AGCI Travels to China Part 2!

AGCI staff have arrived in Xiamen, China! On this trip, our team is thrilled to witness Ezekiel unite with his forever family, give family care packages to many matched children, and learn more about how we can better serve the children we are advocating for throughout the Fujian region!

Here’s an update from Jodi, AGCI’s VP of Adoption!

We arrived to our hotel a little after midnight from our flight from Beijing. The majority of the team only got an hour or two of sleep china, culture, meal, togetherbefore we began our day with an amazing breakfast the hotel. Many reference this amazing breakfast near Xiamen and it did not disappoint. I just had to try the fresh trout with breakfast because when else in life will you get to try that combo?

At breakfast, we met up with Dr. Troyer and our translators. We then went to Xiamen and were welcomed by Director Guo and Lillian. Director Guo is a very composed beautiful woman who clearly cares about each child and shows great appreciation for the work AGCI does for the kids. Lillian is very sweet and organized and helps ensure everything runs smoothly and seamlessly! We are honored to partner with the Xiamen team.

aIMG 5222 OPTXiamen is very clean and the caregivers are very warm. We began our day in a play room and quickly began our time of assessments of the kids. We broke this down in three areas. One was set up for medical assessments and measurements, the other was set up for developmental & motor skill assessments and the last was set up for photos and video. The kids were so much fun!

We enjoyed our time with one little girl who just came alive with us. It was fun to see her joyful spirit. This little girl, who has Down syndrome, helped remind each of us to see each child’s inner beauty & uniqueness as we understand their special need. Her paperwork is in its final stages and we look forward to introducing her soon!

Later we met with James! He is doing so great and we got encouraging updates on him! He just recently started school at Xiamen and is making tremendous progress already. He was balancing on one foot, singing Chinese songs and such a charmer! The entire room was in love! He is the last of his class of friends to be in need of a family. He is old enough to articulate the desire for a family and it breaks our hearts to see him here another year from our last visit. This boy had so much potential to be an adored son!

IMG 3659After many more children’s assessments, we took a break and were invited to a wonderful lunch with Director Guo, Lillian and the Xiamen staff. As we walked through the doors of a beautifully furnished and lit lobby at the restaurant we were elated to discover we had company joining our lunch!

An AGCI family is completing their adoption in country this week and visited Xiamen the same day we were there! What a joy it was to welcome her to our lunch with the Director who cared for her son the past years! It was such a joy to enjoy this meal with her present!

She later wrote to me: “I loved seeing AGCI. I was so impressed by the orphanage, nannies, director, and the organization. My heart is full.”

She is such a joy and provided so many great insights from an adoptive family’s perspective!

Lunch consisted of course, after course, after course. It was the most delicious Chinese food I have ever had. Everything was so beautifully presented and it was an honor to discuss all the exciting things happening with our partnership with Xiamen over this breathtaking meal. We are so grateful to them!

My favorite meal in the lunch was a spicy deep fried pork which held the perfect balance of spiciness with so much flavor! These were some of the dishes we enjoyed. I was even offered the fish’s head as a sign of respect!

We than returned back to the orphanage to provide medical assessments on infant and toddlers. This was amazing because we were able to meet Ava who we have been advocating for! She is just as cute as can be and we were encouraged by her progress! She loved being cuddled and was watching us all as we admired her beautiful princess eyes.

IMG 5221We were also able to share a few care packages with children! It was such a treat to spend time with these children, provide another full medical assessment and help ensure each child’s family is prepared to meet their child soon.

Tomorrow we will be meeting the older children and assessing many of the children in the special care unit! Please pray this trip continues to go as smoothly as it has been and that all the children we met know how loved and cherished they are!

We can’t wait to share more of our journey with you! Check back soon for our updates!