This letter was written by the parents of Maleah’s best friend from the orphanage, who so adore Maleah, and who know what a gift she will be to her future parents.

                                                                                                                        September 2023

Dear Maleah’s future Mom and Dad,

It is our great pleasure to share with you about our time spent with the girl you are so incredibly blessed to be able to soon call daughter – Maleah. 

We were able to pick up and adopt our now 14-year-old son from the orphanage in 2014. It was also on this occasion that we met his best friend, Maleah, and since then we have been able to meet her several times on trips to Thailand.

Before we saw Maleah for the first time when we received placement of our son, we already knew her from photos together with him. When we asked the social worker about both kids, she said that both children were “easy going” and therefore get along well. A nice compliment and that’s still our son today.

Since we didn’t want our son to be a stranger to his homeland and loved ones, we have since then made three trips to Thailand together and thankfully have been able to meet the social worker and Maleah each time. During the first two trips, we were able to meet Maleah at the orphanage on two consecutive days, the children had a lot of fun and were still very close. We ourselves immediately took Maleah to our hearts and would have loved to adopt her, which unfortunately wasn’t possible at that time. Today, years later, the reasons are unfortunately ours. Another adoption is not possible for us. Unfortunately, especially since our son would love to have her as his sister.

In between our family trips I traveled alone to my son’s homeland and visited Maleah for a day at the orphanage, which was also very nice and fun.

A month ago we were together again in Thailand and had rented a small house in a nearby district, near friends of ours staying across the street. This time we were very lucky that Maleah was able to stay with us for three days and nights.

We did a lot together with our friends, their 12 and 15 year old sons, our son, and Maleah and were in no way restricted by a “foreign” child. Thanks to the Google translator app and using hands and feet, it was easy to communicate. We already knew that from the adoption of our son. Communication is so much easier than you think!

All four children immediately enjoyed being a group of four and it may not have been obvious to outsiders that Maleah was just a guest child. She enjoyed playing water polo with the boys, they went to 7-11 together or a nearby bubble tea shop and we all explored the city together. We thought it might be difficult in some way as Maleah doesn’t know family life, certainly not that of a western family who is on vacation. It wasn’t difficult for a second, but completely uncomplicated and we enjoyed being together immensely. 

Also, there wasn’t a single awkward situation between the children, strange looks, or competitive thinking. Her closeness to the children was also very natural. She was close with our son, like with a brother.  She was nice and polite to our adult friends, but nothing more. Her behavior was always appropriate and never obtrusive.

Maleah loves sports and activities, but like any teenager, she can also chill out on the sofa and laugh at TikTok videos. She understands quickly and solves the magic cube in a flash. She likes to laugh but could also show her sadness on the evening before saying goodbye, she can be lively just as calm, she is polite but also cheeky to the kids in a funny way and she is outgoing without being intrusive. She always saves a few baht left for beggars.

You can tell from her, as always from our son, that she was brought up lovingly and well in the orphanage. We trust her and she only accepts material things that she knows are meant for her. Unfortunately, she didn’t take a present for her in her room because she wasn’t sure, and she didn’t touch any money lying around openly.

We cannot express how much we adore Maleah and how incredibly blessed you are to soon be able to call her daughter.  She will bring so much joy, love, and life to your family!

With kind regards,

Mary & Tom

Maleah is almost 14 years old and is waiting in Thailand. If you are interested in learning more about her, please complete our Prospective Adoptive Parent form and an Adoption Specialist will be in touch! You can also find more information about Maleah and other waiting children here. For general information about our programs, please visit our website.

Read more about Maleah in these two blog articles:

Cracking the Teen Shell

Neighbors