Holiday Greetings from Starfish!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Wise men still seek Him

It is always a little weird celebrating Christmas in China, but in many ways it highlights the very simple message in such a profound way: having the children is the sweetest message that there is to share as we celebrate the birth of Christ, even though I cannot celebrate this time of year in the most traditional way. The babies are such a great example of how the spirit of Christmas is around all through the year. There is no way I EVER could have managed the babies on my own, and so my gifts are given throughout the year as so many combine their efforts, talents, and time to help take care of the babies. I am so grateful for the many who generously donate their money, which enables us at Starfish to do our best to save babies lives. I have said this before and I will say it again: I appreciate you all for trusting me enough to send your hard earned dollars across the world. I absolutely love knowing that when I see a need, I have the financial backing to be able to bring a baby to Starfish and offer so much HOPE for the future. I would be heartbroken if we were not able to help. So, I get to see the FAITH in action as we follow the admonition to take care of the orphans.

So this year we celebrated our 4th anniversary. It was a wild year! We doubled our numbers (24 to 48!) and opened another apartment. You have no idea how scary that was! I was not sure that we would have enough money for all of that, but only knew that 9 little people needed help in the worst way. Talk about having faith....stepping into the unknown! Not only did we get enough money to support them, but in 3 months, the donations were enough for ALL the children on the first floor! It was a hugs change going from one apartment to two, and we became busier than before. I did not think that was possible. My days start early and are crazy! I subscribe to the motto: Early to bed, early to rise, work like hell and advertise!
This year we did 23 surgeries. The best part of that is that we only paid for 2 cleft lip surgeries from Starfish funds, and the rest were all donated. I am so grateful to all the medical volunteers and the medical staff at the hospitals in China for their help. The babies received such excellent care, and I am so grateful! This year I have not traveled as much with the babies to the hospitals as in previous years, but now I have a nanny that goes with them. I have stayed at the foster home more to help keep the boat afloat.
We also have 7 adoptions this year, bringing the total to 23! Two babies went to France, and five went to the US. We have another two babies who are matched and whom we expect to be adopted in January 2010, starting the year off with a bang. In the meantime, we are working on many dossiers for adoption. Ten files are at the CCAA and another 21 are at the orphanage, and there are another 13 at the foster home. I imagine that we will have many adoptions in 2010. We miss the babies, but it does allow the opportunity to bring more babies to Starfish. We are always happy to see how they thrive with their new families, and also become little ambassadors for what we do at Starfish.
Before the end of this year we will be caring for babies number 100 and 101. They are both in Hong Kong undergoing Spina Bifida surgery, but they will be coming back soon. I am so honored to have had the opportunity to take care of them all. It is impossible to save every baby, and there are some really sad times here at Starfish. All of it is part and parcel of the experience, and of life, and I know there are so many people who pray for us, and I can tell you how much I "feel" those prayers!
I am looking forward to many new projects in 2010. The biggest and most important to me will be finding a hospital where we can do surgeries. There are some medical teams who want to come to Xi'an and help the babies, and I am so eager to help facilitate. I am going to travel again this coming year, and already have two trips organized. The first will be to Holland, the land of my forefathers, in March for a fundraiser, and the second to New York in June. I joke that more than 300 years ago the Dutch went to South Africa as settlers, and I am doing my best to repay them by sending our little Starfish settlers over there.
I appreciate your support and love. I consider myself extremely blessed, and even thought this is a great responsibility, I do not want to be doing anything else. Thank you for helping me live my dream as I thought it would be impossible to open a foster home in China. I guess I still had to learn the life lesson that with God, NOTHING is impossible!

Life, Love and Laughter,
Amanda