Hope

I opened my inbox on Tuesday morning to a wonderful surprise :)

To make a long story short :) there is a waiting child in China , "Jennie" , that has just stolen my heart. Several months ago, I stumbled across a web page of a mission trip to her orphanage. To my surprise there she was back in '08 sending a message to her friend, Mia ,who had been adopted the past year. Despite her orphan status , she was eager to send well wishes to her dear friend and hear all about her new life in the US.

http://www.heartsandhandsinternational.org/blog/?p=396

I watched the video and wondered how a child with nothing was not consumed with jealousy but instead showed such excitement for her friend. She had such a sparkle in her eyes . Maybe she was holding out hope that her turn would soon come.That look of hope drew me in and I was determined to advocate for this sweet girl.

I thought several times about contacting Ken Surritte, that had taken the video of Jennie many years ago on this mission trip, but never did. Some time had past and I really thought this sweet girl had got a family. But unfortunately there she was back on the latest shared list. So I decided that I had to email him and he promptly emailed back . He said you are never going to believe this but I have just purchased my ticket to China this morning ,I leave in two days. He said he now had a new agenda to add to his trip :

Meet this precious girl and get new info and photos :)

So on Monday of this week, Ken sat down with the director and Jennie for some tea and great conversation! What a beautiful gem of a girl that said she knows there is a special family that is meant to be hers. Sigh. So my plea here is please pass on this info and pics and help Jennie find her family!

Here are a few things he learned about her:

~She loves school and studies hard, English is her favorite subject

~She is very excited about the possibility of being adopted!

~She likes to eat bananas ,chicken,rice , veggies and lychee fruit

~She likes to sing and play badminton

~She loves to help and care for the other students :)

~She is described as extremely sweet and caring

~ Not to mention she is simply beautiful!

This sweet girl is on the shared list so she can be locked by any agency. Time is of the essence for this sweet girl so please pass on this info. Also take a look at her singing this sweet song about how special a mom is in the post below. SIGH!

If you have any additional questions please feel free to contact me @nmsettle@yahoo.com

Jennie singing Mama Hoa

jennie movie 2 a video by Xia Ben Pei on Flickr.

Here are the words to this song :

Only mommy is the best in the world.
When a child has a mommy, she feels treasured.
When she gets into mommy's arms,
there is endless happiness to enjoy.
When a child does not have a mommy, she is most worried and anxious.
A child without a mommy is like a weed.
Away from mommy's arms,
where can she find happiness?

Sisters


Sister :
a female offspring having both parents in common with another offspring ; a female sibling




The definition sister, is direct and to the point but lacking so much.

When we were waiting to travel to China to get Pei , I hoped and prayed that these two girls would be close. That they would share a bond and connection that would run deeper than blood.

Both spending the beginning of their lives somewhat lost and waiting for their forever families.

But as I have watched this sisterhood unfold over the past year, I have no doubt that these two
were not only waiting on their families but in many ways waiting on each other.

This relationship was truly nothing short of heaven sent.

Two girls from such diverse countries and ethnicity's that have forged a bond as if they are twins.

These sisters share so much more than just having the same parents in common. They spend their days filled with :

playing

giggling ... lots of giggling
sharing secrets
sharing kisses
And loving one another like only a real sister can.