Jack, who stayed with the Johnson family in Garland, Texas, blows out his birthday candles surrounded by three of his new big brothers, Aaron, Jared, and Caleb. Photos Provided to China Daily

Jennifer and Brad Fredrick in nearby League City saw the site a week before Teddy was due to fly home and decided he was "the right kid for us".

The couple, who already had a young son, moved quickly and completed the adoption process in less than nine months. "I knew adoption was something I wanted to do," Jennifer Fredrick said. "But it’s intimidating to take on a child you know nothing about. If it had not been for Michelle, we would not have adopted Teddy."

Encouraged by the success of finding a home for Teddy, Morell has now updated Teddy’s website to included information about Jay’s interests and activities.

Hosting can sometimes change a family’s mind about not adopting, too.

Cassandra Raney lives in Portland, Oregon, with her husband, Kyle. They didn’t have money for an adoption but decided to host Duo, now 9, last summer. "When we watched him playing with our kids in the yard, we felt such peace in our heart and realized he is supposed to be our son," said the mother of five. "We could not let him go, we could not imagine our family without him."

Hosting helped them to get financial support to adopt Duo, who has heart issues and dwarfism. He returned to the U.S. in June. "He’ll probably need surgery soon. It’s a little scary, and we don’t know what the future will hold," said Raney. "We just know that he’s our child, and we will do whatever we can to fight for him."