Today is Thursday, our second to last day in Taiwan before we all make our various ways home – to Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and New York. We’ll tell you about today later, but first we need to tell you about yesterday!
Yesterday we went to Cathwel Services and had a full day with 18 children! Each child unique and full of surprises – no two personalities remotely alike! Each child amazing – a wonder and a blessing.
We’d like to share about two 7-year-olds Superkids met for the first time this trip. One little girl, Willow, and one little boy, Charlie. You may have seen some waiting child advocacy for them prior to this trip. Wow! We can never get over the difference between meeting a child in person versus reading a file. It is one thing to read a child’s file, but when you actually get to experience them in person, hear their little voices as they answer questions, and see how they respond to different games we play — it is so real, rewarding, and hopeful! Oh my goodness! Willow and Charlie are exceptional, each in their own way!
Let us tell you about Willow first. The word “bright” is a great adjective to describe her – Bright as in “brings light and energy” into the room; also bright as in “clever and smart”. She loved the little games we played and answered our questions in great detail with long, complex sentences. She quickly completed the puzzle games that can sometimes stump kids her age. She loved the movement games our pediatric physical therapist had her play and giggled as she skipped around the room and did jumping jacks. She is engaging and social, it was fun to watch her. When we said, “Let’s do some math.” She clapped and said, “Yay!” It is not the response we normally get.
And then little Charlie. What a sweet 7-year-old boy! He was a quiet boy. He had a bit of a poker face even when we all clapped for him as he quickly completed tasks. After he completed the first Q-bits puzzle he said it was too easy and he wanted a harder one, so we gave him a harder one which he quickly and accurately completed. He did some math problems for us and answered our questions easily and with clear, complete sentences. As with Willow, we are currently looking for a family for Charlie.
We also met a few sibling groups, which is always fun. Often siblings are not living together, but when they come for a Superkids day – we get to see them together and imagine what might it be like after they come home to a family able to care for them together. A little brother brought his monster truck into the room with him. We were playing with him, rolling the truck back and forth between us. Erin said monster truck several times while we were playing and was delighted when he parroted “Monster truck” in English.
We met some shy little 3-year-olds who took some time to come around and warm up. We met a champion block stacker who built the highest of the day — 18 blocks high!
One thing all of the children we met have in common is that they need a loving family. Hopefully, two years from now they will ALL be living in adoptive families. Some of the children we met today are officially matched to their adoptive parents. It is always amazing to meet them on Superkids trips!! We hope that some of the families in Gladney’s Taiwan program will be a great match for some of the children and will participate this spring and summer in matching meetings to be considered. For many of the children we met today, their families have likely not yet started the adoption process. If you have interest in learning more about any of the children we met today or are just interested about getting general information about the process of adoption from Taiwan please contact mary.chapman@gladney.org.
