A Lititz family is featured in a documentary film premiering Thursday at Penn Cinema that tells the stories of three American couples who chose to adopt children from China.

The film, “Find Me,” chronicles the journey of Merle and Kim Zimmerman to adopt their daughter, Lucy. In the fall of 2013, filmmakers David and Kathi Peters were in China with the Zimmermans to film the moment when the little Lucy met her adoptive parents for the very first time.

Lucy’s journey to America began through social media. One day a friend who is an adoption advocate urged Kim Zimmerman to go on Facebook to view a video of a little girl in need of adoption.

“We first saw our sweet girl in December 2012 when we watched a YouTube clip advocating for her family to find her,” wrote Kim Zimmerman on her blog. The video was shot and posted by David Peters, director of the documentary, to help facilitate an adoption.

Kim invited her husband to view the video, as the Zimmermans recall in the documentary.

“My guard was up when I looked at the video,” says Merle in the film. “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.”

The couple felt led by God to adopt Lucy, who would join seven brothers and sisters in the growing family some nine months later.  The Zimmermans had five biological children before they began adopting. After fostering two half-brothers, they adopted them. 

The Zimmermans raised funds for the cost of Lucy’s adoption through an online auction and other fundraisers, including cupcake sales.  Meanwhile, David Peters raised over $10,000 for the documentary through crowdfunding on Indiegogo.

According to their website, the Peters endeavor to explore many facets of Chinese adoption in their documentary, including why so many families in the nation choose to put their children up for adoption, the conditions of orphanages in the country, and how the orphanage nannies adjust to the adoptions.

For Lucy, the transition was initially somewhat difficult due to language. According to the Zimmermans, at first she rarely smiled. Now a happy 4-year old, Lucy has adjusted well to her new home, family, and country.

Lucy has undergone several surgeries, most recently to her legs at St. Louis Children’s Hospital.  One of her legs was significantly shorter than the other, making mobility a challenge. The family had to travel back to Missouri for a post-surgical checkup right before Thanksgiving but are now back in Lititz, are are excited to see the story of how this little girl came into their lives shown on the big screen.

For the family, it has been a journey of 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,” wrote Kim on her blog.”It remains our prayer and now through the viewing of this documentary!”

“Find Me” will only be shown on Thursday at 7 p.m. at Penn Cinema in Lititz. Tickets are $8 and can be purchased at fandango.com or at Penn Cinema box office. According to Kim, the director plans to release the documentary in DVD format. You can connect with the filmmaker’s via their Facebook page.

Lynn Rebuck writes about faith and families for LititzDailyNews.com. She welcomes your comments and questions by email at [email protected], or you can post comments on this article.