All Children Are Special

When you begin to look into adoption one of the first questions you will be asked and will ask yourself is what are you willing to consider as far as age and special needs. Age is considered a category of special needs as well. You have to honestly evaluate yourself, your home, your family and decide. And that can be hard, really hard. How do you look at the faces of children and turn around and say, “Not that one. She is beyond my capabilities?” How do you even know what you are capable of handling? How do you even know what a specific special need would entail?

This is the first in a series of posts you will see weekly to help in some of those choices.  I am connecting with parents that have adopted children with specific special needs and interviewing them so you can have a bird’s eye view of what parenting a similar child would look like. We’re going to talk daily life changes, insurance, medical payments to expect and the joys that come with loving these children.

Adoption is not for everyone. It simply isn’t. Orphan care is most definitely for everyone who calls on the name of Christ, but not adoption. Adoption of children with special needs is not for everyone either. Pray long and hard before making that choice, but know this. You are not capable of this journey. You never will be. God gives you the strength for the journey He has for you. He will strengthen your heart. Adoption is a journey of learning to trust the Father and this is the first step of many. Trust Him. Follow His calling on your heart.

Instead of asking yourself if you can handle this I challenge you. Ask yourself rather this. As you turn your head away, as you change your browser back to Facebook are you willing to tell that child to stay there in that orphanage? Can you live with the fact that your “no” condemns them to one more day without love and for some of them a lifetime of horror, some of them death? Is your comfort worth the cost? Our collective “no’s” have condemned them. May our collective yes be the start of their redemption, their rescue.  May we rise up and love as Christ loves us. 

Prepare yourself for the next few weeks. I am hoping that many of you will find yourself falling in love with some of these pictures and realizing that you really could handle this. I am desperately praying that God will use this series to shed some light on the feared unknowns and that at least one person reading this finds themself on the road of adoption because of it. God moves strongly in orphan care, so if you are reading and wondering, know this; I am praying for you. I am praying that you will no longer be able to close your eyes. I am praying that your life is turned upside down and that you give up your worries, concerns, and reasons and go bring one of these sweet kids home. Go! They are waiting for you to say yes. Say yes! Go!

  Say yes to this one!

Special Need: Blind

Year of birth 1999

                    

And This One

Special Need:  Thalassemia

Year of birth:2007

(There is a massive blood shortage in China and

these children are dying if not adopted. Go, go, go!)

  

This one

Special Need: Albinism

Year of Birth: 2011

Have mercy ya’ll. If you don’t I will!

Look at that adorableness.

Some of these children are agency specific so please email me at hookedonfaith05@gmail.com for more information.

--Katie

Stuck

"The right to a family is a basic human right. Our policies have to start recognizing that."

Have you heard about the new documentary, Stuck? I saw this floating around Facebook in the past week and I did some research and found that it's playing in my area in April. A fairly large group of adoptive and foster moms are all planning to attend together.

"The film follows Tihun from Ethiopia, Nate from Vietnam, and Erickson and Therline from Haiti on their individual voyages from orphanages in their native countries to their homes with families in the United States."

Go check it out and see if Stuck is coming to your city. You can even volunteer to help promote Stuck in your area. Some easy ways are sharing on Twitter and Facebook, but they are also in need of filling other volunteer positions such as audience recruiter, or faith community liaison. How can you help be a voice for children who are stuck? 

Don't forget to go give to our featured family this week: the Smiths! They're traveling next week to bring home their 13 year old daughter from China! She's been stuck far too long, but now she's coming home to her forever family! You can play a vital part in bringing her home. Give! A lot of people giving a little can make a BIG difference! Share about G1S1Asia on social media. Spread the word about Give1 Save 1. Go give us a little like on Facebook and share about our featured families! 

There's lots of good stuff going on over here and we're glad you're on this journey with us! 

~Paula

New Week--Meet the Smith Family!

  

Thanks for joining us! We are so happy to welcome the Smith family to our blog this week! They are a fellow mid south family and we're excited to be part of their journey.  Phil and Niki Smith are adopting a beautiful daughter from China.  This is their 2nd adoption in a under a year!!  They are traveling to China next week to bring home their sweet 13 year old daughter.  She will be welcomed by her 2 sisters and brother.    Read more about this sweet family on their BLOG.  (<<check it out!)  Get your paypals ready and be prepared to love this family.....here's their video.

Meet the Smiths!                                                                                  

                                         LOVE THEM!

                                            

From Niki...

We have been called to adopt and completed our first adoption July 2012. Within a few weeks of being home from China we were called to adopt another daughter that is deaf-mute. We were tapped out on finances from our first adoption and to make things more interesting, our second daughter is 13 years old and will age out 3/9/2013 (just a few weeks & she will no longer be able to be adopted because she will be 14 years old). We are in a race with time to try and raise the funds within the next few weeks!  We have faith in our Maker and  for our journey and financial need to be met. 



I told you! I knew you would love them.  Let's bless them this week as they prepare to bring Guan Ya HOME to her family!  Go ahead and DONATE to them now. And will you also share their story on your own Facebook/Twitter/blog, etc? I knew you would.
Thank you for sharing with the Smith family. Have a wonderful week!

Say Hey To Our New Blogger!

Happy Friday!! What are your plans for the weekend? I'm going to catch up on some reading and that's about it.
I'm very excited to introduce our newest contributor on our blog. Paula Sloan will start writing next week and I'm so happy to have her on board.  Read a little more about her and her family...

Growing up in Nashville, Tennessee, Paula had a burden for orphans very early in life. She knew that her future family would include adopted children. Michael and Paula met in college and got married in 2002. Living in Memphis, the Sloan family now has two awesome biological boys (Robert, 9 and Andrew, 7), and a precious daughter adopted from South Korea (Zoe, 3, adopted at 14 months).

Since taking the leap of faith to bring Zoe home, they have had a part in uniting 27 children with their forever families. God has called the Sloan family to another adventure. Through a crazy, BIG, God miracle, the Sloans are hosting a Latvian (Eastern Europe) boy with New Horizons for Children this summer and working his adoption at the same time! Viktors is almost 12 years old. He will be joining the Sloans in Memphis for five weeks this summer, and home forever shortly after that.

Paula is a former early childhood teacher and former children’s ministry leader. Paula has been blessed as a stay at home mom since 2008. Homeschooling their children, Paula’s days are primarily spent pouring over math workbooks, teaching phonics, and shuttling children to their various activities.

Paula spends time looking at photo-listings, praying over their orphaned faces, and advocating for them to find their forever families. Paula believes that EVERY child deserves to live in the love of a family and she’s determined to help as many children as possible to have just that!

Paula is thrilled to be a new contributor here on the Give1 Save1 Asia page. If you’d like to follow their family blog, hop on over to http://www.supersloans.com .

These are their children! Viktors, on the right, will join their family this year.






I'm very excited to have Paula on board with us! Spread the word about Give1Save1Asia (and all of our other pages!) to your friends. We're all on Facebook and we're always looking for new families to feature.  Check back next week for our newest family to support!

Shopping, Anyone??

Hello!! I hope you're having a great day!
Want to do some shopping and help the Shaws out at the same time? Check out their Adoption Auction  that's underway now.  I saw jewelry, bows, 31 Gifts, toys, art......lots of good stuff! And you'll be helping bring Toby home! Oh, and there's a very cute picture of him on the blog, too;)

The Shaws and the Rylands families will be traveling very soon to bring their boys home.  Take a look at their blogs to follow along and see what's going on.


Happy shopping, y'all! Thanks for supporting our families!

It's Monday! Time to Give!

Hey and happy Monday! We are welcoming the SHAW family back for their 2nd week on the blog. If you missed their article and video last week, catch up here! You can give to them using the big "donate" button on the side.  Also, be sure to check out the other pages of Give1Save1!  Africa and the Caribbean have families this week, too!

Here's a note from Amy Shaw.....

"It has been a great blessing to be featured on this loving and serving blog! We have been blessed with just over $250 in generous giving! We are so thankful to each of you who have joined our story!
Today our Article 5 was picked up and delivered to the CCCWA. This means that we now begin awaiting our travel approval! This could be issued in a matter of days or weeks. Once we get it we will be cleared to come to China and buy our plane tickets!
We are still in a funding deficit and are praying for God to fund the conclusion of this adoption just as He has every step along the way. When it's go time we must wire China all our in country fees on top of buying plane tickets. It's a hefty amount of money to us, but we know God has it covered! Trusting God to pave the way from here to Toby!"


Thanks, friends! I hope you have a great week and thank you for your generosity! Thanks for stopping by today!

Happy Valentine's Day!

This has been a busy week! Chinese New Year, Ash Wednesday, Valentine's Day....lots going on! What are you doing to celebrate? Do you love or hate Valentine's Day? I love it.  Even if I don't do anything exciting, I still love it!  

(Cute craft...)

                                     

Have you seen the Europe page yet? Or our other pages?  Go take a look! The Shaws aren't the only family on our blog this week.

                                                        (another one...)

                                                    

You like these? You can make them with your kiddos.  They have more crafts to do, too.  Have fun!

Happy Valentine's Day! Eat some chocolate!

Welcome to Give1Save1 Europe!

Hey! Thanks for giving to the Shaw family! Go ahead if you haven't yet.  (the big donate button to the left takes you straight to their paypal) You're awesome.

Guess what? The Europe page is up and running! Woohoo!  Spread the word about this page to your friends and fam who are adopting from European countries.  Go take a look now and meet Katie....Give1Save1Europe!
They have a Facebook page, too.  Actually, we all have Facebook pages!  ASIA,  Caribbean,  Africa, and  Domestic.

We love the Give1Save1 community.....that's all of you! Thanks for being you!
                                                      

New Week--Meet the Shaws!

Hi there!  I'm so glad you stopped by.   Happy Chinese New Year!!  We are excited to have the Shaw family on the blog this week to help us celebrate!     Brian and Amy are adopting a sweet little boy from China. His name is Toby, he's 2 1/2  and he will join his brothers and sisters who are waiting for him!  He has Arthrogyposis Multiplex Congenita and is such a handsome little guy. They anticipate traveling around March (that's soon!!)  and are super excited! You can read more about their family on their blog Feet2OurFaith.

Go ahead and watch their video and get ready to give to this precious family.  You're going to love them. 

Are you ready to support the Shaws? Help them kick off Chinese New Year with a bang!
Pray for the Shaws this week.  Share this page on your own Facebook pages, tweet it and blog about it!

Thank you for being such a generous group! How are you celebrating the new year? If you have any fun pictures of your kiddos celebrating, post them on our Facebook page. Have a great week!
                                                        

Hosting

Hi there! I hope you're having a good week! Did you come by to donate to the Saylors?  Well, go right ahead!

Have you ever thought about hosting?  Your family could host a child or sibling group from Latvia or the Ukraine for the summer, in your home.   (You can host during Christmas time, too.) You would give them the opportunity to experience life in a real family, in the U.S.   They can learn English, have fun with your family, try new foods, make memories....   The children in the hosting programs are usually available for adoption, but agreeing to host does not mean that you will be able to adopt them.  (Believe me, there's a lot more paperwork involved! Being approved to host is relatively easy.)  So, take a look at New Horizons For Children and see the children available for hosting.  You could give one (or more) of these children a wonderful family experience; this means a lot to children who may have never experienced a positive family relationship.  Think about it--pray about it!

Loving a child who needs it is a big deal.  You can be involved in caring for these children even if you aren't able to adopt them.    The hosting program is always in need of donations for their program, too.  It subsidizes the host family's fees. -- You can also keep up with them on their Facebook page.

Have a great week! Thanks for stopping in:)
                                                  

Saylor Family and Picture Updates

Hey, you!! It's already February! Geez...that was fast! How are you doing with your goals/resolutions, etc? Or did you make any? Mine have been pretty hit and miss. Time to refocus a bit. Since we're hanging out at home today, I think I'll do just that!

Since we don't have a new family this week (but we do next week!), we're asking you to continue supporting the Saylors!  (<<watch their video)  They're adopting Mycah, this handsome 4 year old! I want to hug him!  Donate and share their story this week on your own pages.  MANY THANKS!
                                                

Take a look at these sweet pictures from previous families you've supported.  Many of them have brought their children home and I wanted to share that with you!

Remember the Campbells? They brought sweet Maya Grace home.  Look at these 3 beautiful sisters!

 And the Penlands? (<<check out her blog article) They brought their 2 sweeties home, too!    The Tuckers also brought home both of their children!  Here's a family photo...

                                        And here's the Jackson

family!  They brought home their baby girls--here they are meeting their brother:)

 

I love seeing updates from our families! Don't you? It's exciting!

 

Have a beautiful Sunday wherever you are!

“For it is in giving that we receive.”
― St. Francis of Assisi