Please help us advocate for Elise and Smith

Three amazing kids… waiting for three amazing families. Please read the updates from our Hope Journey team and consider lending your voice today! 

Elise

When I walked into the foster care center, Elise was one of the first children I met. I noticed that she is extremely observant. She seemed to just be taking it all in….with a smile on her face and a quiet disposition. Sweet Elise is lots of fun! She is great at following directions. Elise has a contagious smile and is always cheerful! She enjoys being around other children…she plays well with others, and she loves to give high fives. I am so thankful I got to spend time with her…coloring and playing with stickers and balls which she can throw. While I was with her, she completed several lacing cards and she also enjoys books. Eleven year old Elise has cerebral palsy and though she is nonverbal, she can communicate her needs and express herself well. She can sit without support and can walk fast with an unstable gait, but cannot run. Elise is affectionate and responds lovingly to other children and to her caretakers.

Elise would bring great joy to her forever family! She stole my heart and I'm praying the perfect family rises up to call her their own.

Smith

This 7 year old boy always has a smile on his face.  Although he has some physical limitations, he was not to be held back! He enjoyed playing with the other kids and they wanted to do all they could to help get him there.   He likes to bounce a ball and then go as fast as he can to get it! Smith is verbal with his friends and can understand the instructions given by his caregiver. He did use a walker to move around on his own and enjoyed being pushed around by the other children in his wheelchair. Eating cake was a blast and could have been quite the messy affair had he not been helped.  Smith was always ready to play and enjoy the day with his two good friends and see what silly games or crafts we had in store each day. He attends the orphanage school.

Smith can give good eye contact when talking with friends and caregivers and can walk with assistance. He crawls/scoots on his legs to get around and will move around things or move them out of his way. He can pull himself into a chair without help and can pull himself up to standing position without help. He asks for help with things he can’t do by himself and is right handed- at least when throwing. He likes to play with hot wheels- pushing them across the floor and was also very interested in the games and crafts during our time in China. He can squeeze a ball to make it squeak and flipped pages in a book.  He was always interesting in seeking us out to help or show us what he did.Smith’s paperwork is inconclusive as to his exact medical need, but seems to indicate he may have cerebral palsy. His files also notes post-operative club feet and that he had a spinal surgery in Beijing. Our team took a lot of notes on his condition while in country and this information will also be available to a family who reviews his file.

We truly believe that this little man would thrive in a family with other children, not only so they could help him, but maybe to get into some mischief with him, too.  With the love of a forever family Smith would grow and learn and cherish every moment.