I have often been asked how I became committed to adoption and established Chinese Children Adoption International (CCAI) with my wife Lily. Many people and events influenced me throughout the years. CCAI is a dream born from my love of my country of birth, China , and the United States of America ; my love of my family and friends; and most importantly, my love of God. My story begins when I was very young in China …

When I was twelve, I joined the infamous Red Guard and was accepted into the Communist Youth League at age fourteen. In 1978 when the reformist Deng Xiaoping came into power and declared the end of the decade-long human suffering brought on by Mao Zedong’s Great Cultural Revolution, China reopened its doors to the outside world. Once again, higher education institutions started to enroll students after years of closure. Fortunately, in 1980, I became one of the earliest foreign language college freshmen.

College life opened my mind to a whole new world. I was like a dry sponge soaking in every piece of information I could. In 1982, I was selected as a tour guide to assist the city in entertaining foreign tourists who rushed into China after years of being restricted. One day, an older American woman approached me and asked, “Have you ever heard about Jesus Christ?” To her surprise, I answered, “Yes, I have, but I need to know more about him!” Thirty minutes later an invisible power suddenly opened my heart. I knew at that moment it was God. I prayed with her and accepted Jesus into my life. The courageous lady through whom God had changed my life forever was Tony Milken from Florida.

Four years later, this same wonderful woman sent me an acceptance letter from Columbia Bible College in South Carolina . I was very nervous, so it took me several weeks of deep prayer before I gathered enough courage to go to the Public Security Bureau to apply for a passport. After endless hours of questioning, a passport was miraculously granted. I rushed to the U.S. Consulate immediately before anyone could change their mind. I will never forget the huge smile on the American visa official’s face when he put the big American visa on my passport.

I landed in San Francisco on December 3, 1986 . Later, I found out I was the first student who was allowed by the Chinese government since 1949 to come to America and study at an evangelical Christian seminary. Glory Be To God! Six months later, my wife Lily left her law firm and joined me at Columbia Bible College . It was there that we met a beautiful Christian couple who will forever be an influence on us, Dr. and Mrs. Layman. They had four biological children and four more adopted children, two from Africa and one with special needs. Their loving adoption story was both incomprehensible and inspirational to Lily and me.

In 1987, we transferred to Denver Seminary, after I heard the name of Dr. Ralph Covell, the Academic Dean of the Seminary and former missionary to China in the late 1940’s. Ralph became my spiritual mentor and continues in this role today. Our children call his wife Ruth Covell their “American Grandma!”

I graduated from Denver Seminary in 1989 and went on to pursue my doctoral degree at the University of Denver and the Iliff School of Theology (IST). During the Tiananmen Massacre on June 4, 1989 , I was called upon by Dr. Gordon Loux , the President of the International Student Inc., an evangelical Christian ministry for international students on U.S. campuses. He asked that I co-chair the Chinese Student Emergency Fund, with the former U.S. Senator Bill Armstrong. Gordon was formerly the president of the Prison Fellowship founded by Chuck Colson. Six months later, the operation was successful and tens of thousands of dollars were raised to help Chinese students stranded in the U.S. as a result of the tragedy in China . The miracle that occurred was that many Chinese students and scholars accepted Jesus Christ into their lives because of this assistance fund.

In 1989 I was ordained by the Ordination Committee of ISI and became the first mainland Chinese Christian since 1949 to be ordained in this country. For the next few years, I worked as a Chinese Ministry Consultant and outreach member of the ISI’s Denver team to reach out to the mainland Chinese students and scholars on the U.S. campuses.

One day in April 1992, I was in the dorm room of a student, Frank Hu. I happened to pick up a copy of the Chinese newspaper People’s Daily and noticed that the Chinese Adoption Law had just been published. I showed the notice to Lily and we began to track the progress of the Chinese legal process for adoption. We both could never forget the thousands of baby girls in China who were being abandoned every day. We started to volunteer our linguistic and legal service to families who were interested in China adoption. One day Lily said, “Wouldn’t it be great if the Laymans could adopt one of the abandoned baby girls?” I responded, “Why don’t we start our own adoption agency?”

Chinese Children Adoption International was born on September 15, 1992 , in the 200-square-foot basement of our home. By 1998, CCAI had become the largest China-only adoption agency in the world. Today, CCAI places more than four children every working day. Over 8,500 children have found loving families through CCAI !

When I think about where we began and where we are today, James 1:27 comes to mind. “This is pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and father, to help orphans…” God has called us to reach out to the littlest and most vulnerable ones whom He loves dearly. As God adopts all believers into His Kingdom as sons and daughters, I believe we must follow His example. Both Lily and I are committed to finding caring parents and loving homes for as many abandoned Chinese children as possible. This is our mission and calling.