LWB Community

Tristan: LWB’s Featured Child of the Week

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!
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Huggable Hudson: LWB’s Featured Child of the Week

This huggable little man is Hudson. In June 2010, Hudson received surgery to repair his congenital heart defect. Upon discharge, Hudson entered our Fuyang Foster Care Program where he has recovered and adjusted wonderfully to his new, much healthier life. He has been all smiles since he left the hospital.

Hudson is often described as a gentle boy and easily warms up to people. Some of his favorite foods are fruits, noodles, and rice. He is happy to spend time with his older foster brother. He is a great climber, can kick a ball, and loves toys that have an on and off button.
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The Magnificent Smile of David from Fuyang

Don’t you wish children came with instructions?

For months, I have been wondering how to get seven-year-old David to smile.  Each month, I check his Fuyang Foster Care report and photos hoping for a glimpse of a smile.

Finally, I have learned the secret!  Since David is currently waiting to be chosen for adoption, I thought this information might be good to share so that his future family will have a little insight on how to bring out David’s magnificent smiling face.
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Phillip: LWB’s Featured Child of the Week

Philip is a sweet little boy from our Fuyang Foster Care Program in Anhui.  He has been with his foster family since October 2008, and his foster mother loves him very much.  She told us that she dreads the day when Phillip is adopted and will leave her home, although she knows that it best for him to find a family of his very own.
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Sadie: LWB’s Featured Child of the Week

Sweet Sadie from Fuyang, Anhui Province is LWB’s Featured Child of the Week. This cutie was diagnosed with ventricular septal defect (VSD–a hole in her heart) and pulmonary stenosis (PS—a narrowing of the arteries that go from her heart into her lungs) after having an echocardiogram in November. She had two follow-up tests done which showed that the VSD was not closing on its own, and the doctors don’t believe it will. They suggested that she have surgery as soon as possible since she is prone to catching colds and pneumonia and the cold, winter weather is fast approaching.
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David’s Sweet Tooth…and Sweet Heart!

Delightful
Adorable
Very sweet
Independent
Docile

David is a sweet boy with a sweet tooth!  His foster mother reports that he just loves candy.  But he’s also sweet-hearted enough to share candy with his friends (much to the delight of his proud foster mother).

David is a playful seven-year-old who likes to play hide and go seek with friends and pick flowers outside.   His mild demeanor shows in his face, but don’t let him fool you…he is full of little boy busy-ness!  In fact, in the photo above, you can see the stitches he got on his head after he took a tumble while playing with a friend…how typical of a seven-year old boy!
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Running Through China: Our Day in Fuyang

During our recent trip to the China, we visited the Fuyang orphanage in Anhui. Fuyang is a very rural area, and the main orphanage has approximately 200 children in its care.  We have liked working with Fuyang over the years as the staff really wants to help the children in every way possible, despite their very limited resources.  Many of you might remember that Fuyang didn’t used to have doors or windows covering the openings to the outside, or any sort of heating system despite the fact that Anhui is a very cold province in the winter.  LWB helped with this need several years ago, and the orphanage staff is still very grateful to the donors who helped put in the heavy tarps over the door frames and the coal/radiator heating system.
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A Day In the Life of a Foster Care Volunteer (or Two)

Foster care is one of LWB’s most expansive programs.  With sixteen foster care programs in seven different provinces, LWB needs each and every one of our nearly 50 volunteers to keep these programs running smoothly!   Two enthusiastic foster care volunteers have agreed to let us peek into their daily lives as an LWB volunteer and see what inspires them to dedicate their time to helping orphaned children in China.

Jessica White, Huainan Foster Care Co-Coordinator: I first learned of Love Without Boundaries during the process of adopting my daughter Emma. I remember reading and rereading Love’s Journey, and thinking that “someday” I would love to get involved with such an amazing organization.  That “someday” came three years later when one of the mothers from my travel group mentioned that LWB was looking for volunteers in their foster care program.  We had recently adopted our son Will from South Korea, and he had spent the first year of his life with a foster family. The difference that foster care had made in his life was remarkable. I immediately sent in my volunteer application and joined the foster care team in 2009. A few months later, I transferred to the Huainan Foster Care program that serves my daughter’s orphanage, and I cherish the opportunity to remain connected to her first home.

I am a stay-at-home mom to a four year old daughter and two year old son, so most of my LWB work is done at naptime. After I get the kids tucked in and the lunch dishes in the sink, I settle down with my laptop to catch up on the day’s emails.
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The Land of Counterpane…and Beyond

When I was sick and lay a-bed,
I had two pillows at my head,
And all my toys beside me lay,
To keep me happy all the day.
– Robert Louis Stevenson, “The Land of Counterpane”

This classic poem came to mind when we saw this photo of brave John in the hospital, surrounded by toys.  John is a five-year-old little guy who has been dealt a tough hand.  After having spinal surgery, he was left with a significant post-op complication, and his family abandoned him most likely because they could not care for him or afford additional surgeries to correct this serious issue.  John came to live in an orphanage in Fuyang.
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Sweet Sadie

Sweet Sadie is doing us the honor of gracing LWB Community for our very first Friday “Photo of the Week” feature. Every week we will highlight a recent photo that stood out from the many that we receive from each of our programs throughout the week. Sadie’s gentle nature shines through in this darling photo! She is currently sixteen months old and lives with a foster family in our Fuyang Foster Care program. We look forward to seeing more of her as she grows.
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