December 27th, Strong R3
Two more U.S. agencies are now saying the cut off is December 27th. I am not prepared to give it an R4 yet, but it’s now a pretty strong R3.
I’ve received a few emails about a fundraiser/contest that Love Without Boundaries is in. Apparently, the organization to receive the most $10 donations from different sources wins $50,000.
Click here for the page that explains the contest, and then click here if you’d like to donate on behalf of LWB.
LWB intends to use the money to fund surgeries. Heart surgery in China averages around $5,000 per child, so they can provide much needed heart surgery for 10 children with the prize money.
LWB is currently in the lead, but not by much, and the contest is nearing the final stretch.
January 31st, 2008 at 2:48 pm
Thank you RQ for mentioning LWB - they are such a great, great organization, and the number of people you have scouting through here at any given time could really make a HUGE difference.
$10 can change the world for many of the children near and dear to our hearts - maybe even one of your future children - AMAZING!
January 31st, 2008 at 3:27 pm
I was hoping the Facebook contest would get mentioned here since there is such a large following! Thanks for helping such a wonderful organization!
Jo
January 31st, 2008 at 3:49 pm
Yay!!! Thank you RQ for mentioning this!!!
Please, everyone, consider helping LWB! They are such an amazing organization and their closest competitor has a history of rallying at the last minute!
January 31st, 2008 at 4:11 pm
LWB won today’s $1000 challenge!
I just signed up today to join the effort and I have to say it was really easy… I’m sorry I put it off. The next closest organization is within 30 individuals of taking the $50,000 prize. So if any of you are thinking it sounds like a hassle to sign up and donate $10… it really is not. And what amazing things LWB can do with $50,000 for the children waiting to find their families.
January 31st, 2008 at 4:44 pm
In addition LWB had their computer hacked , no donor info and has to rebuild.
January 31st, 2008 at 4:58 pm
It also looks like the group in 2nd place has about 2,000 members waiting until the last minute to donate - they have twice as many members but not as many donations - so we really need to get out there and get donations rolling in - less than 24 hours to go!
January 31st, 2008 at 5:15 pm
I am stunned.
I’d expressed my concern about our age on a thread last night and earlier this morning.
Because of the concern over our age, we agreed with our agency to keep our NSN dossier where it is, yet still evaluate special needs kids.
We got our first referral an hour or so ago, a beautiful 7-year old girl from Beijing who has some challenges with one hand and both feet, but which don’t impact her independence.
Seeing the pictures of her hand shocked me, and her feet really aren’t that much of an issue, but the rest of her is the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. Supposedly she’s totally healthy in every other way.
I’ve contacted the local international adoption clinic, to try and get a medical review done.
But the kicker is, I can’t even tell my wife. She’s off teaching Japanese at some secret US Government facility for the next hour and a half, and I’m shaking so hard I’m about to bust.
This was totally, TOTALLY unexpected.
Wish me luck. We have zero clue what we’re going to decide.
Thanks for bearing with me, folks. I really just NEEDED to tell SOMEBODY….
January 31st, 2008 at 5:18 pm
Meaning, she isn’t allowed to bring her cell phone or other electronic devices into the government facility. She had to leave all that in her car in the visitor parking lot. We get a referral, I can’t even call her for the next hour and a half and I’m just sitting here in a state of shock!
January 31st, 2008 at 5:19 pm
DOM! That’s great!!! You must be so excited…best of luck in your journey as you make your decision. Please keep us posted. :)
January 31st, 2008 at 5:23 pm
That is wonderful Dom! I bet you are crawling the walls. Too bad you can’t be at her car when she gets out with a photo in hand.
January 31st, 2008 at 5:25 pm
Dom! How wonderful!! We’ll be waiting to hear if this beautiful girl is your daughter.
January 31st, 2008 at 5:25 pm
Congrats dom! That’s great. Keep us in the loop!
January 31st, 2008 at 5:29 pm
Dom,Oh my gosh…..Congratulations!! Let us know what happens! I saw your question last night and was hoping that everything would work out for you and your wife regarding the age factor!
January 31st, 2008 at 6:00 pm
Da jia, Duo Xie (Thanks everybody).
Too danged much emotion coursing through my being to be coherent at the moment. Simply wanted to reply and say, “thanks” for the warm wishes.
I have no idea how wifey will react. To my experience living and working in Japan with reasonable fluency for a Gaijin (Japanese equivalent of Laowai, i.e., foreigner) a number of Japanese I’ve known have been pretty persnickety about physical abnormalities. She could fall in love with this little lady, she could be repulsed. It’s just totally hard to say.
Pray for us, folks. This decision ain’t gonna be easy. Good thing the agency will give us several business days to think this over. I’m best off not deciding anything until I can calm down, get some sleep, and talk it through with my better half.
Zhoumo kuaile (Have a good weekend),
Dom
January 31st, 2008 at 7:22 pm
Thanks RQ for posting about the Face book Challenge, I know with you drawing this to everybody’s attention here, that we have the ability to do something great for those dear children who need surgery. It really is very easy to donate and what a difference it could make to some child awaiting surgery. Please everybody give a few dollars and a few minutes of your time. It only takes a small donation to do something really special. But we need to do it today to try to win the $50.000 challenge.
Also, good luck Dom.
ps I meant to post this here, sorry if it double post
January 31st, 2008 at 9:00 pm
Thank you, thank you RQ for posting about Love Without Boundaries! Please people, we need your help! If Love Without Boundaries wins this contest, it will mean Life-Saving Heart surgery for 10 children waiting in China! When in your life have you been able to donate 10 dollars and have it equal 10 lives saved. Please, please follow the link that RQ has above, sign up and make the donation before noon PST tomorrow. I know the adoption community, I know we can do this!
January 31st, 2008 at 11:35 pm
Thank RQ for mentioning the LWB Facebook Challenge. It’s amazing that they’ve come this far and if we can reach more people through this site in the last hours of the contest it can make ALL the difference!
& Dom, congratulations!
February 1st, 2008 at 12:35 pm
Please everyone, donate today before 2 PST…right now we are only a few (and I mean a few) in the lead. Last night we were over 200 behind and we’ve made huge leaps! If we win this, it means life-saving heart surgery for 10 babies!
February 1st, 2008 at 2:48 pm
Just checked on LWB. With 1 hr and 15 min left, they need 50 donors to pull back into first place. This is a very worthy cause and makes a difference in so many children’s lives.
Kayli’s Mimi
First anniversary of our trip to get Kayli - coming right up!