A Lititz family’s journey to adopt a little girl from China reached the big screen in December 2014, when the documentary “Find Me” premiered at Penn Cinema in Lititz.
The film tells the stories of three American couples who chose to adopt children from China. One of them was Merle and Kim Zimmerman of Lititz, who brought their daughter, Lucy, home in 2013.
A video that started it all
Lucy’s path to Lititz began online. In December 2012, a friend who advocates for adoption urged Kim Zimmerman to watch a video of a little girl who needed a family.
“We first saw our sweet girl in December 2012 when we watched a YouTube clip advocating for her family to find her,” Kim wrote on her blog.
The video had been shot and posted by David Peters, who was making a documentary about Chinese adoption with his wife, Kathi, and who hoped the clip would help the girl find a home.
Kim asked Merle to watch it. In the film, he recalls his hesitation and the moment that changed his mind. “My guard was up when I looked at the video,” he says. “I still remember getting to the end of that video, and this little girl was waving. I think it felt like she was waving at me.”
Meeting Lucy
The couple felt led by God to adopt her. About nine months later, in the fall of 2013, David and Kathi Peters were in China with the Zimmermans to film the moment Lucy met her new parents for the first time.
She joined a large and growing family. The Zimmermans had five biological children and had fostered and then adopted two half-brothers before Lucy came home, making her one of eight children.
Raising the money
International adoption is expensive. The Zimmermans raised funds through an online auction and smaller efforts, including cupcake sales. The filmmakers, meanwhile, raised more than $10,000 for the documentary through the crowdfunding site Indiegogo.
The film’s wider questions
According to the filmmakers, “Find Me” set out to explore many sides of Chinese adoption: why so many children in China were placed for adoption, what conditions were like in orphanages, and how the nannies who cared for children adjusted when the children left for new homes abroad.
By following three families, the documentary aimed to show both the joy and the complexity of international adoption, from the first video or photo to the long process of building a family across languages and cultures.
Adjusting to a new home
Lucy’s early weeks in America were not always easy. Language was a barrier, and her parents said that at first she rarely smiled. By the time the film premiered, she was a happy 4-year-old who had settled into her home, family and new country.
She had also received specialized medical care at St. Louis Children’s Hospital, and the family had returned from a follow-up visit just before Thanksgiving, in time to see their story on screen.
A journey of faith
For the Zimmermans, the experience was rooted in faith. “From the time God first asked us to step out in faith and bring another daughter into our family, we have prayed that God would be glorified through this journey,” Kim wrote. “It remains our prayer and now through the viewing of this documentary!”
The premiere
“Find Me” was shown for one night only, a Thursday at 7 p.m. at Penn Cinema in Lititz, with tickets at $8 through Fandango or the box office. Kim Zimmerman said the director planned a later DVD release.
For local audiences, it was a rare chance to see a neighbor’s story on a theater screen, and to understand a little more about the families who open their homes through adoption.
This story was originally reported by Lynn Rebuck for LititzDailyNews.com in December 2014 and has been updated for our archive.