I’d like to share a story about a little boy. A boy who was “almost” my son. A boy who has been waiting for over 2 years for a family to choose him. To be his forever.
You see, when he was 2 his paperwork was filed. And we read his file and saw his sweet face.
And as we looked at this sweet boy, so young and adorable, we thought FOR SURE he would find his family. And the other child we were considering was already turning 5 years old and might not. So we prayed and felt confident that we should submit LOI (letter of intent to adopt) for our son Chengbin.
A few months later, a fellow thalassemia mama visited his orphanage and took this heart-wrenching photo of him. He was nearing 3 years old. And still waiting…
My heart shattered. This sweet boy. This beautiful boy. Those eyes. The sadness. It overwhelmed me and I promised myself I wouldn’t forget him and would do all I could to find his family.
And then his file disappeared. My agency no longer had it. He wasn’t on the shared list of waiting children either. No other US agencies had his file. It was gone…
And I prayed it was because a family somewhere in the world had chosen him.
I prayed that he was about to become someone’s son.
And I continued to wonder what happened. I thought about him and prayed for him for a year and a half.
Then, a little over a month ago, one of the caseworkers at WACAP sent me the file of a little boy new to the agency’s list. She was hoping I’d help advocate for him since he had thalassemia. So I scrolled down and read the name on the file…
It couldn’t be! I recognized that name. I opened the picture and there he was again. The sweet little boy who I thought was SURE to find a family. The one who had disappeared from the list. The little guy I have been praying for for a year and a half.
And now he’s 4 years old.
And still waiting for his family to come…
This sweet boy was abandoned at 1 year old. He’s turned 2 years old, 3 years old, and now 4 years old in the orphanage, still waiting for his family to come. How much longer will he wait? His paperwork describes him as a smart, extroverted boy who is close to his caregivers and the other children in the orphanage. He is said to receive transfusions twice a month. Aside from his thalassemia he appears to be healthy and growing. He would truly thrive in a family!
I am continually praying for this boy. Many times each day. His picture is on the lock screen of my cell phone, so many times a day I see his face and say a prayer. A prayer that this time he won’t be lost. A prayer that this time his family will say ‘yes’ and run to him. All I want for Christmas is for Harris to find his forever family.
Are you his family?
There is a $4,000 grant toward his adoption. I’m happy to talk to you about beta thalassemia major and life with a thal major child. You can read more about thalassemia on my blog. Please ask me about him at or contact Lindsey with WACAP.
~Guest Post By Fannie
Oh my goodness..what a sweetheart! If I could, I would take him into our family as our own..I pray he finds a forever family..my heart aches for him.
Sounds like he has found his family!Are you sure you arent being called to adopt him??
Oh gosh, fannie…the first thing that popped into my head was, “You are meant for him!” I don’t think the details are coincidences! He is a precious boy, and if you are not led to adopt him, I hope someone else finds him soon.