Language of love

CANNON AIR FORCE BASE — Adoption can be a trying process and if your child is being adopted from China, paperwork is probably not going to be one of your biggest worries.

For Staff Sgt. David Aten, 27th Communications Squadron, and his family, such a situation arose when they adopted their two-year old son, Connor, in January.

Connor spent the first two years of his life in the Lianyungang Social Welfare Institution, in the province of Jiangsu.

“We started the adoption process in January 2006 and we didn’t actually go to China to get him until January 2007,” said Aten.

The adoption process consisted of filling out no shortage of paperwork, several visits by social workers and working through the Chinese embassy in Los Angeles.

“When we got Connor, they gave us a lifebook, which was a book of pictures, milestones and imprints of his hands and feet,” said the sergeant.

The problem with the lifebook was the language barrier. Aten wanted his family to know about Connor’s, whose Chinese name is Lian Xin Xiang, life and history before they adopted him.

Aten tried to get it translated by using a couple different options, but “didn’t really receive too many responses.”

After exhausting his options, Aten read an article in the Mach Meter, Cannon Air Force Base’s former newspaper, about a Chinese-born, native-speaking airman, Senior Airman Yi Liu, working with the 27th Services Squadron.

Liu lived in China until she moved to the United States with her parents.

After reading the article, Aten contacted Liu to see if she would be interested in translating Connor’s lifebook. She readily agreed.

“He e-mailed me, (told) me his situation and asked if I could help,” said Liu, who was deployed with the 379th Expeditionary Services Squadron.

“My wife scanned the pages (of Connor’s lifebook) and we have been e-mailing them to (Airman Liu) about one or two at time,” said Aten.

Though she says she is constantly busy while currently deployed, Liu said she felt a personal obligation to help.

“In my home town, I’ve seen people leave their baby in front of the bank. They can’t afford them; they didn’t want them because (the baby was) a girl. I don’t know,” said Liu. “What I did for Sergeant Aten, compared with what he did for Xin Xiang, is nothing.”

When Liu returns from her deployment she plans to meet the Aten family.

For Connor’s new family, the feeling of gratitude is mutual.

“We plan on making her part of the family,” Aten said.