Beautiful Meili!

About a year ago I went to the US with Marlon. I vividly remember two reunions in DC and LA as if they happened yesterday. I will always treasure my memories of children who were once in our care, now grown up and happily living with their loving families. Actually, we had a third reunion during our stay.

While Marlon and I were at California, we got in touch with the Goodman family whose daughter, Meili, was once in our care at Xining's Children Home. I was moved beyond words when I met Meili and her family. It was a delight to see how beautiful and full-of-life she is today. I now want to share with you the letter Cathy, Meili's mother, wrote to me:

My husband and I had decided to have two Chinese children. In January 2013, we made our first trip to China to meet our daughter. She had been living in foster care after the surgery that Christian Action had done for her where she was very loved.

Meili was born with a cleft lip and palate. Five days after she was born she was left in a field outside the children's home in Xining.

We changed her name from Yanan to Meili, which means beautiful. Although scared at first, she adapted very quickly. Upon coming to Seattle, Meili was enrolled in a specialised preschool where she received speech therapy twice weekly.

Meili had surgery on her nose before starting kindergarten. That helped fix what the first surgeries did not do, so that she would feel confident when she went to school. When Meili started Kindergarten, she struggled a bit but fought through and continues to work hard in school. Now, she has many friends at school and is liked by all of them.

We have a tradition in our family where the girls grow their hair until they are 8 years old and at that time, she is able to decide how she wants it. On her birthday, Meili decided to cut it from below her bottom to waist length. She is absolutely excited to show off her new cut!

She knows about her beginnings but does not question who her family is. She wants to return to China to see what she does not remember. We will help her do this, along with her siblings, when we feel they are old enough to understand.

We are forever grateful to Christian Action for stepping in and helping Meili in those early days. Things might have been very different for her if CA had not been there. We hope that Meili will be able to return and give back in Siew Mei's programme.

My brief yet intimate reunion with Meili and the Goodman family is a wonderful reminder of the power of adoption. Seeing her brimming with such positivity is a testament to the love her family has for her. I pray for more blessings upon Meili and her family. May she grow and continue sharing goodness and joy with everyone around her.