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Wednesday 3/3/2010

A few random observations and thoughts: -Our daughter LOVES fan dances and bacon!  We have been in hotels that offer a free breakfast buffet in the morning and she heads straight for the bacon warmer every day. -Pizza Hut in China is very similar to Pizza Hut in America...except the waitress understands you! -Guangzhou much warmer than Beijing or Nanchang and the pollution index in more tolerable as well. -All food contains MSG (ugh!).  I see a liver cleanse in our future!! -Jin loves word searches, can count to 20, and knows almost all of the body parts in English at this point.  I can tell that she is a little lonely due to her inability to communicate as much as she would like with us.  We resort to lots of finger pointing and singing songs. -Jin has learned to float in the swimming  pool (with my help).  She practices blowing bubble too.  She and I have enjoyed swimming together.  It has been quite a bonding moment for us as she hangs on to me in the pool and we float together.  I think she likes how that feels. -I had one shirt left this morning for the rest of the trip and spilled grape juise on the front of it at breakfast! -Jin had some rather bad excema on bothe of her hands when we met her in Nanchang.  I have been rubbing my home made cream on them along with a blend of lavender, rose, roman chamomile, and fankincense essential oil every day and at this point all of the open cracks have healed and the skin discolration is fading.  Her finger no longer hurt her. -The day before yesterday I got a foot massage, which was rather intense.  The therapist talked me into a head massage...which I would not recommend.  I never realized that tapotament was used on the head anywhere...but it is.  I was glad I did not have a headache afterwards!! -Yesterday we had our swearing in ceremony at the courthouse here in Guangzhou.  All of our paperwork is done in China and we are officially a 3-person family.

Friday 2/26/2010

HERB ADDS - On Monday morning we met our daughter Jin in Nanchang, the capital of the Jiang Xie province (forgive my spelling errors).  She is happy and adjusting very quickly to us.  She is very smart and devours everything she gets her hands on.  In the past five days she has already started to pick up some English words - "razor" is a favorite, maybe because dad's face need it so often.  We spent some time walking around the city and visiting a local park.  We have also gone swimming at the hotel.  It was the first time she had ever been in a swimming pool.  We found that she trusted us to hold her in the water and splash a bit.  There were incredible mushrooms growing from the ceiling - I hope they didn't end up as part of our room service dinner later that night! Fortunately Jin loves the "My Reader" pen and books that somehow pronounces words in Mandarin and English when she touches the pen to the page.  Turns out that was a good investment.  She has used it so much that we already accidentally ripped a page, but a quick trip to the grocery store down the road where we purchased tape fixed the issue. Monica is doing the final packing so that we can catch our next flight to Guangzhou, where Jin will get a quick physical and her Visa to enter the US. Our first meal together - a picnic on the hotel floor Baba loves to do bunny ears. Laundry, laundry, everywhere.  I think I see my skivies up there! Together at the local park and historic pivilion of Nanchang. Mama's girl.

Wednesday 2/17/2010

HERB ADDS - My feet are killing me! The Beijing Antique City was open and we spent some time there.  A main atrium was surrounded by many hallways of small shops selling old things.  It seemed like a good excuse for old guys to collect things and then sit around and smoke.  But we found some nice Chinese name stamps and pearls.  We then went back to our favorite IGA hang out and purchased some water and other items for lunch.  We didn’t make it to the Beijing Friendship Store but instead called it an early day and went back to the hotel for our meal of noodles.  We watched a bit of Chinese TV – a rare occurrence even in the US – and then Monica did a great job of editing the videos from the past few days.  We were treated to fireworks that were literally 1 block away.  I don’t think I have ever been so close to fireworks.  Since we were on the 15th floor they were at eye level.

Saturday - Sunday 2/13/2010 – 2/14/2010

We left for the airport about 4:00.  George Price graciously offered to take us.  We are so thankful.  We checked bags and made last minute Facebook updates before boarding. We flew through San Fran and on to Beijing with a good tailwind that got us in early to CA, but then we had to circle the airport because of fog.  We got to our gate just in the nick of time to grab something to eat and board again.  The flight took a better part of 20 hours. Once on the ground in China we made our way through an unusually quiet airport to the immigration turnstiles without any hitches.  We were pleased that all bags made it and that nothing was damaged or lost.  We were met by an America World guide, Rosa, who helped us get a taxi to our hotel, The Best Western. Once at the hotel 20 hours of moving was starting to catch up with us as we stood at the check in counter.  We got bags upstairs, tried to schedule a massage (which did not work out due to the Chinese New Year holiday), boiled some water, tried to warm up the room and plug in the computer (which wound up blowing a fuse in our room – twice!), and headed down to dinner.  I had some fried noodles which were very good and Herb had pork and water chestnuts.  The water chestnuts were soft and very different than we expected.  We mistakenly did not pay our bill, thinking that we were using our room credit so the lady had to come up to our room to get our cash!  The ultimate dine and dash!! From our window we could see fireworks across the street.  We were amazed at the fact that they were shooting them off right between the high rises lining the streets. It felt good to lay heads on pillows!  I was awoken by a ghastly plastic smell at about 2:00am that made breathing almost impossible.  Herb was no worse for the wear and slept right through it. Rising at 7:00am I tried to organize our stuff and came to find out that I had misplaced or lost the ring that I had planned to give to Jin.  It was a red ring that I got when I was little and I felt like I had lost a part of myself.  Thankfully Herb purchased a charm bracelet that he is going to give to her.  So we are not completely out of luck.  HERB ADDS -  On the plane trip Monica and I played some games of Uno to pass the time.  I enjoyed that since we hadn’t played in a long time.  The Beijing airport is huge, clean, and brand new.  I’ve never seen a parking garage that looked so clean.  I was glad that our guide, Rosa, was at the airport to meet us.  Looking out the window as we drove from the airport, I was reminded of little bit of Poland – gray skies and buildings that looked like public projects.  The hotel is nice but took a while to heat up – the electric is on only when the key is in the holder by the door.  The meat in my dish at dinner reminded me of the pork pieces in a can of pork and beans – small and mostly fat.  Hmmm.  We are off to breakfast!

Greetings from China!

Hi everyone, We are getting ready for our 3rd day here in Beijing and thought I would let you know we made it and have been having a great time.  I will look like a noodle when I get back as we eat them at every meal.  They are really good though so we don’t mind.  Yesterday we even ventured a dinner with chopsticks and surprised ourselves at how well we could clean off the plate! It has been an adventure trying to put cultural things in perspective and not feel like folks are being overbearing – mostly in the stores (something that happens to me easily regardless of where in the world I am!!)  I know that people are really interested in us because there are very few foreigners here, especially Americans, and I need to start taking it as a compliment. We got a really neat game/learning toy yesterday that translates words and reads things in Chinese and English.  The lady who was helping us in the bookstore didn’t know any English and our Mandarin just didn’t cut it (we need a few more lessons, Hunter!! J)  So we carried on a conversation together, neither one of us really knowing what the other was saying…and in the end we all reached an understanding.  Goes to show you how helpful some pointing and a little smile are! Everyone is celebrating Chinese New Year and firecrackers and fireworks go off constantly…right between the skyscrapers in the city here.  Back home that would be a lawsuit waiting to happen! J  We went to a festival in an area park the day before yesterday and WOW! I have never seen so many people!!!!  (Makes central Orlando look like a ghost town!)  People were eating all kinds of things on a stick, to include scorpions and lizards.  Needless to say, herb and I passed J. Til now Herb and I have been navigating around ourselves and doing quite well.  Friday we will meet up with the group, as none of them are here yet.  We are so glad we were able to come and get our feet on the ground (literally) before the trip started.  We feel that it was a very good decision and it time well spent. Someone across the way has been drying ducks (I think) on top of their apartment building.  We keep wondering what they are for. Today we are going to go to you “favorite hangout” – the local IGA.  We were quite a spectacle in there to the locals!

January 26, 2009

It has been a long time coming, but we have finally ocmpleted our Hague Adoption online course.  It was supposed to take us 8 hours.  It took us 8 months!! There was a website that we had to read during a part of our course that I thought gave great indsight into what the child, the parents, and the community around the family feels.  View it here. With that finished, it feels like we are moving along a lot freer now!  I have spent the better part of the morning putting together not one but two sets of photo pages that will need to be submitted with our dossier.  And actually it was recommended that we put together three.  I got the two done and now amy trying to print off pictures for a third and of course the printer is not cooperating. Wednesday I am heading out to St. Petersburg and while I am there I am going to visit a clinic that specializes in adopted children. We have discussed quite a few things about life after our daughter arrives and how it will be for her to assimilate into American culture.  It is so hard to know exactly how things will work for her since she has the additional challenge of poor eyesight.  All we know is that we want to convey to her that we love her, that we are so glad to have her as our own, that she can count on us, and that Jesus loves her even more. We have also decided that we will keep part of her Chinese name and give her an American name too. We did a little research and found out that her Chinese name means 'tender' and 'money.'

January 3, 2009

Ephesians 1:3-14 (NRSV) Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, just as he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before him in love. He destined us for adoption as his children through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace that he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and insight he has made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure that he set forth in Christ, as a plan for the fullness of time, to gather up all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. In Christ we have also obtained an inheritance, having been destined according to the purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to his counsel and will, so that we, who were the first to set our hope on Christ, might live for the praise of his glory. In him you also, when you had heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and had believed in him, were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit; this is the pledge of our inheritance towards redemption as God's own people, to the praise of his glory.

December 31, 2008

Not that I ever questioned what the Lord has impressed into my mind for years now and not that I thought that somehow all of His plans had suddenly changed, I have to admit that the light at the end of the tunnel was quite difficult to see there for a while.   It probably all started with the suprise, middle-of-the-night trip to Ohio to supposedly bury Herb's mother.  That crisis caused our home study to be delayed for almost a month.  Then when things were finally rolling again and we were set to get our blood work completed in an order to 'finish off' our paperwork mine came back with suprising and bad results.  Once again we were forced to side step our proceedings while I attended to my health, figured out what was wrong with me, and came up with a plan that would restore my body to normal function.  In all of that I was diagnosed with Hashimoto's Disease, an autoimmune disorder affecting the endocrine system.  The only thing that I can think of is that my health had been so strong that it had been handling the crisis inside my body famously leaving me asymptomatic.  Nonetheless, I began a regime that had proven, up to this point, to be blessed by the Lord and effective in restoring proper blood levels.  (I have blogged my entire regime at blogger.com if you are interested in the nuts and bolts of it all.) Now that I am starting to see some of the changes that my TCM doc is looking for I am watching closely for my next opportunity to go for my next round of blood testing.  At that point I will decide if I need an even more intensive diet or if I can be more on a maintanence type deal - with detoxing as a permanent focus.  Having worked throught the overwhelming nature of all of this (as well as some adoption stuff in our family's past that the Lord saw fit to rummage through) we feel able to take the next step on the road to China! Aside from help and personal issues, while we were going through all of this we got word from the agency that ZiLi had become extremely sick and was indefinitely removed from the WIC list by the Chinese government.  Though we had never me this little boy, all of the working towards that point had started creating a relationship with him that seemly has ended.  For what reason we were there, I don't know.  But one thing I do know...the little girl, Jin, who was the first of the two children to be laid on my heart by the Lord is still with us and we are wholeheartly working toward the adoption, joyfully! As a very personal piece which is part of our history, I am including an email exchange between Herb and me this morning.  Read tenderly as this is near and dear to our hearts. An email received from the director of our adoption agency... From: America World Information [mailto:info@awaa.org] Sent: Tuesday, December 30, 2008 5:48 PM To: America World Information Subject: A Son By Adoption Hello;  hope you all had a blessed Christmas celebration and are trusting God for a bountiful New Year.  Here is a little story I wrote for the fathers who have everything except a son by adoption.   God bless.   I have four daughters; three by adoption and one by birth, and they were every bit “daddy’s little girls.” They were so much the center of my life that I had to be reminded by my wife that she was also a girl and needed my attention.  Coming home at the end of a hard day, I was always met by my girls running to me as I opened the door and jumping into my arms while squealing, “Daddy, Daddy!”  My life was quite complete; I was content with my girls, and I did not think I was missing anything.  In fact, I must admit that seeing how rambunctious and energetic the boys of friends and relatives were at a young age, I was even more content with three relatively well-behaved girls.  It wasn’t until my wife began to develop the desire to adopt a son that I had to address some of my deep-rooted fears connected with adopting a son. Deep down I had concerns about how an adopted son would reflect on me.  What traits would he come with?  Would he reflect poorly on our family name? What were his talents, would he be smart, would he even like being a Luwis since he would not look like me? As someone who would describe himself as wholly unprejudiced concerning the adoption of any child, I found myself facing the ugly side of my human nature and my bias towards the adoption of a son.  My desire to have a son of my flesh with my name, my traits, my family lineage, etc., kept me from being open to a son through adoption.   For you fathers who have similar fears, as well as a desire to have a son by birth, I want to share with you how my son by adoption came to us and who he is:  My wife, Renee, stopped by our office one afternoon. While there, she came across some referrals of waiting children with minor special needs on my desk.  She asked me about their cases and I told her we had not found families for these four children and that we had to send them back.  “Send them back?” Renee asked.  I explained, “Yes, we’ve had them for about thirty days and we need to send their papers back.”  She picked up the files and came upon a little boy with a cleft lip who was about eight months old.  As we look back on that moment now, my wife tells me it was his eyes that took hold of her and would not let her go.  She put the files back down on my desk and said, “He is not going back.” I was still struggling with not understanding why I was really not jumping at the idea.  Over the next few days, I trusted my wife’s intuition about this little boy - and I’m sure glad I did!  I would not have been able to make this decision on my own.  Only God could make a decision like that for me.  How did I know which or what type of child was right for my family?  The only thing I held to was my wife’s relationship with God and her revelation that this was our son, so I trusted her and we moved forward.   The other difficulty I faced was adopting a child with a special need. Oddly, I was worried this would appear selfish.  As the head of an adoption agency, I recognized the “advantage” there would be in showing people (including foreign governments) that I had adopted a child who was considered hard to place.  This was a struggle for me and helps me understand why God gave me no direction in this decision, but instead spoke only to my wife. It was clear that he was protecting me from my pride.  It is truly because of my wife’s openness to God’s call that I now have a son.  If she had not been   willing to listen to God about this little boy with special needs, I would not be the proud father of a smart, caring, funny, gifted, talented, determined and extremely coordinated son.  He has a small scar on his lip and nose that he will probably have for the rest of his life, but what he lost in not being born “fully formed” God more than made up for in other areas.  He was not only walking at an early age, he was riding a two-wheeled bike by the time he was three…with no training wheels.  You should have seen the smiles and looks of awe when we passed other families on the bike path.  My own father was quite talented; he played for the St. Louis Cardinals’ minor league baseball farm team and was recruited for the major league.  He blessed my brother and me with the drive for success in sports, which resulted in us being nationally ranked.  Needless to say, athletics was a high priority in my home growing up.  Because of this, when I imagined having a son, for him to excel at sports was a part of the package.  And God, in His mysterious ways, blessed me with a son who exceeds my own talents - and at such a young age. So God exposed my worldly expectations, and in grace, rather than condemnation, surpassed anything I could have hoped for.  The truth is that I could not have asked for a more perfect son by birth or adoption.  When I was a child, I loved cars, stuffed animals, and had a tremendous passion to win.  Remarkably, these traits are completely paralleled by my son – so it is easy for me to identify with him.  He is my little buddy, my shadow, my Sunday afternoon football sofa pal, my NASCAR-following fanatic.  But I don’t love him because he’s like me; I love him because he’s my son.  For the dads out there who don’t have a son, I encourage you to dive in and embrace the idea of having a son through adoption to carry on your family name…who knows, he will probably surpass all you could hope and imagine a son could be.  I know my son does; and I believe by God’s grace that your son will too.   For God does things beyond what we can ask or imagine. Brian Andrew Luwis, the proud father of Abel Jiang Luwis, my son by adoption. I forwarded this to Herb. Herb's reply... This was a good article.  Thank you for sharing it with me. We will see what God says to you and has in mind for me and us! Herb always has a short, sweet way with words :-) Little did he know the most pressing thing I have been feeling led to tell him by the Lord is that he needs to strengthen his health too - do some detoxing himself and to eat beets and more veg!!  (Somehow I don't think that that was what he was thinking!!) My note back... Well, the Lord placed two very specific children on my heart (given to me) that day, Jin and Ben… Jin wants to come… Ben did not want to come… I (WE) replaced Ben with ZiLi But the Lord didn’t have ZiLi in mind for our family. Jin is still with us.  I am looking so forward to meeting this child that the Lord had picked out for us!!  The person that the Lord wants to be in this family. I do not regret getting ZiLi involved.  Adoption was just not the plan for his life at this time.  And it is a strong reminder that the Lord is overseeing this process. It has been a little hard losing the idea of him…but he was never given to me to begin with – that was my (our) doing.  It was like the Lord whispered, “Nope, not him.  He was not one of the two I gave you that day.” Jin is though!  And I am so thankful. He does have a plan.  I just know that EVERYTHING that we are going through is working together to bring HIS plan to fruition.  He cares about us so much.  We are really important to his kingdom because our hearts are willing to give, learn, and grow.  Not many fall into that category, you know. Thanks for walking this path with me, Honey.  Be strong and courageous. I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord.  Plans to prosper and not harm.  Plans to give you a hope…a family complete with those who have been handpicked by Me!!…and a future. I love you. Monica Herb's response... What a wonderful and encouraging note.  Thank you! I love you! Herb I think this whole day has been an encouragement from the throne room of heaven...a real shot in the arm as my old ROTC instructor used to say.  For that I am thankful.

September 10, 2008

For over a year now, Herb and I have been involved with a ministry called Bibles Unbound.  This is part of Voice of The Marytrs (VOM) - the same ministry responsible for the "Pray for China" bracelets.  Our family goal is the send 1,000 bibles to China.  Why not join us and the rest of the families in sending the Word of God to China?  Find out more at http://www.biblesunbound.com/qry/mc_home.taf.

September 7, 2008

Some Chinese proverbs: A bird does not sing because it has an answer. It sings because it has a song. A bit of fragrance clings to the hand that gives flowers. A book is like a garden carried in the pocket. A book tightly shut is but a block of paper. A child's life is like a piece of paper on which every person leaves a mark. A diamond with a flaw is worth more than a pebble without imperfections. A fool judges people by the presents they give him. A gem is not polished without rubbing, nor a man perfected without trials. Be not afraid of growing slowly, be afraid only of standing still. Dig the well before you are thirsty. Do not remove a fly from your friend's forehead with a hatchet. Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime. If heaven made him, earth can find some use for him.

August 17, 2008

"Is she your real daughter?"  they asked me. "Real?"  I questioned.  What do you mean by real?  She is a child not born of my flesh, that's true.  But she is a child truly born within my heart...within my soul.  Yes, she is real." -an adoptive mother I have been reading another book on adoption, this one called The Whole Life Adoption Book.  With so much information at my fingertips and a desire to remember it all, I wish to record notes here that I can look back on when I will need them. One of four "tasks" that, if done will make room in the family for someone new:  Develop an environment that communicates belonging. Honesty and openness in communication (about adoption) is crucial to bonding within the family and the a child's long-term psychological well-being.  Creating an environment where children feel secure, loved, and that they belong provides them a foundation they can build on. The Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption is designed to promote transparency in the intercountry adoption process...and thereby seeks to eliminate adoption fraud.  To ensure you don't become a victim of adotption fraud, bribery, or corruption: -Do your homework and fully udnerstand the process. -Become an expert on the counrty and culture. -Check credentials of everyone you work with. -Remain flexible without being taken by suprise. -Follow all agreements made and every formal procedure to the letter, pre- and post-placement. Specific challenges unique to transcultrual adoption/issues a child and family will face:  racism and prejudice. -Don't over react. -Ask the child to explain exactly what happened without leaving anything out.  And insult can be clearly intended or purely accidental.  Find out so you can be their filter. -Encourage the child to tell you how he felt. -Ask what the child said in relpy.  (Don't forget to praise for maturity and quick thinking if they handled the situation well.) -Ask the child to consider how he might handle it differelty in the future.  Explore choices of how to respond to questions or rude comments about race/culture/adoption so they feel prepared the next time.  (Don't forget to ask the child if they WANT to do anything about the situation.)    -Determine possible questions that may be asked in situations the child will encounter.    -Establish what information should be shared (and what the family is choosing to keep private).  Come up with a listof polite responses together.    -Make sure the child knows how to respond to questions that make her uncomfortable.  ("That's our family's business."  "You will have to ask my parents."  "We only talk about it at home." Most importantly ...always make it clear that you are on the child's side. What builds a health adoptive family:  6 Critical Success Factors 1.  Healthy Adoptive Parents have explored their motives and expectations for adoption in an open and healthy manner and are in agreement.    -dynamic-dormant parent roles   vs   active-antagonistic parent roles   vs   energetic-energetic parent roles    -Explore adotion motives    -Attitudes toward adoption my fluctuate    -Adjust expectations of each other    -Keep communication open and honest as responsibilities increase 2.  Healthy Adoptive Parents demonstrate stability and quality in their interpersonal relationships.    -Parents model strong marital relationship    -Family members demonstrate ability to resolve conflicts and problems  (Older age adoptive children probably have not seen or experienced a healthy approach to solving problems...may be foreign or strange to them)    -Family members evidence the ability to deal with feelings  (Adoptive parents who allow each other to express a range of feelings and respond empathically will create an atmosphere where a child can do likewise.  Families who block feelings or deny their existance will block the healing of wounds that are deeply rooted in a child.)    -Both couples and single parents have a strong support system 3.  Health Adoptive Parents demonstrate flexibility and openness in the family system.    -ability to deal with change    -flexible boundaries, allowing people in and out of their lives    -value differences    -seek support and resources when help is needed 4.  Healthy Adoptive Parents know the importance of creating a family environment that openly acknowledges and communicated about about adoption.    -a state of mind and heart  (rejection of adoption:  attempt for parents to minimize their own pain and loss, attempt to protect the child from feeling pain of loss and rejection, attempt for parent to protect themselves from potential loss   vs   acceptance of adoption:  atmosphere of empathy and sensitivity in which feeling, thoughts, and struggles can be not only expressed but also recognized as valid, builds firm foundation of trust between parents and child, fills gaps of info the child has about birth parents, corrects fears and fantasies, provides firm footing for development of identity)    -PSYCHOLOGICAL PRESENCE:  the symbolic existance of an individual in the perception of other family member in a way that influences thoughts, emotions, behavior, identity, or unity of remaining family members 5.  Healthy Adoptive Parents understand the core issues of adoption that may affect their child and the triggers that may create crisis.    -grief and loss    -loyalty  (children may be led to feel that closeness or a love for pirthparents is an act of disloyalty)    -control    -rejection and fear of abandonment    -shame and guilt    -identity    -feeling different  ("Do I fit here?")    -triggers 6.  Healthy Adoptive Parents understand that adoption is a lifetime commitment and maintain that commitment through difficult times.    -"Commitment took a negative rap with some parents of the baby boomer generation, according to George Barna.  they viewed commitment negatively 'because it limits our ability to feel independent and free, to experience new things, to change our minds on the spur of the moment and to focus upon self-gratification rahte than helping others.' "    -Following this approach to commitment "people (adoptive parents) willingly make commitments (to a child) only when the expected outcome exceeds what they must sacrifice as a result of that commitment."    -Healthy families maintain their commitment to a child even when the reality is very difficult.  When the pain threatens the pleasure, they opt for hope, not out. Focus on strengths.  Keep persepecitve.  Set reasonable goals.  Get help when needed.  Tolerate the unknown.  Be able to say, "I will love this child forever."

August 13, 2008

Speaking of slumbering and sleeping...we have started a little rennovation project on our home and as I blog (8:20am) there are hammering and drills going!  This is an answer to one of the prayer requests of July 10!! We found space under our stairwell that had been drywalled closed.  So we are opeing that up to make a closet 3x the size!!  We are also going to add some loft-type shelves to the two bedrooms that will become the kids rooms for even more storage.  And lastly, we are going to turn some closet space in our bedroom into a sitting area slash office so that Herb can moove his office out of the garage apartment and back into the house.  This will allow us to rent out our garage apartment again. We have finished up our home study (the US piece) as well and are set to go for our physicals tomorrow.  Amy has worked so fast and hard on our paperwork that the homestudy was done before we knew it.  This is also an answer to a July 10 prayer request!! We are waiting on one or two official documents from various places and we need to redo a form and a letter for our dossier (the international piece).  The letter is actually one that will go to the Chinese Embassy requesting that we be allowed two children, so it is SUPER IMPORTANT!!! Please pray that: As I rewrite that again today that the Lord would give me the workds that will ring pleasing to the Chinese officials and that will tell our whole story as honestly and fully as possible.  The Lord would continue to work things out on the Chinese side so that when they see our application letter that they are moved and open to allowing us tow children. The translation of our dossier files would be accurate and that it would be done quickly. The Lord would continue to sell our books on half.com for us.  He has already been so faithful in this (I already have three wrapped up for today.) and we are so thankful.  Our inventory still has plenty to sell though!  And we still have a few boxes to add to it too.  Right before school starts is always a busy time for sales.

August 2, 2008

Adoption works were put on hold the last week and a half due to a medical emergency.  I see so many ways in which the Lord is using everything we go though to our benefit - turning us into just the people He wants raising ZiLi and JinZheng.   We had to cancel our physical and our final home study temporarily, but we will be rescheduling them this month.  Nonetheless, we continue to pray for the kids and their salvation, health of JinZheng's eyes, safety, and their assimilating into the US.  I see the slowdowns and waiting as the time that the Lord needs to line up our special situation.  He is at work. I was reading the Word this evening and came across a set of verses in Isaiah that were so comforting to me: "All your people will be righteous.  They will possess their land forever, for I will plant them there with my own hands in order to bring myself glory.  The smallest family will multiply into a large clan.  The tiniest group will become a mighty nation.  I, the Lord, will bring it all to pass at the right time."  Isaiah 60:21-22 As we wait, God is at His holy work.  When I was in the army we would drill out at Fort McCoy in Wisconsin.  Every night at dusk they would lower the flag while the bugler played "Taps": Day is done, gone the sun, From the hills, from the lake, from the sky; All is well, safely rest, God is nigh. I am thanking Him right now that He neither slumbers nor sleeps.  Sometimes it feels like we are running the race, but then I realize, not me, HE!  Somehow I have let the necessity of my action seep into my head as being crucial.  Though obtaining all the right paperwork and signatures IS important, and the process cannot be completed without those things, the race that the Lord is in is for the completion of His own agenda.  Don't believe me?  Watch the video.  As I have gone through the month, I have thought I was the father (in the video).  Now I am realizing that I am the son! Turn your volume up. VIDEO

July 23, 2008

We were pleased to get the following two emails today and yesterday.  The first one mentions to everyone that we have begun proceedings for ZiLi (aka Liam in the AWAA system) and are reviewing records for JinZheng (aka Madeline).  The second one is an answer to a question we want both kids to answer - Do you want to be adopted and do you want to move to America?  As we have already learned some kids do not want to be adopted let alone move to a different country.  We really want them to feel that they had a hand in their placement and that their wishes were heard. The first one: Monthly Prayer Focus from AWAA Dear Families, Thank you for your prayers for Noah during the month of May.  Noah has a family pursuing his adoption!  Please join us in praising God for answered prayers!  Due to shared referrals, we were unable to post a prayer focus for the month of June.  However, the lack of the posting didn’t interfere with God’s bold movement on behalf of special needs children in AWAA’s Waiting Children Program!  The following children are being adopted or have families pending: Chase, Dylan, Liam, Cole and Jack!  Madeline and Piper are currently under review with families as well! The second one: Herb and Monica, I sent a request to the CCAA a week ago or so asking them to approach “Liam” and ask if he wanted to be adopted and if he wanted to come to the United States.  As you’ll see the answer is short, but sweet. Sent: Tuesday, July 22, 2008 3:37 PM Subject: Liam’s update from CCAA “Yes, he wants to be adopted and goes to States.”

July 14, 2008

At just the right time, Voice of the Martyrs has created a really neat prayer band that reminds wearers to "Pray for China."  The white bracelet has English and Chinese on it.  Why not consider ordering one today?  You can get one free by clicking the lnk below. Click here to request your free Olympic Prayer Band.

July 10, 2008

As we wind down the medical evaluations of the documents for the little girl, we are confident in our decision to pursue the referral for both. It seems like such a huge step and sometimes I find myself whispering "So how is THIS going to work. Lord?"  A good friend once told me though, when the Lord opens the doors you must walk through them.  We will make our request known and as He opens the doors we will boldy walk on through! Please pray with us and for us in the following ways.  Pray that our home study proceeds quickly as that will be starting next Friday with Amy. Pray that the Lord would start to work in the hearts of the Chinese Embassy officials and encourage them to bend the "One Child Only" rule for us. Pray that we would be able to complete a small remodeling job which would turn a second closet we have in our bedrrom into an office for Herb. Please visit our advertisers on this page as well as on other pages of the site for more information about products and services from other providers.

July 7, 2008

The Lord is accomplishing His purposes!  He has a much different plan in mind! The 13 year old boy did not want to be adopted and we are pleased to know that and to follow his desires.  In finding that out we were lead to a boy named Zi Li who is 12.  He became an orphan last year after suffering several losses of his own and financial difficulty in his family.  We have reviewed his medical documents and had them evaluated by a Traditional chinese Medicine and Acupuncture Physcian in Merritt Island and have begun our paper chase towards seekeing his adoption. Additionally, a little girl has been on my mind since the day that the 13 year old boy was placed on my heart.  We are going to be reviewing her medical records this week.  Since both of these kids are older there have been times in the past when the chinese Embassy has been their "One Child Only" rule when adoptions of older kids were possible.  Knowing this and requesting special favor regarding this little girl, should we find that we can provide what she needs in terms of medical care, had really set me at ease.  Pursuing a completely seperate second adoption would be extremely time consuming and potentially double the cost.  Going this route will save us time and money. Please pray with us and for us in the following ways.  Pray that our home study proceeds quickly as that will be starting next Friday, perhaps. Pray that we would be attentive to the Lord’s voice as we review the records for this little girl. Pray that, should be decide to pursue this child, that the Lord would (even now) start to work in the hearts of the Chinese Embassy officials. Pray that we would be able to complete a small remodeling job of one space in our house have would turn a second closet we have in our bedrrom into an office for Herb.  This will free up the garage apartment for rental and our third bedroom for the second child.  (Our track record for remodeling projects and working with builders has not been anything short of a lesson in patience and...well, let’s just leave it at that!)  That said, due to pending circumstances, we need expediency!!!

June 23, 2008

We have been working quite diligently to get paperwork done so that we can get our home study off the ground.  And even moreso this past weekend as Lord has laid a very specific child on our heart.  The child is a boy who is 13 years old.  The urgency come in due to the fact that children "age out" of international adoption at the age of 14 in china. We did not anticipate adopting a teenager at the beginning, focusing our thoughts more toward a child between the ages of 0-6.  (So much for our "first toy" that we purchased several weeks back!) Nonetheless, the Lord moves the hearts of His people to accomplish His purposes.  We have been touched and therefore are moving rapidly to set things in motion.  I have found that British Airways and NWA offer drastically discounted and flexible plane tickets to famiLies going overseas to adopt.  I am so thankful for this as airfare to Beijing will cost upwards of $2,000 per person. As far as getting our home ready, we have adequate space for this child and a room that has furniture in it already.  There are only a few items which we would need to move out.  Our home study will be the final call on what all we need to do in addition to what we already have...if anything. Adopting this boy is possible.  We still have time, though not much.  Please pray with us and for us in the following ways.  Pray that we will receive all forms that have been mailed out back quickly.  Pray that we can get an appointment for physicals and test results back from those physicals as soon as possible.  Pray that there won’t be any kinks in the home study.  (They can be done in a matter of weeks, from what I understand.)  Pray that we will be able to absorb the cost of the adoption so fast, as we anticipated having 4 years to save for it. And pray that this boy will have a really good feeling for what he would Like to do as we will be asking the government to communicate with his caretakers regarding his choice in coming to America.  We desire to make sure that he feels in control of his circumstance and do not what him to be concerned about disappointing anyone with his choice. If you feel led to do something else in this process, here is what can be done: Schedule a massage.  All proceeds are going towards our efforts.  Tips are going straight into our adoption account. check out the Young Living products and consider purchasing some.  The toothpaste is wonderful and there are many natural cleaners and supplements. consider donating your unused books to us.  We are selling them online to raise money and have found this to be very successful. consider donating that box of ’this and that’ to us.  We will work to sell it online as well.  And what we do not, we will sell at an upcoming garage sale. We are in the process of setting up an account that will allow you to make a tax-deductible donation if that is what you would Like to do.  100% of you donation would go into a 501(c) (3) fund and be made accessible to us. In the meantime, we have set up a donation button through Paypal.  If you feel lead to do something right now, you can donate to our adoption account below.  (You do not have to have a Paypal account to donate using Paypal.)