Why Adopting this Boy

The views from the Chinese people on why foreigners come to adopt vary greatly.  Here are some of the things people in China have personally spoken to me when I was in China.  Some say we are "wonderful and kind people".  Some say "what a lucky boy".  Some have said "will he marry your daughter".  But this weekend, I discovered another reason why some Chinese think we adopt their children...

I have been able to put Kobe in touch with another family who will be adopting a 10 year old boy from Xian in about 6 months.  Kobe has agreed to visit with this boy to prepare him for adoption like he did Ian.  The difference this time around though is that this boy lives in a foster home in the countryside.  The foster home is about 3 hours from Kobe by bus, yet Kobe has still agreed to visit the boy twice a month for his new family. (can I just say how amazing I think Kobe is!!)  Anyhow, Saturday was Kobe's first visit to see the foster family and the 10 year old boy.

Of course Kobe asked all kinds of questions about the boy and his history.  Then Kobe stopped and asked the foster family if they had any questions about the new adoptive family or the adoption.  Here are Kobe's exact words:

Now the foster parents also have a question: "will they sell my kid for money (later they mentioned Organ trafficking) when he is in the US? " I answered for you that you are ok. I took sometime to explain for that (in medicine, law, and religion, even my personality). The foster mom cried.

OMWord, can you imagine this poor foster mother who has raised this kid for the past 9 years thinking that her son was about to be adopted for his ORGANS?!?!?!  How awful is that, I cannot even fathom the torment she and his entire foster family has gone through since finding out he was going to be adopted.  Needless to say, Kobe eased her mind and hopefully convinced her that no he would not be brought into the US and cut up for his organs.  Kobe earned his weight in gold for being able to inform this foster family that NO their foster son would not be harvested.


Oh how I wish the orphanages were more open to the new families meeting the foster families.  Most of the time the foster family never gets to meet the new family.  I wonder just how many more foster mothers out there are thinking they are raising a child to one day be an organ donor.