With the help of his foster grandpa, John has mastered the art of going forward. John formed an immediate connection with his foster grandpa when he joined our Fuyang foster care program at age five. At the time, little John was recovering from spinal surgery and had experienced quite a bit of trauma (see his previous blog, “The Land of Counterpane…and Beyond”(. Learning to walk again required braces on his legs, which he still wears and may wear forever. Together John and his grandpa navigated through his recovery and continue to improve his mobility, not letting obstacles like big shoes or uncomfortable leg braces hold them back. These two are an unstoppable pair, and the progress we have seen John make has been tremendous.

John is now six years old. Since John’s special need keeps him from attending school, all of his days are spent with his grandpa. This awesome twosome keep busy by taking long walks to help improve John’s strength and walking skills, while also spending time studying math and Chinese characters.

John’s monthly reports give the impression that he is a happy-go-lucky kind of child who complains little, works very hard at everything, and smiles often. As it turns out, he is all of these things and more. Our Fuyang foster care coordinator volunteer, Vicki Hossack, was delighted to have the opportunity to meet John this past fall. Vicki was impressed and proud of this young man and remembers this about her visit with him:

I met John last October on a trip to China to visit some of our foster care children. We talked with John’s foster grandpa about his progress as John listened in intently. John was so pleased to have the opportunity to show us how well he is now walking. He grinned from ear to ear as he walked down the corridor of his home and back! John also brought us practice sheets that he and his grandpa work on together to show us the progress he is making with his math and Chinese symbols. This adorable boy is so proud of his work and accomplishments that it absolutely warms your heart.

John has the most wonderful personality and his smile is radiant, even as he sits on the sidelines watching the other children run and play. He is very obedient and never complains.

John has hopes that if he works hard, some day he will be able to climb mountains and trees. With his disposition and determination, we would not be surprised!  We would love to see what John can accomplish in life given the opportunity to attend school and get additional therapy. While the love and care of a family could give him these opportunities, we think the opportunity for a family to be privileged to have a son like John is just as great.

Love Without Boundaries proudly advocates for adoption but is not an adoption agency. We invite you to contact adoptionassistance@lwbmail.com with questions about a child we have featured and encourage you to contact your local adoption agency for more information about China’s Waiting Child Program.

Lucy lives with her foster parents and older foster sister, Beth, in Fuyang, Anhui Province. She has been with her foster family for four years and has received surgery to repair a heart defect. Recently, when asked to describe Lucy’s personality, our China program manager described her as simply “lovely.” She says that whenever she visits, Lucy runs to greet her and will lean up against her and ask if she has brought any treats. She also loves to pose for photos.

Lucy loves to sing and dance with her older sister. She also likes to draw. Beth shows her how to draw, and Lucy loves to copy her. Lucy’s foster sister also reads to her. Lucy is six years old and attends kindergarten, where she has settled well, although her language skills remain behind those of her peers.

Lucy currently has no sponsors to pay for her foster care placement and is in urgent need of three sponsors at $35 per month. Each sponsor will receive a monthly report and photos of Lucy and be able to be a part of her life. Every child deserves to know the love of a family. Please consider supporting lovely Lucy in her foster family.

Rocky

Rocky earned his nickname by being shy and pretending he was asleep when volunteers visited the Believe in Me Changde School in Hunan he was attending. When he thought no one was looking, Rocky would open his eyes and take a peek at the visitors, and he eventually overcame his fear. His bravery earned the respect of the LWB volunteers, who gave him the nickname “Rocky.” Nine-year-old Rocky was also a grant recipient in 2008; however, a family never was matched with him, and eventually the grant funds went to help bring another child home. We hope this time the grant will help bring Rocky and his family together.

David

Our second grant recipient is eight-year-old David from Fuyang foster care program.  He is a very sweet and shy young man. LWB has been fortunate to be a part of David’s life for a number of years now, helping him to have heart surgery and placing him in foster care through our wonderful sponsors. We have blogged about him previously (“David’s Summer“; “David’s Smile is Shining Through“; “The Magnificent Smile of David from Fuyang“; and “David’s Sweet Tooth…and Sweet Heart“)  and earnestly hope this $2,000 grant will be part of the red thread that brings him to a permanent family.

Love Without Boundaries is very fortunate to be able to offer grants for the following children as well:

Chloe

Chloe was featured in the blogs, “A Christmas Blessing” and “Compassionate Chloe.” Her adoption grant is for $1,000.

John

John was featured in the blogs, “Wanted: A Family for John“; A Christmas Blessing“; “John from Lu’An” and “Waiting For a Family of His Own.” His adoption grant is also for $1,000.

You can always view information about our grants and the recipients on our Adoption Assistance page. Anyone interested in making a donation for our adoption assistance grants can click here.

These grants can make an enormous difference in the life of a child. Thank you for joining in our advocacy on these children’s behalf!

Love Without Boundaries proudly advocates for adoption but is not an adoption agency. We invite you to contact adoptionassistance@lwbmail.com with questions about a child we have featured and encourage you to contact your local adoption agency for more information about China’s Waiting Child Program.

Remember when we were waiting for David to show us his smile? We can tell the summer agrees with him as he is grinning from ear to ear in his recent photos! Since David is still waiting to be matched with an adoptive family, we felt it was time for an update on what he’s been up to these last few months. (If you’d like to see more adorable photos of this boy coming out of his shell, please read his other blogs, “David’s Smile is Shining Through,” and “David’s Sweet Tooth…and Sweet Heart!”)

We have known David for some time now and have been fortunate enough to be able to provide medical, foster care, and education services to him over the last few years. When David came into our care in 2003, he needed surgery to repair a congenital heart condition. After that surgery, he entered LWB’s foster care program and later an education program that we have established in his area of Fuyang in Anhui Province.

At eight and a half years old, David has fun with his classmates and, like most kids his age, loves recess! His teachers are very encouraging and observe his efforts to listen and perform. Typically a happy child, David knows what is expected of him when guests come to his foster home and will demonstrate his excellent manners by greeting them when they arrive and getting a bench for them to sit on during their visit. He remains bashful and is not very talkative.

Although David often prefers quiet activities, he has been enjoying this hot and stormy summer in Anhui. The summer months and break from school have provided him time to play with friends and frolic outside. This is time that even our shy David cherishes.

Please take a moment to share David’s blogs with others and help us to spread the word that he is waiting for a permanent family to foster his sweet and calm personality.

Love Without Boundaries proudly advocates for adoption but is not an adoption agency. We invite you to contact adoptionassistance@lwbmail.com with questions about a child we have featured and encourage you to contact your local adoption agency for more information about China’s Waiting Child Program.

Phillip is three years old and currently in our foster care program. This beautiful little boy was born with a cleft lip and palate, and we are so thankful that we could play a part in his healing. As you can tell from the photos below, Phillip loves his foster mom very much, and the feeling is mutual!

Phillip lives in a small village in Fuyang, Anhui. This region of China is extremely poor, and the majority of families here are rural farmers. Most children do not begin school until age seven, when they start public primary school. However, there is a wonderful private kindergarten in the area where Phillip lives called the Cai Hong (Rainbow) School. We would love for Phillip to be able to attend this kindergarten so that he can begin an education path that will help him throughout his life.

Phillip is in need of one sponsor who will commit to $20 per month to pay his kindergarten tuition. His sponsor will receive quarterly reports on his progress and can know they helped introduce him to the joy of learning. Please click here to sponsor Phillip!

Cassie is a beautiful five and a half-year-old girl from Huainan who is receiving treatment for club feet. Usually gentle, serial casting using the Ponseti method takes about twelve months, but Cassie is a special case because she also has Larson’s Syndrome, which affects her knees as well. Cassie couldn’t bear any weight on her legs prior to a knee surgery and her casting, so she spent her days lying in her crib. She has been at the casting facility for two years following surgery on her knees and is doing very well. Because of Cassie’s extended stay, she is on our website for sponsorship to cover her additional expenses. She is doing so well that we do not want to send her back to her orphanage until we are sure her feet will not regress.

Cassie prior to Ponseti casting

We just received photos of a new baby from Fuyang in need of club foot casting as well. We would like to move this precious little girl to begin her casting as soon as possible, but we can’t do that until Cassie’s expenses have been fully covered. This new baby certainly is not in grave danger if she needs to wait a while, but we do like to start casting as young as possible for the best, long-term outcome possible.  Children can survive with club feet, a condition which doesn’t jeopardize their health like a heart defect. But we have seen club foot casting dramatically improve children’s lives.  Cassie is a perfect example. She would still be lying in a crib, unable to bear any weight on her legs, without her surgery and casting instead of being the dazzling, happy little girl she is today.

Please consider helping with Cassie’s funding so we can give this same opportunity to our new Fuyang baby girl. Thank you to our sponsors who give these children with club feet the opportunity to reach their full potential.

Lily is a lovely four-year-old little girl in our Fuyang foster care program. She entered LWB foster care in February 2007 and has had successful repair surgeries on her cleft lip and palate. She loves her life with her foster family and is a very happy little girl. Lily is attending school and loves it! Her teacher reports that she likes to play with her classmates and is a good student. When our foster care manager visited her at school she was so happy to have her friends surrounding her when she had her photo taken. If you ask Lily what her favorite part of the school day is she will tell you the singing and dancing!

Her foster mother tells us she has a good appetite and will eat all of the foods her foster parents make her. Lily is in need of a sponsor to support her in foster care. As a sponsor of Lily’s you will receive monthly updates including photos of her smiling little face!

Mark is a sweet and gentle little boy from our Fuyang foster care program in Anhui.  He joined his foster family in December 2009.  As you can see from these photos, Mark is very close to his foster mother and is content to spend the whole day in her arms although he does like to play with the other children in the neighborhood.  He has a great appetite and loves to eat eggs and noodles.  If he sees anyone eating, he will stare at them until they decide to share with him!

Mark is not yet walking on his own, but with his foster mother’s help he is able to take a few steps.  This clever boy follows the instructions of his foster mother very well.  She will request kisses from him, and he is always happy to respond with a big hug and sweet kiss on her cheek.

Mark is in need of a sponsor to support him in foster care for just $35 a month. As a sponsor of Mark’s, you will receive monthly updates including new photos of his sweet smile. To learn more, please visit his sponsor page.

Our sweet and shy David is still waiting for a family. Regular readers of LWB Community may remember him from the pieces we ran on him last year:   “The Magnificent Smile of David from Fuyang” and “David’s Sweet Tooth…and Sweet Heart!” We just can’t believe that some lucky family has not yet claimed him as their own…for we know that he will make a loving, devoted son.

What a joy it is for us to see David smile! David is a mild mannered child who sometimes lacks confidence. When our foster care manager visits him and tries to get his personality to show through, it can be hard work to just get a good smile from him.  Because he is a child who needs extra support and encouragement, it would be wonderful to see David with a family who can dedicate time to helping him learn, provide him support, and encourage him to smile more and more.

David is now eight years old.  In 2003 David had heart surgery and has been in our Fuyang foster care program since then.  Although he seems to be happy and doing well there, we know David would thrive in a permanent family.  It sure would make everyone at LWB smile to see him shine and blossom in the arms of his very own family.

Love Without Boundaries proudly advocates for adoption but is not an adoption agency. We invite you to contact adoptionassistance@lwbmail.com with questions about a child we have featured and encourage you to contact your local adoption agency for more information about China’s Waiting Child Program.

Tristan is a three-year-old boy in our Fuyang education program who has limb differences in both of his arms and hands. However, his special needs do not hold him back. He is an active boy with a terrific smile who likes to sing and dance with his classmates. According to his recent report, Tristan is a clever and good boy. He takes an active part in all classroom activities and games. He answers all questions the teacher asks of him, and he loves to obey the rules in school. In other words, he is an absolute sweetheart!

Tristan is in need of sponsors of $20 per month to cover his preschool tuition fees. Sponsors will receive ongoing updates with photos. To sponsor Tristan, click here.