I can’t wait any longer.
On June 22, 2012, I posted his picture on Facebook. I fell for him hard. Paper ready and waiting since 2009 and I could not figure out why. He wasn’t abandoned at birth; he needed medical care that his family clearly couldn’t handle. He had a tumor on his kidney. The orphanage stepped up, got him the care he needed. Today, he is healthy except for one very big special need that none of us can overlook—he needs a family.
There was a family who had locked his file. In fact, he waited for them for a year and was prepared for them coming—as much as orphanage staff typically do with care packages and such. They went to China this summer; sadly, they did not come home with a son. They received him and had him with them at their hotel for over a week but ultimately decided they would escort him back to the orphanage and come home.
My heart was broken. There were no words I could offer to change anything about it. Believe me, I tried. I grieved hard. It hurt, and I have tried over the last several months to put his images aside, to forget those big dark eyes, to uncurl his fingers from around my heart and move on.
But, he hasn’t. So, I can’t.
This boy has experienced things a 7 year old boy should never experience. He’s fought for his life. He’s endured chemotherapy and all that comes with that by himself. Over the years, he’s likely learned that the only one he can trust is himself and that has impacted his response to the world. But, his heart can heal just as his body has healed. He is not without hope.
Amy Eldredge of Love Without Boundaries shared a story of an older orphan boy who had watched two of his friends leave to become sons and return to the orphanage later to become orphans once again. When asked what adoption was, he replied, “Adoption is when a family takes you home and then brings you back to the orphanage.”
I cannot wait any longer; he shouldn’t wait any longer. This boy is not currently available for adoption; once the family who was his for a year returned him, he hasn’t been made available to another. He needs a family to pursue him, go after him, commit to finding him and bringing him home no matter what. I’m told that if a family pursues, his paperwork will be found.
His name means Autumn Joy.
