Sweet Reunion

"Do not fear for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you walk through the rivers, they will not sweet over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior."

Isiah 43:1-3

Once again another two months have passed since I've posted anything in my little corner of the blogging world. I keep going back and forth between whether I should hang up the reigns of this little blog or not but then there are days when I actually want to share something (like today).

Those of you who have fallen my blog for the last few years, know that early on in my time in China back in March 2012, I fell in love with this precious little Sweetheart.

 

 

I had the honor of giving her an English name, standing in the gap in prayer for her during two surgeries in China, and loving on her until her family was able to fly across the world to bring her home in May 2014. After spending every day for over 2 years with a sweet baby and then letting her go, is one of the hardest things I have ever had to experience. But I knew that she was going to an incredible family and for that I was so thankful.

This precious family not only adopted Sweetheart but adopted me as well, wanting me to continue to be a part of her story. With me moving back to the US, then moving to Tulsa, then getting settled in Tulsa, the time just wasn't right for a visit. But this fall when they contacted me about meeting up with them on their Orlando family vacation the first week of November, I couldn't think of an excuse not too! On November 2nd, I flew to Orlando to spend a precious four days with this sweet girl and her family. It felt so good be reunited once again!







And spending time with her sweet family.

There was lots of swimming and lots of relaxing. This vacation could not have come at a more perfect time!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In March 2012 when this precious girl was placed in my arms, I never would have guessed the amazing story He would write. God truly writes the best stories if we will only give Him the pen and allow Him to write it.

{Adoption Awareness Month} PRAY

Last week, I wrote a post about how November is National Adoption Awareness Month. But more than that, I want to talk about not just adoption, but orphan care as well and how you can be involved and make a difference in the life of a child. We are not all called to adoption, but we are called to do something. The Lord talks a lot about orphans in the Bible and how we are to take care of them. Probably the most quoted verse when talking about orphans is James 1:27:

"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this:

to look after orphans and widows in their distress

and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."

God has a special place in His heart for the orphans. He doesn't just ask us to care for the orphans if we feel like it, no, He commands us to. 

This month, in honor of National Adoption Month, I am going to focus on several ways that you can make a difference in the life of the child and resources to help you get started. 

The first one is PRAY. I know, it should be a no brainer right? And the "Christian thing" to do. That may be the case, but friends, prayer is so very important. It is the most important thing we can do when talking about orphan care. I have seen the Lord move mountains when prayer was involved. In China, I saw miracle after miracle in the lives of the children I cared for. Children who should not be alive today, are not only alive, but thriving. If you do nothing else, then pray, pray, pray.

Here are some things to pray for if you need some direction:

** Pray for the children in foster families & homes, government & privately run orphanages all over the world.

** Pray for the nannies and caretakers.

** Pray for the birth families. We don't know their story or why they had to give their children up, but it was probably the most difficult thing they ever had to do. We often look at the birth parent as the "bad guy" when really, they may have given their child up out of love, to give them a chance at life.

** Pray for the funding for these foster home and orphanages. That they may provide the care these children need.

** Pray for FOREVER FAMILIES to adopt these children!

** Pray that there will be another option and that these families DO NOT have to give up their child for adoption! Pray for a way for them to stay with their birth families.

These are just a few ideas to help you get started!

Day 11 of Thankfulness: Financial Provision

I am thankful for God's financial provision.

One of the things that very well could have held me back from moving to China, was finances. All the foreign staff at the foster home I am serving at, are self-supported. As I was praying about moving to China, the fear of money continued to hold me back and scare me. God is very clear about how dangerous the love of money can be and how it can become an idol. Even worrying about it, makes it an idol. I truly felt the Lord leading me to China and so I had to lay the financial burden at His feet. If He really wanted me in China, He would provide the funding. And oh my, has He ever. He has blessed me beyond measure. Through Church's, individuals, even people that I have never met have come alongside me and partnered in the work I am doing. It has been such a blessing and has allowed me to focus on the work I am doing here, rather than constantly worrying about finances. When He provides, He provides in a big way. 

If you are interested in partnering alongside me, check out the "Partner With Me" tab to find out more information. 

Not Forgotten

You may recall that I wrote a post a few weeks back titled Broken. Remember how I was planning on taking the afternoon off and "celebrating" the 4th of July? Instead I went to meet this new little Peanut at the hospital. This little one who was abandoned that very morning. This sweetie was released from the hospital the other day and is now safe and sound and home with us. We couldn't be more thrilled to love him back to health.

Although yes, he is home with us, he is not "out of the woods." This little one is tiny, small, and weak. I've never seen such a small two-month old baby. Won't you continue to lift Peanut up? Pray that God would give him strength and that he would gain weight.

He was left, abandoned, but he was NOT forgotten. God Almighty holds this little treasure in His loving arms. He wept silent tears when this little boy was left, when for whatever the circumstances were, his birth family was unable to keep him. The God who made him, knows him, and loves him has not forgotten this precious child. He is made in the image of God. And God is going to turn this heartbreaking story into a story that shares His love, grace, and redemption.

"For You created my inmost being; You knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made."

Psalm 139:13-14

Worship Therapy

In the last few weeks, I have added another thing to my schedule. I have been trying to meet individually with several children in the afternoons for their own special one-on-one's. These are the kids who aren't attending morning preschool yet. Either they are not old enough or aren't quite ready for class. 

I began meeting with one particular little sweetie a few weeks ago. Honestly, I've been at a loss of what to do. I'm not quite sure how to reach him. This little one isn't talking or interacting much and when I talk to him and try to get him to do something, he ignores me. It's like he doesn't hear me, but I know he does. This little boy has been through a lot in his life. He was abandoned at around 2 years of age and has had more trauma in his young life than I will probably ever be able to imagine. I have been praying for wisdom on how to help him. How to get him out of his shell. How to connect with him.

Recently I have felt that music may be the key. There is something soothing and comforting about music. I love music, I love to sing, and maybe, just maybe this was the key to reach him? Well, I kept forgetting my laptop (which has all my music on it) when I would meet with him but finally today I remembered. We tried some of the other activities I have been trying with him and again, wasn't getting much of a response. I pulled out my laptop, booted it up, and began playing / singing some worship music. After all, if we are going to sing, we might as well be singing to Jesus right? After all, He is the One who KNOWS this little boy more than I ever will. Who created him and who loves him. Right. So, I put on some Praise Baby (my personal favorite) and gave it a shot. He was sitting on the floor hitting blocks together. As son as the music started, he paused to listen. A few minutes later he then made his way over to the table where I was sitting with my laptop and sat down in a chair. He got the biggest smile on his precious face. When the song would stop, he would reach for my hand and guide it back to the computer to choose another song. Then the smile would return. One of my love languages for these kids is touch. I know how they lack that human touch and contact when they are in the orphanage. I will often not only hold them, but rub their little hands, legs, or face, as well as kiss them (how could I not with some of these cheeks?). As the music played, he reached for my hand and brought it to his face. He wanted that human touch. With tears streaming down my face, I happily obliged.

I think I have found a way to reach him. No, he may not know his colors, numbers, or ABC's right now. But we went over our class time (I'm usually trying to figure out how to pass the 30 minute session). I just couldn't stop when time was up. We just kept sitting there singing worship music to Jesus. At one point, I could see him trying to sing.

Thank you Jesus, thank you, thank you, Jesus.

"Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in Your book before one of them came to be." (Psalm 139:16)

Thank You!

Thank you so much for all of your prayers for my ear. I am excited to share with you that it is better! This all began last Wednesday and after visiting the doctor on Friday, it cleared up Sunday and Monday but then plugged up again Tuesday. Yes, more tears and frustration, but also a whisper from Lord (into my good ear of course) that I needed to stop looking at my circumstance but instead look to Him. Which is what I should have been doing in the first place. Wednesday morning during preschool, my ear opened back up. And this time... it has stayed open and unplugged. Visited the doctor again this morning and he said it looks good. In his broken English he told me, "ear ok." I will admit that I am a bit nervous that the same thing will happen but then am I reminded, that's not really trusting God is it? Yep.... I'm still a work in progress.

Thank you, thank you for your thoughts, prayers, and kind words. Even though this normally wouldn't have been a big deal, being on this side of the world makes it a different story.

Verse 5 for my Psalm 139 reading.

"You hem me in behind and before, and you lay your hand upon me." (Psalm 139:5)

Conviction

My daily devotional this morning ("Jesus Calling" by Sarah Young) really convicted me. I want to share it with you:

"Stay calmly conscious of Me today, no matter what. Remember that I go before you as well as with you into the day. Nothing takes Me by surprise. I will not allow circumstances to overwhelm you, so long as you look to Me. I will help you cope with whatever the moment presents. Collaborating with Me brings blessings that far outweigh all your troubles. Awareness of My Presence contains Joy that can endure all eventualities."

Wow, I think today's passage was written just for me. The last few days I have become so distracted by my "circumstances." I have definitely allowed them to overwhelm me rather than looking to Him. This weird thing that is going on with my ear has not only made me nervous but caused me to become upset and anxious and rather than look to Him, I have been trying to fix it by myself. Yes, I have been praying over it but I am sad to admit that was not my first choice. God knows what's going on and He is with me and WILL heal me. None of this has taken Him by surprise. This day, I am looking to Him and choosing joy in Him.

If you are following along with my Psalm 139 reading, today's passage is found in verse 4:

"Before a word is on my tongue you, Lord, know it completely."

Answered Prayer

God is faithful ALL THE TIME. Thank you for all of you who have been standing with me and praying for my ear infection. I am not quite sure when it happened, but at some point during the day Sunday, my ear began opening up. Wasn't a "pop" or anything but I know I talked to my Mom in the morning it was still plugged, and when I met with a friend for dinner, it was not. Yesterday (Monday) it was still unplugged although again, not completely back. This morning, it is plugged again. Not as bad as it was last week, but definitely worse than yesterday. I have full confidence that God will completely heal me and that this ear will open up again and this time 100% and will stay unplugged. Thank you for your prayers.

Today's passage in my Reading through Psalm 139 is verse 2:

"You know when I sit and when I rise; You perceive my thoughts from afar."

My Classroom

 One of the exciting things that happened while I was in the states is that I now have my own preschool room!

For the past year, we have been sharing our school with the office, med room, storage room, etc. 

Although it worked, I was pretty anxious to have my own space that I could decorate and make look/feel like an actual classroom. 

I finally got my wish. 

Knowing that I would have my own room when I got back, I did some shopping for "wall art." 

I'm pretty pleased with how the room is coming along so far!

 My students watching "Thomas the Train" for our Friday movie.

Don't you love our little porch off our room? 

I do.

Best part is teaching these three, sometimes four, little sweeties (I have one little one who is only coming twice a week as she can't quite handle the 5 days a week class schedule). 

Come fall, I'll probably be asking for donations for fall, winter, Thanksgiving, Christmas decorations, etc. for those of you willing to send a care package. 

I'll keep you posted. 

Protector & Strength

Last night I had quite the adventure. My night started out like a normal night here. I got out of work at the foster home around 5 and decided to head straight to the store to do some grocery shopping, pick up some dinner on the way home, and then have a relaxing night in. I debated walking to the store (it's about a mile away) but decided I wasn't feeling up for the walk since a light rain was falling. The bus stop right outside my gate has two buses. Or so I thought. One looks like a tour bus and the other (bus #3) like a typical city bus. Both of them would take me to the store so I was planning to hop on whichever one came first. After waiting for about 10 minutes, the bus that "looked" exactly like bus #3 came up and so I waved it down and climbed on. As we started going, I realized that we turned which is NOT the way this bus normally goes. As I look towards the front of the bus, I see that I am not on bus #3 after all... I'm on bus #73. Apparently since being gone, a new bus line started in my part of town. After over a year of the buses never changing, who would have thought? We kept going and going and going. In fact, we were not headed towards the store (I thought perhaps it would loop around) at all but into an area that I have never seen before. We went through village after village and eventually stopped in a shopping district that I have never been too. At this point I was getting a bit nervous since I was not recognizing anything, but knew enough of the city that where there is a bus stop going one direction, there usually is a stop going the opposite direction. So I got off searching for the stop on the "other side" of the road and would simply wait for the return bus #73. Of course I was on a one way street so I had to walk a block to find the opposite street. I soon found the bus stop but bus #73 was not listed. I thought maybe it was a new line and therefore wasn't on the sign yet (a common occurrence in China). I waited and waited and then decided that maybe I was not at the correct stop after all. I decided to walk down the street a little to see if there was another. Keep in mind, I still knew where my initial stop was and could get back to it if I wanted (thankfully I do have a good sense of direction!). I ran into some Americans on my way to the second bus stop and asked them if they knew where the bus stop for #73 was to get back to Kaiyin (the area I live in). They said that they were not familiar with this area but after asking their Chinese friend, he said that the stop was just ahead. I thanked them and went on my way. Found the stop and waited. And waited. And Waited. Once again bus #73 was not listed on this sign but since the Chinese man said it was here, I believed him that it was indeed here.  Bad decision. I'm not quite sure how long I waited but it felt like hours. It was drizzling and starting to get dark. Wherever I go in China I am stared at. Normally it doesn't bother me too much but being in an unfamiliar area and uneasy as it was, it made me even more nervous. Yes, I sent them a few glares to STOP LOOKING (not that it helped of cours. Bus after bus stopped but none of them were #73. I was beginning to wonder if there WAS a bus #73 that stopped here. As darkness was approaching quickly and I had absolutely no idea where I was, I decided that if the next bus was not the right one, I would bite the bullet and just take a taxi home (a taxi is about 35 RMB compared to the bus of 2 RMB). Another bus came and went and I hailed a taxi.  THANKFULLY I know how to tell the taxi driver where I live and about $5 later, I was home. Of course I was back to my original destination and still had not been to the store and was also starved. I quickly grabbed some noodles from my favorite noodle restaurant and then finally took the CORRECT bus to the store. A total of 3 hours later, I made it home. 

The whole time I was "lost," I was praying. Praying for guidance and direction (literally!). I was a female, by myself, in an area I didn't know. Plus it was getting dark. I have never been nervous in China, but this situation made me very nervous. I just kept looking to Him to remain calm and knew that He would get me home. Thankfully I did take the taxi home because I learned today that bus #73 would have never come to that stop as it makes a "loop." Therefore if I had stayed on the bus originally, I would have eventually made it home. 

What lesson did I learn? To pay attention to the bus number and not just assume that you are on the right bus. And that He was my Protector and my Strength. 

All the time.

Remember When...

This little Treasure was fighting for her life?

When she was given no hope?

I do too....

Now when I hold her in my arms and listen to her sweet sing song voice,

or pick her up time and time again, when she is fussy,

I can't help but be thankful.

Because she was so close to not making it.

 Your prayers are what made all the difference.

Once people all over the world began lifting up this little sweetheart, that is when things changed.

You sure are a Treasure, little one.

Continue growing big and strong. 

Want to read more about her miraculous story?

Read about it here!

Chinese Soil

Back safe and sound in my second home.

Flight was long but uneventful.

This being the 7th time I've made that flight... I think it gets worse each time.

But I am here and I am alive.

And I am starting to feel a bit human again.

I actually arrived late last night but stayed over in Guangzhou.

After taking the bus from Guangzhou, I arrived back in Zhongshan this afternoon. 

Saw my kiddos.... oh my, are they precious.

If I was worried that they would forget me, there was no need to be.

The number of kisses and hugs I got was medicine for my heart.

Good to be "home."

Unpacking is partially done, but I'm calling it a night.

It feels good to be back.

Preparation

5 days.

That's the number of days I have before I head back to China.

 When I arrived back in the states on March 21st, I was ready for a break.

A time away to relax and renew.

Since my time home, I have missed my kids and my work at the foster home.

But I did not miss China.

As the days and weeks went by, I started to get a little nervous.

I had no desire to return.

Until I thought about my little ones.

But China as a country?

I was definitely not the one to talk to if you were thinking of moving there!

 What if my time of departure came and I still did not want to go back?

What then?

I knew that God would help me cross that bridge when and if I got there.

When I was applying for my visa and there was question whether I would be granted one or not, I realized just how much I DID want to go back.

 Thankfully the last two weeks, God has been working on my heart and preparing me to return.

And you know what?

I'm ready to go back.

I miss my kids.

I miss the work I do there.

I even kind of miss my life there.

 Even thought it will be so hard to leave my family and friends again, I know that God is calling me back to China.

For how long, I am not sure, but I know for now, that is where He wants me.

 As I prepare to board a plane in 5 days, I am filled with peace.

Yes, I know what I'm getting myself into, and I know how lonely life can get there.

But I also know how God is my comfort and my strength.

In the days where I just want to be anywhere but China, He calms my heart and gives me peace.

 He gives me joy when I have none.

He gives me strength when I miss my family and friends.

And He fills me with His presence.

Continually.

 The adventures of my 2nd year are about to begin.

God has provided and I'm excited to see how He is going to use me in this coming year.

 "The peace of Christ, which passes all understanding, will guard your hearts and your mind in Christ Jesus."  (Philippians 4:7)