LWB Community

Brandon’s New Specs

If you read our blog last week, you may remember a story about Brandon, who had just received surgery for droopy eyelids and was waiting for new glasses.  Well, we wanted to share this photo to show everyone how handsome he looks in his new specs!  He sure looks proud of them and is probably quite excited by how clearly he can see the world around him.

Although Brandon is no longer waiting for his glasses, he is still waiting for his forever family.  We sure hope he won’t be waiting much longer!
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Brandon’s Wait

Patience may be a virtue…but it’s just so difficult to wait!  For almost a year now, Brandon has been waiting for his forever family while living with his foster care family in our Shantou foster care program in Guangdong Province.   According to his foster care reports, this sweet and lively boy enjoys a good game of hide-and-seek with his little friends and staying close beside his foster mom (seen below) as she goes about the day’s housework.  Like many three-year-olds, he loves to “help” with the daily chores and is said to be extremely observant.
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Tiny Dancer Sara

Dance is the hidden language of the soul. — Martha Graham

I wonder what we would learn about Sara if we could but read the language of her soul. She loves to dance. If music is playing, Sara is dancing. For much of her eight years, she struggled with spoken language; perhaps dance became her language of expression at an early age. Now that she speaks fluently with her friends, aunties, and teachers, she still loves to express herself through dance.

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Troy of Shantou

We’d like you to meet Troy of Shantou! Troy is an enthusiastic three-year-old student in our Believe In Me kindergarten program in Shantou who loves school. He also loves his foster family in our Shantou Foster Care Program. When his foster mom leaves, he makes sure that she remember her keys and then greets her at the door with a big smile when she returns. What a joy he must be to come home to!
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Rusty’s Smile — Worth a Thousand Words!

When I read the LWB foster care reports each month, it always bring me such joy when I see a photo of a child with a big, spontaneous smile.  In every report we have received about two-year-old Rusty and his personality, abilities and needs, there is one thing that never changes:  HE IS ALWAYS SMILING!
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Sarah: Once Shy, Now Sunny. Still Waiting…

When Sara first became a student at our Shantou Believe in Me School in 2007, the teachers described her as shy and quiet. She never smiled for pictures, and the teachers were very excited when they finally “caught” her participating in dance class. A few months later she smiled for a photograph displaying her artwork.
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A Day In the Life of Three Orphanage Assistance Volunteers!

In our continuing series, “A Day In the Life,” we are featuring three volunteers who were inspired to work with our Orphanage Assistance (OA) program. We hope you enjoy learning more about these dedicated volunteers and what they do for LWB!

MaryHelen Donnelly, Orphanage Assistance Coordinator: I am a single mother who works full time, so after I put my daughter to bed I usually log onto the computer to check my email and then 2-3 times a week do some of my LWB volunteer work. I wear two hats in the Orphanage Assistance program. In my role as the OA Child Coordinator, I archive all the pictures, stories and sponsor updates that are produced by the OA team. Parents who have adopted from China can request any information that LWB has on their child from their days living in the orphanage. When I receive one of these requests, I look through the archives and send the parents what information I have on their child and/or the SWI in which their child resided.
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Shanna in Search of A Family

I first saw this adorable face in November of 2007 when I visited the Believe In Me school in Shantou. I had walked into a room full of preschool age children who were sitting in little chairs up against the wall awaiting my arrival.

After a few minutes, the children began to sing and dance to a song about cats. They were each wearing a kitty cat “hat.” It was such fun! I could not have stopped smiling even if I had tried.
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Dutch Treat

When Liang and JiaNan were babies, they lived together in the Shantou Social Welfare Institute in Guangdong province.  At one and two years of age, they were adopted by two Dutch families and now live in the Netherlands.  These talented boys have discovered a passion for music and are using their musical talents to help babies at their former home in Shantou.
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Mr. Personality

Meet Max — Mr. Personality! Max, who lives in the Shantou orphanage, is a typical boy who loves to play with all kinds of balls and rings. He also has a flair for the dramatic and uses his big personality to try to get what he wants.
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