Orphan Sunday

Today Orphan Sunday is being celebrated in many churches. This day is very close to my heart and I have been forever changed because of adoption. Many stories of adoption are shared on this day, so I figured I should share with you my favorite story:

On July 29, 2009 in Chenzhou in the Hunan Province in China, a little girl about 2 months old was left at a police station in an alley. Luckier than some, her mother obviously loved her enough to care for her and nourish her in her first 2 months of life. This little girl’s name was Chen ShanHui, Chen represents the place where she was found and ShanHui means “we hope you live a long and happy life”. Her mother abandoned her because she was born with an extra thumb on her right hand and her left ear canal was closed. Unfortunately in China, this little girl is considered a special needs child due to two minor issues somewhat easily solved through surgeries. In China, special needs children are believed to bring bad luck to the family, and many poor families are forced to abandon their children in hopes that the orphanages will be able to provide the medical care they need, but unfortunately they can’t. This little baby girl was abandoned and left to the horrifying realities of being cared for in a Chinese orphanage. For the next year of her life she would become malnourished, and numb to her emotions due to the lack of physical touch and love that she so desperately needed. 

In 2002, a little girl in the United States was watching a documentary about Stephen Curtis Chapman’s adoption and the need for families for orphans in China. She ran to her parents and asked if she could have a sister from China. Her parents began to pray about adoption, but the cost of the adoption made them nervous as they were very unsure if they could afford to bring one of these girls in to their family. But God gave them a heart for a little girl out there somewhere and in 2005, they had officially filed for an adoption. After 5 years of waiting, on April 27, 2010, this family received a phone call, informing them that they had been matched with a little girl named Chen ShanHui. But, due to the economy they no longer could afford the adoption, the money that they had saved was gone. After hours of praying and begging God to provide, this family received an anonymous donation from another family, who had heard God’s call and responded. They gave half of what was needed for Chen ShanHui’s adoption. Now, Chen ShanHui has a new name, her name is Charis ShanHui-Lee Weldon. And she is my sister, that God’s people helped bring home.

Adopting my sister has been one of the greatest blessings in my life, and I pray that through Orphan Sunday many families will hear God’s call to adopt or to financially support a family who wants to adopt.