A Child Waits Foundation
Adoption Grants & Adoption Loans
International and Domestic Adoption
Family Stories
International Adoption 2016
In 2016 we awarded grants to help 157 children to be adopted from 15 different countries. Some of their wonderful pictures and links to their adoption experiences are below.
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Cole - China 2016
I just wanted to send you a note to let you know that I arrived home with my son, Cole, on March 31st. It's been a bit of an adjustment for his big brother, Tanner, but I think Tanner has really helped make it easier for Cole. Cole adores his big brother and Tanner is getting used to sharing me (and his toys).
The grant I received from A Child Waits Foundation right before travel was a true blessing. It took away the worry of having to come up with funds for the orphanage donation. I travelled to China alone, but had a great time and met several wonderful families during my trip. This was my second adoption from China and it felt really good to be back.
I'm enclosing a few pictures from the trip and a picture of me and my two China boys. Thank you so much for the generous grant and know that I'm forever grateful to your organization for helping me bring Cole home!
Mercy - India 2016
To all the wonderful people at A Child Waits Foundation,
Thank you so very much for helping us bring our daughter Mercy home. We truly do not know how we could have done it without you.
Mercy has been home 6 months and is rather amazing. We are blessed to be her parents and to see her flourish within our family. She is starting to speak words and started walking a couple months ago. She is silly and curious and a maybe little too courageous.
Emily - China 2016
We are home and thrilled to be a family of five! We are blessed with a three, two, and now one year old! Yes, we are busy! Our hands and hearts are full!
The trip was so tough. I don't like to complain but we brought the other girls along because they were too little to leave for 16 days and the meltdowns, sickness, flight delays . . . we are glad that is behind us and home never looked so good! Yet, every single struggle was worth it, so very worth it.
Emily is 19 months and loves to play, giggle, and be chased! She plays peek-a-boo, blows kisses, and is spicy - she was upset this morning because I couldn't fit the doll's shoe on her foot, ha! She has been sick with infections and sleep is difficult but small improvements are being made. She sleeps on me for security and is so bonded with each family member. She is usually the first one up and when she hears her sisters are awake, she starts to squeal and hurries to see them! This tiny blessing has captured our hearts and we are so thankful for her, incredibly thankful!!!! This child we wanted to bless, has blessed us - isn't that just like God?
Thank you for your support! Without grants, we would not have been able to adopt for a third time. While we were truly thankful before having her home, now I can't express in words how grateful we are to have had help climbing that financial mountain that could have kept this child an orphan.
Brendan - China 2016
I wanted finally send you all an update on Brendan Li (aka: Min Li You). We have been home just over 2 weeks and he is doing GREAT!! He is adjusting very well. Is a happy, east going, smart little boy. We went to the doctor today and they took a bunch of X-rays as well as blood work to try and get a definite diagnosis about his OI diagnosis. He has no limitations. In fact, all updates told us he couldn't run or jump and that is not true! We were also told he was shy and a bit introverted, again not true.
We can't thank you enough for the grant we received from your foundation. We finally have our little boy home!
Again, we will never be able to thank you all enough.
I just wanted to send a quick update to you on Brendan who will be home 6 months on September 3, 2016. He is doing FABULOUS!! He has adjusted well with really no issues. He started preschool 2 weeks ago and loves it. I know we are biased but he is a smart cookie! Brendan can already count to 50, knows his ABC's and loves to learn. He is quite inquisitive about everything that is going on around him. Swimming is one of his favorite things to do and he is starting swim lessons next week.
We continue to feel extremely blessed to have him as part of our family. Brendan teaches us something new everyday. I sometimes wonder if we would be where we are without the help of A Child Waits Foundation. You all provided us with the extra umf we needed to be able to travel to China to get him. Thank you, once again, for the grant you all gifted us. We will always be grateful to all of you and what you do daily to help orphans around the world! I've attached a couple of pictures of Brendan for you to see.
Thank you once again!
Ella - India 2016
A Child Waits Foundation and the Nelson Family,
We cannot thank you enough for your very generous grant that helped us bring our little girl home. We are so grateful for your generosity in helping us make this adoption financially possible! Thank you, thank you, thank you!
We have been home for almost two months now and everything has gone amazing! Ella Udita is attaching to us very well and is learning new things every day! Her sense of curiosity and spunk is amazing to watch. She has made huge progress since picking her up in so many areas! She is learning to walk, which she didn’t even try when we first got her. She is eating more semi solid foods now as opposed to just formula and pureed foods! She is trying to stack blocks, playing with puzzles, she started swim lessons a couple weeks ago. This little girl LOVES the water! If she could swim all day she wouldn’t fuss about it! She loves to swing on the swings at the park. This brings on an uncontrollable laughter and usually leaves her mom and I laughing uncontrollably as well! All of her extended family absolutely loves her.! When God was very clearly placing it on our hearts to adopt this beautiful child we had many concerns about the financial aspect and expenses. We put our trust in Him and then as always, He followed through and placed some amazing grant organizations in our path the help us make this dream a reality. Thank you again for your support in helping us bring our daughter home and get to experience all of this with her! We greatly appreciate it!
Mika - Philippines 2016
We have fabulous news~ our daughter, Mika is home, with us, where she belongs!! On February 13th, after mountains of paperwork, a year of riding an emotional rollercoaster, and watching in anticipation as God fought for our precious daughter, we finally had the chance to wrap our arms around her and meet our darling girl for the first time in person. No words can truly describe the experience or the emotions of that day. Our family of five is finally together, and it feels so right. So complete. God continues to show us He IS Mighty to Save!
Our family would like to extend a very heartfelt Thank you for the adoption grant you awarded us. They tell us the adoption of our daughter at her age (14) is truly a miracle. Usually the older children are overlooked and unwanted. Without the assistance of grants such as yours, it simply would not have been possible for us to bring our beautiful daughter home. Our entire journey has been nothing short of an "Only God" story. A journey we could have never traveled alone. Every bit of financial and emotional support, every prayer, every word of encouragement played such an important part. God called us out upon the water, but He certainly did not leave us there alone. thank you for all you do to provide support to families such as ours! Your work is making a huge difference in uniting these precious children with their forever families!
Again, thank you for all you do to help these dear children and the huge blessing you've been to our family! Our hearts are overflowing with joy to have Mika home safely in our arms! From the bottom of our hearts, we thank you.
Ella - China 2016
It’s hard to believe that it’s been a year now since we’ve returned home with our daughter Ella Faith. This past year has been a bit of a whirlwind but my wife and I were able to stop and reflect on our experiences for Ella’s first birthday with our family. An aspect of that reflection is our gratitude to God for providing timely grants through organizations like yours. We regret that it’s been a year since we’ve been in contact, but we wanted to make sure that you knew of our gratitude (even if it's taken this long) and we also want you to see the specific fruit that your labors produce.
So thank you. Thank you for the work that you do that helps families like ours. Of course, the financial support helped immensely. Four plus years ago my wife and I scraped together our initial application fee, trusting that God would provide what we needed when we needed it. Honestly, I was skeptical at first. The road we traveled was not the road we anticipated; starting with Ethiopia and changing to a special needs program through China. Four years later we look back at the journey this has been and we remember the stresses and the joys of the adoption process. We could not have done it without the help of the grants we received, plain and simple. You were necessary and your work was necessary to introduce Ella to us and the community we live in.
But your help didn’t just make the numbers crunch, they encouraged our hearts as well. This might seem overly sentimental, but trust me it’s not. Being the first people in our vicinity to adopt meant that we felt lonely in our process of adoption at times. Your help not only provided funds we didn’t have it also encouraged us that other people cared enough about adoption to sacrifice along with us. It also was a great testimony that God was in control of all of this and was the one ultimately responsible for placing the lonely in families. Your gift met a great financial need, reminded us that we were not alone, and ultimately reminded us that our God is faithful.
So once again, thank you. Thank you for giving what others need so that orphans can have birthdays like we had a few weeks ago. We invited way too many people to celebrate Ella’s first, second and third birthdays and we thanked God for allowing our paths to cross with a little delight from China named Ella. We ate Frozen-themed snacks and enjoyed celebrating a girl worth celebrating. She is more than we expected and more than we deserve. Thank you from the bottom of our full and grateful hearts.
Elyse - China 2016
A year ago we were on a bullet train, speeding through the fields and villages of China. As we watched the countryside flash past our windows we were so thankful to finally be here, on our way to meet our daughter. The next day a frightened screaming little girl was put into our arms and we began our journey to win her trust and her heart.
Presently Elyse is doing well. She has quickly picked up the English language and is learning new words every day. She is definitely attached to her family and is the happiest when she is at home with us. She pedals her trike, jumps on the trampoline and plays on the swings like any lively toddler. Everyone agrees that her giggle is adorable and contagious!
That day we were on the train speeding toward Zhengzhou, we talked of how thankful we were for all the people that had helped bring us to this point. A year and many medical bills later, we are even more thankful for the financial assistance you gave us at the time of her adoption. Without the help of others Elyse would not be enjoying improved health, and most importantly, the security and love of a family. Thank-you once again for blessing our family. We are most grateful.
Greyson - China 2016
We made it home but have had some crazy turn of events. Our son truly shines! He has a zest for life and is all boy! We have him home and on oxygen 24 hours a day and we are now waiting to see what medical options we have. His heart is by far more complex than originally thought so for now we are truly treasuring each day. We have our son home with us because of the generosity of your foundation! Many many thanks!
Owen - China 2016
Dear A Child Waits Foundation,
We have been home for 2 weeks from China with our new son Owen and now that things have settled down some we wanted to be sure to send you an update to let you know how things are going, and most importantly, to thank you again from the bottom of our hearts for your hugely generous grant to help us get to where we are today. Looking back at our finances, it's clear that without your grant we would simply not have had the funds needed for the travel expenses to bring our son home. I had originally thought we'd be using a credit card if we had to, but we don't even have enough room on one to have covered that much! We went into this adoption not really knowing where we would find the money, but knowing in our hearts that God would provide and we would find a way to bring our son home. And He did, through your foundation. Thank you just doesn't seem adequate, but thank you, thank you so so much for the part you played in bringing our son home for good!
Owen is a very active, curious, and headstrong little boy. He fits in so well with our other children and even though it's only been 2 weeks since he's been home, already we can't imagine this silly, stubborn, sweet little boy anywhere but here. We are so blessed to have found him, so blessed to have been able to bring him home, so blessed to have him as our son!!
Lucy Mei - China 2016
Thank you so much for blessing our family with a grant from your organization. We greatly appreciate your generosity and helpfulness in easing some of our financial burden due to our adoption!
We traveled to China from June 29-July 15 and are very glad to be home. We met our daughter, Lucy, on July 4th and she is doing very well! She seems to be adjusting and getting more and more comfortable with us and her surroundings. We love her so much and are so grateful that we were able to be part of the miracle of her adoption.
Thank you deeply
Kolia, Yulia, Natasha and Vova
Ukraine - 2016
Hello everyone at A Child Waits!
Here are two photos we would like to share. The first is shortly before boarding the plane in Kiev to fly home (Apr 15), and the second is a family photo on Mother's Day! Thank you so much for helping us complete our family through adoption. God's provision was amazing and specific! I was in Ukraine for 77 days (my husband had to make 3 different trips due to work). My time there allowed some time for divine appointments. We hope to continue ministry in some capacity in Ukraine in the future. We continue to follow the Lord's leading. Thank you for being faithful to Him!
Selah - China 2016
My husband and I would like to take a moment to thank you for your donation to our adoption. We became a family of 4 on Nov. 22 and were back in the US on Dec. 2. Since then, we have grown to love our little girl. She just turned 3 years old and is picking up English fast! She is stubborn, sweet and has a smile that melts everyone's heart. We all cannot imagine life with out her.
I offer our sincere thankfulness at your grant. We received only two other grants and were very discouraged, then we received your grant for our travels! It was an amazing experience and the donation was not just a monetary boost (that we so needed) but it was also an emotional boost. We knew that people did care about two middle class teachers who were trying to make a difference by bringing home a little girl to love. Thank you all so much!
Mabel - China 2016
In 2014, after seeing the documentary Bulgaria’s Abandoned Children, we were moved to adopt a blind child from that country’s orphanages. With no money to start the process, it was truly an act of faith for us to take the plunge and work towards this adoption. Community support was overwhelming as was the support of grantors and in April of 2014 our precious Anelia (then age 6, blind, "globally delayed') came home to our family.
When our hearts became open and ready for another child we asked friends on social media if they could look for a blind child in a Chinese orphanage. Our precious Mabel was in an orphanage in Nanchang, China, and when we finally were able to pick her up she was 2 ¼ years old.
Mabel has been gobbled up by her loving siblings and parents and become part of our family so quickly that it seems like she was always here. In the first three weeks home with us our petite (and underweight) peanut gained three pounds and seems determined to gain enough to be at her ideal weight. She has transformed from an introverted, scared little girl to an active member of this family. She loves music, moving around and her new siblings.
We love the newest member of our family and are glad that the generosity of organizations such as A Child Waits Foundation are there to help make it happen. Thinking of Mabel without the opportunities she now has, and without her family ready to love her up, makes us sad, and grateful that we could bring her home to be with us. It also makes us all the more thankful for the grant we received from A Child Waits Foundation.
May - China 2016
Hello A Child Waits!
We are home with our new daughter, May (Zheng Shi Mei). Thank you so much for helping to make this possible. May is doing great! We have had no problems with bonding - she is a very loving and adorable little girl. We are so blessed - thanks again for your help!
Jaekidson - Haiti 2016
We arrived home with Jeakidson on April 1. He is doing well so far with so much change. We are so blessed to have him home. We are seeing more smiles that we hadn't seen before.
We are so grateful for the grant received by your Foundation in helping to bring him home.
Anne - China 2016
"Shy and Timid"
On the documents I received telling me about my little girl, those were the words used to describe her personality- shy and timid. She was tiny-swimming in 18 month clothing at 2 years of age- and recoiled in tears from anyone she didn't know, to cling to the nanny she knew. I was worried. Between my kids and my roommate's kids, she would be the fifth child home. How could she possibly hold her own? When I picked her up from her director, she was terrified. Then she got used to me, then my roommate, then the rest of the family, and her extended world.
And then she exploded with personality. All of a sudden she was feisty and fierce. 10 pounds of sass in a 5 pound bag. I was no longer worried of whether or not she could hold her own but whether we could hold our own! Apparently, she had been hidden inside and once she felt safe and loved and home, she could be free. Now she sings Frozen songs at top volume while prancing around the house and charms new friends rather than running from them. She still loves to be held my mom (which I treasure) but there's no question she's taking the world by storm.
Zabdiel - China 2016
We are extremely grateful to A Child Waits Foundation for their generous donation! It helped so much with our adoption expenses! Our hearts had felt the call to adopt for a while now and after out first adoption we felt compelled to adopt again! Needless to say we are completely in love with our children and if given the opportunity we'd do it again in a heartbeat.
We've been home with our son a little over 3 months now. We cocooned with him for 5 weeks to help him adjust to his new home and family. He's doing great! He's a smart, sweet little boy. His brother is so happy to have him to play with, and we do not see our lives without him. In the short amount of time he's been with us he's learned so much and has adjusted so well to his new family. Everyone loves him! He has a smile that melts any heart and he is so loving! We are again, so grateful to you for helping us bring him home! There are no words. We pray God abundantly blesses each and every one of you at A Child Waits Foundation.