Left Behind

David is on his way to China right now. He has the benefit of the direct flight to Shanghai, so he doesn’t have to stop in Narita, Japan, but it is 14 ½ hours straight. As soon as he took off, I went out for a run, just because I COULD and he couldn’t. J ha!

How I wish I was going with, and we could go down to the Guangxi province! How I would love to scoop up Min Zhi and bring her home! I know that it is prideful, but honestly, in comparison to what she has in china, WHY IN THE WORLD would China not approve us and make her stay there? Are they scared that we have too many children that there won’t be enough love to go around? Or that the economy is too bad that we won’t be able to clothe her for the impending winter? Or that we have chickens, and her health would be compromised by the Avian flu???

We are on day 33 of waiting for LOA. I know that MANY people reach into triple digits of wait time. But I also know that I am not to compare myself with others, that my God will do as He wishes, and in His perfect timing we will bring her home. BUT I will NOT stop asking, or knocking, or petitioning Him at the throne room of grace. If an unrighteous judge will hear the cries of the widow, how much more will my God, the righteous judge, hear my cries in behalf of the orphan?

Please join me in praying for Min Zhi to be given permission to COME HOME!

A rose by any other name…

In filling out the DS-230, Application for Immigrant Visa and Alien Registration, we have to choose Min Zhi’s name NOW. Goodness, even when I gave birth I had 24 hours after they were in my arms to decide! How can I know if she is an Amanda or Aubrey or Alyvia? What about Anissa or Alyssa or Angela? What about the half dozen others that we are tossing around? Of course, our four bios all have a DIFFERENT favorite. HMMMM. Then again, Andrew wanted to name Hannah “Warthog” before she was born, and would probably cast his vote there now, so maybe I shouldn’t put too much stock in what they think. And then, do we give her an American first AND second name, leaving her Chinese name as a third name? Or do we keep it more prominent as her only middle name? I have heard arguments from both sides.

If anyone wants to cast a vote, perhaps I can post the possibilities and you can let me know. But it has to be quickly!! I am PRAYING for a speedy LOA, so I need to have the paperwork turned in. Then again, maybe if I don’t have all my ducks in a row, the LOA will come sooner…

Photos to China!

Since we have LID, we are able to send packages to Min Zhi! We grabbed a bunch of photos of us and but them in an album—our first “gift” to our little girl! I hope she isn’t too scared of animals!!!

We took a photo of each member of our family, even the goldfish, so she can start thinking about us and picturing us in her mind. I SOOO want her to think of my face when she thinks of a mama. More than that, I want her to have HOPE that she is wanted! We are here, Min Zhi! Wish you were, too!

Blessed and Humbled

I haven’t written about Min Zhi Monday because I was unable to collect from all of the businesses that sponsored the day. It was difficult to show up for, what I perceived, our “handout”. I know that each business owner agreed to support us, and that we washedHamilton in pink signs as well as posted it in churches’ announcements, so I felt a bit better about it since we did some “advertising”.

I can now officially say that Min Zhi Monday was a success. I can also say that I know that several of the business owners gave not only from their proceeds but from their wallets, too. Maybe I am just weird that way, but I have the worst time asking for money from others. I would rather do without something and pay it myself, but the staggering amount of money we need to pay forces me out of my comfort zone. Just asking for help is hard enough—I would rather be the one giving of my time, making meals, watching kids, cleaning houses, etc to help others. I must admit that I am shocked, surprised, and humbled that others would want to help me.

BUT it is not about me right now. It is about my daughter who is presently away from her forever family. It is about doing WHATEVER it takes to bring her home. And, just like on numerous occasions for each of my bio children, I will do whatever it takes to help her find her way home.

Hold on, Min Zhi! We are coming!!!

Another check in the box

After planning for it all summer, filling up the garage with stuff so Dave had to park outside for the past two months, and postponing twice due to rain, we actually had the garage sale. The weather was perfect. It was a LONG day, about eight hours from start to finish. Unfortunately, we did not do very well with it. It wasn’t for lack of planning or lack of items—or due to overpricing the items. Stuff just didn’t sell. SO, a thrift store benefiting Guatemala was the recipient of our trailer-full of treasures. We did make one very nice sale, which made up for over half of the daily earnings, and I am grateful for that. A woman who is adopting from Ethiopia bought a bunch of our ski equipment, and I hope they have made good use of it on this wonderful holiday weekend!

I do want to thank some super women who gave not only their items but their hands and time as well: Marcia Kwantes, Melissa Charron, and Amy Van Oss were my heroes of the day! If it wasn’t for them, I probably would have been still setting up past noon!

A sad note: my keys seem to have pulled a vanishing act. I had them in my back pocket for most of the day, and only crossed the street once to use the gas station’s bathroom. I did ride with Austin to give thank you notes to the businesses that sponsored “Min Zhi Monday”, but I retraced those steps and asked everyone I had visited about them. No luck. SO, after a not-so-hot day of garage sale-ing, about half of what we brought in will go to replacing the key and keyless entry fob. (Sniff)

LID!! WE HAVE OUR LID!!!

According to our caseworker, the CCAA logged in our dossier on August 17^th!

It is off to translation! YES!!!

Here’s a story:

There once was a boy. He didn’t think that he needed to rely on God, but his parents still taught him about God and taught him to set apart his tithe. Since this boy didn’t put a lot of value in church, his parents said it was ok for him to dedicate his tithe for other things of his choosing.

Last year this boy worked all summer, being obedient and setting his tithe aside. He gave it to the cause he desired but, as it turns out, this cause had enough funds to cover their expenses and RETURNED this boy’s tithe to him. So, this boy tucked it away all winter.

This year, even though he didn’t think he even had a job due to hard economic times, this boy heard of a little girl in China who needed a family. He also heard that a local family very much wanted to adopt this little girl. Of course, with international adoption, this family was trying to fundraise to help bring home their daughter. Remembering his tithe, this boy gave it all to this family.

This was done in secret, with no desire for recognition. BUT, it didn’t escape notice, and has been a huge blessing to both the adoption fund AND to the hearts of the adoptive parents.

James 1:27 says-- 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.

Even though this boy didn’t want to rely on God, he was an example of pure and faultless religion. Perhaps one day he will surrender his heart, as his hands are already busy doing HIS will.

To our anonymous donor: Thank you.

Still no LID

It has been 26 days since we had our dossier sent to China. We were hoping to have the LID over a week ago, but still no word. It is maddening, as our precious daughter STILL doesn’t know that she is wanted! Every day of the wait is hard, but at least we are striving towards a goal. She has no hope of a family yet! We are here, Min Zhi! We have been praying and striving to get you for months, and we will continue to do so until you are in our arms!

I finally was able to talk to Mary Hecky, who is the mother of Min Zhi’s best friend from the orphanage. Mariah, Min Zhi’s friend, talked to me on the phone too, and her English was AMAZING! Mariah has been in the states for a little over 5 months, and her English was as plain as any 1^st grader. It was good to hear about Mary’s experiences, to take her recommendations, and to share her excitement. It will be great to get these little girls together one day!

Hoping for some news this week…

Think Pink!

Today was Min Zhi Monday here in Hamilton! We made and put up over 3 dozen hot pink signs announcing the day. Two of the local businesses, Hamilton Family Eye Care and Trestle Stop Restaurant, put the announcement on their signs. The kids and I (Minnie, our exchange student) made over 130 mini-thank you photos of Min Zhi, including our blog address and a teaspoon of loose Jasmine tea. We put these at the businesses to pass out to their patrons today. I have no idea of any numbers behind today, but I can say that I have been richly blessed by so many wonderful people. Pastor John and Cathy Byker, Kim, Jane, people we don’t know their names but yet mentioned that they shopped at Hamilton Food Center today or they went to the Trestle Stop for dinner…

Now, don’t get me wrong. At the end of the day, money is still needed to pay the bills. BUT, had we progressed as originally planned, if we would only be having a bottom line of under $10k, we never would have reached out for help. I STILL DON’T LIKE asking for help, especially financial help. But if it is part of HIS plan on getting us to a place that we realize that we are dependent on HIM, and we meet awesome people who have either walked this path before or are considering embarking on it themselves for the first time, then how can I complain?

So, here’s a shout-out to the sponsors of Min Zhi Monday, held August 31, 2009: Hamilton Food Center, Trestle Stop Restaurant, Shear Style Salon, and Hamilton Family Eye Care.

Hip-Hip-Hurray! Thank you for investing in the life of a child!

PS If there is anyone of the area who didn’t get to visit these businesses today, PLEASE still give them your patronage! I pray that they will continue to be blessed for being our blessing!

God Stop

In Beth Moore’s bible study, Believing God, she describes moments worthy of remembering what God has done as “God Stops”. Let me share what HE has done for us.

As my 40^th birthday rapidly approaches, David set up a night away in a Hampton Inn in Holland. Between the fact that we were 30 minutes from home and our kids and the fact that he was able to use his hotel points accumulated from work travel, it worked wonderfully for us. Far enough to not do laundry, close enough to respond to any emergencies that might have popped up, and FREE! Anyway, when David went to the hotel room early to set it up he grabbed a Holland Sentinel newspaper from the front desk for us to read later. We cancelled our newspaper over two years ago as a cost savings measure and haven’t read one, especially a Holland Sentinel, in that time. Fast forward to about 11:00 that night when we are getting ready for bed—I start reading through the paper. Intrigued by a front page story, I follow it to page 2, then start skimming page 3, then page 4, then OH-MY-GOODNESS-DAVE-COME-LOOK-AT-THIS! WE are on page 4!!! There was a 14” story smack in the middle of the page about the family and community behind Min Zhi Monday. I had spoken to someone from the paper about possibly putting something in the local section about Min Zhi Monday for free advertisement. Little did I know that it was going to be an official story, complete with quotes from all the businesses that are coming alongside us.

Now, if you consider how long it has been since we have read a local paper, and how long it has been since we have been in a “hotel just the two of us”, and the fact that we didn’t even know that there would be a story covering our adoption of our daughter, it was a moment that we just sat in awe of how God brings things together. We continue to trust that HE will bring us together with our daughter with as much flair as he has shown us thus far.

Praise be to God!

Went Out with Pink Posters, Came Home with Abundant Blessings!

In preparation for our upcoming fundraisers, I sent my boys out to post the hot pink signs around town. Although they have posted them on lamp posts, in storefront windows, and on message boards in the past, I also wanted to have them posted in the local churches. Two of the three Reformed churches in the area just accepted the posters, but for the third one, Austin had the opportunity to talk to the head pastor. Pastor John Byker had adopted a daughter from Vietnam through Operation Babylift back in 1975, and he also has a son who has adopted from Haiti as well! After talking for 10 minutes or so, Pastor Byker then prayed over Austin for another 10 minutes! Not only did he bless my son (and me!) through conversation and prayer, he has committed to bless us by posting our info for Min Zhi Monday on the overhead announcements before both services this Sunday, he will include the info and a photo of our daughter in their electronic newsletter, and has invited us to take part in their Sunday night service this weekend! He will introduce us to their church, pray for us, and make a verbal announcement about Min Zhi Monday!

We are floored, we are humbled, and we are blessed!

Big Weekend

We have a garage sale planned this Friday. Marcia Kwantes and I spent hours last week pricing stuff—er—treasures in my garage. We had hoped to hold it last week Friday, but a rainy forecast had us postpone it. We will be having it at the North Pole Ice Cream Shoppe on M-40 in Hamilton, as our garages are rather out-of-the-way. Hopefully we will have a good turn-out.

We will have “Min Zhi Monday” on the 31^st of August. Four local businesses: Hamilton Food Center, Trestle Stop, Shear Style, and Hamilton Family Eye Care have agreed to donate a percentage of their daily proceeds to our adoption. If you are anywhere in the area, please come by and tell these wonderful business owners “thank you!”

Unexpected Surprise

Last week I received an e-mail from a woman in Ohio. She said that she saw my signature line on a posting on a YAHOO group, and recognized Min Zhi’s name. This woman, Mary, proceeded to explain that she adopted her daughter, Miao Zhan (Mariah) from Wuzhou, China, 4 months ago, and that Min Zhi was her daughter’s best friend! While she was picking up Miao Zhan she took a bunch of photos, and to my delight, Min Zhi was in many of them. It was SO GOOD to see her playing as well as posing for photos!

Apart from a handful of e-mails and playing phone tag, I haven’t been able to talk to Mary more about her experience yet. But, as Mary said, we’re family now, so I KNOW that there will be time to talk, share, and get together for fellowship once Min Zhi gets home. Who would have thought that these two little girls would be adopted halfway around the world and still be able to stay in touch with each other?!?

Our God is an awesome God!

IT’S OFFICIAL!

We are REALLY, truly, and 100% DTC!!! Our Dossier is on its way To China!!!
Doin’ the Happy Dance!!! YEA!

IT’S THERE!!!

I just received notice from our agency that THEY RECEIVED OUR I-797 (immigration approval) TODAY!!!!!!!
PRAISE THE LORD!!! It got there overnight from Chicago!!! Now we are anxiously awaiting the next step…
(check back tomorrow!!)