Chris Ivins is looking for a few good families to host an orphan from Taiwan this summer.

The reason Ivins is arranging for the children to come over is with the hope they will also get adopted, but the possibility is never mentioned to the child.

"If the families and the kids are a fit, then an adoption can be arranged. We never get the kids' hopes up," she said.

Ivins has been working with foreign adoptions for about eight years through the adoption agency Families for Children (FFC) and in 2001 they started partnering with non-profit organization, Kid Save.

"Kid Save has organized the Summer Miracles Program for the foster family visit. We have placed about 90 percent of the children who go through the Summer Miracles program.

"We screen the children and they are all great kids who are healthy, well behaved, and respectful but fun," Ivins said. "The children from Taiwan have learned some English but an escort comes with the group to help with the language differences. We also arrange for missionaries to help translate at our weekend events. We have found the families and children quickly find ways to communicate through gestures and expressions."

Host families must make application and have an interview with Kids Save by the first of June. They agree to take the children each weekend of their stay to an event held with the other children in Salt Lake.

"These events are fun outings and the kids get to see each other each week. The host families can also invite friends interested in adoption to these meetings," Ivins said.

Ivins first started working as a volunteer in 2000 with FFC when she her husband, Ray, became interested in adopting a child. They have one natural child, Sean, but wanted to add to their family. "We were all set to try to adopt a baby girl. I am also a travel agent and arranged the travel plans in 1999 for two ladies who were going to Romania for FFC.

"When they got home I did a follow up visit with them to see how their trip went and they showed me a picture of Michael, a six year old orphan boy from Romania. I showed the picture to my husband and we both just knew he was supposed to be ours."

Michael was their first adoption.

The Ivinses met Annie when she was 7 and came over from Kazakhstan for the summer program.

"The whole family went up to the airport to greet the group when they stopped in to Salt Lake on a layover. We all knew when we first met her she was meant to be ours. Even Sean, who was 11 then, said, 'She's my sister.' When plans for Annie's host family to adopt didn't work out we adopted her and she's been a delight."

Ivins now works full time for the adoption agency and has found most people want babies. "The older children just don't have much chance. One of the reasons is people have to go to a foreign country and pick out a child without much of a chance to get to know them or if they will fit in with the family."

With the Kid Save program the children and the families get to know one another. Then if the adoption is arranged they can go get the children and bring them home to familiar surroundings. The organization has similar programs all over the country.

Adoption laws differ widely in each country. In Kazakhstan where Ivins is director of operations for FFC they require the adoptive couple to stay for three weeks. In Taiwan, however, all the paperwork can be done in the United States and only one parent has to travel bring the child home. It can be as short as a three-day trip.

Kid Save works with countries all over the world, which allow the children in their orphanages to be adopted. Romania will not allow foreign adoptions any longer nor will Vietnam.

This is the first year children from Taiwan may come to Utah.

"If we do not get at least seven host families we won't be able to bring the children to Utah this year and that's a shame," Ivins said.

She is dedicated to the children and the adoptive families.

"She is so compassionate as she works with those children to find them a good home and she does a very good job," her mother LaVon Shelley said. The Ivins family has lived in Highland for 14 years but both Chris and Ray grew up in American Fork. "We have known each other the ninth grade and dated all through high school and college. I graduated from BYU in three years and then we got married."

She taught school for five years then opened a clothing store and worked as a travel agent. She now works mostly from home but also travels to the countries she where she meets the children and arranges adoptions.

"Even if someone feels they can't host a child they can donate to the Kid Save program. The Web site is: Kidsave.org. Ivins can be contacted for more information about being a host family at 376-8951 or e-mail her at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it