4 adorable Jingmen children in need of sponsors!

We are very happy to announce that the Jingmen orphanage is allowing these 4 young children to participate in the GHC foster programme.
Please spread the news of Lucille Jin, Jamie Jin, Joanne Jin and Eleanor Jin needing sponsors to help them live in a foster family.The priceless gift of sharing with a family costs $38 a month for 1 child. Nowadays shared sponsorship is also a possibility.Take these children into your consideration or talk to others who are interested to help Chinese orphans gain a better life.

For all information about the GHC Jingmen Foster Programme please contact Patty Smith/markandpatty6@msn.com or Marjanne Laeven/ marjannelaeven@orange.nl

Thank you for your support in any way.

Lilly (Jin Sarah) holding her forever sister!

Thanks to Jodie, Lilly's mom we can show you this wonderful photo of Lilly/ Jin Sarah holding her sister.
Lilly is the girl waving in the left.
Lilly has been adopted in December 2008 and is now inseparable from her dear sister.
Look at their radiant smiles and intense joy. Jodie told me that Lilly is such a bliss to her family and she is grateful for all the love and goodcare Lilly got in her Jingmen foster family. She was told Lilly was loved very much by her foster family and in the coming years she hopes to return to Jingmen to thank them.

Thank you all Grace and Hope sponsors for making the foster programme-helping Jingmen children find caring foster families- such a success.

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.