A Bridge of Love

When an individual or family makes the commitment to sponsor an orphaned or abandoned child in Holt’s care, they create a bridge of love — a bridge that links them to a child waiting for a family, and to a family waiting to bring their child home. Before these children join their families in the United States, many of them are able to stay in the loving care of  foster families through the support of Holt child sponsors. Through their $30/month commitment, sponsors also help provide basic necessities for their sponsored child such as food, clothing, shelter and medical care.  

When adoptive families learn about the selfless strangers who helped provide for their child, many of them wish to express their gratitude through heartfelt letters and photos. Below, we share some of these letters.

Dear Sponsor Families,

Last week I found out that my son, JP, had a sponsor while he was in foster care in Korea. I wanted to take this opportunity to thank you, and also tell you about him.

JP is now 6 and will enter first grade in the fall. He is a fabulous little boy! From the day we found out about him, we were in love with him, and we feel so lucky he is a part of our family. He is funny, smart, sensitive and kind. He loves to build, and Legos are his thing right now! He also loves to ride his bike and read. JP has always loved the water, and has been taking swimming lessons since he was a year old. I call him my “old soul,” as he is very thoughtful and caring. His smile lights up my world.

We were so fortunate to be in the adoption process again in 2011, when we learned about JP’s little brother, Eli, who is now 3 and a half. It’s such a joy to watch the boys play together, and a huge gift to be a able to raise them together.

I have enclosed a few pictures of the boys goofing off during our family photo session. They make me laugh every day. Thank you for being a part of JP’s life, and supporting him and his foster family. We hope to “pay it forward” with other children at Holt. In fact, JP recently asked me to send some of his “giving bank” savings to Holt and his foster mother. The tradition has continued!

Thank you!

Sincerely,

Suzanne LaVigne Gibbs

Dear Sponsor Families,

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

We were so surprised to find out that our son, J, had been sponsored by your kind and generous family while in foster care.  We were matched with J in May 2012.  The moment we saw him, we knew he was our son, and we not-so-patiently waited to finally meet him in September 2013. It was the longest wait of our lives, and finally being able to meet him in person and hold him in our arms was a dream come true. We brought him to his forever home in November 2013.

Let me back up and introduce myself, my name is Michelle and my husband’s name is Jeff. We live in Massachusetts with J and our two kitties, SugarPie and Willy.  We chose the Korea program for many reasons, mainly because I am also a Korean adoptee. Adoption has always been part of our family’s plan.  J is our first child, and we couldn’t be more proud of him. He is a bright, energetic, happy and fearless little guy. He makes us laugh daily, and when he calls us Omma and Oppa, it’s the best feeling. He made me a mommy, and I’m so grateful he is in our lives.

We would love to hear from you and learn about your family.  We are also curious to learn what motivated you to sponsor, and why you picked J.  Have you adopted within your own family?  If you could share any info you received on J, I would love to have a copy for his Life Book.

You were a big part of J’s life while he was waiting to come to his forever home and we can’t thank you enough! Your sponsorship had an impact on his life and we will be forever grateful.

With Love,

Jeff & Michelle

 Dear Sponsor Families,

I first wanted to apologize for not writing sooner. Even after volunteering at Winter Jam in 2012 and again this year, it never occurred to me to ask Holt if our son had sponsors while he was in foster care.  I personally wanted to thank you for supporting Myeong-Min Gim during his first 13 months of life. The care he received while in Holt’s care was amazing. When we traveled to South Korea to pick him up, we realized just how much the foster mothers and caretakers really love the children. They spoil them just like they were their own.

Asa (Myeong-Min) came home in March of 2009, and has been a blessing ever since. His adoption was final in December of 2009 and he is forever ours! He will turn 6 next month, and I can’t believe where the time has gone!  He is a loving, bubbly little boy who always has a smile on his face. He loves to play with cars, blocks, tools and is all boy. He adores reading and usually tries to convince me to read him “just one more book” about three times each night!

Before Asa became ours, we had struggled to have a biological child. In March 2011 we were blessed once again when his little brother was born.  They are the best of friends and I love to watch them interact each day. They have the innocence of little children and don’t realize that their skin doesn’t match. I pray every day that they continue to feel that way and that they teach others that “red and yellow, black and white, they are precious in HIS sight. Jesus loves the little children of the world.”

My husband is in the Air Force and we are currently getting ready to move to Florida. In fact, we will be relocating very close to Walt Disney World… so if you’re ever in town, let us know. We would love to meet the people who made a difference in our son’s life.

Once again, thank you for your generosity. I pray that God has richly blessed your lives as a result.

In His Service,

Kari Schwendenman