I am a woman from an ordinary family, living in the countryside outside Beijing. My husband and I are in our late fifties and have two daughters who are both grown and working in the city. Ever since my younger daughter moved away, we felt the loneliness of an empty nest. This all changed in February 2005 when we began fostering a little boy from New Day Foster Home.

His name was Jason. He called us “Grandma” and “Grandpa” and called our daughters “Auntie.” We became a five-person family for one year, until he was adopted by a kind family in Holland. The day he left, we felt as if our hearts went with him. We fell back into overwhelming feelings of loneliness. Because of this, we decided to foster another child.

As of 2008, we have fostered six children. We’ve learned each child’s personality and habits and have done all we can to help them learn and grow each day. This has not only helped these children, but it has also helped us move forward with our lives, finding hope and no longer feeling lonely. We really appreciate the joy and happiness each child has brought to our lives and our spirits.

Right now we’re fostering two children. Every time we sit down to take a break, we think of all the children who have left us to go to their own loving families. We think of each day they spent with us and all the joy they left behind. And every time we think of this, we realize more and more that they’ve given us so many precious memories and so much happiness. We realize that for the rest of our lives, we will never be lonely.

We feel so proud and happy when our kids find forever loving families and begin living happy lives.

Being a foster parent is not only a job for us, but a responsibility. This makes our lives so much better, and we hope to help more children in the future.