Ready, Set...

We are ready. The bags are bulging with everything from lollipops and crayons to catheters and vitamins.

The visas are back from the Consulate. Our VPN's are downloaded.  Last minute purchases and gifts are bought and packed.

Most of the items in our bulging bags come from many of you. Thank you for being a part of this trip! Thank you for caring about the kids.

We will be updating the blog daily (internet and VPN permitting). We will also be posting on our Facebook page and on Twitter. We will be posting videos of our adventures to Periscope. For anyone not familiar with Periscope, you can download the free Periscope app to your apple or android device and search for Superkids. Follow us and you will get a notification when we are live streaming videos! The videos will be available for 24 hours after we stream them, so you can still watch them even if you are sleeping while we are streaming! Since we now have a portable wifi device we travel with I'm hoping to be able to live stream from orphanages, trains, and everywhere else we find ourselves! If you watch while we are live streaming you can even ask question or make comments which we can see and answer immediately.

We are ready! Are you?

#SKSept15 Introductions {part 3}

I asked each of  the team members traveling to China this time to introduce themselves. These are the last two introductions. Here are some of their intros in their words.  These are in no particular order, read and enjoy learning to know these wonderful people! 

Keely

Hello everyone! My name is Keely O'Dell and I am thrilled to be headed back to China for my second Superkids trip.  I am a pediatric physical therapist so I will be part of the medical team. You can find a refresher all about me here (link to my previous blog introduction).  But my big update is that I got married last weekend (9/5/15)!! 

I  can't wait for my China honeymoon with the Superkids team (though I am not sure my husband is as excited that he is missing out).  I am so excited to see all the kiddos-- those that are matched, those we are advocating for, those that we will meet for the first time. It is such an honor to get to be the "bridge" between you all and these awesome kids.  And... we are adding Taiwan as well.  It is just too good to be true. 

Chelsea

My name is Chelsea. I am a recent law school graduate, but really, at the heart of that degree, I just consider myself an advocate. In 2013, after a grueling first year of law school, the work of an advocate became real to me when I stepped into my first orphanage.

Superkids opened my world and may have been the single driving passion that got me through law school. I couldn't believe how fortunate I was to be welcomed into what felt to me like a family of volunteers who all shared my same passion for adoption and child-focused advocacy. Women like Pat Marcus, Erin Martin, and Darla Wrage became both my mentors and friends. I wanted to be all of them. 

Pat with her vast experience and "every child deserves a family" veracity; Erin with her eye for beauty and ever-smart thoughtfulness; Darla with her light-hearted personality and gift for listening. They each taught me so much about the type of person I want to be, but inevitably it was the children that taught me about the type of advocate I need to be. 

These children are amazing advocates for themselves and each of them are so deserving of families. I think of children like sweet Paige, who we have been advocating for recently. On paper and in practicality, she may be "hard to place" but in person, she's magnetic-- just like each of the children we meet. They have this way of reaching their little hands straight into your heart and holding it fast. They ask, unapologetic, with their words, their hands, their eyes, to be loved. They are the real advocates. My job is just to help them be heard. 

Wordless Wednesday {3 More Sleeps To...}

#SKSept15 Underway...

Gongzhan 

Here is the official introduction from Gladney's website for Gongzhan Wu:

"I have been with the Gladney Center for Adoption since 1994. Before I joined Gladney, I was working for ESPN Sports Network as its Director of Mandarin Language Service. I did my undergraduate in the Shanghai International Studies University, formally known as Shanghai Foreign Language Institute before I came to U.S. in 1987. With a Fulbright scholarship, I attended Columbia University and obtained a Master of Philosophy in Political Science in 1989. In the past twenty years, I am responsible for Gladney's New York Office and running the Asia adoption programs."

Having traveled to Asia with Gongzhan several times, I am going to take the liberty to add a bit to that paragraph. He is a warm and caring man. He has the ability to maintain partnerships with orphanages and has also been known to kick a soccer ball around with a bunch of 3 and 4-year-olds..."training them for an Olympic team." 

We fondly call him our fearless guide. I'm not sure some of us will ever forget him for deciding to enhance the swinging of a very long swinging bridge we were on! 

Today Gongzhan leaves for China. He is traveling a few days before the rest of the team so that he can speak at a conference on inter-country adoption. 

So, SKSept15 is officially underway. The rest of us are right behind him! 

#SKSept15 Introductions {Part 2}

I asked each of  the team members traveling to China this time to introduce themselves. I'll be posting them over the next few days. Here are some of their intros in their words.  These are in no particular order, read and enjoy learning to know these wonderful people! 

Janell

My name is Janell Plana. I will be joining the Superkids team for the very first time this fall as one of their RN's. I graduated from the University of Colorado in Colorado Springs over 12 years ago. I have worked everything from school nurse to medical surgical to ICU. I married my highschool sweetheart and we have 3 sons and 1 daughter. Our sons are biological and our daughter was adopted through Gladney's Superkids program a little over a year ago. I'm excited to be going on this trip and be a part of something so dear to my heart.

Erin

Hi! My name is Erin Martin. I'm excited to be preparing for my 4th Superkids trip and my 5th trip to China. I love China! I love the food, the landscape, the enormous cities, the people I have learned to know, but the real reason I go is that I love the children. There are children that I have met several times now that I cannot wait to check on. There are children whose files I have seen and for whom I have advocated and I cannot wait to meet them. There are children who did not have a family the last time I saw them who are now matched with their family, I cannot wait to get photos and videos for their families!

I'm also very excited to be traveling to Taiwan for the first time on this trip. I cannot wait to see the children there! I'm already convinced I'm going to love it there!

I am the team photographer. So I have the very fun job of playing with the children and taking pictures and videos of them. I am also the main person behind the blog and other social media. I'll be doing my best to be sure the trip is well documented for those following from home!

#SKSept15 Introductions {Part 1}

I asked each of  the team members traveling to China this time to introduce themselves. I'll be posting them over the next few days. Here are some of their intros in their words.  These are in no particular order, read and enjoy learning to know these wonderful people! 

Sandra

I’m very excited to have this unique opportunity to provide assistance to the team. I believe that this is time very well spent, since our work will result in fulfilling the dreams of many children who we will meet as well as future parents who have been yearning for child to love and care for.

From a professional standpoint, I have been a pediatric nurse for 30 years. I spent 20 years at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh providing direct patient care to children in a variety of acute care settings. For the last 10 years, I have been teaching pediatric nursing at the University of Hawaii (UH) at Manoa where I primarily teach at the bedside in a women and children’s hospital. I have a BSN, MSN, and PhD in nursing.

From a personal point of view, I have 5 amazing daughters. The oldest two are biological. Tiffany is the oldest and is studying to be a pediatric surgeon, and the Brittany is married and owns a business with her husband. The younger 3 girls were adopted from China. Hannah was born in Hangzhou and joined our family at 7 months of age. She is currently a freshman at UH studying elementary education. Holly was born in Changsha and also joined our family at the age of 7 months. She is in 8^th grade. Heather was born in Nanning and just came to join us 10 months ago at the age of 11 years.  She is in 6^th grade and adjusting beautifully. We went to China this summer for a heritage tour and had the time of our lives!

Lora

My name is Lora Offer.  I am so excited to be able to be a part of the Superkids team this year as a volunteer.  My husband and I have been married for almost 25 years.  We have a daughter who is 21,  and two sons, ages 17 and 8.  Of these, one is biological, one is domestically adopted, and one is adopted from Taiwan.  We are also in the process of adopting two children from China, a girl and a boy, ages 7 and 4, who we hope will be home this winter.  Being a part of this trip is something I have always dreamed of doing.  I can’t wait to meet all of the wonderful children that we will be able to visit while we are in China!

Mary

Mary Chapman is one Gladney’s Caseworkers in our Taiwan and China programs. She has been at Gladney for over 7 years and has worked in the Asia programs throughout her time at Gladney. Mary is the lead Caseworker for the Taiwan program, and is so excited to be traveling to Taiwan for the first time! Mary will meet up with Superkids team members, Erin, Keely, and Gongzhan in Taiwan. Mary communicates on a daily basis with the social workers at our partner agencies in Taiwan, Cathwel Service and Chung Yi Social Welfare Foundation, so she is excited to finally meet everyone in person – including many of the waiting children Gladney has been advocating for!

Wordless Wednesday {Katelyn}