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May
1, 2005 |
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Click on pictures to see the full size!
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OPERATION
HOPE RETURNS TO TENNESSEE!!
Operation Hope comes to
Nashville, TN in mid-June 2005!
A group of eight to 10
school-age orphans from Russia will arrive here to spend three weeks of
their summer vacations with host families who are seriously interested in
adopting them. We
hope to bring nine wonderful school-age children from Russia to their
American host families. We have received information on these great kids and
are now looking for families for three 9 - 11 year-old boys and a
sibling group of two girls! Our goal is to
help these beautiful and smart kids find their forever families.
It is still not too
late to sign up to participate in this wonderful program to host and then
adopt an older child. Or, if you do not plan to adopt but
would like to help us bring the children to the US to find their forever
families, you can make a donation to Children's Hope Foundation. Since 2000,
CHI hosted 140 older children through Operation Hope and 133 have been
adopted as a result of this program. For more information please e-mail
Tanya@childrenshopeint.org.
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THE
DAVIS FAMILY, TX (China)
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THE DONNER FAMILY, FL
(China) |
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Here is our latest picture of the kids. Jaxon is 6, Mollie is almost 4 and
Jin Lin is 11 months. Everything is great here. Thanks so much for all
your help.
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We wanted to let you know that
Katherine is doing great. She is extremely fun to be around and everybody
that she meets loves her. Thank you so much for working with us.
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FAMILY REUNION, TN & LA (China)
Summer is a great time
to renew orphanage friendships!
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THE RYAN FAMILY, AL (China)
We think she is a
doll too. It seems like she has always been in our life and we can’t
imagine life without her. As always, we cannot thank you and Children’s
Hope enough for all your help in making this happen. Sabrina was a
wonderful coordinator for us over in China. Everything over there was made
so easy for us. Thank you again!
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THE EARLS FAMILY, TN (Russia)
Joseph is doing great—such a joy to us! I go this week to register him for
Kindergarten It’s hard to believe that we have had him for a year and a
half! We are all doing great. In looking back over the past year
and a half, we are so amazed at how far Joseph has come. He is "the most
wonderful child in the world". Bet you just never hear that from anybody.
Well, he is the most wonderful child in the world to us at any rate. We
love him so, so much. He does so many cute and funny things everyday and is
such a joy to us. Everyone calls him "Mr. Personality". He is so full of
life and loving every minute of it. Knowing where he came from and where he
is now is so inspiring. |
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THE COCHRAN FAMILY, TN
(Colombia)
Our
newest Colombian arrival to the Southeast!
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THE SINGLETARY FAMILY, TN (China)
Hannah
is already 17 months old. I cannot believe we have been home for 7 months
already. Wow, how time flies. We just enrolled Tyler in kindergarten for the
fall and he is SO excited. Jacob is a very busy 2 year old and keeps me on
my toes!! =) They love their little sister and love making her laugh. It is
so much fun to watch them grow closer. Our family is truly blessed.
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NATIONAL COUNCIL FOR ADOPTION GALA
 Carlos
and Emily Gamundi, who are waiting for a referral from
Colombia recently attended the National Council for Adoption (NCFA) Gala in
DC.
It was
the 25th anniversary for the NCFA. Many senators,
representatives, and dignitaries were present. President Bush and First
Lady Laura Bush were the honorary chairs of the event. It was amazing to
see so many supporters of adoption. Even more amazing was the fact that
almost every person in the room was touched by adoption in a very special
way. There were may adopted children in attendance as well as many adoptive
parents. Awards were given for people who had worked rigorously in the
cause of adoption.
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 NEW
ADDITION TO CHI FAMILY
Vonda Hunter, our China Program
Specialist, and her husband Stephen, sons Hop and Ben, were pleased to
receive the referral of their daughter April 18! Wan Jin Lan was born May
9, 2004 in China.
Congratulations to the family!
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HUMANITARIAN AID |
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 Thanks
for all the wonderful response to our recent Trivia Night! We all had a
great time, realizing what we do not know!! And, the best part of all is
that $2000 was raised to help children who are victims of AIDS/HIV. 1.4
million children are living with HIV/AIDS worldwide and over 1,700 children
are infected each day. 20% of all deaths from AIDS are children. And this
does not even include the children who are orphaned due to their parents
having AIDS/HIV. Please feel free to continue to send donations if you were
not able to come to the Trivia Night.
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VIETNAM
UPDATE
On the heels of the bilateral agreement signed between Vietnam and
France, the U.S. State Department has issued a status report on the
ongoing negotiations between the U.S. and Vietnam.
According to the statement, a Vietnamese delegation will be invited to
Washington, DC in May, contingent on the receipt of a revised draft
agreement to establish protocols that could be the key to reopening the
program for U.S. citizens. It is not known how close the two countries
are to reaching an agreement, but this has to be considered a positive
step.
Background
In January, 2003, the Vietnamese government enacted policies to limit
the referrals of children for international adoption only to countries
with which it has a bilateral agreement to cover procedures and details.
Since that time, one-on-one agreements have been negotiated with 5
countries: in 2004, agreements were signed with Denmark, Italy, Sweden,
and Ireland, and now in 2005, with France.
As an interesting note, 2005 marks the 30th anniversary of "Operation
Babylift," which, in a series of flights in 1975, evacuated more than
2600 children under the age of 10 from Vietnam to the U.S., Canada, and
Europe. For more on the Babylift, timelines, connection points, and
personal stories, visit
http://www.vietnambabylift.org/.
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RUSSIA
UPDATE
There
are lots of things going on with the Russia program and it is changing by
the minute! Accreditation should be in the next few weeks! We are
seeing more families travelling as well! Please see our website
www.childrenshope.com under Latest News.
Then you can click on the link at the top or go to the Russia section and it
will take you to the same update.
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CHI REUNION
PICNIC
Mark your
calendar for the CHI Reunion Picnic 2005. July 23rd :10:30 a.m.
to 5:00 p.m. Again this year we will gather at Queeny Park in St. Louis for
a one day event, for families to share or relive adoption experiences. Over
1000 people joined in the fun last year.
Go to
www.childrenshope.com/ReunionPicnic2005.htm
for details on Hotels, Location, Photos from 2004 and an application form.
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UPCOMING INFORMATION MEETINGS |
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UPCOMING EVENTS |
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May 3 |
Reception for Russia Team member--Vitaly |
8:30 AM |
Children’s Hope |
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May 13 |
Operation Hope Orientation #1 |
6:30-8:30 PM |
Woodmont
Hills |
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May 14 |
Family Life Conference |
8:30-4:30 |
Fellowship Bible Church |
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May 16 |
Home Study
Group |
6:30-8:30 PM |
Children’s Hope |
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May 21 |
Dossier
Class |
8:30 AM |
Woodmont Hills |
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May 21 |
Travel Class |
10:00 -12:00 Noon |
Woodmont Hills |
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A MESSAGE FROM BRENDA BARKER |
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Happy Mother's Day! May is filled
with joyful moms! But for waiting moms this can be a time of longing. I
know the sting of infertility and know your pain! Please let us know how
we can help you! Also, we rejoice with those of you who are mothers -
whether for the first time or the tenth time! There is no greater joy. If
you are contemplating adoption, there is no better time! Let us hear from
you!
We don't want to
burden you with a lot of information, but we do want to help you if you
are looking for a way to adopt. If not, please let us know and we will
regretfully remove your name from our newsletter. E-mail me at my
address below with any question you have.
I would love
to hear from you.
Brenda
Southeastern
U.S.
Brenda Barker,
Director
7003 Chadwick Dr. Suite 350
Brentwood, TN 37027
615-309-8109 Fax: 615-309-8483
Brenda@ChildrensHope.com
Also serving the following
states: TN, KY, GA, AL, AR, MS, TX and LA |
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