For more information please email info@journeysoftheheart.net  or call our Oregon office today, 503.681.3075

STAFF/ESCORTS:
Everyone will be met in Beijing by Journeys' long-time China facilitator, Marsha (Wang Huiqin), and her niece, Linda. They will assist the group in Beijing, where they both live, and accompany the families to Xi'an in Shaanxi Province where Marsha grew up. From Xi'an, the families split up and fly to their child's home province where they will be helped by a local, bilingual travel guide. The guide will help families visit the orphanage, speak with the staff and officials, and visit local attractions. The families then fly to Guangzhou and reunite with Marsha at the beautiful White Swan Hotel.

TRANSPORTATION AND ACCOMMODATIONS:
Families can book their own international flight to China, or Journeys can do it for them. All travel and lodging within China will be arranged by Journeys. In-country travel includes domestic flights, charter bus, taxi, and possibly trains (in a child's home province). Families stay at 4-star hotels in Beijing, Xi'an, the provincial capital of their child's province, and in Guangzhou. If a visit to a child's orphanage requires an overnight stay outside the provincial capital, a 4-star hotel cannot be guaranteed.

WHY RETURN TO CHINA?
The best way for internationally-adopted children to gain self knowledge and cultural pride is to visit their motherland. With this goal in mind, Journeys of the Heart Adoption Services sponsors annual family tours to China with the focus on introducing adopted Chinese children to their native land and people, and reconnecting these children with their past. The tours include trips to famous cultural and historical sites, as well as opportunities to experience everyday life in China through visits to a rural village, a middle-class urban home, and school.

An important part of Journeys' tours is the prearranged visit to each child's home province and orphanage. Whenever possible, families will have the opportunity to see the place where their child was found. This orphanage visit is not an add-on; it is the cornerstone of these tours. Journeys believes that adopted children are entitled to know as much- About their past as possible. The cultural and political circumstances surrounding child abandonment in China make it nearly impossible for adopted children to find their birth families, so Journeys' tours try to bring children as close to their roots as can be arranged. Journeys recommends that children be at least six years of age to go on this trip. Families need not have adopted through Journeys of the Heart to participate. Please join with other adoptive families on this journey of self discovery!

WHEN IS THE BEST TIME TO GO?
Adoption professionals used to recommend that internationally-adopted children wait until their teens or early adult-hood to return to the country of their birth. Now, following the successful return trips of many families with younger children, this advice has changed. Professionals now believe that the preteen years, before age 11 or 12, are the optimal years for children to experience and accept their birth culture. Preteens are generally free of the fears or preconceptions that could filter their China experience. They are less likely to be self-conscious and self-absorbed, and more able to simply observe and accept things as they are in China without judgement.

In addition, the trip strengthens a child's sense of personal identity and self-esteem. It's best for children to lock in these positive feelings before they reach the teen years, when insecurity and pressures to conform are more prevalent.

Another reason for going sooner rather than later is that China is changing very quickly. Old orphanages and neighborhoods are falling under the wrecking ball of urban renewal. Orphanage workers are leaving for better employment opportunities. If families are eager to uncover clues to their child's past, they should start planning their trip now.

Adoption professionals also recommend that, in a two-parent family, both parents make the trip. The tour is a powerful bonding experience between parents and children, and the parent who remains at home is left out. If circumstances prevent both parents from traveling, perhaps the other parent and child can go at a later time.

A motherland trip is sure to bring up many questions and adoption issues for children. To help families prepare for this, Journeys works with nationally-respected adoption specialist, Jane Brown, MSW, to develop materials that families will receive before the trip. The information will cover the various emotions that children may experience before, during, and after the trip, and how parents can help.

Journeys staff invites you to join with other adoptive families on this journey of self discovery for your children.

For more information please email info@journeysoftheheart.net  or call our Oregon office today, 503.681.3075

Journeys of the Heart is a full service, non-profit adoption agency, certified by the COA, fully Hague Compliant. We provide adoption and relief services from our offices in Oregon, Washington and Illinois. We can work with people from any state in the United States. If you are looking for an adoption agency then please look into our philosophy and our dedication. If domestic adoption, international adoption, or open adoption is in your future then let your journey begin here. Journeys of the Heart Adoption Services is a non-profit organization, described as a 501 (c) (3) organization, by the Internal Revenue Service, EIN 94-3184018. If you wish to make a donation to Journeys and require a copy of our letter of determination from the IRS please email website@journeysoftheheart.net

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