cerebral palsy was the cause of her disability.
When the orphanage officials turned her over to me, they handed me a child who was sweet and loving with a never ending smile, but conversely with a deep sadness in her eyes and a hunched over posture. The first seconds I saw her, she opened bags of snacks - shoving the entire bag in her mouth, food flying everywhere. They handed me a bag of diapers and told me she was diapered at night.
The child before me now is an entirely different girl. Her light started shining loudly and brightly the moment we began our journey together. We ditched the night time diapers on Day 2 and she never once had an accident. Her belly is now full and she lets me know when she is done eating, rather than storing food in her mouth. Her previously shaved and clipped hair is growing - she asked for long hair the first day she became my daughter - long hair and earrings.
The girl I was told was blind now loudly exclaims every color (in English) that she sees - she sees colors - she is NOT blind. We thought perhaps she had CVI (a brain perception disorder affecting vision) - she does NOT. She has small optic nerves and is near sighted. She gets her first pair of glasses ever today. Hormone testing happens this week to ensure she doesn't have a deficiency causing the small optic nerves.
Her pediatrician is doubtful on the cerebral palsy diagnosis. Chelsea does in fact have a club foot and was placed in a wheelchair full time several years ago. Our pediatrician feels my daughters leg spasticity and weakness may be a direct effect of not using her legs due to the untreated club foot.
Referrals and appointments are happening.
Chelsea has completed 3 weeks of 5th grade in our local public elementary school with many many support services to help her make her way.
My daughter is the greatest joy in our life. We all needed her more than she needed us I am certain. She is loving, kind, thankful, and smiles every minute she can. She knows when she accomplishes something new and she shreaks with joy over it. She loves her brother and my son loves her dearly. She has a long road ahead of her as she learns how to use her eyes and learns to read, as we explore how to treat her legs and foot and help her get as mobile as possible. But thanks to you all, we were able to start down that road ASAP and bring my baby girl home without further delay.
On a side note, I spoke with Cynthia prior to my departure to bring Chelsea home. We talked a lot about the wheelchair the orphanage would give her. The wheelchair was no good and fell apart on the street in China. Having a stroller (Cynthia's suggestion) was a life saver.
We did it. My sweet girl did it. She is brave and wonderful and a testament to what love and family can rapidly do to change a life. I have attached pictures of Chelsea from the day they handed her to me (red puffer jacket in wheelchair) and pics through this week. The transition is evident in pictures.
My sweet girl loves to learn English, she LOVES to sing and she sounds beautiful doing so, and she LOVES piano.
Thank you for being part of our story and for your kindness and generosity.
Leo - China 2018
Thank you so much for the support from A Child Waits to help bring Leo home!! He has acclimated so we'll into our family and we are so thankful! The open heart surgery he had in China was a success and he will only require yearly follow up. Our girls love having a little brother and we love having a son! I have attached some pictures. Thank you again for your support in making it possible!
Ruby - China 2018
We are writing to thank you for the much needed grant that you provided us with to travel to bring our daughter home!! We really cannot say enough how much we appreciate your organization and the commitment you have to bring children home to their forever families. The money and the method of delivery allowed us so much peace so that we could continue to focus our time and thoughts on preparing for our daughter. You all have such beautiful hearts and our lives have been so touched by your generosity!! With thankful hearts.
Zhara - China 2018
I wanted to take a moment to reach out and thank you for the amazing last minute grant that our family received before traveling to China to get our daughter. We cannot express how helpful it was.
We have been home with out daughter, Zhara, for seven weeks now and everyone is adjusting well. She is an absolute doll and truly completes our family.
Ruby - China 2018
We wanted to let you know that we are home with our precious daughter, Ruby Xiaohong. She has brought great joy to our entire family. Ruby Xiaohong has a vivacious spirit and an exuberance for life that is so fun to see! She may not be able to walk, but that doesn't slow her down much! We are grateful to A Child Waits for the generous donation that helped to complete our adoption. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts!
