Pair adopts child as an act of faith

A long road ends in happiness

By GRACIE BONDS STAPLES
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Published on: 10/07/07

Their years together were forever changing, but their dream never changed.

For 12 years, it was constant, rooted, like many of the couple's aspirations, in Scripture.





For Bill and Amanda Burke, their yearning to adopt a child was in keeping with James 1:27: "Pure and undefiled religion before God is this: to care for orphans."

At Cornerstone Church of Christ, where the Lawrenceville couple are members, it has become part of the mission.

In all, 21 couples at Cornerstone, a small congregation of 270 adults, have adopted 25 children. Some, like the Burkes, already had children of their own. That didn't matter. Many of them adopted from China, the No. 1 source of foreign-born children adopted by Americans.

The church's passion is stoked by the pastor's wife, Sue Mathis, who became a heartfelt advocate after she and her husband adopted a Chinese child of their own.

The Burkes didn't know when or how they'd proceed. They just knew God put it in their hearts to adopt a child.

"We felt we were meant to do this," Amanda Burke said, "but it just seemed like it wasn't going to happen."

After nearly 10 years of marriage, the Burkes believed they had been abundantly blessed. They had a three-bedroom home, two children and promising careers. Bill was pastor of a small nondenominational congregation in Tennessee, and Amanda headed the women's ministry.

But in 1995, just as they decided the time was right to adopt, the couple moved to Lawrenceville and went from leading a church to being a part of the staff. Amanda discovered she was pregnant for a third time. Then, Bill was hospitalized with blood clots in his lungs. For many reasons, including financial, Bill decided to leave the ministry and become an insurance broker. Amanda became a teacher in the Gwinnett County schools.

A change of circumstance

Then last year, after another decade had passed and as life seemed to be settling down, Amanda's father died, leaving the family "a nice inheritance."

Even then, the Burkes weren't sure. Bill was approaching 50. Their three children — Carter, Hannah and Abby — were 16, 14 and 11, respectively.

"Then it just sort of dawned on us: 'Why can't we do it?' " Amanda recalled. "We had the money."

That was in July 2006. The next month, the Burkes went to Hope for Children, a Christian nonprofit adoption agency in Atlanta, and began the process.

It was then, Amanda recently recalled, that their prayer changed: "God, show us which child was meant to be in our family."

Weeks later, Hope for Children called. There was a 3-year-old boy waiting to be adopted — in Jiangxi province, China.

Amanda Burke logged onto the adoption agency's Web site. "He was adorable," she said.

Hong Zi Hua had been abandoned at the door of a hospital when he was 4 days old, then shuttled to an orphanage before being sent to a foster home.

The Burkes got the toddler's health records and asked their pediatrician to look them over. The boy checked out. The Burkes remained a little apprehensive but forged ahead, "confident God put this little boy in our path," Amanda said.

More than a dozen fellow worshippers at Cornerstone had opted for a foreign adoption, which is generally less complicated than domestic because birth parents are not involved and the match is made by a government agency.

Adoption has become a church mission championed by Sue Mathis, the pastor's wife. After having two children of their own, the couple adopted a Chinese girl they named Julia four years ago.

"I became an advocate for adoption," Mathis said. "It's so near to God's heart that he says he places the lonely in families."

Mathis began calling families interested in adoption, answering questions and telling them her family's story. A few months later, Hope for Children hired her as a part-time adoption advocate.

With the help of a couple of other families, Mathis instituted Third Fridays, a support group for families who've adopted or are in the process of adopting.

Mathis said that while their adoption went off without a hitch, not every family has it that easy. Some adoptions can take 2 1/2 years.

"I wanted to prepare families for challenges, even for the waiting process," she said. "I wanted to have a group of people to offer them support, who could say, 'We've been through this,' and to hopefully influence other families to want to adopt also."

Lovely and naughty

Hong Zi Hua had a ready smile and got along well with others, according to records his foster parents kept, and he loved to imitate singers he saw on television by rolling up paper like a microphone and singing into it. They described him as "a lovely, naughty little boy."

"I knew this was my son," Amanda Burke recalled.

Hong Zi Hua would become Jonathan Zi Hua Burke, or Zi for short.

The Burkes began preparing the way. Zi would share bunk beds with Abby at first and then move into Carter's room. He'd inherit Carter's old toys: the train set, books and Power Rangers.

The couple hoped all the lessons they'd tried to impart to the children — to love and serve others — had taken root.

On July 11, Bill, Amanda, Hannah and Abby boarded a plane to China, their "hearts bursting with excitement."

Four days later, they walked into the adoption center and their dream. The caregivers arrived carrying infants. Hong Zi Hua, hand in hand with one of them, led the pack.

Amanda knelt down to greet him.

Zi cried.

But within days the boy, who had studied English in preschool, was coming into his own. He ran around the hotel room screaming, poking his sisters Hannah and Abby, whatever it took to get a laugh.

"He was full of vinegar," said Amanda.

Although he cried at bedtime for his foster mom, Zi was showing affection toward the Burkes.

It wasn't unusual for him to run up and plant a kiss on one of their faces, throw his arms around them, or declare "Mommy, wo ai ni" — "I love you" in Mandarin Chinese.

The feeling was mutual. Hannah and Abby argued over who would get to carry Zi. Bill read to him. They taught him to sing "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" and "Old MacDonald Had a Farm."

"Zi is doing amazing," Amanda wrote in an e-mail from China on July 24. "No more tears or sadness. He's a Burke through and through."

Two days later, the family returned home, greeted at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport by son Carter and friends from Cornerstone who'd also adopted from China.

They held balloons and presents for Zi. Carter, meeting his new brother, scooped him up and hugged him.

"Hey, Zi," he said.

Dragons for Zi

A few weeks later, Amanda Burke was the first in the family to wake up Sunday morning, Aug. 26. She gently roused Zi, who was asleep on a pallet beside the Burkes' bed, and they went to the kitchen for breakfast.

It was 7:30 a.m. The family hustled into the bathroom and out, swooped into the kitchen for a bowl of cereal, and finally into the traditional Chinese outfits they'd purchased during their 12-day stay in the country.

For Zi, they chose dragon and phoenix designs on black silk with red trim. For Bill, a black jacket. And for Amanda, a red dress with plum blossoms.

They prayed that morning, thanking God for the opportunity to present their newest addition to their church family.

Three hours later, they arrived at Collins Hill High School, Cornerstone's temporary home. The service had barely gotten under way when the Rev. David Mathis summoned the Burkes to the front of the church.

As Zi held him close, Bill Burke began speaking. Say hello, he told his new son.

"Hello," Zi said quietly into the microphone.

"It's a privilege to be chosen to be this little boy's family," Bill said.

Before Bill could get another word out, Zi started plastering his daddy with kisses.

Bill Burke looked at his son and said, "I love you."

Unable to go on, father and son took their seats, and the church cried.

Dwindling Numbers of Adoptions out of China

The stats for 2006 are now available, and they're not looking good. Here's some stats for the U.S.:

U.S. adoptions from China
2004 7,044
2005 7,906
2006 6,520

And for Canada:
Canadian adoptions from China
2004 1,001
2005 973
2006 608


What this means is that China adopted out about 20% fewer children to Canada and the U.S. in 2006 than it did in 2005. The slowdown isn't just due to increased demand, it's also due to decreased supply. China not only has not increased the number of children referred to meet the demand, they've actually reduced it.

As I've said elsewhere, I believe this is due to Chinese internal politics. An analogous situation in the U.S.A. is immigration. The delay to receive permission to immigrate to the U.S. from some countries is as long as 22 years. This is simply due to a quota on the number of immigrations from those countries. This delay could be eliminated at any time by simply lifting the quota - it would take only a few months to process the 22 year backlog. However, because immigration is a sensitive issue in the U.S., there is currently no prospect of that happening. China's situation is much the same. Adoption is a sensitive issue. China does not want to be perceived as a baby exporter, and all of the articles that have been written about adoption from China are not helping the situation. Apparently they are dealing with this perception by reducing their quotas for international adoption. This has nothing to do with the number of children who need homes in China, nothing to do with how fast the CCAA can process dossiers, and everything to do with political considerations.

If the quota reductions continue - and the numbers so far in 2007 are not promising - and the number of dossiers submitted to China continues at the same high level, wait times will go extremely high. I cannot stress this enough: if you have not already submitted your dossier to China, please choose a different route to adopt. You will thank me later, when you have a child in only a year or two vs. a five-year wait or longer for China. If you have only recently submitted your dossier, I think you should also consider switching. Domestic, private, or international adoption from another country are all likely to be much faster than continuing with China.

China Adoption Forecast

The rumors turned to facts....

It's that time of month when I can say YES, we have heard something from our agency!! This months referrals have arrived. This is good news since it at least proves that Chinese adoptions are in fact occurring, they are just moving at a snail's pace.

I know I keep repeating this, but to understand all of this you have to keep in mind that our log in date (LID) is January 12, 2006. We are waiting for the CCAA (Chinese Center for Adoption Affairs) to work their way to that date in their matching process. This month they matched families that were logged in through November 30, 2005. This is dismal at best since many people (myself included) believed the CCAA would begin matching families that were logged in during December '05. If the CCAA would have matched a few dates into December I would have felt a glimmer of hope this month, but instead I feel even more discouraged and disappointed (because they only matched 5 days worth of LIDS this month). It's as though my brain knows the reality, but my heart hopes for a miracle. Our wait continues for several more months....

One thing I believe with absolute certainty - we have a daughter somewhere in China. She is unaware of the family that is waiting for her, but we love her already and we know that our family will not be complete until we bring her home. It is a day we wait for with great anticipation.

Posted by Marla & Matt at 12:21 PM

Baby Linton Blog

Four Things About Adoption

Four things I thought about adoption when I was a child:

1. That my brothers and I must have been adopted because I was darned sure my parents had not done that sex thing I'd heard about.

2. That one of my brothers had birth parents from another planet.

3. That orphans could all sing and dance.

4. That children who lost their parents often had to live with mean people and work really hard.

Four things I've learned since then:

1. Sex can be fun for grownups.

2. Biological connections are not the basis for sibling relationships.

3. Children who lose their parents do often have to live with mean people and work really hard.

4. Some people hate the very idea of adoption and will do what they can to see an end to the option for all the world's children.

Four silly things people have said to me about adoption:

1. "Anyone is better off dead than adopted."

2. "White people have no business raising children of color."

3. "What language do they (my children) speak?"

4. "Internationally adopted children have been robbed of their culture."

Four ways my adopted children have surprised me:

1. By how totally dedicated they are to each other.

2. By how many traits they share with us, their parents, and with each other.

3. By how tall they are.

4. The febrile seizures were a surprise, too.

Four things I wish everyone knew about adoption:

1. That adoption is a good thing, and that even though a small percentage of the population is very much against it for reasons they may or may not be happy to share, the huge majority of those touched by adoption benefit greatly, and for their entire lives.

2. That angry adult adoptees who insist that adoptive parents damage children by bringing them into a loving family and regret-ridden birth parents who judge adoptive parents as the instigators of adoption itself are blinded by their agendas to the positives of adoption.

3. That "adoption reform" and "family preservation" often don't have anything to do with reform or preservation, but can be merely diversionary terms used to cloud issues and apply spin with a desired end result of putting an end to adoption.

4. That the world we live in ... the real world that comes with war, famine, disease, corruption, gender inequality, genocide, and oh-so-much more ... would be a better place if there were more safe and loving adoptive families adopting more children. AND that by a gigantic margin, most adoptions are conducted ethically, legally and morally, and that many, many birth parents choose to place children for some very good reasons, and they are entitled to do so.

Adoption Blogs

The Saga of the Olympic Torch-Should Jenny withdraw?

Yesterday, I voted for Jenny Bowen, the founder of Half the Sky-an organization dedicated to making the lives of children living in orphanages better-to carry the Olympic Torch.

Jenny, an American, lives and works in Beijing. She said she will run with eight Chinese children who are orphans.

On many levels this is a wonderful thing-it raises awareness for the kids who are left behind in China's orphanages, the publicity could help Half the Sky raise money which could help more children, its a great image of international co-operation and it is great showcase for adoption.

Today, I read some of the comments on the site. There are some people that think Jenny is 'cheating'. They question how she could have gotten so many votes in a short period of time. Indeed, her votes nearly doubled in less than 24 hours and it appears she is closing in on the leader.

This is a perfect example of the power of the internet-adoption groups-representing thousands of families formed via adoption-all over the world are being rallied to Jenny's side.

Of course, in many cases the rank and file Chinese citizen is not privvy to groups, blogs and other lightning fast communciation tools. It is easy to see where the idea that Jenny was cheating could come from.

So, is Jenny's selection really a good thing? I am certainly not as sure as I was yestday. I wonder how we would react if a Chinese citizen had carried the torch in Atlanta or Salt Lake City? I suspect there would be outrage that one of 'our own' got supplanted by someone who was not a citizen. Should Jenny win, what impact will it really have on international relations? on adoption?

The Chinese have a long tradition of saving face. How will they handle the international public scrutiny on their adoption policies. Not only will the world comment on what happens to China's children, but the Chinese themselves will be made aware of just how many kids are leaving the country or languishing in orphanages. Much of this information has been kept from rank and file Chinese citizens.

So, like most complex questions there are positives and negatives. I know which way I am leaning. Maybe the eight kids representing all the children in the orphanages should carry the torch...

What do you think?

With Respect,
Deb

Bully Erasor

Inside China's State-run Media

By Sarah Matheson
Epoch Times Auckland Staff Oct 02, 2007


Former One News reporter Charlotte Glennie is now based in Beijing for the Australia Network, and says New Zealanders have a vested interest in learning more about China. (The Epoch Times)
Award winning New Zealand journalist Charlotte Glennie, says China's media is the mouthpiece for the communist party.

Well known in New Zealand for her coverage of the Boxing Day Tsunami, Miss Glennie has since become the China correspondent for the Australia Network, based in Beijing.

She said news in China is often blocked or dropped mid-broadcast if it exposes something negative about the Chinese regime.

China's propaganda department actually controls and instructs all of the state-run television, radio and newspapers, she said.

"Editors actually come in the morning and the have a list from the propaganda department and they have to follow that," she said.

But, the power of the Internet is changing China, she said, even though the communist party has blocked 18,000 sites.



"Editors actually come in the morning and the have a list from the propaganda department and they have to follow that."

- Charlotte Glennie, former One News reporter now working as a China correspondent for the Australian Network.


"Online activism is having an impact. By the time they [the CCP] are able to delete it, several thousand people have read it," she said.

Thousands of children and disabled people were being used to provide slave labour at a brick kiln in Hongdong County in Shanxi Province for 14 hours a day.

Some children were as young as eight years old. The parents appealed to the Chinese authorities for months.

But after the "virtual pressure" everything changed and people were prosecuted, Miss Glennie said.

Media Censored Mid-stream

A news report on CCN or the BBC can suddenly be shut down, with the screen going blank, if something like democracy gets mentioned.

"This happens all the time - even if CNN are doing an interview about press freedom," she quipped.

Miss Glennie interviewed Li Datong, the chief editor of the Chinese newspaper Freezing Point.

Mr Li, a communist party member, wrote a letter attacking his newspaper's scheme to offer financial rewards to reporters who regime officials praised, while deducting pay from reporters whose articles received criticism.

"He said to me the media in China is the official mouthpiece of the Chinese Communist Party and that the Communist Party regards it as a weapon as powerful as the military."

She said bribes were a big part of Chinese journalism.

"There is a lot of money that changes hands in journalism in China. When you go to a business conference in China, journalists leave with a little bag of money from the company."

But foreign reporters can report on anything in China, she said.

"The catch on that is we are depending on our local sources. We have to protect them."

She said Western countries do not know enough about China.

"I think that now and in the future we have a vested interest in finding out more about China."

Break from Tradition

She said the one-child policy meant there were now 117 men to every woman in China, because infanticide against females is a huge problem in China. Miss Glennie has visited orphanages in China that are full of girls.

"The only boys up for adoption are disabled or handicapped," she said.

She said because there are so many men in China, women are marrying later and are more promiscuous.

It is a real break form tradition, she said.

"More women are being, and will be, abducted."

She is slowly learning Mandarin, but says language has been a real barrier, particularly with all the different dialects among different ethnic groups.

Miss Glennie won the supreme Qantas award for her coverage of the Boxing Day Tsunami in 2006 for One News, and a Special Service Medal.

She was based in Hong Kong for One News until they closed their Asia bureau in 2006.

Epoch Times

Some Canadian "Waiting Child" Adoptions Stonewalled

On P.E.I., the government has taken over facilitating the adoption of children from China's Waiting Child Program, with predictable results:

P.E.I. building obstacles to international adoption, families say
New polices on P.E.I. are blocking international adoption, some families are complaining, and they've formed a group to lobby for change.

They're urging the premier to step in and change his government's policies. They fear without a change, they will lose their chance to adopt.

"All of us feel that the province does not support international adoption. That's why we're coming forward," Tammy MacKinnon, spokeswoman for the P.E.I. Adoption Coalition, told CBC News Friday.

"We want to know why it's being made so difficult."

The issue is with China's Waiting Child Program, which places children with medical problems, sometimes very minor ones. Because of the difficulty of successfully placing these children, the Chinese program uses agencies in Canada to help select families. Four P.E.I. children have been adopted under China's Waiting Child Program.

But in 2005, China became part of the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption. The P.E.I. government believes this requires the province to take a more direct role in the adoptions, and it has cut the Canadian agencies from the process, causing lengthy delays.

The agencies are accredited provincially in Ontario and Quebec. P.E.I. is the only province in Canada that has stopped using the agencies for the Waiting Child Program, because it believes it is illegal to use them.
Red Threads

CCAA Response to FCC Letter

Hi all,
This was posted on the FCC leader group of which I am a part, so I thought I'd share it here.
Grace (& dh, Peter), in PA
Nicole ShanQing, 8, Nanchang, Jiangxi (3rd Grade)
Elizabeth JiaYue, 5.5, SanShui, Guangdong (Kindergarten)
Kimberly MuHsuan, 3, Tainan, Taiwan (Preschool)

Dear FCC Leaders:

We are pleased to have received a response from the CCAA to the open letter written by the presidents of four FCCs: Greater New York, Northern CA, Southern CA and New England. The open letter expressed our concerns about the changes in adoption eligibility as well as expressing our appreciation for our children and our offer to help in whatever way we could.

We sent this letter to the CCAA on May 1, 2007. We made this letter available to other FCCs and to the wider audience of FCC members through FCC websites and email groups.

Several additional FCCs joined us a co-signators of the open letter. We received many, many comments from FCC members, which we greatly appreciated. Whether supportive of the open letter (and almost all were supportive) or not, all comments were written with sincerity and gratitude for the adoption program.

This summer we received a reply from the CCAA, -- as we had hoped, but not expected. The CCAA’s reply, along with two translations and a preface from us, is posted on the national FCC website: http://www.fwcc.org/.

We invite you to read these documents and to encourage your members to do so. You are welcome to email us with comments. Some of our chapter FCC websites have feedback sections, which can facilitate comments, too.

In closing, we would like say thank you to all who have participated in this process: other FCCs, individuals who have sent us comments, adoption experts and translators who have helped put these documents in context and to the CCAA for its response and concern for adoptive families.

With best regards,

Shanti Fry, President of FCC-New England on behalf of:

Marjorie Berman and David Youtz, current and past
Presidents of FCC of Greater New York,
Peggy Scott, President of FCC-Northern CA
Jeri Okamoto Floyd, President of FCC-Southern CA

Tips and info on adoption and fingerprints

I have been writing about fingerprints and adoption. Adoptive parents are fingerprinted during the adoption process to do a background check and ensure that the parents are "suitable" to adopt. Most domestic adoptions now require that parents are fingerprinted, and all international adoptions require that parents are fingerprinted.

Some good news regarding the I600A and fingerprints is that things have recently gotten a little bit easier and a good amount cheaper for parents who have long adoption processes. It used to be that your USCIS fingerprints expired after 15 months, and your I600A approval, or the I171H, expired after 18 months. If you did not file your I600 (which is right before your child comes home) before those time frames, you had to redo your fingerprints and I600A (and repay the fees).

USCIS is now giving adoptive families one free renewal or extension of their I600A approval. If you're I600A has been approved and you have not been able to file an I600 because your adoption has not yet been completed within the 18 month time frame, you can send a written request to the USCIS office that you filed your I600A at and request an extension. The request must be received no earlier than 90 days before the expiration of the I600A approval, however it must be received before the approval actually expires. You should include a copy of your original approval and the expiration date of both the approval and your fingerprints.

You will not need to send in another $80 per person to have the fingerprints redone as part of this free extension. You will receive a new fingerprint appointment letter as you did the first time around. Please note that if your adoption is not completed within 18 months of the first approval extension, you will have to repay the application and fingerprinting fees.

For all adoptive parents getting fingerprinted, here are a few tips:

- Always bring the USCIS fingerprinting letter that you receive in the mail (one per person needing to be fingerprinted) if you are adopting internationally. If you are adopting domestically, bring any paperwork your agency has given you.

- Always bring at least one form of photo ID when you are being fingerprinted.

- Take care of your hands when it is getting close to your fingerprint time. Any cuts or other marks on your fingers that interfere with your prints can cause for you to have to have them redone at a later time, which will delay your adoption process.

- Get some Corn Husker's Lotion. If your hands are dry, the prints will not show up well and can cause for you to have to come back in and have them redone at another time. I use lots of lotion on my hands, and my hands were still dry for our last fingerprinting appointment. Many fingerprinting centers have Corn Husker's Lotion on hand if your hands are dry, but if your hands are very dry, they may send you home and ask you to use something on them for a few weeks and then come try again. I have heard it recommended that if you have dry hands, apply Corn Husker's lotion right before bed and then put on some gloves for a few nights before your fingerprinting appointment.

- Keep track of when you were fingerprinted for your records.

- Remember that you will have to have these fingerprints redone for each adoption. The prints are not saved in the system and so if you adopt more than once, you will have to be fingerprinted each time.

Adoption Blogs.com

Can Half The Sky Carry The Olympic Torch in Beijing?

Alex's Notes: This would be awesome. China-Babies is supporting this 100%.

Make sure you go to this link and vote if you want them to be able to carry the torch: China Daily
I want to run for the children of China.

Mother to two girls adopted from Chinese welfare institutions, in 1998 I founded Half the Sky Foundation, in order to enrich the lives and enhance the prospects of orphaned children in China. 2008 is our 10th anniversary!

My family moved to Beijing in 2004 to be closer to the work that has become the passion of our lives. Half the Sky (www.halfthesky.org) offers its four nurture and enrichment programs to children living in 36 orphanages across China. We have served close to 15,000 infants, toddlers, young children and teens.

This year, as part of China’s Blue Sky Plan, Half the Sky was invited by the Ministry of Civil Affairs to introduce its life-changing programs to welfare institutions in every province in China. We are so honored!

If I were selected to carry the torch, I would run with the children—8 lovely children from our programs in 8 different provinces. What an amazing experience that would be for them!

Judging solves nothing

Alex's Notes: It always amazes me to see the self riteous judging of others without knowing the facts or understanding the circumstances. This entire 'International Adoption is Bad" movement blows my mind, for exactly the reasons this poster stated.

Nothing in the world is perfect, especially something designed by humans, and my wife and I are in the exact same situation, if domestic adoption were a better alternative than adopting through the extremely efficient Chinese Adoption system, we would have adopted domestically.

Once again, the ancient words apply, maybe we should pull that gigantic plank out of our own eye and fix our own country before we start pointing fingers. It only makes us look like idiots for judging.

----------------

Public Forum Letter
Article Last Updated: 09/29/2007 12:33:01 PM MDT


My family recently adopted a baby girl from China, and she is the most amazing little sister I could have ever imagined.
However, lately it has been brought to my attention by several individuals I know that some consider it inappropriate for Americans to adopt babies from other countries. The personal attacks that both I and my parents have faced on this issue have been appalling. I think it should be understandable to anyone that a child's life is important regardless of where it was born.
That statement is, I'll admit, not the only reason behind us adopting. My family wanted another baby, and quite frankly, China's adoption program is more stable than America's. If international adoption is offensive to some American citizens, then I say look at the problems with the American system and work to fix them. Don't decide not to act and then think you have the right to judge my family for loving an innocent little girl. If you request change, you must work for it. Judging solves nothing.

Elise Grongstad
Salt Lake City