We decided to adopt in July of 2001. After years of infertility and heartache, we chose to adopt. We began reading stories on the Internet about abandoned children and came across a web site out of Detroit Michigan: Parent and Child Services and decided to meet with them. That is how the process started.
We had home study visits and then began paperwork, we then chose Great Wall of China Adoption Agency. We had joined a Website group for adoptive parents and only heard the utmost respect for Great Wall. They were very helpful about completing the dossier process and answering questions along the way.
Our dossier was logged in on January 17, 2002 and the wait began. Though the wait was so long we were so lucky to already have a son, Justin age 8 at the time. He got anxious at times too. We began reading books and reading stories on the internet and knew with each passing day that there was a little baby girl in china waiting for us, and no matter what obstacles came in our path that we were to proceed.
Then on February 26, 2003 we got a phone call and a picture
via the internet of our little baby girl. The pictures put a face - her face
on what had been a stack of papers, a mound of red tape and of course hope.
We connected with our child even before we had this picture and before she had
laid eyes on us. She was found abandoned on the Chongqing Treasury Department
steps on September 15, 2002, her birthday is August 14, 2002 so that means her
poor mother had kept her hidden for one month before bravely giving her up to
a better life than she could have given her. Looking at her referral picture
- knowing what pain her mother must have felt, but silently thanking her for
giving her to us - by adoption.
Then we anxiously awaited our travel approval which we received on April 12,
2003, we were to travel to China on May 8, 2003. We had the S.A.R.S. scare into
us, but we knew in our hearts if the path was still open to go to China to get
our baby then we were going to take it. We had a wonderful trip and received
our little JENNA LYNN XIN WILKERSON on May 11, 2003 which is Mothers Day of
all days. From that moment on our lives have changed and so has hers. Jenna
will no longer lie in her crib and cry and wait for someone to come, if ever,
to comfort her or just be cuddled and loved. Because we - her family that was
meant to be by God in heaven will always be there to love and nurture her. Sometimes
we look at Jenna and think - what if we couldn't have gone to get her, would
she still be lying there?? We are so blessed as is she. We returned home on
May 22, 2003 with our daughter, after 22 hours of travel and crossing the International
Date Line.
We endured financial woes and that is where A Child Waits Foundation came into the picture. We heard about the Foundation through my sister who works for someone who donates to the Foundation and he recommended that we get in touch. God works in mysterious ways - even though A Child Waits is listed on Great Walls website; we felt we would never qualify, so we did not apply, but thankfully we came in contact through another way. We hope you continue to help others like us bring children home from other countries, because the children need our help and love. The Foundation and staff are wonderful.
We, thank you very much
Wade and Michelle Wilkerson
Children: Justin and Jenna