“And God was doing extraordinary miracles…” Acts 19:11
By Erica Stillar, Orphan Care and Missions Manager – AGCI
Love permeates every single corner of New Day Foster Care home. You can see it everywhere you turn, in every preschool classroom, in every crib, on every volunteer’s face. Love is king in these walls, and the children are the evidence that love creates miracles. Each child that is welcomed into the New Day family is cared for in the most supreme way, and each little life is proof that the human will can accomplish so much.
This past September, a team of 14 individuals from all across the U.S. came together to volunteer their time and share their love with the beautiful children living at New Day and Harmony House, two of AGCI’s partner homes in Beijing, China. The days were filled with working in the preschool classroom, holding babies, cleaning rooms, organizing donations, painting walls, teaching English, and conducting an Occupational Therapy workshop for the caregivers. A mound of therapy equipment was donated, as well as cases of formula, new baby clothes, and supplies, all thanks to our generous donors and trip participants.
What makes this home so special? The difference is that each of the children that come into New Day’s foster home in Beijing are considered the “most severe” of medical cases. As government orphanages struggle to find the funding and resources to care for children and perform the necessary surgeries many children need, they contact New Day, knowing that the child will have a better chance of survival. Once the child arrives at New Day, they are instantly welcomed with a huge embrace, with the loving tender care a mother would give, and the best medical care they can offer. When the child comes back to the home after surgery, they come back to an environment that is clean, well taken care of, and full of passionate people that are ready to do everything it takes to ensure the full healing and recovery of the little one. Seeing the love that these special children receive on a daily basis makes me proud to continue partnering with these great homes. I am assured that love is being poured out on each and every child, and that each and every day, love wins.
For the past three years I’ve had the immense privilege of taking teams of volunteers to orphanages and foster homes all across the globe. Each one of our partners works tirelessly to care for what we would call “the least of these.” Many of the homes we work with focus on caring for “special needs children.” The needs and issues range in degree and complexity in each country. Before I started working at All God’s Children International, I had never spent a significant amount of time with a child that had a disability. I admit I probably had some of the same ideas, and frankly misconceptions, that many others have when they think of children with special needs. What I didn’t realize is that these children are not just special in that they have some sort of physical limitation or their body may work differently than mine, but they are special in the way they open their hearts and love with a complete lack of inhibition. These children are special indeed, only in a way that I would have completely overlooked and missed if I hadn’t spent a significant amount of time playing with and holding them. They really aren’t much different than a “healthy child.” They still play like typical kids, they still laugh and smile, they still dream and hope like typical kids, and they love—boy, do they love.
The doors of my heart have flown wide open. Leaving China I feel like I’m a changed person. I feel the calling now to welcome one of these special children into my home—a conclusion I would have never arrived at if I had not stepped out in faith to serve and spend time at a special needs orphanage. I encourage each of you to step out in faith, to allow God to open the doors of your heart, to either welcome a child with special needs into your home through adoption, or to serve on one of our volunteer teams. AGCI has been placing children into homes for over 20 years. We consider it a great honor that over 50% of the children placed in the past year are special needs adoptions. In a world with so many children living in orphanages, we feel like it has been our personal calling to advocate for those that are so often the most overlooked and the least desirable, bringing them into loving homes that see each child for how special they truly are.
If you are interested in pursuing a special needs adoption, please begin by filling out a
pre-application today! If you are interested in partnering with us to serve children and families in China and around the world, learn more about our Orphan Care and Missions programs by contacting us at missions@allgodschildren.org, or begin your support by making a DONATION.
