What a few days this has been!
It's always this way right after your given TA from China...all the ambiguity begins to resolve. And...oh...it feels sooooooo good!
We know now that we'll leave Sept 1 and return Sept 19, we know that we'll be able to see a favorite work of ours in Beijing that is caring diligently for orphans. We know that we'll spend time with our "Chinese Family" in Province when we get there on Sept 5 and we KNOW we'll have Isaiah in our arms on September 10!
I've blogged about the "funding" part of this journey we've been on. And I have to report some amazing things have happened in the last 48 hours! We have been given, by dear family members on both sides of our family...frequent flier tickets! Enough for 2 adult tickets...and we're just ecstatic!
The first one came to our attention out of the blue yesterday from a beloved family member and with several attempts and re-starts...we emerged victorious with 1 ticket! Wow...the value is about $1200! Blessing!
We were all set this morning to buy the remaining tickets...one adult and 4 kids...but we had a request of the travel agent at the last minute...could we delay the ticketing until Monday? The delay would be enough to take us into the next credit card cycle. We heard back at about 12 that we could wait, without losing our tickets, until Monday.
Then another glorious phone call came our way unexpectedly...at 1:30 we heard..."there's some mileage on this FF Account...if you can use them....do it!"
I came home and much to my amazement, BUT EVEN MORE THE FF TICKETING LADY ON THE PHONE, the EXACT flights we needed to book the FF seat on were AVAILABLE! The ticketing lady said "I just can't believe this is open!" There was a dramatic flurry with some technical difficulties with the website, but after 2 hours on the phone with her....we had another confirmed FF ticket! I told the woman..."we've been praying, asking God to provide a way to travel and get our son...and you've been part of a miracle today!"
There was ONLY ONE FF seat left on EACH of the 4 legs of the trip...only ONE seat...coincidence???..no! Blessing!
Have you ever tried to book FF seats? EVERY time I try, I have to take flights that I don't really want...if they're available AT ALL...and usually I can't get FF seats 6 months away from when I want to travel. I've not yet been able to use my FF miles to get tickets to the midwest for Butterfly...but all 4 legs of an International ticket???...BLESSING!
So Monday we ticket the rest of the seats...that is, unless God has another unexpected blessing coming our way...
Oh Isaiah...the crazy people are coming...
Friday, July 20, 2007
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Emotions are running HIGH!
We're waiting...for the final date to be handed down to us by the powers that be...the Consulate Appointment. Once we have it, hopefully in the morning, we proceed full speed ahead to buy the plane tickets.
We find ourselves at the river Jordan, if you will...
We have to buy plane tickets. It appears that due to the dates, all our alternate plans for travel arrangements have been excluded. This includes the painful awareness that due to the delays from China neither Butterfly or Grandma Juice will be able to travel.
So we have to step into the river...that is commit to taking all four of the remaining minor children...even though we don't have all of our "funding" in place. But I'm reminded that it was when the Israelites stepped INTO the river that the waters parted for them to pass, not when they were standing on the banks just watching the water go by.
I'm hanging on to that.
I was able to share these verses...some of my favorites...with another friend today who is really struggling with a big decision that requires faith:
Hebrews 10:38-39 "But my righteous one will live by faith, and if he shrinks back, I will not be pleased with him," But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved.
Getting the music loaded to the website tonight...with a few of our favorite songs that describe some of our feelings about adoption and this precious boy...made tears pour from my eyes...yeah, emotions are running high...
We find ourselves at the river Jordan, if you will...
We have to buy plane tickets. It appears that due to the dates, all our alternate plans for travel arrangements have been excluded. This includes the painful awareness that due to the delays from China neither Butterfly or Grandma Juice will be able to travel.
So we have to step into the river...that is commit to taking all four of the remaining minor children...even though we don't have all of our "funding" in place. But I'm reminded that it was when the Israelites stepped INTO the river that the waters parted for them to pass, not when they were standing on the banks just watching the water go by.
I'm hanging on to that.
I was able to share these verses...some of my favorites...with another friend today who is really struggling with a big decision that requires faith:
Hebrews 10:38-39 "But my righteous one will live by faith, and if he shrinks back, I will not be pleased with him," But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved.
Getting the music loaded to the website tonight...with a few of our favorite songs that describe some of our feelings about adoption and this precious boy...made tears pour from my eyes...yeah, emotions are running high...
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
The TA Dance!
Yup...we're doing the TA dance here at the "H" Family headquarters! Today we got the call...China has authorized us to travel and bring Isaiah home! This is an exciting time.
We began this journey in December and now it appears that our Consulate Appointment will be September 17th...which means on September 10th...we'll likely put our hands on this precious young soul for the VERY FIRST TIME! So, 9 months...I've done this before...
In 8 weeks we'll know what his little hands feel like in ours. What he smells like. What his voice sounds like. How heavy his form is on our laps. How beautiful his smile is in person. And, we'll stop wondering..."What is he doing right now?" Because he'll be where God intended him to be from the very beginning...enveloped in his forever family's love!
We began this journey in December and now it appears that our Consulate Appointment will be September 17th...which means on September 10th...we'll likely put our hands on this precious young soul for the VERY FIRST TIME! So, 9 months...I've done this before...
In 8 weeks we'll know what his little hands feel like in ours. What he smells like. What his voice sounds like. How heavy his form is on our laps. How beautiful his smile is in person. And, we'll stop wondering..."What is he doing right now?" Because he'll be where God intended him to be from the very beginning...enveloped in his forever family's love!
Sunday, July 15, 2007
Isaiah's Story
It is customary when posting a blog regarding adoption to "tell the story." Each child has their own magnificent story that is precious, deserving of being told. So, I'll start there.
This is our second adoption from China. We traveled there last year with our entire family. One set of grandparents, 4 of our children ("Butterfly" age 16, "Magpie" age 7, "The Bug" age 5, and "Busy Bee" age 3.) For the purposes of this new Blog, I need to give our daughter, adopted last year a special Blog-name too...how about "Potato"? That's what we call her around here...so, it will work for her brother's story.
In November last year, we began to ask the question "Is there another child for our family?" I thought after returning from China last year, that we would be there again...but I was unsure how soon. My wonderful husband began to pray with me, ultimately fasting for a period of days asking God "are we to adopt again?" Now as parents of 6 children already, the oldest, the flagship grown and gone...that's a crazy question to be asking God. But we did. And, very, very powerfully after waiting on His answer He spoke to Daddy through a chapter in the Book of Isaiah. It was:
Isaiah 49:12
"Behold, these will come from afar; And lo, these will come from the north and from the west, And these from the land of Sinim."
In the study notes of Daddy's Bible it said that according to the Dead Sea Scrolls...that "Sinim" the place referred to in the passage above, was likely and ancient name for CHINA.
Then he read on and came to:
Isaiah 49:20
"The children of whom you were bereaved will yet say in your ears, 'The place is too cramped for me; Make room for me that I may live here.'
With those passages and the peace we felt at moving forward we determined that we would view the list of current waiting children.
Daddy was certain that, as our current household make-up is of 5 female children, that the next one should be female as well. But, in an attempt to be open minded, we looked at all the waiting kids. One in particular really stood out to me...a little guy...who was "winking" at us in the pictures.
I was hoping that our newest addition would be from our daughter's province in central China. We have very dear relationships there already and we longed to return and share more fellowship with them. But, this darling boy's file said that he was in HeBei province, in the Northeastern part of China.
As we climbed in bed that evening, I asked Daddy, "Which of the children really sticks with you?" Just as he began to answer me, he kicked a book under our bed that we'd been reading. The books title was "God Winks." Its a book that generally says there is more to coincidence than mere coincidence. That those occasions are when God is "winking" at us letting us know He's there and He cares.
Daddy picked up the book, chuckled, and said, "The child I was drawn to is the one who was winking at us in the pictures today...that little BOY."
So we agreed to request his file from the agency.
The next morning I was offered a new job. I hadn't been looking for a job. God just brought one to me. One of our considerations in adopting again was that I would have to make a job change. That very morning, the day we received the little boy's file, I was offered a new job. The perfect job for our circumstances.
When I finished my phone conversation, I hurriedly went upstairs to check my computer and to see if the boy's file had been sent. Within moments I was reading that "the child was found...and was now being fostered through....in HUBEI province." HuBei? The waiting child list said HeBei....HuBei is our daughter's province...where our precious friends are...which information was true? I quickly searched the internet and as I confirmed that indeed the town this boy was from is in HuBei Province...I felt a lightening bolt of excitement burn through me.
I called Daddy to tell him. When he answered the phone I tried to casually say to him "Well, we got that little boy's file." I then added..."But there was a typo." That's all I said. And Daddy replied to me...chuckling that knowing chuckle..."He's in HuBei, isn't he?" I shouted "YES!" And we both laughed and cried as Daddy said..."Well, that's our boy!"
Upon reflecting on that...Daddy could have guessed that the typo was anything...that he was really a girl or that he wasn't really blind in one eye or anything...but I know the Holy Spirit prompted Him supernaturally at that moment and he KNEW that this child was the one God was bringing to us from Sinim (China).
So Isaiah, we are making room for you. In this pink palace...I pray that you're tough...I pray that you are long suffering because they are going to love you to pieces...I pray that you'll be patient because I don't know how to be the mom to a boy...I pray you'll come home soon, where we know God has planned for you to be since the beginning of time.
We hope you enjoy our journey...we hope to be off to China no later than the 1st of September...maybe we'll have our Travel Authorization as soon as tomorrow...and then...we'll begin our final plans.
It's going to be another wild ride!
This is our second adoption from China. We traveled there last year with our entire family. One set of grandparents, 4 of our children ("Butterfly" age 16, "Magpie" age 7, "The Bug" age 5, and "Busy Bee" age 3.) For the purposes of this new Blog, I need to give our daughter, adopted last year a special Blog-name too...how about "Potato"? That's what we call her around here...so, it will work for her brother's story.
In November last year, we began to ask the question "Is there another child for our family?" I thought after returning from China last year, that we would be there again...but I was unsure how soon. My wonderful husband began to pray with me, ultimately fasting for a period of days asking God "are we to adopt again?" Now as parents of 6 children already, the oldest, the flagship grown and gone...that's a crazy question to be asking God. But we did. And, very, very powerfully after waiting on His answer He spoke to Daddy through a chapter in the Book of Isaiah. It was:
Isaiah 49:12
"Behold, these will come from afar; And lo, these will come from the north and from the west, And these from the land of Sinim."
In the study notes of Daddy's Bible it said that according to the Dead Sea Scrolls...that "Sinim" the place referred to in the passage above, was likely and ancient name for CHINA.
Then he read on and came to:
Isaiah 49:20
"The children of whom you were bereaved will yet say in your ears, 'The place is too cramped for me; Make room for me that I may live here.'
With those passages and the peace we felt at moving forward we determined that we would view the list of current waiting children.
Daddy was certain that, as our current household make-up is of 5 female children, that the next one should be female as well. But, in an attempt to be open minded, we looked at all the waiting kids. One in particular really stood out to me...a little guy...who was "winking" at us in the pictures.
I was hoping that our newest addition would be from our daughter's province in central China. We have very dear relationships there already and we longed to return and share more fellowship with them. But, this darling boy's file said that he was in HeBei province, in the Northeastern part of China.
As we climbed in bed that evening, I asked Daddy, "Which of the children really sticks with you?" Just as he began to answer me, he kicked a book under our bed that we'd been reading. The books title was "God Winks." Its a book that generally says there is more to coincidence than mere coincidence. That those occasions are when God is "winking" at us letting us know He's there and He cares.
Daddy picked up the book, chuckled, and said, "The child I was drawn to is the one who was winking at us in the pictures today...that little BOY."
So we agreed to request his file from the agency.
The next morning I was offered a new job. I hadn't been looking for a job. God just brought one to me. One of our considerations in adopting again was that I would have to make a job change. That very morning, the day we received the little boy's file, I was offered a new job. The perfect job for our circumstances.
When I finished my phone conversation, I hurriedly went upstairs to check my computer and to see if the boy's file had been sent. Within moments I was reading that "the child was found...and was now being fostered through....in HUBEI province." HuBei? The waiting child list said HeBei....HuBei is our daughter's province...where our precious friends are...which information was true? I quickly searched the internet and as I confirmed that indeed the town this boy was from is in HuBei Province...I felt a lightening bolt of excitement burn through me.
I called Daddy to tell him. When he answered the phone I tried to casually say to him "Well, we got that little boy's file." I then added..."But there was a typo." That's all I said. And Daddy replied to me...chuckling that knowing chuckle..."He's in HuBei, isn't he?" I shouted "YES!" And we both laughed and cried as Daddy said..."Well, that's our boy!"
Upon reflecting on that...Daddy could have guessed that the typo was anything...that he was really a girl or that he wasn't really blind in one eye or anything...but I know the Holy Spirit prompted Him supernaturally at that moment and he KNEW that this child was the one God was bringing to us from Sinim (China).
So Isaiah, we are making room for you. In this pink palace...I pray that you're tough...I pray that you are long suffering because they are going to love you to pieces...I pray that you'll be patient because I don't know how to be the mom to a boy...I pray you'll come home soon, where we know God has planned for you to be since the beginning of time.
We hope you enjoy our journey...we hope to be off to China no later than the 1st of September...maybe we'll have our Travel Authorization as soon as tomorrow...and then...we'll begin our final plans.
It's going to be another wild ride!
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