Friday's Frequently Asked Question No. 2 Part 2 "Why China?"

The political system in China has made it difficult for couples to have more than one child and boys are preferred to care for families as they mature. There also is no government assistance/retirement program like we have here and aging parents must rely on their children to care for them. Daughters marry off and care for the husband's family; therefore boys are preferred. They will stay with their own family and provide basic needs for the aging elders.  The one-child policy is still in effect in most parts of China.  This was a policy put in place in 1979 by Chairman Mao to control China's ever growing population.  Like many government policies, it was well-meaning and sounded good in theory but went horribly wrong in many ways.  The ugly side includes mass sterilizations, forced abortions and genocide of many girls.  I read once in a book that the "lucky" ones make it to an orphanage.  Within the past two years there has been one province within China that will legally allow ultrasound during pregnancy.  Until only recently, these were illegal because would-be mothers would use them to determine the gender, thus terminating pregnancies if they were known to be carrying a girl. But many times it was not the action of the mother-to-be, but her husband or family that would make the decision for her.  Many women faced being ostracized or killed themselves if they did not comply with the wishes of their family to terminate a pregnancy.  Sometimes a woman may disappear for the last trimester only to return to her family empty-handed, no questions asked.  In recent years the policy has become a little more relaxed, if a family resides in a rural area and can prove they need extra assistance with their land, then they may be allowed to have more than one child.  This is unlike the past, if a family were to have more than one child without government permission, they could be fined up to three times their yearly salary.  Now in larger cities, families are now afforded the luxury of having more than one child if in fact each parent is an only child, they may also be required to obtain permission or be fined ( not as steeply as before) and this varies with province and town.  Now public officials and family planning clinics are popping up around China and in some areas educating the population about the importance/value of girls in a population that will be predominantly male in a few years.  A large male population with no potential for female companionship leads to a whole other issue.  Most birth mothers take very good care of themselves and eat healthily in anticipation of keeping the baby they carry- but society may dictate otherwise. It's not socially promoted for women to smoke and there is a general desire to exercise and care for oneself during pregnancy.  There is also  very little fetal alcohol syndrome or risk of communicable sexual disease transmitted to infants through childbirth.  So then we soon realized that these were not promiscuous, drug addicted women living irresponsible lives.  The circumstances surrounding the birth of their children were ones of hope, anticipation and love - they long for a healthy baby to love and nurture just like we do.  If they are unable to rear their child because their government makes it impossible then we felt a call to respond.  We aren't "saving" anyone.  If it wasn't us, then someone else would respond and love just as much as us.  But we do trust that  God knows the plans for our Little One long before the day she is conceived and He knows her China parents cannot raise her and He knows that He has to get her into this world somehow because she is the child meant for us.  One day He will bring her from the other side of the world to join the hearts that are waiting for her here.   One day He'll join our lives to hers.