September 1, 2006

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The Chartier Family, LA (China)

I am just sending an updated photo of Matalyne.   She is such a joy and blessing to us.  She has grown and changed so much in what seems like such a short time, Dec.5^th 2004 to now.  She will be three in November, but most people think she is older.   She is so smart and so well spoken for a child that knew only Chinese for the first year of her life.   She is taking Mandarin classes, she is in swimming lessons and has advanced to the “progressed 3 to 5 year old class,” she knows the pledge of allegiance by heart…..  oh well, do I sound like a proud mamma……indeed we are so lucky and so blessed.   We cannot thank Children’s Hope enough for our whole experience.  We are a family, we have made lifelong friends, and gained treasured memories from our adoption experience.   Thanks for everything.  

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The Martin Family, TN (China)

 One year ago today, I met Margot Yun Qian in Changsha at the adoption center.  A few short hours later, I became the luckiest mommy in the world!!!   This year has been nothing short of amazing.  I have posted some pictures of Margot from A-Day and thru this first year together on her blog  www.martinmunchkin.blogspot.com  Also this past weekend I was lucky enough to see eight of the other families who shared that magical and amazing time in the Hunan province.  We gathered for a reunion here in Nashville.  All those little babies have grown into toddlers!  I posted the mommy pictures from the White Swan and from this past Sunday on Margot's blog, too.  I am so grateful for my travel group.  It is hard to believe that such a diverse group of people from across the country can mesh so well.  We picked up almost like it was just yesterday that we were in China.  Of course, it feels like it was just yesterday!             
 

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The Bonnema Family, SC (China)

 
Our summer has been busily spent traveling to see family and friends and introduce many of them to our little Tessa Min Yong for the first time.  So many people accompanied us on the journey through adoption to bring her home, and we have been excited to share her with them in the eight months since we have returned from China.

Tessa spent her first 4^th of July as an American in Williamsburg, VA, surrounded by much
of our country’s wonderful history.  Although she wasn’t extremely impressed by the events
and festivities of that special day, she loved the chocolate animal crackers that we found in the historical district.  We are sure that someday she will appreciate the freedoms that she now has as an American.

 While waiting for a flight during one of our trips, I met a man who turned out to be a pastor of a local church.   He asked me if we had prayed for our “own” children (no offense was taken at this question, since none was meant).  I told him yes, and we were given Tessa.  She is the child for whom we prayed for so long!  

 We have truly been very blessed with our precious little girl and greatly appreciate all those at CHI who were part of this wonderful event in our life!

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The Wagner Family,  TX (Russia)

Thanks so much for the call the other day.
It was great talking.
Here are some pics of our little cutie!!
Thanks again for everything.

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The Trombo Family, TN (China)

 We are home now...and wow what a wild ride. The whole experience was incredible and the new adjustment to having a little one quite a challenge, however I truly believe we have the most perfect, wonderful child ever. She is highly intelligent, bright, and funny (Sarah is 15 months and walking and running!) FYI Sarah seems to be adjusting to our household quite quickly, even with our dogs! And she laughs a lot too.

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The White Family, TN (China)

  I thought I would send you a fresh picture.
The Girls love fishing, Emili caught this one.
Thanks for all you do and the CHI for helping make our lives
better than we ever thought it could be.

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The Bush Family, GA (Russia)

   

A few favorites of Amelia

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The Smith Family, GA (China)

Alyssa is such a cutie!

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The Hewitt Family, TX (China)
 

Here’s some pictures of Grace and Halli! A double blessing!!

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The Harpst Family, AL (China)
 

We've never sent a picture of Danna Faith, so we thought her first kindergarten picture would be very appropriate.  This is of her first day going to K-2.

God has used CHI to bless our lives with this little miracle beyond anything we could have imagined.  HE is getting ready to bless us again next year, since we are LIDed for another miracle. Danna Faith is getting excited about going to get her little sister soon, Sarah Catherine.

Thanks to you, Brenda, and all your staff for letting God use you to bring us these little miracles.  Who could ever imagine what they do for our lives - she just blows us away daily.

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The Griggs Family, TN (Russia)

Visiting New York on a family vacation!

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The Mayhan Family, AL (China)

 Life is GREAT here in Huntsville and Anthony is adapting very well.    We've had a busy couple of weeks since we've been back from China with a visit from my sister and a visit to my parent's home in Montgomery.    He knows this is his home and was happy when we returned from my parents.  Anthony is learning English very fast and will imitate anything you say.  He knows the names of his dogs (both of which he was scared at first, but now seem to be his best buddies) and all the names of his relatives.  He is such a joy to be with and I am very blessed to have him in my life. 

 

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The Krempasky-Kuna Family,  TN (Russia)

Tolya and Yana Krempasky on their first day of school.
They look so grown up!  Yana is in second and Tolya fourth.

 

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The Rich Family, FL (Russia)
 

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The Sanderson Family, TN (China)

The sweet and scary Sanderson brothers!

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MacLaughlin Family, TN (China)

                                                     


                                                          We have pictures of Grace!!

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The Bass Family, TN (Russia)
 

Rick and I wanted to send this picture of our two sons, Alek and Caelen, on their first day of school this year.  Thanks to everyone at CHI for blessing us with these two wonderful little boys.  Alek is now a "big first grader" (in his words) and Caelen is beginning kindergarten.  We can not believe the progress they have made since arriving in America in December (2005). God led us to a terrific adoption agency and two loving little boys!



 

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The Dominy Family, TN (Columbia)

It is hard to believe we have only had our girls for three months!  I don’t know what we did without them.  They are nine and ten year old sisters from Colombia. They are bright, thoughtful, funny, spiritual, creative, and beautiful. Both are so affectionate and so grateful to God for their new home.  They have also stole the hearts of many extended family and friends here in the States. They do however miss their sisters who are still in Colombia.  We all pray for them every night.  Our girls describe their sisters as loving, creative, and beautiful.  They love to dance and sing.  They also say that they are very caring and good sisters, who are excellent friends and love family. We all deeply hope that they will find their forever family here in the United States soon.

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The Strickland Family, TN (Russia)



The Strickland family in St. Petersburg

An article written by the Strickland's oldest daughter:

            I am the older sister of two adopted children from Smolensk, Russia. They have been members of my family for almost two and half years now. This summer, Masha (9) and Vanya (8), went with my mom and me for ten days back to Russia. After a twelve-hour plane ride we landed in Moscow and were immediately immersed in the world of Russia. Masha and Vanya had been having a Russian tutor come to our home in an effort to maintain some if not all of their Russian. From these efforts they were able to understand almost everyone, but had trouble speaking.

            After a few days in Moscow and a couple of days spent in St. Petersburg we head west toward Smolensk.  We took an overnight train and were there at six a.m. As soon as we got off the train Galena was there with opened arms. She was the children’s home teacher of my younger brother Vanya. As they embraced tears streamed down their faces, we were all welcomed at once. Everywhere we went the red carpet was rolled out. Masha and Vanya are Russian and for once, they were proud.

            We first went to the children’s home, where they had a tea party set up for us. Also the children put on a show and we were interviewed for TV.  One of Vanya’s good friends was in the process of being adopted to a family in town so he came to see us. It was wonderful, like a big family reunion where you’re the center of attention. The rest of the day, the children’s home teachers, directors, and friends showed us the town and just spent quality time with us.

            The rest of the time spent in Smolensk was spent with family. We got to spend two days with my siblings’ aunt, uncle and cousins. We also went to the hospital to see their birth mother. It was extremely important to my mother that we do that because Vanya, my youngest brother, used to look at his Russian mother’s picture and hit it and cry and tell it how much he hated her. We went and saw her and had a little party. The two mothers took pictures with the two children. That night back at the hotel Vanya, my mother, and I cried for two hours.  My little brother broke. He forgave his bio mother and loved her. That night amidst all the tears my mother promised that he would get to go back and tell her that he loves her.

            The next day we got to see their grandfather and Dad. They hadn’t seen their father since they were adopted and weren’t given the opportunity to say goodbye. So my mother once again thought it was important that we see them and we did. All of us went back to their house and Vanya got to see his cat. We got baby pictures and a stuffed bear that they had when they were little. When we said goodbye, my little sister who hadn’t cried over anything, broke. We all cried and said goodbye. The thing that surprised me the most was something their father had said to my mother, he told her, “Thank you, you are a good women, thank you.”  They were finally allowed to say “goodbye” and “I love you” and allowed to have closure.

            When we got on the train there were over thirty people there to say “goodbye” to us. As the train pulled out of the station, the family and friends walked with it. We all have more family in a little town in Russia than anywhere else in the world. The family of my brother and sister are my family now as I am theirs. The most important thing that we all learned was, you can have two families and love them both equally and deeply and it’s ok. It’s ok to love your birth family and your adopted family and want to be with both. We write letters and send pictures back and forth and keep them in our lives 10,000 miles away.  Love conquers all, even an ocean and 10,000 miles.                          

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 New CHI Yahoo group...                      

At the suggestion of one of our CHI families, CHI has created the CHI Christian Adoption Journey Yahoo group.  This CHI Yahoo group is exclusively for CHI families to share their Christian journey through the adoption process. This Yahoo group is for CHI families
adopting from any of our countries and at any point during or after the
adoption journey.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/chichristianadoptionjourney/

If you are interested in joining, please email Ann the following
information at met9995@swbell.net or ann.tollefson@childrenshope.net

1.  your name (names if married),
2.  the CHI branch you are using,
3.  the country you are adopting/have adopted from,
4.  where you are in the adoption process

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From the Finger Family, TN (Russia & China)...

P.S. - I did not and do not intent to leave on a somber note, but as I look at the faces of the children that share

 this room with our son, I want to encourage all of you. These faces are a reminder of the millions of children like them that are in orphanages worldwide. Please support adoption, in every way, shape, and form. Please support orphans ministries within your churches. Please encourage and support politicians (local and federal) that believe in and support adoption. Please encourage others around you to adopt. Please encourage and support humanitarian efforts to bring water and improved living conditions to orphans worldwide. Above all, please pray for these children (all orphans) and the governments/politicians that make laws that directly effect these children and those that seek to help them in a variety of ways. 

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Announcing CHI's New
Orphan Ministries and Church Outreach Programs

Children's Hope International is very excited to let you know of a new and
wonderful program that is being developed at CHI.

We hear so often from our adoptive parents that they want to do more, that they
 feel they have "a calling" in their hearts to help orphans in need. 

Our new church outreach program will give families the opportunity to take
this fire in their hearts and do something truly wonderful with it. 

We are now creating Packets for Pastor's which will enable you to present Adoption Awareness, Orphan Care, and Orphan Sponsorship to your church and/ or community group.

We hope to bring awareness to the 100 MILLION orphans who
need homes, health and hope in their lives.

 

If you have this fire in your heart, and want to help bring
ORPHAN MINISTRIES into your church or community group, please contact :

Michelle Wehde Howdeshell
Director of Church and Community Outreach
michelle.howdeshell@childrenshope.net
(314) 812-1746

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A great resource for China families...

The Parents and Children's Chinese School (PCCS) has three Nashville locations and offers some excellent classes for kids and parents. The Preschool class is open to families with children 0- 6 years of age (up to 8 years old for the Hermitage class) and waiting families are also welcome to come and learn at the PCCS for a minumim fee.  Also offered is the TCIF (Talk Chinese It's Friday) Language class for Beginners ( preK - 2nd grade, or older children with no or little background in Chinese) and TCIF Intermediate (3rd grade - 7th grade). Josephine Huang is the teacher for each of these programs. Josephine is a specialist of Early Childhood Education, with two masters’ degrees in educational media and technology.
Josephine also offers translation services and private tutoring.
 

To find our more about these services,
check out the PCCS website www.learnchinesetn.com.

You can contact Josephine at josephine@vizion.com or (615) 662-7420.

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CHI's Walk for Hope

Our annual fundraiser, the Walk for Hope, will be held on

Sunday, October 8

Granny White Park, Brentwood

Please watch for more details on time.

This year, we will be joined Galina Savicheva, the CHI representative in Tver Region in Russia, Ms. Alla Zelenina, the head of the Good Start Foundation in Tver Region and the wife of the Tver Region Governor, and Ms. Svetlana Konovalova, the deputy head of the Good Start Foundation. They will take part in the Walk for Hope to meet with our adoptive families and their children, and to learn about fundraising events in the US. This is a unique opportunity for our families who adopted in Tver Region or are getting ready to adopt there, to visit with Galina (those of you have adopted in Tver may have worked with her husband Alexey), as well as to help our honored guests to understand the nature and
forms of fundraising activities in the US.

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Introducing
New Alabama
Outreach Coordinator….
 

Alabama Families.....Please contact Teresa
at teresa.wood@childrenshope.net and #.

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     New CHI Orphan Sponsorship Open!

Since the origins of Children's Hope in 1992, we have given time and money to the needs of orphans wherever we have encountered them. As we became increasingly aware of the immense needs of orphans worldwide, we made the decision to establish an arm of our agency that would encourage others to give as well, thus leveraging our own efforts. We wanted to involve greater forces than our own in order to make a greater impact.

Our first few years of fundraising effort produced some results, but ultimately they were too meager to really meet the vast needs of orphans worldwide.  Direct mail, grant writing, one-time appeals, and "orphan train" events all had their moments of exhilaration, but overall they did not produce many dollars to give to children in need. So, after much research and consideration, CHI has developed  an orphan sponsorship program to meet the needs of thousands more orphans worldwide. 

Visit http://orphan.childrenshope.net/ to see
how YOU can sponsor and orphan child.

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Return to China with

Children's Hope
 

Beginning in Fall 2006, CHI is offering Return to China tours to our adoptive families.  Let your child experience China in the company of children with faces and stories similar to her own.  Return to China with CHI!

Click on the brochure picture
for further details.

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China Update

Many rumors are being currently spread about new requirements
for adoptive families that China may institute. Please know that
we will continue to keep you informed and will update
you with any factual information we receive.

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Upcoming Information Meetings 

UPCOMING EVENTS

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A MESSAGE FROM BRENDA BARKER

It is hard to believe that Summer is almost over, and Fall is just around the corner!!  This is a great time to begin working toward your dream of adoption as well!  We are ready to help you make this journey of love!

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
 229 Ward Circle, Suite C-22
 Brentwood, TN  37027
 615-309-8109   Fax: 615-309-8483
brenda.barker@childrenshope.net

Also serving the following states: TN, KY, GA, AL, AR, MS, VA, LA & SC

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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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