Support from the Holt forum and staff helps a family as they wait for their daughter

by Heather Hansen

With four children, my husband, Kent, and I were content with our already large family. However, after his sister and brother-in-law adopted a daughter from China, we began considering whether we could open our home and hearts to another child.

One evening, my husband and I went to dinner to have uninterrupted time to discuss our decision. While at the restaurant, we ran into a friend of ours, Dean. Dean and his wife were in the process of adopting two sisters from Ethiopia, and Kent asked him why they decided to adopt. I will never forget Dean’s response. He said, “You only get one shot at life. Why wouldn’t we do something that will bless our family in ways we can’t even imagine?” As we considered his words, our decision became clear!

We decided that, since our decision would affect the lives of our children, we should include them in the decision. That evening, we gathered the children for a “family council,” and asked each of them if they wanted to adopt another sibling. They each said yes, and were all very excited about the idea. We later learned that, half a world away, our little angel was born that same day in Pune, India.

Our first steps were to select an agency and decide from what country to adopt. We learned of Holt International from a friend, and called them several times with questions. They were always helpful, and it felt like a good fit. We ultimately decided to adopt a little girl from India, and submitted our application in 2007.

Holt’s India Program staff members were invaluable in guiding us through the process. They introduced us to the India Forum on the Holt website. That became my life-line over the next year. At first, the home study seemed daunting. I cleaned every closet, dusted the blinds and tried to sterilize our sons’ bedrooms. In the end, it was all unnecessary. Our social worker was very nice and gave us valuable information about what to expect when we brought the baby home. As an added bonus, I did have a clean house (at least for a while)! We submitted the paperwork and were officially “logged-in.”

Read the rest of this entry »

The following article was published on Monday, June 22nd on Brewtonstandard.com.  It tells the story of a young woman adopted from India in 1991, and all that she has accomplished since coming home to her family.

by Lydia Grimes, Feature reporter Brewtonstandard.com

Father’s Day is an important day in any father’s life. Mike Perry is doubly blessed, having both a son and a daughter.   Perry, who is a local attorney, and his wife, Tammy, who is a retired school teacher, have a son, James, and a daughter, Melissa. In 1990 their son was several years old and the Perrys wanted to complete their family with a daughter. Because of some medical problems, they decided to check into adoption as a way to get the daughter they both wanted.

“I had a couple of little girls in my class at school that had been adopted and they were just the cutest little girls,” said Tammy Perry. “We started to talk about going to an overseas adoption agency and settled on Holt International in Eugene, Oregon, which is one of the leading agencies handling adoptions from foreign countries.”

They had decided to adopt a child from India. Adoption sometimes can take a long time and that was the case with the Perrys. They were given the number 36 and had to wait until it counted down to number one. Melissa was born in 1990 and it just so happened that the countdown to number one was Melissa.

“I sometimes think about how close we came to getting another child instead of Melissa,” said Tammy. “Thank goodness, we were lucky that it worked out the way that it did.”

The Perrys got the word that their child was going to arrive early in 1992, but instead she came a little bit early. They were supposed to travel to Chicago to meet their little girl, but again they were lucky enough to have a volunteer escort Melissa to Birmingham on Dec. 20, 1991. Read the rest of this entry »

Inspiring stories about sponsoring children in Holt’s care

From Loving Sponsor, to Loving Home
by: Jenn Hand, Nepal

I was at a Newsong concert when the Lord completely captured my heart as the band shared about the ministry of Holt International.  I honestly thought I should ignore the fast beating of my heart as I heard the stories of the children in need of sponsorship, because I myself was a graduate school student, which of course equals little to no money.  But I knew God was calling me to the sponsorship table, where I picked out my little girl, Manna. I fell more in love with her every month as I sent that check and loved getting the very detailed updates about how she was doing.  Little did I know during this time God was calling me to come serve him in another bordering country to where she lived in south Asia.   I was amazed how God provided for me as I raised support to come serve Him in south Asia, and even without a steady paycheck, there was always enough money to send to little Manna.  I proudly displayed her picture on my refrigerator.  In 2007 I left for south Asia where I received the blessing of getting to work with an orphanage here.  Every time I hugged one of our orphans I thought of Manna and prayed for her to find a great home.  I almost got to meet her in October 2007 as I traveled to Bangalore, India, to lead a women’s conference, however the conference session went too long, and I was unable to meet up with her foster family before I had to leave.  Every time I see a beggar child in the streets of south Asia (and there are hundreds) I praised God for the ministry of Holt and for the foster home Manna was in.  When I heard she was adopted into a loving Christian family, I just could not stop praising the Lord.  Now I have a new little girl’s photo on my refrigerator

Inspired to Give
by: Joann Westerman, Fair Oaks, CA

My daughter and her husband adopted a beautiful baby girl from Korea through Holt in October of 1999.   Tristen was 5 months old when she came into our lives.  Because of this amazing life-changing experience, I have dedicated my life to helping children.  I feel sponsoring is just a small way of helping.   I also do volunteer work with children in crisis.   Being able to financially and physically help children fulfills my life.

Joi’s Prayers Answered
by: Richard Buckley

As part of a ministry event called The Advent Conspiracy, my family and I chose to do four things to focus on Jesus this past Christmas: We worshipped more fully, spent less on ourselves, gave more to others, and loved the people God has placed in our path more fully. One exciting thing we did was to allow each of our daughters to sponsor a girl from their native country (2 from China and 1 from Korea).

Joi sponsored a child through Holt International, and she fervently prayed for her.  Every mealtime and bedtime prayer included a special mention of her name asking God to watch over her. If I forgot to pray for her, Joi made me “do it over,” or she added her own “P.S.” to God after the prayer. The amazing thing is that her sponsored child has the very same foster parents as Joi did! It’s tempting to say “It’s a small world after all” but it’s much better to say “What an awesome and huge God we have!”

Joi is a new Christian, and I love to see God affirm new believers as they grow in Him. This past week we got a letter from Holt International noting that Joi’s sponsored child had been adopted and has a forever home in the United States. You should have seen Joi’s face when it sunk in! Amy and I had the honor of telling Joi the Lord not only heard her prayers, but He has acted on them and placed this special child in a family where she will have the opportunity to hear the Gospel and understand unconditional love.

As we read the letter at the dinner table, we came to a paragraph noting that we had been assigned another Korean baby girl to sponsor and pray for.  She is the latest addition to our sponsorship family. Please pray for her to have a forever family soon…and remember, if you don’t, Joi will be there to remind you!

Hands Full of Children in Need
by: Juan Ocampo

I took the rest of the child sponsorship folders and handed them to a lady who wanted to look at them, and she ended up sponsoring a child. She then handed the pamphlets to someone else, and the sponsoring moved forward. Seeing the handful of pamphlets that began in my hands being sponsored by others was God’s way of telling us that, though we could only sponsor one child, He would always provide for the other children to be sponsored as well. Our hearts melted, and we thanked God for His love.  My wife and I registered to sponsor a 4 years young little girl from the Ukraine for 6 months at $30 a month. That is a minimal amount of money that will help her with her medicines and general needs. That’s the least we could do. I’m sure it will go on beyond the six months, but everything has a beginning. Read the rest of this entry »

A mother reflects on her adoption journey, as the adoption of her daughter from India is made final.

By: Michelle Mckay

Six days before Mother’s Day, our third Child, Manna, will be legally and officially ours!

It’s hard to believe that it has been almost a year since I flew to India to bring home our daughter. I remember sitting on the airplane at JFK airport waiting to take off. I had never even been to Canada, let alone India! I was scared to death, but knew the Lord was with me every step of the way.

The hard part was over…the paperwork and the waiting. All I had to do was sit back and enjoy the next hours of travel that lay ahead…or so I thought. Read the rest of this entry »

You can give critically needed items to orphaned, abandoned and vulnerable children through “Gifts of Hope.” Our online catalog lists items and services you can fund to bring hope to children in our projects around the world. These items also make especially meaningful gifts in honor of someone you care about. Give an item from Holt’s “Gifts of Hope,” and we’ll send an acknowledgment card to your spouse, sibling, parent or friend. Imagine… children in Ethiopia receiving milk formula because of a gift given in your name. Wouldn’t you feel honored?

When it comes time to share your spirit of giving, what better way to do so than by helping a vulnerable child. Together, we can make the world a better place for children–one child at a time.

Gary Gamer, Holt President and CEO

Bangalore, India—Vathsalya Charitable Trust has been Holt International’s partner in Bangalore for the last 18 years. On June 23rd, a new chapter in its history began with the inauguration a new center out of which to serve children who are in need of families.

Holt International and Vathsalya Charitable Trust (VCT) are actually dedicated to reversing the role of child caring facilities as a substitute for families…and transferring the care of children who are abandoned and outside of family care to families in communities. Read the rest of this entry »

Gary Gamer, Holt President and CEO

Pune, Bharatiya Samaj Seva Kendra—As we pull through the gates of BSSK (Holt’s partner agency in Pune) a woman is standing outside. Her striking orange sari is illuminated by sunlight breaking through the monsoon rain clouds. Approaching closer, I see a look of concern on her face. She holds a tiny baby close to her chest. The baby, whose eyes are glued shut, couldn’t be more than a day or two old. The woman is totally focused on the baby, intent on ensuring the child is safe and gets the care necessary for her survival. Read the rest of this entry »