Long Overdue Update!

It's been a long time since we've updated this site. But rest assured, the Jingmen foster care program is alive and well! We've had the joy of watching many of the children be adopted, and the joy of seeing new children moved into foster homes. There are currently 6 children in the Grace and Hope Jingmen program and I'm happy to say that they are all currently sponsored!

My own sponsored child is soon to be adopted. Her family is awaiting the final travel approval and is expected to travel in a few short weeks! It warms my heart to see her come full circle, from an orphan, to a child living in a foster home, to finally going home to her forever family. Its been a long wait for her and I know her family cannot wait to finally meet her in person!

Although we do not have any current Jingmen children needing sponsorship, the need for donations always continues. A few of the Jingmen children are being sponsored for schooling and I believe their funds will run out in the not so distant future. There is also a continued need for donations to cover various needs that come up throughout the year at Jingmen. If you would like to donate specifically to the Jingmen foster care program, you can do this by going to the Grace and Hope website at www.grace-hope.org Click on "how to help" at the upper left hand corner and then you can donate into the general foster care fund. Be sure to specify it is specifically for the Jingmen program! Every dollar counts. If several family were to give even just $5.00 it would cover schooling for the kids! Please consider what you might be able to do to help the lives of the children at Jingmen.

We look forward to what is in store for the program in the upcoming months! It is a real joy to watch new children have a chance at a family. Your support is greatly appreciated!

Ella Zhou to another foster family

In March 2008 6 year old Ella Zhou moved temporarily back to the orphanage due to private circumstances in her foster family. She had lived with her very first foster family for nearly 5 months.
The Jingmen staff worked hard to find her a new foster family.
We are happy to give you the good news that since July 10 2008 Ella is living with her new foster family. Besides her foster parents she is having a big 15 year old sister to play with and a grand fostermom who happens to be very fond of Ella.
Ella's character is very outgoing and spontaneous. Ella's passion is drawing and dancing.
Her new foster mom, who is a Jingmen caregiver, takes her to dance class every morning which Ella enjoys very much. In Fall this year Ella will attend primary school in Jingmen.
Thanks to Ella's sponsor who persisted in supporting Ella even after her return to the orphanage, Ella has a home again and keeps on dancing.

Joseph Zhou in need of sponsor

This boy is named Joseph Zhou and we need a sponsor for the foster care of this boy.
His sponsor will receive more personal information and quarterly Joseph's follow up reports including 4 photos.
Hopefully this boy can live with his foster family very soon.

Today gotchaday for Jin Feng

Today July 7 is the gotchaday of Jin Feng who will meet her mom,dad,and brother Carrie,Michael and Kevin O'Brien.
I hope all will go well for them today and hope Jin Feng can cope with all changes.
She is going to leave her Jingmen friends and staff behind and find the love and care of her forever family.Her new name is Kelly Jin Feng!!
Here is the link to the O'Briens travel blog
http://www.thestoryofyou.net/KellyJinFeng.html

Jin Karla/Helena joined the Barnhart family

Jin Karla/Helena is home and here two photos of Helena armed with her brother and sister.
Her proud mom tells she is attaching well and just fits perfectly in her forever family !!
Thank you April and Jeff for these precious photos of your beautiful childen.

Nathan/Jin Felipe from Jingmen now at home!

Welcome home Jin Felipe or Nathan!! Thank you Matt & Mary for your permission to publish some photos of your son.
Is seems Nathan is already having a great time with his mom and dad!
Look what a happy face of this beautiful boy!

Jin Virginia is now Sarah Jin Wei

Jin Virginia and her forever family; photo above showing Mr Ma of the Jingmen SWI

With permission of Sarah Jin Wei's family here some photos from their family album made during the adoption trip to their Jingmen daughter.
Thank you so much Sarah Jin Wei's family for sharing them for the BringingJoyToJingmen blog.

Jin Karla soon on her way home

Jin Karla soon to be adopted; link to travel blog of her forever family

Adoption journey to Jin Felipe

On May 1 2008 Jin Felipe's forever family will travel to China to meet their son and bring him home. With permission of his family here is the link to their travel blog.

Jin Virginia has her forever family

Jin Virginia united with her forever family



Here is happy news to share: Jin Virginia was recently adopted by her American forever family.
Congratulations for you lovely Jin Virginia. We wish you a very happy and joyful life with your mom and dad and sister.
And hope you will always have good memories of your first home in Jingmen.

4 year old Celia is proud to have a mom and dad!

On October 1 2007 Celia moved from the orphanage to a Jingmen foster family.
Celia is a 4 year old girl who is very happy to have a family of her own, as this story will tell you.
Foster mom told GHC that one day Celia was shouted at by other children that she was an orphan. Proudly she yelled to the children; "I have a mom!!"
Every day when foster mom comes to take her home from school she excitedly runs to foster mom and holds her.
She is a good-understanding girl who often helps doing little works in the householding like cleaning the table after meals
"Dad", she often says to foster father, "I love you so much".
Foster sister has gone to college but often asks her mom for an update how Celia is doing.
Lately she chatted with Celia by internet!
This story is proving how foster care benefits the life of a child who's destiny used to be to live in the orphanage.Celia is truly blossoming in her family.

Boys greeting from Jingmen

GHC Jingmen foster program is engaged to help Jingmen orphans live in foster families.
Many children now living in the Jingmen orphanage are older than 7 years.
Help them move from the orphanage to a foster family to give them the chance to build normal and strong relationships to engage them to grow up into healthy kids. Having good relationships has proved to be essential for orphans to help them develop positive selfesteem and get educated.
See the radiant smiles on their beautiful faces.
We definitely need to protect their childhood and keep them smiling as they can face a healthy future.
GHC foster programs aims to select, train foster families to care for these children.

Ella Zhou is happy in her foster family

Grace and Hope for Children (GHC)reports that Ella is doing well in her foster family.
The foster family has a six year old daughter whom Ella likes to play with.
As Ella is fond of dancing she is often dancing for her foster mom.
Ella has another special passion: watching the making of bread and cake at the local bakery's.
It is such joy to know Ella is feeling at ease and welcome in her very first family and making discoveries in the outside daily world.
Ella will turn 6 this Spring.
Thank you so much Ella's sponsor for giving her the opportunity to feel loved and be safe so she can explore life's wonders and interesting places all around her.

Jin Armando waiting for sponsorship

Like Ella Zhou Jin Felipe got sponsored too by now.
At the moment there is 1 little boy born in 2005 waiting for sponsorship for a foster family.
His name is Jin Armando. Unlike Ella's situation which was very unique we don't have photos of him yet. His photos and report are still in China and will be sent to his sponsor. We hope to get him out of the orphanage as soon as possible.
Hopefully the Chinese New Year of the Rat will bring good fortune: a foster family to this little boy.

Jin Ruth adopted to Norway

Another good news that reaches us lately is that Jin Ruth was adopted to Norway!
Jin Ruth left the Grace and Hope for children (GHC) foster care program in January 2008 when she was adopted by her Norwegian parents. We wish her a happy and healthy life in Norway and hope she will well attach to her family.

Ella Zhou will live in a foster family!

We are thrilled to announce that Ella Zhou got a sponsor!!
This means this beautiful girl will move out for the first time of her life of the orphanage to live with a foster care.
What an exciting time for her especially now at Chinese New Year.
Patty and I would like to thank her sponsor for coming out and helping Ella Zhou to change her life forever and face a normal life like other kids.
Right now we are waiting for her first report to arrive from China to show us more details and photos.But as you know it is Chinese New Year now and everyone has gone for family celebrations, if permitted by the weather and public traffic conditions.

Happy Chinese New Year

Happy Chinese New Year!


We wish you a happy New Year of the Rat full of health and joy, wisdom and success.
Hopefully the New Year will bring many loving foster and forever families to our beautiful Jingmen children.

Patty Smith and Marjanne Laeven

Emergency Update: Grace and Hope staff called Hubei orphanages

Children's beds in Jingmen orphanage

The staff has called each orphanage. As it is further north than Guangxi, they are cold but they are ok. Grace and Hope works in Hubei in the following orphanages:
Dawu,HuangGang,HuangMei,JingMen,Qichun,WuXue and Xiangfan.

The biggest problem is that there are many kids who are still in the orphanage. In one orphanage, they put two rooms of children in one room where there was heat. Two children share a bed. They are having a difficult time finding qualified foster parents and the foster parents that they do find want to foster older children rather than babies. The best way to help in Hubei is to get the children out of the orphanage.
Quite a few of the directors are now wanting to place more children in the foster care programs.

Emergency updates on Hubei orphanages (by Half the Sky)

Today Half the Sky in cooperation with the Ministry of Civil Affairs is trying to make an estimation of the most urgent current needs of the orphanages in the disaster areas.Here is an evaluation of just 2 Hubei orphanages.

Huangshi, Hubei – is in desperate need of disposable diapers. They ask for funds to purchase since goods can’t be sent to them right now. All heater/air conditioners have stopped functioning. They need quilts and warm clothes for the children. Several HTS nannies have fallen on the ice on their way to work and they need medicine to treat cuts and bruises.

Wuhan, Hubei – is having a very hard time finding affordable food, “even cabbage.” They ask for food subsidies for the Family Village, 20 space heaters and 50 warm quilts. Heaters are working but there is no water for bathing. The local community has offered to take children in for the Chinese New Year and the institution feels this may be the best decision to keep them safe, so their requests are only for the Family Village. UPDATE: With HTS funds, they purchased heavy comforters, space heaters and food for the Family Village. The institution director personally visited each family to ensure that everyone is all right.

Emergency Relief for Jingmen

As you all know large parts of China have been severly hit by the
severe snowstorms and heavy weather the last weeks.
Also in Jingmen the winter is very harsh and bad.
On January 17 Jiaoli, my OPO daughter, already reported a very extreme situation in
Jingmen with heavy snowfall and closed main roads.
She had traveled by train and said if she had bought a busticket
from Hefei to Jingmen she would not have been able to reach Jingmen.
Since January the weather forecasts have been reporting more harsh
weather and new storms and snow.
I lost contact with Jiaoli and as far as I know she is with her
grandparents right now which is in rural Jingmen.
The Jingmen orphanage is located in the city of Jingmen and even
there the situation is critical due to loss of fuel and food.
Orphanages are in great need for warm clothes, quils, coals and food.
Grace and Hope for Children is committed to help the orphanages in
their program: people can donate money to help orphanages in need.
Grace and Hope for Children will do all they can to forward before
Chinese New Year the money to the orphanages. At least they will try
to phone them to bring them the news of the donations for extra
supplies. The orphanages are asked to keep receits and take
photos of what they bought from the donations.
I hope you will keep the Jingmen orphanage into your thoughts in
these difficult and stressful times to keep up with the weather
extremes and survive amidst the cold and shortages of fuel,
water,warm clothes, electricity, food and disposable diapers.

Please feel free to help the Jingmen orphanage by donating money, no
amount is too small to help them keep the children warm and safe.
You can make a donation by the Grace and Hope for Children website.
Go to 'How to Help', choose to make a 'Orphanic Specific
Çontribution', and then go to 'Hubei Jing Men' and from their you
can further accomplish your donation.

Thank you all so much for your help keeping Jingmen orphanage and foster families a safe shelter for the children whom they take care of.

Call for immediate sponsorship for Ella Zhou

This cute girl is Ella Zhou! She lives in the Jingmen orphanage.It is very exceptionnel you see her photo here as it is not according to Hubei-protocol to give her photo free.
But the Grace and Hope social worker decided to bring her photo to the public to help Ella find a sponsor. You can say her care and commitment to Ella is bigger than the Hubei rules. By giving Ella's photo free she hopes Ella will have more chance to find a sponsor who will help her to live in a foster family. Ella is now spending all days and nights in the orphanage.Who is willing to give Ella a new life and the joy of a 'normal child's life' in a loving foster family.
It takes only $1 dollar a day to cover the sponsor costs including the training and monitoring of the foster family.
A new foster home would be a wonderful Chinese New Year present for Ella.

Patty and Marjanne

9 Jingmen children now in Grace and Hope for Children Foster Care Program

Here is a list of the 9 Jingmen children who are now in the in the Grace and Hope for Children Foster Program.

In order to protect their privacy we don't publish their real names but their given names by Grace and Hope for Children.

Jin Ruth, Jin Laura, Jin Leonard, Jin Sarah, Jin Patty, Jin Virginia, Jin Karla, Jin Celia en Jin Felipe.

All children have found sponsors except for Jin Felipe.

We hope to find a sponsor for him so he may continue to live with his foster family.

The new reports of these children have been mailed to their sponsors in the first week of January 2008. It will take 3 months before new updates will be mailed.
It is an event to really look out for!!

A boy Jin Felipe is waiting for a sponsor

Another young child waiting for his sponsor is called Jin Felipe.
Jin Felipe is a beautiful little boy of one year and a half old. He knows to stand for himself without any help and make a few steps.He is very attached to his foster mom and loves to be hold by her. He is fond of playing with stack blocks. Listening to music is his passion too.

Again due to Hubei provincial protocol we are not allowed to show photos of children in the foster project on the internet.
It is a Hubei rule to serve and protect a child's privacy.
Grace and Hope is dedicated to work together with the Hubei authorities and will respect its guidelines.

We hope you can understand and know you will see your child's face once you come out for sponsorship.

Jin Celia has a sponsor!

Great news to share: our Jingmen girl Jin Celia has found a sponsor.
It is such a joy to know her foster care will be paid for and guaranteed to continue.
According to Hubei law we are not permitted to show you any photo of this nearly 4 year old girl but we can tell you she is a very cute and clever girl.
Coming month she will celebrate her 4th birthday with her foster family.
We are so happy for her to have found a mom and dad; just like other kids she can grow up, learn and play knowing she will be loved and cared for every day of her young life.

Looking for a sponsor for 3 year old Jin Celia

Jin Celia is a 3 year old girl.
She has a special need. She was moved to foster care on October 1 2007. The foster family has a 10 year old son and Jin Celia is their first foster child.
Her foster mother is a caregiver at the Jingmen orphanage. According to her foster mother Jin Celia is a lovely girl full who likes to sing, dance and draw.

Due to the official Hubei provincial policy Grace and Hope is not allowed to show Jin Celia's photo of her on their website.
Jin Celia is her given name by Grace and Hope for the foster program. In daily life Jin Celia will listen to her name given by the orphanage staff.

Who is interested to be the sponsor of this beautiful little girl who will turn 4 years old in February 2008?
Your sponsorship will guarantee that she will continue to live with her foster family who she truly is bonding with.
Sponsorship of Jin Celia is possible for a little more than $1 a day, namely $35 a month.
For more information please mail privately to
Patty Smith (markandpatty6@msn.com) or Marjanne Laeven (marjannelaeven@orange.nl)

Thank you so much for taking Jin Celia's sponsorship into consideration or telling others about it.

Touristic facts about Jingmen

Jingmen Travel Guide
Population: 3,006,000

Area: 12,100 square kilometers (4,671 square miles)

Nationalities: Han

Administrative Division: 2 districts (Dongbao, Duodao); 2 counties (Shayang, Jingshan); 1 county-level city (Zhongxiang)

Useful Telephone Numbers:
Tourist Complaints: 0724-2376134, 2376997
Weather Forecast: 121
Zip Code Inquiry: 184

Location: Located in the heart of Hubei Province, Jingmen can be the communication hub inside the province. It is 217 kilometers (315 miles) west of the provincial capital, Wuhan, 120 kilometers (75 miles) east of Yichang City. Bounded on its south and north are Jingzhou and Xiangfan.

History: Although this area was inhabited as early as the Neolithic Age, it was established as an administrative unit in late Shang Dynasty (16th - 11th century BC). The name of Jingmen began in the Tang Dynasty (618-907) when the government established county to administrate this area.

Physical Features: Lying between the Jingshan Mountain and the Jianghan Plain, Jingmen has lower mountains and hills in its northwest and central part. Plains and lakes are mainly distributed in southern Jingmen.

Climatic Features: Enjoying a subtropical monsoon climate, the city has a relatively temperate weather, rich in rainfall and sunshine. With clear four seasons, it has an annual average temperature of 16C (61F).

When to Go: Spring and autumn are the most favorable seasons to Jingmen.

Special Local Products: wild kudzu root powder, artemisia selengensis (li hao)

Scenic Spots:
Xianling Tomb of the Ming Dynasty: 7.5 kilometers (4.7 miles) from the Zhongxiang City, the tomb was built in 1540 by the Jiajing Emperor to commemorate his father. It covers an area of 600 mu (99 acres), surrounded by 3.6-kilometer-long (2.2-mile-long) vermeil high walls. Two gates are built in the front part connected with the inner part by a 1,300-meter-long (1,422-yard-long) path paved with slates, whose two sides was stood by varied statues of animals and figures. The grand tomb was list among the World Heritage in 2000.

Huangxian Cave: As the principal sight of the Dahongshan Scenic Spot in Zhongxiang. The cave lies at the south foot of the Dahong Mountains, containing the cave of 2,000 meters (2,187 feet) long and a deep pool. Inside the cave, the 20,000 square meters (23,920 square yards) cave lotus is the most spectacular landscape of the karst cave.

Tourist Tips:
On the Baiyun Avenue (Baiyun Dadao), three major bus stations are located, providing buses to Wuhan, Yichang and some other cities. Buses to Wuhan depart every 20 to 30 minutes with one and a half hours' drive. Every 20 to 40 minutes, buses to Yichang will take about 50 minutes to their destination.

Zhongtian Street (Zhongtian Jie) and Changning Avenue (Changning Dadao) can be the busiest areas of Jingmen City, gathering many shopping malls and supermarkets. They are good locations to find all kinds of authentic Jingmen specialities.

New Jingmen photos/Tip Jingmen photos on website Grace and Hope

I posted some photos of Jingmen City.
Interesting is the photo of a nearby Buddhist temple.
Tip: More fascinating Jingmen photos, showing the city's daily life, visit the Grace and Hope website and click on the section 'Photo Gallery' and choose Hubei, Jingmen.
For link to Grace and Hope website, go to the top of this blog's right column.

Buddhist temple in Jingmen

Buddhist temple

View on Jingmen City

Jingmen City

Street in Jingmen City

People walking in Jingmen City street

Foster care in Jingmen, a personal story

The Smith children enjoying the pumpkins.
Brady from Jingmen is in front right.


Foster care makes a world of difference in the lives of orphaned children.
We had heard this before many times, and experienced it first hand when adopting our son from Jingmen in April 2006. Our son had spent all of his life prior to meeting us with a foster family. This was somewhat unusual for a child from Jingmen so we were anxious to see what kind of effect it may have on our son. When we first met our son, he reacted to our coming the same as any child would react when being taken from their family! He was just plain mad about the whole thing! It was obvious from the start that he had been with a family that taught him how to live as a normal child, rather then an orphaned child. He had normal development and normal emotions. He was a typical boy at age 20 months with his own thoughts and feelings. This is quite different then what is normally seen in a child who has spent many months in an orphanage! Typically children coming from an orphanage setting will have numerous delays, both physical and emotional. Our son was completely normal, an toddler who was mad about his whole world being turned upside down!

Our son quickly adjusted to his new family, it wasn't long before his tantrums became nothing more then a typical two year old wanting to get their own way. Once he realized we were ok people, he quickly began to seek out hugs and kisses and come to us for comfort. He was a normal part of our family. I believe that his early life with a foster family was the best possible scenario for him to develop into a secure individual and grow in our family. His adjustment has been amazing and he loves his brother and sisters. He is now three years old and is active and busy. He loves to run and jump, ride his bike, ride a skateboard and a scooter and play football. He keeps us all running! He loves to tell stories and sing songs. He is full of love and life, we are so blessed to be his parents.

I am proud to be a part of the Grace and Hope foster care program for Jingmen. I've seen firsthand the difference a foster family can make in the life of a child. For about a dollar a day a child can experience the love of a family. Every child deserves that. I hope that anyone reading this will consider giving that gift to a child. It’s a small price to pay and makes a world of difference. Join me on this journey of bringing joy to the children of Jingmen.

Patty Smith