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September
1, 2005
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Click on pictures to see the full size!
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HURRICANE RELIEF
Many CHI families who
have adopted or those in the middle of an adoption have been affected by
Hurricane Katrina. Some have lost loved ones, homes and possessions as a
result of this devastating storm. We are asking for your help, adoptive
families helping adoptive families.
As our hearts and prayers go out to the families devastated by the recent
hurricane, CHIF is setting up a fund to assist our adoptive families.
As one of our families wrote us, "Our family is safe. We are in Memphis,
waiting to hear more about our home - we think it is either gone or
severely damaged. Our city, Slidell, was devastated by the hurricane.
Please pray for us."
Help now
Hurricane Katrina Fund
for CHI families in need
Monetary gifts may be donated by credit card through our website
www.CHIFoundation.org or a
check by mail. All donations are tax deductible and should reference
Hurricane Katrina for proper dispersion.
Complete the CHI Foundation
gift
form
and mail it with your check, payable to CHI
Foundation, to:
Children’s Hope
International Foundation
Attn: Brenda Barker
7003 Chadwick Dr, Suite 350
Brentwood, TN 37027
Help make wishes come true by donating
now!
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BACK TO SCHOOL
It's
back-to-school
time for
children here. Time for parents to pack lunches, buy school supplies and
hand out milk money. In return for this service, parents get to make little
speeches on the importance of education. For the children in orphanages,
access to school fees is severely limited.
Click on the picture to help an
orphanage child return to school this year.
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THE DUMMER FAMILY, TX (Russia)
 It’s been a long… long road, but WELL worth it!! When my husband and I saw
Alexander’s pictures for the first time, we fell in love with him. Then
when we saw him face to face in Russia we fell
in love all over again. It sure was hard to leave without him, but we
knew we would have faith in God and we would one day return and that’s what
we are doing on Friday.
The way I found out
about CHI was when you had an informational meeting in Odessa Texas. I’m sure you meet a lot of
people on your travels, but I remember you were very nice and you made
adoption sound so rewarding. You were right, it is a rewarding thing to do.
I wish every nice family would adopt at least one child. We have had to
have a lot of patience, but that is where God took over. Who knows, we
might go down that adoption road again. After all, Alexander is going to
need a sister or brother.
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THE HASTINGS FAMILY, TN (China)
 I would be remiss if I did
not send you a note to tell you that little Gracee is now a Hastings. She is
a beautiful little girl and we are blessed to be her Mommy and Daddy. There
has not been a hitch in China. Our CHI coordinator and our local CHI guide have been wonderful. We know we are far from
Tennessee, but the support and prayers of CHI folks and friends make us feel
right at home. It has been a tremendous experience. Gracee is quickly
adapting to our family. She is now and forever a 'full-fledged' member of
the family. Thank you for all you have done for us in helping us get to this
wonderful place. We know for certain that God is directing all the
details-big and small. We look forward to introducing our precious daughter
to you.
We are so
grateful to Children’s Hope International for guiding (and sometimes
prodding) us along in this wonderful adventure to give Gracee a “forever
family.” From your offices there in Brentwood to CHI offices in St. Louis
to the offices in Beijing, each person has demonstrated a genuine
dedication to the children. At no time during this journey did we feel
like we were all alone; CHI was there every step of the way—from that
first informational meeting to our arrival home at the Nashville airport.
We are so grateful that each CHI staffer has opened themselves up to God
to be used in this very special way. Our lives have been unalterably
changed forever and we are so very happy about that fact. Gracee has
transitioned wonderfully to our family and is a real blessing. As strange
as it may sound to those who have not been down this road, we loved her
before we even met her. When we received that grainy fax image of her tiny
referral photo back in May, we loved her as much as each of our other
children. Thank you for being there at every twist and turn for all of
us--a little girl from Bengbu who needed a family and a family in
Franklin, Tennessee who wanted to love and care for a special little girl
on the other side of the globe.
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THE LUTHER FAMILY, TN (Russia)
 Just
wanted to send you some recent pictures of Jacob. He turned 2 on May 31st
and we have had him a year since yesterday, July 24th. He is truly an
answer to our prayers. He has adjusted so quickly and he is growing up so
fast. His favorite toy is Elmo and his favorite word is
NO. He is your typical, independent toddler. He loves music and playing
outside. Last summer after getting back with him, he would cover his eyes
when we took him outside and now he loves it! It's amazing how much he has
changed in a year. We couldn't imagine our lives without him. Thank you
for everything!
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THE GOWDER FAMILY, TN (China)
Our journey to bring Brooke Dian Yie Gowder
home began on July 19, 2005. We toured Beijing for a few days before
heading to Wuhan. Our CHI representative Wendy was the greatest. She was
always ready, willing and able to help us - no matter what the request.
We received the children on July 25, 2005 at the Civil Affairs office. The
next several days of getting to know each other weren't the easiest for me because she was mad at me - I was the one who took her away from
what she knew and I was also the one who held Emily and Brooke didn't like
it. However she adored her new sister Emily and loved imitating her.
Brooke is 26
months old, potty trained, has a
great appetite and she has a great smile.
She is adjusting well to life in the USA. She is like most 2 year olds,
very independent, quite curious and wants to investigate and get into
everything. She speaks Mandarin Chinese and I speak limited Pinyin
Chinese. We are managing to communicate and teach her English. Of course
"no" was one word she learned quickly. Something we have discovered is that
Brooke will tell me in Chinese that Emily is doing something - funny thing
is, I don't have a clue what she has said - but we figured out that she
was "tattling". She became a US citizen when we landed on American soil
(Chicago) on August 4, 2005.
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THE JOHNSTON FAMILY, TN (Russia)
We just celebrated
our three year “adoption anniversary” of Emily. Hard to believe how quickly
time flies by. Andrew has been home with us about 1 ½ years too.
Everything is going GREAT and we just wanted to say thanks again for all of
your help with the adoption and follow up paperwork!
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THE PATTON FAMILY, TN (Russia)
We've
never been so excited about something in our lives! Thanks is
inadequate for everything you all have done for us. We are blessed for using
Children's Hope!
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NEW CIS ADDRESS FOR TN
Memphis CIS office has moved!
Their new address
is 842 Virginia Run Cove in Memphis.
For adoptive parents: if you re-new
your fingerprints, make sure and tell the CIS office to cable your
information to Embassy in your country of adoption. We want to make sure
they get there before you!
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VIETNAM ADOPTIONS TO RESUME
Everyone
is very excited to hear that good news from Vietnam that adoptions will
resume shortly!!!!
Currently all CHI's licensure paperwork is at the Vietnam embassy being
authenticated. We hope to have it back shortly. Then we will send
everything to our representative in Vietnam who will have it translated and
submit it to the adoption center in Hanoi. According to the adoption
center, they will let us know of our official license 4-6 weeks from
submitting it. We hope to hear the good news next month!!! We have a very
good relationship already with the adoption center due to the few special
needs adoptions we started last year.
Once we
receive our license to work in Vietnam, the special needs cases that were
already in the pipeline will proceed through the process. We hope those
families can bring their children home later this fall. Once we have our
license, we will also be able to submit new dossiers to the adoption center
for new families.
Adoption Process:
There are still a lot of unknowns about
how the process will actually work - wait times, age of children coming
home etc. We ask everyone to be patient and we will have these answers as
soon as we start the first cases. The entire process is changing and we
don’t know how long families will wait from referral time (receiving the
child’s picture) to travel. We do know that
only one trip to Vietnam will be required. Families will travel
after they have received their referral and once they are granted travel
approval. We estimate the one trip to be
2-3 weeks in duration. I am sure the first few families may push the
3 week mark, but as the US and Vietnamese officials get used to the new
system, we hope the timeframe may shorter.
New Provinces:
CHI is currently developing several new provinces and asking to be licensed
in a total of five provinces. The first referrals will come from Ho Chi
Minh City (Saigon), where we have worked in the past and Kien Giang Province
(a new province we have been doing humanitarian aid for the past year). We
are also developing three new provinces; Vinh Long Province, Tra Vinh
Province and Dong Thap Province. All five provinces are located in southern
Vietnam.
Travel:
When traveling to Vietnam, everyone will fly into HCMC (Saigon). If a
family is adopting from a province other than Saigon, they will travel to
the local province where they will spend 5-10 days receiving their child and
obtaining legal documentation. All families will return to Saigon to obtain
the child’s passport and visa which is the last step in the adoption
process. Families can specify a particular province they wish to adopt
from, although wait times may vary depending on the location of the child.
Stay tuned . . .
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CHI FOUNDATION
Join us Sunday, October 9, 2005 from 1:00 pm
to 5:00 pm for our annual Walk for Hope! This event raises money for
children in orphanages who are in need of medical treatment they would
otherwise be unable to receive. It will take place at Granny White Park in
Brentwood, Tennessee.
Besides
being for a great cause, the Walk for Hope is also a great place to
reunite with families you’ve traveled with, been in waiting parents meetings
with, and met anywhere along the adoption journey! It’s also a great time
to meet new families! We will have fun activities for the kids. The
Brentwood police and fire department are also expected to make an
appearance! For the adults we will have a silent auction with a chance to
get lots of good items! We will also provide food and drinks.
We could
use parents who would be willing to help organize children’s games. Also,
if anyone works for a company that would be willing to donate items for the
silent auction and/or be a sponsor, we welcome any and all tax-deductible
gifts!
Please
make plans to join us! Pre-registration for the walk is $15 for adults and
$5 for children under 12 years. Pre-registration also guarantees a Walk
for Hope T-shirt. At the walk, registration is $18 for adult and $7 for
children.
Please
contact Rachel Messer at 309-8109 or
rachelmesser@childrenshopeint.org.
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UPCOMING INFORMATION MEETINGS |
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UPCOMING EVENTS |
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September 10 |
Dossier Class |
8:30 AM |
Children’s
Hope |
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September 10 |
Travel Class |
10:00 -12:00 Noon |
Children’s
Hope |
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September
19 |
Home Study
Group |
6:30 - 8:30 PM |
Children’s
Hope |
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September
22 |
Operation
Hope –Adopting the Older Child |
6:30 - 8:30 PM |
Woodmont
Hills |
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NEW CHI
VIDEO
Click on the photo at left to view the
new CHI video "Threshold of Dreams".
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A MESSAGE FROM BRENDA BARKER |
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It is hard to believe
that school is beginning again already!! (Although we have been in
football, cheerleading and band camps since mid-July!!) It is of course a
great time for new beginnings…and no greater time to start your adoption
plans!
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@childrenshopeint.org
Also serving the following
states: TN, KY, GA, AL, AR, MS, VA and LA |
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Click here to request an
information packet regarding international adoption with Children's Hope
International:
send info, please. . . |
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