China Mission Trip / Journey To Cindy

Happy Mother's Day!

2008-05-11T00:01:00.003-04:00

Click the link below to connect to our new blog...

http://thekeeganfamily.blogspot.com/

Now that Cindy is home and part of our family we have decided to merge this blog into The Keegan Family blog. This will allow us to continue to post for our friends and family to follow and see not only how Cindy is adjusting but how all of us are doing as a family. We appreciate everyone who has followed this blog and supported us with your prayers and encouragement and welcome you in continuing to follow our new blog.

Being an adoptive mother…

Being an adoptive mother is not for every woman. She must possess not only a mother’s instinct but also understanding and appreciation of the situation that brought this child into her arms making her a mother or yet a mother “again.” The adoptive family came to be by circumstances, choices made, but most of all a gift He gave! The bond the adoptive mother has with her child grows over time. Day by day, touch by touch, with each tear, kiss, and memory made they became a family. Adoptive mothers have that special knack to let love grow.

Adoptive mothers know that she’s a mender of wounds, not just of the physical skinned knees with a band-aid and a kiss, but of the heart. She gives love, acceptance, and permission to ask and talk about the day her child was born and of her first parents.

Adoptive mothers are embracers, not only of the child with many hugs and kisses, but of the child’s heritage and history. She embraces the facts of her child’s past with strength for herself and the child.

She’s not only a memory maker planning family vacations, activities, and birthday parties, but also a memory keeper. Details of a birth, photos of the hospital, and of the parents who brought her into the world are kept along side the newspaper clipping that announced it all. All these things are kept in a special book that tells the whole story.

She’s a tier of shoelaces and of hearts. She weaves lives together into a tapestry of a new family, with many different brightly, colored threads showcasing their individualities and family origins. Together they create one unit attached to each other.

Adoptive mothers are experts at finding lost objects, but understand and validate the profound, deep loss left by adoption. She allows the tears to fall and grief to be felt, allowing the mourning of the mom not there. She is secure in knowing that she’s not a replacement, but a finisher of a race for someone who, for whatever reason, could not run any longer.

This role is not for the weak of spirit, or the easily wounded. Loving a child not born to her but calling them her own, but this is what she does, it is her calling. She is a mother!

Author Unknown

What a Busy Saturday!

2008-04-29T01:31:00.000-04:00

Saturday was a very busy day for us all! We started out with taking Jadeyn to a birthday skating party for one of her classmates that was turning 4. This was Jadeyn's first time to ever go skating and Miata's second! What a challenge it was for us to try and teach both girls how to skate! After a little time Miata kinda got the hang of it and really enjoyed skating. Jadeyn on the other hand struggled quite a bit more trying to learn the whole balancing act of skating. She was a real trooper with her persistence of continuing to try over & over again! Throughout our time there she did get a lot better and was enjoying herself. Cindy on the other hand already knew how to skate so she really enjoyed spending time at the rink. Kasity wasn't with us because she was at a youth group function with our church.

After the birthday party we made our weekly trip to the mall for the girls to enjoy their Chinese luncheon! I don't think they will ever get tired of their weekly Chinese meal! Miata and Jadeyn have eaten here (almost weekly) ever since they came home and now with Cindy it has truly became a weekly lunch trip!!

Well after our lunch we headed home for me to get my van because I had to go to church to help out with the Amazing Grace Race. I was actually helping out in the kitchen with preparing the food for when they returned. Anyways, during the time I was helping at church Tim had to get the other girls ready for the next function we had to attend.

Our next function of the day was the Wilmington FCC (Families with Children from China) Spring Festival. We all had a really good time here and the girls really enjoyed playing on the playground as well as joining in on the other games they had prepared for the children. Ronnie and Pat Casteen was also there with there new 16 month old daughter, Isabella, whom they brought home March 26th! As soon as I arrived at the picnic I immediately went to them and asked if I could take Isabella from them, just to hold of course. Anyways, Pat said sure you can try. Well to their amazement she stayed with me much of the time! They said they were so shocked that she didn't cry and that she stayed with me because she normally will not go to anyone. She also went to Kasity and spent much time with her. We enjoyed holding her and playing with her and was glad it gave Ronnie and Pat a break even if it was just for a short time. Little Isabella is so sweet and precious!! They are very blessed to have this little girl as is she to have them as her parents!

What a busy Saturday we had but what a wonderfully blessed and fun Saturday it was!!

This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it. Psalm 118:24

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Wow! How Time Flys By!

2008-04-21T20:00:00.000-04:00

Like always I really had ALL INTENTIONS of posting over the weekend BUT AS ALWAYS...
There is so much to do as time quickly speeds by...

About schooling...
We continue to be busy each and every day with so much to do in helping Cindy adjust to her new American life. Though Cindy has been attending many classes at school we have still been struggling with much "down time" in waiting for a computer to be installed and loaded with the needed program for her to get up and running on for learning English. We are continually working with her at home and she is learning a lot but the need for a classroom setting and a teacher to work more one on one with her is needed most. Beginning tomorrow she will start attending this needed class and though her computer is still not up and running she will get the one on one help from a teacher with her book work materials. She is so happy about this! No more "down time" during the days! This has been very hard and boring for her!! As for Math, she is doing very well and is now having homework to do at night. It has become a nightly ritual for Cindy and Tim to check her math homework to make sure that her work is correct and that she is understanding the problems. Over all school has been enjoyable other than the extremely boring down time she has had to endure! In the pictures you see that Cindy really does enjoy her school! She enjoys sewing in Home Economics class and especially enjoys being with her classmates!

About her eating...
Cindy is now wanting to try most all foods and is also starting to like most foods. She has also learned to read the nutritional facts on the boxes so now she is trying to watch what she eats because she says, " I need to keep body fit!" She has now began walking, running, and riding a bicycle everyday to stay fit. Cindy really likes to go to the mall to shop and eat Chinese food! I couldn't resist taking this picture of Tim, Kasity, & Jadeyn as they sit and wait patiently for Cindy to enjoy looking in the many shops!

As for fun time...
The most recent excitement/fun the girls had was watching the hail storm we had two days ago, Monday! They had a lot of fun listening to the pinging noise (along with the thunder and lightning) and watching as the hail covered much of our yard! Cindy would say, "Oh very beautiful, I like!" They (mainly Miata & Jadeyn) enjoyed mom going out in the pouring down rain and picking up some of the ice balls for them to hold in their hand. I have to admit watching the hail storm was indeed a sight to see.

This weekend the Air Show was held here in Wilmington so we took the girls to a local park where they could play and still see the air show pretty well. Of course when the Thunderbirds performed it was the best! They really enjoyed playing and watching all the airplanes at the same time!

Last weekend the girls went to Lewis's Strawberry Farm here in Wilmington where they enjoyed picking two giant bucket of strawberries, which we all ate on over the course of several days! We also got to enjoy many strawberry smoothies made from those delicious strawberries! This years strawberries were by far the best we have picked since we have lived here, almost twelve years!

Planting Seeds...
Please continue to pray for Cindy to understand/comprehend what she is hearing and learning in her Bible class! She has a wonderful, sweet, gentle spirited Bible teacher who loves the Lord with all her heart and loves having this opportunity to teach Cindy in hopes that we will soon all see her one day also come to love the Lord! Cindy really loves Miss Hite, which is her Bible & Math teacher! She also really enjoys memorizing the bible verses Miss Hite assigns her and then later being tested on them!! She says, "I don't even have to think, I just know!" She learns it within a day and continues to say them everyday!!

So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. Romans 10:17

Additional Pictures...

Just a snapshot of our family since we haven't yet had the opportunity to have a new family pictures taken.

More pictures of the girls having fun at Lewis's Strawberry Farm.

Special Visit!

2008-04-17T00:10:00.000-04:00

Today we had a special visit from Bob & Pat!

They are one of the couples that was in our mission group this past summer and they are also the ones that blessed us so much in helping bring Cindy home! Bob & Pat emailed us to let us know they were driving from their home in Florida on their way to visit family in Connecticut and wanted to stop in Wilmington to see us! They are so special and so kind to go out of their way, about 1 1/2 hours from I-95 to get here and 1 1/2 hours to get back, to make a visit to Wilmington to spend the evening with us. When I told Cindy they were coming she was so very excited and couldn't wait to see them again. We all went to Red Robin for dinner and enjoyed talking and spending time together. We talked about many things one of which was China, Fushun Orphanage, and the children there. They are definitely going back again on the mission trip this summer, with Visiting Orphans, which will take place June 18th - 30th. The focus this summer will again be on the many areas of need the orphanage has. After last summer's visit and seeing how many older children are residing there, the focus this year is also going to be on trying to provide these older children with tools which will allow them to more effectively/efficiently learn English. Not only will it help them if they are adopted by American families but it will also help them if they are not. As I have explained in previous posts if one knows English in China then they will have much more/better opportunity in seeking a job. An orphan will already have a very difficult time in this area but by knowing some English they may possibly get a bit of an advantage in finding work. So needless to say it would be most helpful to provide them with adequate tools that will further the English they are already so fortunate to be learning at school! Anyways, today was indeed a wonderful blessing in having the opportunity to spend time with Bob & Pat and for the rest of my family to be able to meet them! They are truly a dear sweet couple who loves the Lord and also very much loves orphans of this world and seeks to help them by going, sharing the love of Jesus with them, spending time with them, and helping equip them with much needed items!!! I/we are very blessed and thankful that the Lord placed them in our lives and allowed us such a sweet friendship together! God is so good and blesses us in ways we would never imagine!

If you would like to help the children of Fushun Orphanage you can give a monetary gift to this mission trip and it will be used by the team leader in purchasing items once they arrive in Fushun. I am pretty sure your gift is also tax deductible but I will check on this and let you know for sure on my next post. I plan to post again this weekend and fill you in on the progress Cindy has made since my last post which has been very good and positive in many areas!

Visiting Orphans
Donations can be sent to:
Visiting Orphans
6723 Whittier Ave., Suite 306
McLean, VA 22101

**Please note your gift is for the Fushun Mission Trip.

I thank my God upon every remembrance of you. Philippians 1:3

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. Ephesians 1:3

One Month Home...

2008-04-09T01:30:00.000-04:00

Wow, it has already been one month since Cindy came home! Though I had all intentions of posting an update each week, as you can see time goes by so quickly and I didn't get a chance to post until now. I promise to try and do better at posting another update more quickly!

Well lets see... Where do we begin??
First let me say that Cindy has been adjusting very well. One of her largest milestones is that she is now eating American food! She has also found a few local Chinese restaurants where she enjoys some of their cuisines! So all in all we now have the food issues resolved!

As for other areas of adjustment...

At home... Cindy is doing great! She is so totally comfortable with her new home and new family that one would think she has been here with us for many years. We are all doing very well and still just cannot believe that everything has went so smoothly! Cindy has told us many many times that she loves America and especially loves American home! She enjoys going outside and playing with Miata and Jadeyn and also taking them for walks around the neighborhood. She thinks American neighborhoods are very nice, very beautiful, and very quiet! In China there isn't much beauty within the villages or the cities, although you do see a bit more in the cities especially in the tourist spots. There also isn't much quietness amongst the 1.3 billion people in China. Something else Cindy has expressed that she really enjoys is shopping! We have taken her to the mall several times and although we haven't bought much she really enjoys looking in all the shops and also now enjoys eating at the Chinese place in the food court. When we brought Cindy home she only had one ear pierced. She said that this was considered COOL in China. We told her that in America it is cool for girls to have both ears pierced. So needless to say on one of our trips to the mall we took her in a shop and had her other ear pierced. She was a little afraid at first but after it was done she said that it did not hurt. She said that when she got her other ear pierced in China that it really hurt so one can only imagine how they must do this there. We have taken her to a craft store where we've purchased her some cross stitching which she has now learned how to do and enjoys this in her spare time. She is a sweet girl and is enjoying her new life!

As for school... it is going well for the most part. We decided to roll her back one year to the seventh grade to give her an additional year (next year) in 8th grade. The reason we chose to do this is to allow her one full year to accomplish all she can in English before she enters into high school which is when a students grade truly counts and is looked at for college. We felt this would be best for her and allow her more time where she wouldn't be so stressed and over worked on learning English in depth (speaking, spelling, definitions, sentence structure, etc.) She is now attending several classes but we still do not have her totally involved in all of her classes as of yet. The school is now getting a computer set up and loaded with a Pacing Program which she will use for learning English. This program along with her teachers help should allow her to progress to where she needs to be so she can be prepared for high school. We are truly amazed at how much she has already learned just in the one month she has been home! She was already able to speak (a little) English but is now much more easily speaking it where most people can understand all she is saying. She was also already able to read and write English but is now working to improve those skills even more. As for Math, she is much more advanced than American 8th grade students so we are still working on which math class is going to be best for her because the one she is in now is much too easy. She was in Geometry in her 8th grade class in China so we may go ahead and place her in the 10th grade Geometry class but are still deciding at this point. Many times she has told us she really likes her school and her classmates which we are so happy about as this also helps her adjustment to be easy.

As for health... Last week Cindy had several appointments scheduled. I explained the dentist to her and what he was going to do as that was her first appointment. Well, Cindy did very well with having all the x-rays taken of her teeth and also did very well with having them cleaned, that is the good news! The bad news is that she has to have 7 fillings (ouch - for her and for us!!) They said that her teeth really wasn't that bad & the cleaning was fairly quick but it is just the lack of properly knowing how and being able to care for them which led to the cavities. The dentist said this is the number one problem they see with most all countries and therefore, needless to say, the need for teaching people how to care for their teeth in other countries is huge. Her next appointment was with the eye doctor. She again did very well with this procedure and her vision checked out at 20/20. She wasn't very fond of not being able to see the rest of the evening after having her eyes dilated but she was very happy with having; as she says it "My eyes very healthy but my teeth no good!" Her last appointment was with the pediatrician which she did very well at and all checked out very good. The only negative here was that she had to get two shots and if you remember she just got four in Guangzhou just before leaving China. Although she wasn't upset with this and actually said, "American shots no hurt, China hurt very much!"

As for salvation, church, and learning about Jesus... this is the area we need the most prayer in! We have been so blessed in having Eileen keep in touch with us and helping us/Cindy in this area! Though we know those in China have virtually no knowledge/understanding that there is a God much less anything about our great Heavenly Father and how He is creator of all things and how, because of man's sin, He sent His Son Jesus to save us, we now know that we truly didn't fully comprehend the difficulties associated with the vase lack of knowledge and understanding! It is very sad to see our 4 & 5 year old girls talking/explaining so much about our God and Jesus Christ and for Cindy to try and comprehend what they are saying yet truly don't get it or believe it. The barrier is large but of course can be broken down but it will definitely take time especially with the language barrier. We are so very thankful for the wonderful gift God has given us by sending us Eileen! Last weekend Eileen, Cindy, and myself spent five hours together! Almost this entire five hours was spent with Eileen talking with Cindy and explaining who God is, why He loves us so much, and why we need Jesus as our Lord and Savior. She started from the very beginning in Genesis with God creating all things to explaining who Adam and Eve were and continued to move through the basics for understanding. Cindy had many many questions but still has a very difficult time understanding/believing there is a true God and that Jesus was a real man and that the bible is more than a book and is indeed God's Word! She is definitely struggling with all that has been shared with her but I know the Holy Spirit is working and we just continue to pray for God to break down that barrier and allow her heart and mind to fully open to hearing, grasping, and most importantly accepting what she is being taught! Eileen has also been so wonderful in sitting with Cindy and I in a room above the sanctuary where we are able to see the service (yet not disturb anyone else) and she is able to translate what is being preached as well as the words to the songs being sang and also just in general about what is taking place during the service because all this is totally new for her and she doesn't understand anything that is taking place! Please pray for Cindy in this area as it is of most importance!!

For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost. Luke 19:10

On a different note...
This past weekend we also took Cindy swimming, along with the other girls of course. She had told us that she was afraid of the water and at first she was hesitant about getting in but she did. Tim spent time with her trying to show her how to kick and put her head under the water. She tried to swim little and she seems to be determined to learn, especially after watching the other girls swim and go under the water but of course this will take some time to learn. We spent about half the day at the pool until everyone was tired and then we called it a day. As the weather continues to get warmer I am sure we will spend many days at the pool.

Taking part in an easter egg hunt.

Cindy having fun with Miata and Jadeyn.

What sweet girls!

For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost. Luke 19:10

Adoption Is Greater Than The Universe - John Piper

2008-03-19T22:05:00.000-04:00

1st Week Home!

2008-03-17T01:00:00.000-04:00

Wow, what a week! We started the week off with a bang with me going back to work and Cindy starting school!

Rewind to the week before I left for China...
The Sunday before I left for China our pastor called us down in front of the congregation to let everyone know that I was about to leave for China and asked that everyone pray for us and for Cindy as we were about to be reunited and she was about to join our family. Also he wanted those who may not know us to actually see who we were so once they saw Cindy they would be able to connect the family together. Anyways, following that service we had a wonderful couple (Tim & Eileen) approach us in the hall and introduce themselves to us. They live in San Francisco but are back in Wilmington for one year on deputation. Tim is an American (from Wilmington) and Eileen is Chinese! We talked for a bit and during our conversation they so graciously offered their help to us once we brought Cindy home! What a blessing sent to us just when we needed it!!

Once home from China...
After recouping from jet lag and time change for a couple of days we then, on Saturday, went to a "Welcome Home" party given to Cindy by some dear sweet friends of ours. Cindy was so excited and enjoyed every minute of the attention as well as the gifts! Even though she wasn't able to really talk to everyone, with full understanding, she still communicated the best she could and everyone enjoyed it! This was such a special time for her! It was also important for her to realize that there were a lot of people that have been praying and waiting for her to come home! She truly felt the love and support from all those who attended this social.
"Thank You" to the many who put this together for Cindy and for all who attended!!!

Once we returned home from Cindy's welcome home party and we settled in a bit, I went onto the computer to check my email and found one with the subject line reading "Fushun Friend!" Fushun was Cindy's orphanage so of course I proceeded to open it. To my surprise this was an email from a family in Missouri that had adopted one of Cindy's best friends, Lucy, (from her orphanage) about 1 1/2 years ago. Cindy's teacher in China (also Lucy's teacher when she was there) emailed Lucy to let her know that Cindy just arrived in America. She gave her my email address so they could contact us! I was shocked and thrilled to have received this email, the blessings continue to come! I was really tired so I waited until the next day to contact Lucy's mom. Once I did make contact with her I was able to talk with her about how, when, where, etc. to begin a normal process and routine with Cindy. Her knowledge was and I'm sure will be in the future very helpful since they have already been through this process and learned what works well and what doesn't. She was also able to give me much more information about some of the older girls from this orphanage. One bit of info. that she shared with me was that Cindy was part of the "4 Flowers." This is what they called 4 of the girls who were in the orphanage together, who were really close friends, and were all around the same age. Lucy & Cindy were part of the 4 flowers and also a girl named Linda, also adopted and now living in Missouri. Immediately my heart sank and my next question was, "Who was the 4th flower?" As I suspected the 4th was Betty, who still resides at the orphanage and will turn 14 in September! How devastating it must be to have watched three of your best friends be adopted and leave but yet you remain! I am so sad for Betty and just have to keep praying that she too will have the opportunity to be adopted! Please remember her in your prayers! Anyways, after I finished talking, Cindy was able to talk with Lucy!! They talked for about 1 1/2 hours!! Cindy thoroughly enjoyed talking with Lucy and since it had been so long I know they had lots to talk about! Wow can she carry on a conversation in Chinese! I know it must have felt so good to her to just be able to talk and actually have someone understand everything you are saying!

First full week home...
On Monday we were all forced back into our regular routine! That is all except Cindy as she was forced into a new routine and a new schedule!
Before the beginning of this week I had spoken with Eileen about her helping translate a standardized test for Cindy to be evaluated for school class and subject placement. I had already planned for Cindy to take this test because I wanted to find out exactly where she was in the various curriculum areas and I wanted it translated so we would know for sure that she totally understood each and every question and was answering it to the best of her ability! I had already thought this through but was clueless on how I was going to have this done, or rather who I could get to do this for me! Well that is where the blessing the Lord sent us through Tim and Eileen came in!! Eileen was so sweet in agreeing to spend Monday and Tuesday sitting with Cindy and translating the entire test that Cindy took! The Lord is so good in sending us who we need and what we need at just the right time when it is needed and we again are so amazed and thankful! We are still waiting for the result of her test to determine a game plan as to how we are going to go about beginning her in classes. Throughout the rest of the week I just plugged her into a few classes here and there. One class that I put her in was a 1st grade classroom where she could at least listen to phonics and participate in some reading. She said she enjoyed this class but she said, "children all little, little but me BIG" then she just laughed! I also had her in the media center working on phonics and English words using computers. She really does already know a lot but it will still take quite some time to learn more and to be able to put it all together. She is a very smart girl and we know with time Cindy will progress with leaps and bounds.

Tim took Cindy to several stores over the weekend trying to find things that she would try to eat and they purchased several different types of Chinese noodles and fruits. Cindy is a very picky eater and this area has been a real struggle because she still has the desire for her home cooking and is not very fond of American food. She has found a few things that she likes and the things that she don't like we feed to Jadeyn. Jadeyn is a very good eater and is willing to try almost anything and normally likes everything, so at least we are not wasting any food. Cindy wanted to make Tim dinner on Monday night so she wrote out a list of everything she needed and after he came home from work they went to the store and picked up the items needed. When they returned home and Cindy started preparing the food it was around 6:30pm. I had to run out and do a couple of things with Kasity and when I returned at 8:00, she was still cooking! Tim had a hard time trying to understand what she needed and some of the items that they had purchased from the store were not correct due to the Chinese/English translator not translating the words correctly. Cindy took a few bites of what she had spent two hours preparing and said "Don't Like!" and laughed and then fixed a cup of noodles for dinner. Tim sat down and ate most of it and we told her that no more cooking during the week. We told her that she can cook again on the weekend when we have more time to prepare. I think we will wait a few more weeks so we can both understand each other better before we try this again! That way maybe we will at least purchase the correct items to for a meal she wants to cook!

On Tuesday, we went to dinner with some friends at Texas Roadhouse and had Cindy try the Shrimp Skewers and rice. We hit a home run! Cindy ate everything on her plate and we now know that she likes shrimp.

Cindy is adjusting very well and is getting along very good with her new sisters. She will play outside with them and finds them very amusing. She is also adjusting very well with Tim. He is spending a lot of time with her trying to teach her English, playing games, and running her around trying to find things for her to eat.

We are still so amazed at how well she is doing and how happy she seems to be all the time!! We truly expected (and still sorta expect) that she will experience some culture shock but so far we have been blessed.

I plan to continue updating each weekend as to how the weekly progress is going as well as share the amusing things that take place throughout the week!

For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11

Home Sweet Home!

2008-03-07T11:29:00.000-05:00

Well we finally made it home and are now just trying to adjust!

All the flights we had to endure to get home were very smooth flights. Cindy slept most of the time on all the flights. We finally made it home about 12:30 am Wed. night/Thurs. morning. Of course Cindy wasn't very tired after sleeping most of the time we traveled so after we got in and got somewhat situated I just had to tell her good night and let her stay up. She spent most of the night checking out her room and watching her dvd's. She said she finally went to sleep about 5:00 in the morning and she slept until about 9:00 so that wasn't too bad.

On Thursday I let all the girls stay home from school so we could all spend the day together. We went to buy Cindy's some pants and a couple of shirts since about everything I had was too small. She really enjoyed the mall but didn't much enjoy the food there, even the Chinese food! She did eat some of the rice and about half of an egg roll but that was all. She is going to have a difficult time adjusting to our food because she has such a unique like in the Chinese food she is use to! She has already said, "I don't like American food!" Unfortunately she isn't going to have much of a choice and is going to have to acquire new taste or she will starve. After the mall I went to the small Oriental store here in our town and thankfully she found a few items she thinks she will like. This is definitely going to be a tough area of adjustment for her!

We spent the rest of the day just relaxing and trying to adjust to the time difference. Around 4:00 she became really tired but I kept telling her she had to stay awake so that she would be able to sleep later. Well about thirty minutes later I found her fast asleep! It's so hard trying to get your body adjusted to a thirteen hour time difference. Anyways we let her sleep for about 2 hours but then had to wake her up. Later she seemed to do better going back to sleep at a some what normal time.

Please just continue to pray for the adjustment process as well as the new learning process that we will all be going through! We greatly appreciate all of the prayers, support, and encouragement that has been shown to us!! This means more to us than you will ever know!

I plan to try and post updates weekly if possible so that you can continue to follow Cindy's progress.

Day 4 in Guangzhou/ Cindy's Birthday/ LAST DAY!

2008-03-05T00:32:00.000-05:00

Well today was Cindy's 14th birthday!!! What a special day it was to be able to celebrate her birthday and on the same day go to the US Consulate for the swearing in ceremony and celebration of the finalization of her adoption!! This is where I also was given her passport with her US Visa inside and also was given all her immigration paper work that we have to give to the Immigrations Officer at our port of entry into the US, which will be Chicago! She will soon be a US Citizen, hooray!! Again God's timing is incredible, I hadn't even thought about these two celebrations being together on the same day until today!!

Anyways, after the US Consulate ceremony we came back to the hotel and later went looking in some shops because I needed to buy a small suitcase so Cindy could hand carry a few things on the plane that she wanted to keep with her. After we purchased a suitcase, we again returned to our room where we had a small celebration for Cindy's birthday! I had the hotel restaraunt make her a small birthday cake and it was absolutely gorgeous and delicious! (I will add pictures later in the US!) I also had a couple of small gifts for Cindy to open. She was so excited with this little celebration that she just kept saying, "Thank you, thank you!" She is such a sweet girl!

Anyways, next it was packing time!! Yes I said, "packing time!" You see when I first arrived in Guangzhou I began working on trying to get our flights changed where we could leave early (when the rest of the group was leaving.) Well my dear sweet husband succeed in getting them changed for us so now we are leaving tomorrow! We are all (well most families) meeting downstairs in the lobby at 6:00 AM to be taken to the airport. Once in Beijing my itinerary is as follows...

Depart - Beijing at 5:25 pm

Arrive - Chicago/Ohare at 4:12 pm

Depart - Chicago at 6:34 pm

Arrive - Raleigh at 9:29 pm

Please pray for smooth and safe travels for us all as well as for Cindy (and myself) not to be too motion sick! We will not actually be "home" until probably after midnight and will spend the next couple of days recouping from the jet lag. But, I can't wait to get home!! I miss my family so much! I also can't wait for everyone to meet Cindy!

We will see you all (most of you) soon!! I am now signing off from here in China and my next post will be from HOME!

Day 3 in Guangzhou...

2008-03-04T01:13:00.000-05:00

This morning after breakfast all of the families were told to return to their rooms and stay! Our guides were scheduled to arrive at the US Consulate at 10:00 to give all of our paper work to them for them to review each families documents for accuracy and to make sure nothing was missing. We were told to stay in our rooms until we received a call from our guide, which was expected to be around 1:00. I actually sneaked out of my room and told Cindy if anyone called to tell them, "Room 1568" which is where I would be because this sweet generous couple in our group was going to allow me to use their computer! I have had major computer problems and haven't been able to get my computer (old computer) to work properly. I was having problems in Shenyang but now it is much worse! Hopefully I can use this couple's computer a few more days so I can keep you all updated on what's going on!

Anyways, after I was done with my journaling, I went to Gina's room, got her, and she came down to our room to hang out with Cindy. Later Donna came down and joined us. We had a really good time playing "charades" which is what I call it! You see, Cindy wants to know what the English word is to everything so she acts out what she is trying to tell me and I (in this case Donna & I) spend about five minutes guessing until we get it right. Then I explain the English pronunciation to her and we move on to the next thing she wants an English word for! Cindy just laughs at us as we continually try to figure out what she is saying. She is probably thinking, these dumb Americans! Here she speaks Chinese, some English, and some Japanese at age 14!

Well at about 12:45 we received a call from our guide and we had to go to his room. I was then informed that Cindy and I needed to go to the US Consulate because they needed her finger prints due to her being 14 years old (actually tomorrow!) I was also informed that there was yet another problem with her paper work! There have actually been several problems throughout the process while here in China but many of them I haven't shared on the blog. Some of them have been small and easy to rectify and others much more complicated and have made me worry a little until they indeed were corrected. Well this was another one that concerned me a great deal as it had to do with the document where her brother relinquished his rights, but praise the Lord after an all day process it was finally taken care of! Our guide drove us to the US Consulate and within about thirty minutes we were done with Cindy's finger prints and were allowed to leave. Our guide was staying to continue working on rectifying this issue with Cindy's paper work so Cindy and I made our way outside to catch a taxi.

We had the taxi driver take us to Shaimian Island which is where the rest of the group was already. Once there we met up with Ron, Donna, & Gina and walked around the island looking in the shops. My only shopping consisted of buying items for others who had asked me to before I came here! After about a couple of hours on the island it was time for all of us to be taken back to our hotel. On our way to the hotel, as we got close, our guide pointed to a restaurant he had told me of that Cindy may like. I asked him to have the bus driver stop and let us off so we could go there now! So we, along with Gina and her family got off the bus which had stopped a bit passed the restaurant. As we began to walk toward the restaurant (the guided showed us) we didn't take but a couple of steps before Cindy spotted items she liked! This was in the local very small eatery shops! She was so excited she said, "Yes, Good, I Like!" She (& Gina) told them exactly what she wanted and they cooked it for her! Then she was ready to go to the hotel to eat but as soon as we again started walking she spotted another tiny eatery shop where she saw more food she liked! She (& Gina) actually went behind the counter talked a long time with the people, picked out many varieties of food and had them cook it! She was so very happy!! The total amount I paid for all the food she got was 7 yuan (1 us dollar!) This 1 dollar spent made her the happiest girl ever!! After this stop we made our way back to our hotel because Cindy and Gina were most eager to eat! I was so happy watching her thoroughly enjoy this food!! We will definitely be back there again tomorrow! I wouldn't be at all surprised if she wants to eat there for breakfast, lunch, and dinner!! Anyways, Ron, Donna, and I ordered Papa John's Pizza! Oh how great is was!! It was definitely my best meal as well!! After we finished our dinner we made another quick run downstairs to 7 Eleven for more snack foods. Then we settled in for the night.

God is so very good and I have been amazed to see how He has continued to work in the midst of the many complications that have arisen in Cindy's paper work while here in China! Though my first initial reaction is to tense up and worry, I just keep laying it aside and moving on as if there was not a problem! I especially didn't want Cindy to know of any problems! I just kept reminding myself of the much much larger hurdles and road blocks we faced through the many months and how God had cleared them all! Also the fact that God had already brought me this far and these issues were much smaller! I just trusted fully that He would continue to pave the path ahead and He has!! To God be the glory!!

Declare His glory among the nations, His marvelous deed among the peoples. For great is the Lord and most worthy of praise... 1 Chronicles 16:24-25

As for Gina...

Please continue to pray for her (and family.) She is really doing great (overall) but she is sad. Many many times throughout everyday she says, "I miss teacher!" She was very close to her teacher and said to have been very spoiled by her. It has been much tougher on her because the teacher just won't cut contact with her. She has continually called the hotel and talked with Gina. Ron and Donna had told her from day one that they were happy for them to keep in touch but that was thinking "under normal circumstances!" This teacher has not in anyway encouraged Gina (nor did she do a good job in preparing her ahead of time) in the way of helping her have a good transition and outlook on what lies ahead for her and how these two individuals love her and want to provide her with a much better life. Though she is sad at times, the happy moments reveal she will be alright it's just going to take some time! Once she is in America those calls will most likely stop and this will hopefully help even more. Please just continue to pray for this family!

Day 2 in Guangzhou...

2008-03-03T01:30:00.000-05:00

This morning, like every morning, we made our way to the hotel restaurant for breakfast and again Cindy ate very little! The food down here (southern China) is very different than what she is use to! Wow, is she going to be shocked with American food! \on our pocket translator she typed, "I do not want this oily/greasy food!" We are in trouble when she comes home for most American food is oily/greasy! Even though she can't find anything she really enjoys eating and at times she is so starving, she continues to smile, laugh, and say "I am very happy!"

At 9:30 we all met in the lobby and headed for some sight seeing. First stop was the Folk Arts Museum. We spent about 1 1/2 hours there walking through looking. Cindy enjoyed seeing and learning about all the different arts! Next we headed to a China Tea House where we learned about how to know if a tea pot's quality is very good or very bad. Cindy was most interested in listening to this and even more fascinated in checking it out first hand to see the quality differences! We then had a sampling of the many different types of teas that the Chinese people like to drink. We didn't like any of them! They all definitely needed "sugar!" I have to say it was very interesting learning about how the Chinese drink tea and how it has to be fresh; 2 or 3 days old only or it is no good! Tea in bags is horrible to the Chinese. It is very very old and tastes really bad. After the tea house it was back to our hotel. By this time it was about 1:00 and Cindy was again starving! I asked her if she wanted to find a KFC and she said, "KFC good!" We first went to our room to leave some paper work and then went to Gina's room to get them, because they were going with us to KFC. Well we flagged down a taxi, all squeezed in, and off we went. The driver didn't seem to know where KFC was so Cindy continually talked to him while we rode. I told her to tell him to take us to the Friendship Store because I knew there was a KFC there! Anyways, the ride was really funny as we ventured farther away with no KFC in sight and Ron just said, "great we are never going to get back to our room!" Finally Cindy spotted it and was saying, "KFC, KFC." So, we made it there and made our way inside. Cindy ordered with no problem, like always, because she speaks very clear \mandarin, even though she has a Fushun dialect. Ron, Donna, & Gina on the other hand had a bit of a problem. It was very crowded so once we received our food we went to the side and waited. When Ron's food was finally bagged and brought to the counter we walked over and he said, "they do not have it correct!" They were handing him many bags of drinks and food! It was really funny!! Cindy and Gina started talking with them and then they began to take bags back!! (Gina also speaks with a dialect but does not speak as clear Mandarin so it's harder for her to communicate here!) Well after they refunded Ron some money, we finally left! We took another taxi back to our hotel with no problems. Shortly after we made it to our room and as we were eating, Ron knocked on our door. He asked if we needed any more food to eat and I said, "No not really, why?" He said they must have still doubled his order because they still had a lot of extra food!! Too funny!! After we ate we relaxed for about an hour and then went back to the lobby to meet up with the other families. We had all planned to go to the park and have a bible study.

Well we ventured out across the street from our hotel to the park, got our tickets, and proceeded inside. We spent about two hours in there. We found a good resting area where we all sat and spent time in God's Word! This was a sweet time of fellowship together! Many Chinese passed by and would stop, watch a while, and then move on. Our couple of times of prayer drew even more onlookers as they were most curious to watch what we were doing. I just pray God will use everything we do to cause them to question and in their questioning draw them closer to Him! Well after the park we returned to our hotel and back to our rooms. At dinner time we went to 7 Eleven! Cindy bought bread, chips, drinks, and a few other things that I have no idea as to what they are! When I asked her she said I know the Chinese name but not American name. Anyways, as we were about to leave Cindy said, "Whoa Whoa, Stop Stop!" She spotted a jar containing "something" and she was most excited! Finally she found something she likes! Again she can't tell me what it is but to me it looks like a jar of spicy hot peppers! She said she eats this every morning with breakfast. Oh by the way, everything she eats whether it be McDonald's, KFC, etc. must be spicy! Anyways we went back to our room and these things she bought is what she had for dinner. You couldn't imagine the number of restaurants we have went into, looked at the menu, and Cindy say, "No, no like, no good!" We have continued to hunt for food she likes because I just keep thinking we have to stumble across something similar that would be suitable, but unfortunately we have not found it yet!

Overall to sum up the day; it was again a very pleasant and enjoyable day!! Thank everyone so much for the many prayers for us!!

Computer Problems!

2008-03-02T22:36:00.000-05:00

I just spoke to Criss and she asked me to add a post and let everyone know that she is having problems with her computer because it will not stay on and keeps going dead. We suspect the battery has gone bad or there is a problem with the AC adapter. This is the reason for the late posts and for her not returning some of the emails that have been sent to her. Criss is going to see if someone in their group can help her identify the problem and get it working again. Criss said that if they cannot fix it she will try to go to the business center at the end of the day to keep the blog updated. Criss will not be able to upload pictures in the business center but at least she will be able to keep everyone updated as to Cindy's progress and the day to day activities. We appreciate all of your prayers and encouraging emails.

In His Blessings,

Tim

First Day in Guangzhou!

2008-03-02T02:38:00.000-05:00

Well we made it to Guangzhou, hallelujah!! We are staying in the China Hotel, which is a Marriott Hotel and it is unbelievably gorgeous! It is definitely the nicest hotel we have been in thus far! Almost anything you need is located in this hotel. Many shopping stores, post office, numerous restaurants, and even it's own Starbucks! And right outside the door is McDonald's, 7 Eleven, etc. Oh and the best part here in Guangzhou is the weather!! Today is in the low 70's!!

OK first; when we arrived in our hotel last night (about 7:30) we waited for our luggage to arrive and then once we received it I went directly to the couple's (Ron & Donna) room who is adopting the 10 year old girl (Gina.) I had been told at the airport that this couple was having a bit of difficulties with their daughter so I wanted to check on them to see if I could help in any way. I spoke with Donna briefly (Dad & Gina were sleeping) and she explained it had been difficult because the nanny/teacher never truly let go of her while they were in her province. Every day the teacher stayed right with them the entire day until it was time for bed! They never truly released her so she could begin to bond and learn of her new mom and dad. This made for a very difficult and emotional five days for Ron, Donna, and new daughter Gina. This is not typical for a nanny/teacher to hang on like this!! I am quite sure it will not happen again in the future. There will be individuals, I'm sure, who will take care of and help prevent this type of situation from again happening (there are many more details but I won't be explaining.)

Anyways, this morning at breakfast Gina instantly bonded with Cindy. This was very good for her to have Cindy as security to help her. Well, today we (the entire group) took the children for their medical examine. Cindy had her eyes checked, hearing checked, throat checked, which when they had her open her mouth to look in, I saw that she needed about three fillings, ugh! Next it was time for her body check! She was not thrilled about having to remove her clothes to have this done but with her sweet personality she just looked at me and gave me a look like, ugh! I just laughed and she laughed! Next she learned that they were going to give her FOUR shots! She definitely was not thrilled with this news! While the nurses were preparing the shots she was talking with them and she & they would just laugh! She kept telling me "shots scary!" When they actually gave her the shots she continued to laugh even though it hurt a little! She did great through it all which I knew she would because she is so very easy going and has such a sweet personality!

Next we went to the Friendship Store (a department store) so the other families could buy items they needed for their little ones. We spent a little over and hour there and then headed back to our hotel. By this time it was already after lunch and Cindy & Gina were starving! We went to our rooms for a few minutes to freshen up and then we went looking for some specific Chinese food that Cindy wanted. We went to several restaurants and Cindy would look at the menu, talk with the workers, and then tell me, "no, no, not good!" You see, I had asked the guide to tell Cindy that I wanted her to eat exactly what she wanted because I know once she is in the US she will not get anymore true Chinese food! Well unfortunately Cindy was unable to find what she was looking for and was now SO starving she didn't care what she ate!! So there was a McDonald's in front of us and she said "I don't want , but I eat, I very hungry!" Gina and her parents were with us during our hunt, so we all proceeded into McDonald's for lunch. After lunch we returned to our hotel room. I called the guide and explained that she couldn't find what she was looking for and to let me know where we could go and find this specific food for her another time. Well after talking with Cindy they informed me that what she was looking for was a spicy vegetable hot pot style cuisine. The sad news was it is a northern China cuisine and you can't find it here in Guangzhou! So unfortunately she is already cut off from the foods she most enjoys! I was hoping she would have these last few days to still enjoy her foods before having to leave it behind, so I am sad for her in this area!

Well next was our paper work party! One person from each family in our group went to our guides room to fill out all the necessary paper work needed to complete the adoption process. This took about 2 1/2 hours! While I was doing this, Cindy and Gina stayed in our room watching TV and talking. It is truly a blessing for Cindy to be here to help Gina! Gina is a very smart, sweet, and beautiful girl, which overall is doing great! She is just having a little tougher time adjusting which by large is due to how the nanny/teacher is behaving! Please just pray for the adjustment and bonding process to continue to be smooth and quick for this family!! What she is experiencing is normal and it will just take a little time. God is good and I believe by the time we leave China Gina will feel much more peace and comfort!

Later for dinner the group had planned to eat in the hotel at a Japanese Restaurant. I opted not to join in because I knew it would be much too expensive. Well when it came meeting time for dinner I felt bad for Cindy thinking maybe she would like Japanese so I let her go with Gina and the group. When she returned she said, "I no like Japanese!" They said she ate a few bites of some noodles but that was about it! Gina wasn't fond of it either. Anyways I asked her was she full and she said, "no, I hungry!" So I asked her if she wanted to go back to 7 Eleven and buy more noodles (Roma style, she had eaten last night) but she said, "no hungry: McDonald's no good, HUNGRY: McDonald's GOOD!!" I laughed so hard and she laughed too! She kept saying this over and over and we laughed for about five minutes!! Then, it was back to McDonald's again!! As we were walking she said, "McDonald's, McDonald's everyday McDonald's!!" It was so funny and we both again just laughed! We had many things happen throughout today that were just absolutely hilarious!! It has been another really good day! Honestly and thankfully they have all been really good but today was the most lightest, funnest day! The best was when we were walking down the hall returning to our room from McDonald's for the second time and Cindy was holding my arm (as she always does) and she looked at me and said, "I very happy!" She has said this many times already but to now be this far away from her "so called former home" and away form all her securities (even her foods) and to hear her say this was very sweet to my ears as well as comforting! She is truly a sweet girl and we are so blessed to have her join our family! I still know the hardest is yet to come and when we get her home with the culture shock, total language barrier, adjustment, etc. it is going to be tough, so please continue to lift her up in your prayers!!

Last Day in Shenyang...

2008-03-01T01:40:00.000-05:00

Today we just spent the morning packing and then at 11:00 the guide came to our room and brought all Cindy's completed paper work along with her passport. We reviewed the documents, spent time talking, and then at 12:00 we headed to the airport. Once we were checked in and through security, we then had about an hour wait until our flight. Cindy was excited but also nervous about the flight because she has never flown before. She was also concerned about motion sickness! I had given her medicine before leaving the hotel hoping this would help. Well she didn't get sick on the flight but she did feel really bad the whole time. The take off got to her and even when the plane leveled off she didn't get any better. So, though she had planned to watch the DVD player during flight she instead opted to lay her head on my shoulder and sleep. She slept the entire flight! We arrived in Guangzhou about 6:30pm, claimed our luggage, and then made our way to where a couple of other families were waiting, as they had arrived on a different flight just shortly before us. While waiting for even more families to arrive, we made our way to McDonald's for dinner. Cindy was very hungry because she didn't eat anything on the plane! After two additional families arrived we were then taken to our hotel. Some families had arrived earlier and were already in the hotel and some families were even arriving after us and would later arrive at the hotel. Anyways, overall it wasn't too bad of a flight and Cindy didn't actually get sick so that was a blessing!

Surprising Last Night in Shenyang!

2008-02-29T01:45:00.000-05:00

Well, today was to be another relaxing (boring) day because all we had planned was to walk around outside of our hotel early in the day and then at 2:00 we had to return to our room. This was the time that our guide was scheduled to arrive at the Civil Affairs Office to pick up and thoroughly examine all of the completed paper work/documents (from the mounds of forms & apps. we had to fill out a couple of days ago.) So, he wanted me to be in the room from 2:00 - 4:00 just in case, while reviewing the documents, he had any questions or needed to talk to me for any reason. Well, during our time in the room I received a phone call from my liaison. She invited Cindy and I to go eat dinner with her later. She told me that actually Mr. Shao wanted us all to have dinner together!! So, at 5:30 my liaison came to the hotel and we took a taxi to the restaurant where Mr. Shao was waiting for us. This was a "Hot Pot" restaurant. It is where each person has their own small hot pot which is a small bowl that sits over a small fire. Your table is full of uncooked meat (beef, seafood, etc.) vegetables, sauces, noodles,etc. and you place what you want into the pot, then you leave it for a few minutes until it's cooked. There are also additional sauces to put on your plat for more flavoring of your food. When the food is done you take a little out, dip it into the sauce on your plate, then eat it. This was a first for me! I surprised myself with how much I ate, especially since I was a bit leery! It was actually pretty good! Cindy loved it and ate a lot! She loves seafood, today for lunch we had a seafood pizza! I ate the crust only! This was such a blessing and I was just so thankful for the opportunity to be able to personally "Thank" Mr. Shao for all he had done for Cindy! He said he was very happy to do it and most happy that she was being adopted my myself and my husband. We spent about 1 1/2 hours at the restaurant and we talked a lot (with my liaison translating!) To my surprise I learned that Mr. Shao was not currently at the orphanage instead he has been sent to a village to work with the people, I think for training. I was told he will work there about a year and then return back to the orphanage which he will then be promoted. Mr. Shao has worked at this orphanage for 22 years!! I can only imagine all he has seen over that period of time there! I wish I knew how many children had come into and been processed out for adoption during this time but I didn't want to ask. Mr. Shao also spent much time talking with Cindy. He told her how he remembers when Alexis mom came to get her and how she cried and did not want to go with her. The liaison told me that he was explaining to Cindy how it may be difficult and hard at times but for her to see how fortunate Alexis is and how great her life is now! He also told her this was a wonderful gift that she has been given and that he is so very happy for her! I was very touched by all his encouragement to Cindy (there was much more said!) I was also surprised to learn that the village Mr. Shao is now working in is located in the town where Cindy's brother lives (of all places!) Anyways, during more conversation I was told that the person now handling the paperwork at the orphanage is not near as efficient as Mr. Shao. Of course all these bits of information caused me to reflect, once again, on God's perfect timing! Had the timing been just a couple of months different, Cindy would most likely never have been adopted for he would not have been there to do all he did and I know that no one else would have taken on this difficult task! Especially after being told of the inefficiencies now. I just pray that the one completing the children's paper work will learn quickly and correctly what needs to be done to get these children "paper ready" for adoption! God is doing such a mighty work with those at this orphanage I feel He will continue to equip all those needed for the sake of these precious children, His children!

Well and amazing evening it was!! Though I try to journal just how incredible this opportunity was and try to give details, there is just no way I can truly explain how great a gift I was given! Mr. Shao is a wonderful man with a warm heart who truly cares for the children!!

On a Totally Different Note...
There is a program that Cindy has watched on TV several times, which I of course do not watch because I don't understand a word of it! Anyways, each time it is playing I am suddenly struck when I began to hear Amazing Grace playing! It of course is being sung in Chinese! Every time I just stop (whatever I am doing) and listen! I keep wondering if the words are the same or if they just use the music with different words!?! I look forward to the day that Cindy can answer this question for me! I've already asked her but she doesn't understand what I am asking, but maybe soon!

As for Tomorrow...
We will pack in the morning and then leave for the airport about 12:00. Our next destination: Guangzhou! I am looking forward to our time there!! Also my computer is acting up and will not stay charged but hopefully it will make it until I get back home. I want to say thanks again for all your prayers and for the many encouraging emails I continue to receive from so many of you!

A Day of Leisure!

2008-02-28T02:35:00.000-05:00

Well, today was a very relaxing enjoyable day! In the morning Alexis called to let me know she and her sister were coming to Shenyang (from Fushun) to spend the day. We were unable to see her yesterday because she had to leave the orphanage before we made it there but I did talk with her on the telephone a couple of times yesterday during our chaotic day. So, we had actually already discussed her coming here today. Anyways, about noon they arrived (Alexis is in the peach - first time I have seen her!) and we just spent the next hour or so in the room just talking. Next we left to take Cindy for a haircut. Cindy's bangs were already too short from where she had cut them herself so there wasn't much they could do with them but they did cut and layer her hair. While I was watching them cut her hair, I just thought to myself oops! I really should have waited and had her haircut in the US! Oh well it's only hair! It really isn't that bad just not how I would have had someone cut it! Anyways, we then made our way to a place that gives facials. This was a really unique and interesting place! Cindy (and us) went into this room where she lay down to have her eyebrows shaped. It was really strange how they did this! When we left there, we were going to take Cindy shopping for clothes but as we walked and talked about it we decided it was best for me to come back to the hotel and just them go shopping because as soon as they see Americans they immediately charge much more for everything! So I came back to the hotel and let them go shopping. I really enjoyed the down time because it allowed me the time to update the blog with the details of yesterday!

Around 6:00 they returned to the hotel and Cindy showed me all that she had bought. She really enjoyed the time shopping and the time she was able to spend with Alexis. She and Alexis have grown very close! Anyways, as we were sitting talking I received a phone call from my liaison that helped so much all these many months. She and her daughter were in the lobby of the hotel so I told them to come to our room. When she came into the room I introduced her to Alexis and Alexis sister. We had a very good time together talking and sharing about many things. At one point Alexis and her sister were talking together so I started talking with the liaison and she was sharing with me how God has helped her in so many ways and how she has been praying a lot and can definitely feel God close to her and she feels so much better and at ease within her life. Well in the midst of this Alexis overheard a part of our conversation and immediately said, "Oh you are a Christian." She immediately started talking to her in Chinese non stop for about five minutes. I stood watching in utter amazement!!! To think all the times I have talked/emailed with this liaison and knowing how she struggled to understand some of what she reads in the bible and wanting so desperately to connect her with someone who she could relate to that would help her, it never crossed my mind to connect her with Alexis!! I couldn't believe what I was seeing, how divine this timing was!! When the liaison called from the lobby, Alexis and her sister were actually getting ready to leave and I asked them to stay so that they could meet the liaison and they agreed. Well, now they have contact and communication with one another that I am sure will continue from this point on!! I again am amazed to see how the work here continues to spread!!

Oh give thanks unto the Lord; call upon His name: make known His deeds among the people. Psalm 105:1

Details of Yesterday...

2008-02-27T22:00:00.000-05:00

We left our hotel at 9:00 for the Civil Affairs Office, when we arrived we went directly into a room to have pictures taken which they will later place on the documents that we were about to complete. We then made our way into another room where we were amongst many families also adopting and in need of completing paperwork. As I was working on the paper work, there was one family that caught my eye. They were adopting a precious little boy with a repaired cleft lip and cleft palate. This American family, who was on the other side of the room from us, had four bio children with them and one adopted child with them plus the one they were now adopting. I was very drawn to them as were they to Cindy and I. After about fifteen minutes, while we were waiting for our paper work to be processed, the dad of this family asked me where I was from so I told him. Then I asked where they where from and he told me Kansas but that they live here in Shenyang and have been here since 1997. I asked him his profession and he told me he was a doctor. I knew from the moment I saw this family they were very special and were part of "The Family." We talked very openly but cautiously in slang for quite some time. It is amazing to hear of and actually to see the work that is being done here in China!! Anyways, back to the paper work, Cindy and I were both happy to be signing the papers of completion (at least step one) for her to officially be adopted! As you can see in the pictures poor Cindy had a time trying to have her hand print placed and sealed on the documents. First because the space on the paper where the hand print goes is very small due to being designed for a small child's hand to fit inside. Next, the ink pad was also much too small for Cindy's hand, therefore they had to place her hand on it section at a time and then her fingers last. Then she had to press it on the paper which covered most of the page! This was really quite funny! Everyone including the officials laughed!

We finally left the Civil Affairs Office and headed to the next stop which was the Registrants Office. Here is where additional documents are prepared, registered, and recorded. They will type up all of Cindy's needed documents such as Birth Certificate, Abandonment Certificate, etc. To my surprise this same family and only this one family, none of the many others that were in the same room together with us at Civil Affairs, walked in behind Cindy and I! I am not quite sure where the other families had to go but oh what a blessing that this couple was here with us! OK, this stop was very difficult and very stressful! We were there for a long time for a couple of reasons. First there was a document that seemed to be missing, so the representative of Cindy's orphanage, my guide, and the gentleman trying to prepare the papers made many many phones calls trying to resolve this issue! This made me extremely nervous! The blessing was that in the midst of this I was continually talking with the other family, who was at the desk beside me for their paper work, about much being done here in China. I finally became very concerned because of the intense looks I kept seeing amongst all those working on Cindy's papers so I asked the dad, of the couple beside me, to please step in and find out what was going on since he is fluent in Mandarin. I knew something definitely was not right. Well the first concern was that missing document! This was not good because we are on such a tight time line and there is NO room for error! Finally after much time and effort from the orphanage representative, who was there from Cindy's orphanage, the missing document issue was taken care of! The couple stayed for a while longer to make sure all was going to be alright. Next was the complication of how to prepare and word her Abandonment Certificate because she was NOT abandoned as most children who are adopted are. So, the talks and phone calls again began and I again became very nervous! I am so thankful that this other family was with me as he mediated and translated much more, for me and to me, than my guide did! After much time had passed, praise the Lord that all had finally been taken care! I am so very thankful that God placed this wonderful couple in my path!! We then proceeded to take a taxi for our next destination which was the Notary's Office. The other family followed behind us in another taxi because they too were going to the same place. At this stop we didn't have to do much other than wait for the guides to do what ever it was they needed to do with our paper work. We were there approximately thirty to forty minutes. At this point I had to say goodbye to this special family but did get their contact information for further communication and updates! We finally were heading back to our hotel but unfortunately just for a quick stop to pick up gifts and clothes that I had for the orphanage, which we would later be going to visit!

After our brief stop to the hotel we were then picked up by a driver instead of a taxi which is a much nicer ride! We were headed to Fushun which is an hour away from Shenyang. Once in Fushun, we went to the police station where we had to apply for Cindy's Passport and had to have her picture taken for her Visa. After filling out more paper work and getting her picture taken we had to go into the office of the Chief Deputy. Here the guides began to talk with the Chief Deputy and as they talked I again became worried! The looks on their face made me feel their was more complications! After a very long discussion the atmosphere began to lighten up a bit and I felt much better!! It is very difficult when you do not understand at all what is going on! Anyways, Cindy began to talk with the Chief Officer and as we left she turned to him, before walking out the door, said something and they all laughed! When I inquired what she had said the guide explained that she told the Chief Duty to remember her and not to forget! The guide said a passport in that area normally takes 15 days so Cindy wanted to make sure he expedited the completion of her passport and didn't forget! The only problem we encountered there was they needed to see the director of the orphanage, Mrs. Zhu's, Certificate (of being the director, I suppose) so they had to contact her and she had to get someone to drive her to the police station so she could present it to them. As we waited I continued to think of how difficult and complicated this day has been in preparing Cindy's paper work!! It made me think of all that had to be done in order for Cindy to even become "paper ready" for adoption!! I knew they continued to tell me time and time again that it was much too complicated but now I see first hand how complicated it truly is!! I can only imagine all that Mr. Shao had to go through to prepare Cindy "for adoption" and it's truly mind boggling to think that he was moved so much by what he saw from us over the summer, that he actually took on this monstrous task!! Anyways, we finally left the police station and made our way to the car. Mrs. Zhu followed us and this was where she said goodbye to Cindy because she wasn't going to be able to see her again. Due to having to come to the police station it took away from her time of doing something else and so now she had to go and tend to whatever it was she needed to take care of. Mrs. Zhu was very upset and emotional in having to say good bye but was very happy for her as well! After the goodbyes, we were on our way to the orphanage. Unfortunately due to our day being so very long we were not going to have much time to spend at the orphanage,It was already about 4:30.

Once we arrived at the orphanage we were greeted by the staff and many of the older children! To my surprise there were many new faces of older children who were not there back in July! So, we made our way into a room and spent time together talking and I was able to get more details on the older children as well as the newer ones who had recently came to the orphanage! It is truly heart breaking to see these new children and to know that they too had a family up until recently and for various reasons had to come into the orphanage where they will now have to adapt to accepting this as their home!! No one ever really stops to think of the vast number of older children that reside in these orphanages spread out all over China! The reality is that most of them will never again have a family as most people do not adopt older children. Anyways back to the visit, I was able to gather additional information about Cindy that I wanted to know and also spend a little time with the children. In the meantime Cindy was saying her goodbye's which was very hard!! Betty (in the white) was so very upset as her and Cindy were best of friends! She is the one I knew I was also going to have a hard time saying goodbye to because of the fact that she turns 14 in September and due to her situation she does not have a chance for adoption! I am so very sad for her!! Well, the time came to leave and we made our way downstairs (without any of the children) to the door where the nanny had to say good bye to Cindy and again this was very hard! She was very upset and heart broken! She too loves Cindy very much and though sad to see her leave she is very happy for her! As sad as Cindy was in saying goodbye, it only took about twenty minutes before she said, "I'm ok now."

After the hour commute back to our hotel, we finally made it back to our room and needless to say we were EXHAUSTED! It was a very stressful and tiring day! Cindy was also very motion sick from riding in a car all day. Through out the day she continued to say she didn't feel well because she was motion sick but unfortunately we had to keep going! I, on the other hand, have been feeling alright because I have been taking Dramamine before leaving each day and when I begin to feel bad during the day! I just may have to give Cindy some from now on! I think part of it was also just being sick to her stomach because of all the emotions throughout the day.

This is a wonderful picture of the outside of the orphanage gate!! I just couldn't resist taking this pictures as now Cindy is forever outside of it and only will return to the inside as a visitor!!

Blessed are they that mourn: for they will be comforted. Matthew 5:4

Very Long & Exhausting Day!

2008-02-27T00:00:00.000-05:00

Today has been a very long and extremely exhausting day, although it was also a wonderful one in many ways! There is much to journal but unfortunately I am too exhausted to even begin so I am going to get some sleep and I will post details tomorrow.

Now In Shenyang! Gotcha Day!

2008-02-26T00:05:00.000-05:00

Well again my flight here to Shenyang was very smooth and uneventful, praise the Lord! It was a one hour flight from Beijing to Shenyang. After I claimed my luggage, I then made my way to the gentleman that was holding a sign with my name on it. We then took a taxi to my hotel and made our way inside and to the service desk. While trying to check in, I was surprised to learn that they showed no reservation for me! So needless to say it took some time to get all the details straight with that, actually get me a room, and finally make it to my room. I was also informed that I would not be getting Cindy today because there was some paper work that was not complete. About an hour later I received a phone call saying that the paper work problem had been resolved and that I would be getting Cindy in the afternoon. Then I was told no that we would just wait until tomorrow to begin but that all the paper work is complete. Well at that point I decided to take a nap because I was so tired due to not getting much sleep at all last night. About an hour and a half later I was awakened to a phone call from my guide. He asked me if I was ready to go for Cindy of course I said sure and asked what time. He said "NOW", I am in the lobby waiting for you! So, I tried to quickly gather all of my belongings together and everything I needed and made my way to the lobby. Next we took about a ten minute taxi ride to the Civil Affairs Office to meet Cindy, by this time it was almost 4:00. I was told they (Mr. Shao, Mrs. Zhu, Nanny, Cindy, & my wonderful liaison that helped us so much with Cindy's paperwork) had arrived there at 1:00.

After a long wait Mr. Shao and Mrs. Zhu had to leave because they had other business they had to tend to. I was very disappointed that I didn't get to see Mr. Shao to thank him for all the hard work he put into getting Cindy "paper ready" for adoption. If you recall from earlier posts there were a lot of out of the ordinary dealings he had to tend to in order for Cindy to be able to be adopted. Anyways, Cindy was very happy to see me and I her! We talked for a bit but then I had to start doing paper work so then her (Cindy) and the others (liaison, nanny, guide) chatted while I completed all the paper work needed for today. After we left the Civil Affairs Office we took a bus to Walmart to pick up a few items for Cindy and then we made our way to McDonald's for dinner. This was Cindy's first time to eat at a McDonald's and she said she liked it. I don't know if that was a good thing especially since I am not a McDonald's fan, oh well. From there we made our way back to the hotel where Cindy began to try clothes on. Unforuntaly there wasn't much I brought that fit her. From what I could recall from the summer I didn't think she was much smaller than myself but they kept telling me girls size 14. I would guess she is more a junior size 3 or 5. We sorted through all the pants and shirts that did not fit and gathered them in a suitcase to take to the others at the orphanage when we go tomorrow. We have now settled in and are about to go to sleep. I will update more tomorrow for right now I am really exhausted. Thanks again for all you prayers! Also thank you for the many encouraging emails I have received from so many of you! Your encouraging words have definitely come to me when I needed them most!

Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise: be thankful unto Him, and bless His name. Psalm 100:4

Leaving Beijing!!

2008-02-25T00:00:00.000-05:00

Let me begin by catching you up on yesterday. Well the reason I didn't post was there really wasn't anything much to write about. Around lunch time I ventured out of my hotel for a trip (2 minute walk) to the local Care Four, which is just like the Chinese Walmart, where I bought some Coke, Pringles, and a Dove candy bar (real healthy snacks, huh.) Though they are not healthy they sure are comforting when you are thousands of miles away from home! It's funny how you have to go to the International Food section to find some of these items! Anyways, from there I made my way across the street to Pizza Hut where I got a small pizza to take back with me to my room! I had that for lunch and dinner! I am so conscientious of what I eat at home but while I am here in China I eat Pizza Hut and McDonald's because it seems "safe" to me! I figure if I at least get something in me it's better than not eating at all! And to think I never eat at McDonald's when I am home!! Anyways, other than that my day was pretty uneventful I just hung out in my room on the computer and watching a little TV. Here in Beijing you actually have a few US channels to watch. I mostly watch the Discovery Channel because the movie channels don't have any decent movies to watch. The rest of the group went to Tienanmen Square and the Forbidden City. Once they were done they went for their wonderful and famous Duck Dinner!! That is wonderful if you eat duck! When Tim and I attended that dinner I ate VERY LITTLE! Didn't touch the DUCK! When attending local restaurants I normally eat the vegetables and fruit only!

As for Sunday, it was mostly a repeat of Saturday. A quick trip to Care Four for an additional bottle of coke and the rest of the day in my room. The rest of the group left this morning for the wonderful church service they are able to attend! I sure wish I could have tagged in on that but unfortunately I couldn't because they were not coming back to the hotel. The church they are attending is the Beijing International Christian Fellowship. At the door are many guards who stop you and ask to see your passport before you are allowed to enter. This of course is because the Chinese people are not allowed, by government, to attend a Christian Church or participate in any type of Christian activity! It is truly sad to see the countless Chinese people so lost and with a look of "No Hope" in their eyes!! If they could only here the wonderful gospel of Jesus Christ!! After church the group headed to the Great Wall and then later to an Acrobat show. When talking with ones in the group they seem to all be having a great time other than being cold!

Well, tomorrow morning is the day for everyone to depart and go to the province where their child is located. Because this group is totally made up of all special needs adoptions everyone will be traveling to a different province! So no one will again see each other again until the second week when we all meet back together in Guangzhou. There is one couple in the group that is adopting a 10 year old girl and the rest I think is all younger children under 5 years of age.

Here is my schedule for tomorrow...
5:30AM we will all meet in the hotel lobby to board our bus and head to the airport.
Once in Shenyang I will go to my hotel and then sometime later will be united with Cindy. As soon as I am able I will try to post an update. Please just keep those prayers coming!!! They are most comforting and greatly appreciated!!!

Pray without ceasing. 1 Thessalonians 5:17

Now In Beijing!

2008-02-23T02:34:00.000-05:00

My flight from Raleigh to Washington DC was very smooth and uneventful, which is exactly how I like it! Before boarding the plane to Beijing I was able to meet another couple who was also traveling over, with AWAA, for their adoption. There are a total of 10 AWAA families in my group.

I arrived in Beijing at 3:30PM (2:30AM EST) Again the flight was very smooth, praise the Lord, just extremely long! I finally made it into my room about 5:45PM and straight to bed I went! Not because I was exhausted but because I was/am experiencing much motion sickness!! About the last hour on the plane is when I began to start feeling awful! Each time I've traveled here I have been pretty much down and out for the first couple of days because I just can't seem to shake the nausea, light headed, dizzy, motion sickness feeling! Those of you who also experience motion sickness knows what a terrible feeling this is! Anyways, by the third day I am usually feeling much better and ready to go.

My original plans were to fly out on the 23rd and arrive into Beijing the evening of the 24th. Then I would have woke up the next morning, headed right back to the airport, and boarded a plane for my flight to Shenyang. Due to the weather China has experienced recently, AWAA thought it would be best to go ahead and arrive into Beijing early with the rest of the group, and just not participate in the 2 days of sight seeing. Though I would have saved a little more on hotel expense by flying out on Saturday verses Thursday, I am so VERY thankful I am here early! As bad as I feel, I couldn't imagine making it through another flight in less than a 24 hour period! I will now have, a much needed, two days to recoup before my next flight.

Journey Begins in 7 Hours!

2008-02-20T22:00:00.000-05:00

Tomorrow morning at approximately 2:00AM my journey will begin! We will leave Wilmington on our two hour drive to Raleigh, which should put us at the airport about 4:00AM. My flight to Washington is scheduled to leave at 6:05AM. Once in Washington DC I will have a five hour layover and then depart at 12:19PM in route to China. Flight time from Washington DC to Beijing, China is 14hrs. 1 min. (6,920 miles) I am scheduled to arrive in Beijing at 3:20PM Friday - which will be Friday morning 3:20AM our time. Below is my In-China Itenerary...

February 21st - March 7th
Thursday, February 21st Depart Raleigh - Flight UA796 (6:05AM)
Depart for Beijing - Flight UA897 (12:19PM)
Friday, February 22nd Arrive in Beijing - Flight UA897 (3:20PM)
Saturday, February 23rd Personal day in Beijing
Sunday, February 24th Church Service

Gotcha Day!
Monday, February 25th Morning - flight to Shenyang
Afternoon - reunite with Cindy SunXiuYuan Keegan
Civil Affairs Appointment
February 26th Trip into Fushun for paper work and visiting the orphanage
February 27th & 28th More paper work and visiting those at the orphanage
Friday, February 29th Flight to Guangzhou
Saturday, March 1st Medical Exam
Sunday, March 2nd Fill out Consulate Forms
Monday, March 3rd Consulate Appointment
Tuesday, March 4th Cindy's Birthday! Pick up Cindy's Visa
Wednesday, March 5th Free day in Guangzhou
Thursday, March 6th Free day in Guangzhou
Friday, March 7th Depart from Guangzhou back to Beijing
Depart from Beijing to Chicago - Flight UA850 (5:25PM)
Depart Chicago - Flight 146 (6:34 PM)

Please pray for smooth travels and that my luggage arrives in Beijing along with me!

Cindy Has Been Told...

2008-02-18T12:49:00.001-05:00

As I have mentioned in previous posts, Cindy has been unaware of the fact that she is being adopted. Due to schooling, programs, and Chinese New Year the director of the orphange felt it would be best to wait a little longer to tell her of the news for fear that she wouldn't be able to concentrate on her work and programs. They also wanted Cindy to be able to really enjoy her last Chinese New Year celebration (this is a really big celebration for the Chinese) especially since they had special events planned for the older children during this time. Well the time finally arrived last night where I could tell her of the wonderful news that she will soon be coming "Home!" Alexis called me around 10:30 last night and let me talk with Cindy. I told her that in three days I was leaving to come back there to China. She immediately was so excited! I began to proceed when the phone went dead!! Alexis had told me when she first called that she only had 1 minute left on her calling card. Anyways, I grabbed my calling card and called them right back and once Alexis answered she just kept telling me how excited Cindy was. Well, I had thought they went ahead and told her the rest of the news while I was trying to call back but Alexis said no that she was just so excited that I was returning. So next Cindy got back on the phone and I proceeded to inform her that I was returning for the purpose of getting her and bringing her "Home!" She was so very happy but a bit in disbelief! So, the news has been told but the reality now has to set in! I ask for everyone to please keep Cindy in prayer as she begins to work through, in her mind, all the details of what is about to take place! Though she is very excited, once she realizes she now has to say goodbye forever to those she now considers her family, she is also going to be very sad! Added to that will come the fear of being with people she doesn't truly know nor can she understand as well as coming to a totally different country, culture, and way of life! Her life is again about to be in a whirlwind, which I am sure is going to be very traumatic for her. So please be praying for her transition and adjustment to be as smooth as possible!

...for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. Hebrews 13:5

Hooray For TA - Praise God!!!

2008-02-16T00:00:00.000-05:00

As of this morning we officially have our TA!! We are rejoicing in all that God has done!! This journey has been the most incredible testimony of God and proof of how He orchestrates His will! We have been blessed beyond measure in being given the blessing of experiencing first hand...

The power of God - through seeing obstacles & hurdles overcome when there seemed to be no hope!
The love of God - through seeing first hand how every individual is most important to our loving Heavenly Father! This journey definitely makes you reflect on the story of the lost sheep. To think that God loves this one orphan so much that He brought a small army together for the cause of this one child!
The unity of God (for all His people) - through seeing so many on both sides of the world come together and work in unity for the cause of helping this one orphan! There are so many orphans whose paperwork can be completed so very easily and to have so many people take on the task of going (way) above and beyond ones normal duties and having to do so very much for this one orphan because of the vase complications of her paperwork due to her circumstances is truly mind boggling! And then added to that is those individuals that spent their own time and money (which they have so very little of!) is even more mind boggling! We still cannot believe this has actually come full circle from consistently being told "No she cannot be adopted because her situation is too complicated" to being days away from walking out from behind that clanking, rolling, beeping steel gate (in a much earlier post I described this gate and explained how it's sound will forever be etched & heard in my mind) and on her way to America where she will have the opportunity to learn of her true Heavenly Father that loved her, protected her, and made provisions for her, even during her darkest days! We are still in awe!!

But my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:19

Incredible Gift!

2008-02-08T01:30:00.000-05:00

We have been so blessed in receiving an incredible gift from such a very special couple!! Bob and Pat who was part of our Visiting Orphan's group during the summer mission trip offered to purchase my airline ticket as well as Cindy's ticket "HOME!!" During the time we spent at the orphanage on our mission trip, their hearts (along with everyone else's in our group) became very burdened for the older orphans! These children who seem to be the forgotten ones due to age and situation are definitely ones that capture your heart because so many of them come into the orphanage at a much older age resulting from some unfortunate circumstance that has taken place in their family life and now being orphaned, at these older ages, there seems to be no hope for them due to the fact that most people seeking to adopt want infants. The thought of taking on a much older child and the challenges & hurdles that may (or may not) come with an older child adoption doesn't seem very appealing or easy to most people! Bob, Pat, and many of the others in our group already have plans of returning to this orphanage again in the summer! The main goal for the older children will be to help equip them with the needed necessities to learn English! In China, if you know English it will greatly increase one's opportunities as they seek employment. There are many opportunities for individuals who are able to speak English and the more one knows (speak, read, write, etc.) the more opportunities there are. Though I know I will not be able to join them in going back this summer to work in the orphanage I cannot wait to see what God has in store and how He again will bless the work being done at this orphanage! Anyways, because of this wonderful gift/blessing from Bob & Pat, we now have our airline tickets booked!! I am scheduled to leave for China on February 21st and return, with Cindy, on March 7th! Thank You, Thank You Bob & Pat!!!

Another blessing over the past week was having our agency let us know that they we received a total of $850.00 of contributions from a few individuals through the AWAA Eternal Family program. We would like to say "Thank You" to those who felt led and gave toward helping bring Cindy home and although we do not know a couple of you personally, the kindness and love you have extended to our family will forever be cherished!! The AWAA Eternal Family program only allows us to receive contributions up to the day we receive our TA, so the timing of your gift has been a blessing! When our TA arrives our account will be closed, travel arrangements, hotels, guides, Civil Affair & US Consulate appointments, Cindy's Medical Exam, etc. are scheduled and after everything is finalized, all the monies collected in our account will be applied to the remaining expenses and any balance must then be paid in full prior to departure. We had hoped to have received our TA this week but since we didn't we are expecting to receive TA late next week after the CCAA returns from the Chinese Spring Festival. Therefore we want to make you aware of the fact that any contributions given after this time (receiving TA) will still be accepted and applied to the Eternal Family Program to fund other adopting families or America World projects.

He who blesses others is abundantly blessed... Proverbs 11:25

US issues lucky money for the Year of Rat...

2008-02-07T01:41:00.000-05:00

The US Mint has issued lucky money notes for the Year of the Rat in the Chinese lunar calendar.

One-dollar and two-dollar bills are sealed on red paper with mouse paper cuts. Both are uncirculated limited editions. The serial numbers start with 2008 or 8888, lucky numbers in Chinese culture.

Seven years ago, due to the growing influence of Chinese Americans, the US Department of Treasury began its series of lucky money notes.

Chinese Spring Festival

2008-02-06T01:37:00.000-05:00

The Spring Festival is the most important festival for the Chinese people and is when all family members get together, just like Christmas in the West. All people living away from home go back, becoming the busiest time for transportation systems of about half a month from the Spring Festival. Airports, railway stations and long-distance bus stations are crowded with home returnees.

The Spring Festival falls on the 1st day of the 1st lunar month, often one month later than the Gregorian calendar. It originated in the Shang Dynasty (c. 1600 BC-c. 1100 BC) from the people's sacrifice to gods and ancestors at the end of an old year and the beginning of a new one.

Strictly speaking, the Spring Festival starts every year in the early days of the 12th lunar month and will last till the mid 1st lunar month of the next year. Of them, the most important days are Spring Festival Eve and the first three days. The Chinese government now stipulates people have seven days off for the Chinese Lunar New Year.

Many customs accompany the Spring Festival. Some are still followed today, but others have weakened.

On the 8th day of the 12th lunar month, many families make laba porridge, a delicious kind of porridge made with glutinous rice, millet, seeds of Job's tears, jujube berries, lotus seeds, beans,longan and gingko.

The 23rd day of the 12th lunar month is called Preliminary Eve. At this time, people offer sacrifice to the kitchen god. Now however, most families make delicious food to enjoy themselves.

After the Preliminary Eve, people begin preparing for the coming New Year. This is called "Seeing the New Year in".

Store owners are busy then as everybody goes out to purchase necessities for the New Year. Materials not only include edible oil, rice, flour, chicken, duck, fish and meat, but also fruit, candies and kinds of nuts. What's more, various decorations, new clothes and shoes for the children as well as gifts for the elderly, friends and relatives, are all on the list of purchasing.

Before the New Year comes, the people completely clean the indoors and outdoors of their homes as well as their clothes, bedclothes and all their utensils.

Then people begin decorating their clean rooms featuring an atmosphere of rejoicing and festivity. All the door panels will be pasted with Spring Festival couplets, highlighting Chinese calligraphy with black characters on red paper. The content varies from house owners' wishes for a bright future to good luck for the New Year. Also, pictures of the god of doors and wealth will be posted on front doors to ward off evil spirits and welcome peace and abundance.

The Chinese character "fu" (meaning blessing or happiness) is a must. The character put on paper can be pasted normally or upside down, for in Chinese the "reversed fu" is homophonic with "fu comes", both being pronounced as "fudaole." What's more, two big red lanterns can be raised on both sides of the front door. Red paper-cuttings can be seen on window glass and brightly colored New Year paintings with auspicious meanings may be put on the wall.

People attach great importance to Spring Festival Eve. At that time, all family members eat dinner together. The meal is more luxurious than usual. Dishes such as chicken, fish and bean curd cannot be excluded, for in Chinese, their pronunciations, respectively "ji", "yu" and "doufu," mean auspiciousness, abundance and richness. After the dinner, the whole family will sit together, chatting and watching TV. In recent years, the Spring Festival party broadcast on China Central Television Station (CCTV) is essential entertainment for the Chinese both at home and abroad. According to custom, each family will stay up to see the New Year in.

Waking up on New Year, everybody dresses up. First they extend greetings to their parents. Then each child will get money as a New Year gift, wrapped up in red paper. People in northern China will eat jiaozi, or dumplings, for breakfast, as they think "jiaozi" in sound means "bidding farewell to the old and ushering in the new". Also, the shape of the dumpling is like gold ingot from ancient China. So people eat them and wish for money and treasure.

Southern Chinese eat niangao (New Year cake made of glutinous rice flour) on this occasion, because as a homophone, niangao means "higher and higher, one year after another." The first five days after the Spring Festival are a good time for relatives, friends, and classmates as well as colleagues to exchange greetings, gifts and chat leisurely.

Burning fireworks was once the most typical custom on the Spring Festival. People thought the spluttering sound could help drive away evil spirits. However, such an activity was completely or partially forbidden in big cities once the government took security, noise and pollution factors into consideration. As a replacement, some buy tapes with firecracker sounds to listen to, some break little balloons to get the sound too, while others buy firecracker handicrafts to hang in the living room.

The lively atmosphere not only fills every household, but permeates to streets and lanes. A series of activities such as lion dancing, dragon lantern dancing, lantern festivals and temple fairs will be held for days. The Spring Festival then comes to an end when the Lantern Festival is finished.

Still Waiting On TA...

2008-02-04T22:06:00.000-05:00

Well there hasn't been much change since my last post. Our RA went back to China and we are currently just waiting to receive TA. It still looks as though I will leave out on Feb. 21st. Please continue to pray that our TA will soon arrive and that traveling will proceed accordingly!

As you are probably aware already, China has been hit with the worst winter storm they have seen in over 50 years! The extreme weather has reached as far south as Guangzhou, China. The southern states are not accustomed to the cold and are not equipped to handle the extreme conditions as well as the much fallen snow to these areas! There are numerous orphanages that are in GREAT NEED of food, blankets, warm clothes, diapers, heaters, etc.!! Some have been without power for as long as 8 days! These children endure very difficult conditions on a normal basis and now the conditions are extremely life threatening! To read more about the devastating situation many of the orphanages are trying to deal with just click here... Half The Sky's - Little Mouse Emergency Fund

Jenny Bowen
Executive Director
Half the Sky Foundation
www.halfthesky.org
...Half the Sky was created in order to enrich the lives and enhance the prospects for orphaned children in China. We establish and operate infant nurture and preschool programs, provide personalized learning for older children and establish loving permanent family care and guidance for children with disabilities. It is our goal to ensure that every orphaned child has a caring adult in her/his life and a chance at a bright future.

To read more on the devastation in China due to this blizzard click here... CNN International

Please pray for China and it's people, especially those who are most vulnerable and helpless!!

A Thought For Today....
The most powerful emotion you and I can experience is love. This is because God is love and He wants us to share His love with others. When we love another person it means we are committed to their satisfaction, security, and development so they can become all He created them to be. This enables us to be patient in trying circumstances and allows us to make sacrifices for others without complaining. God's love gives us the energy to remain faithful to those we care about. (With all that we have been facing lately, this paragraph strongly spoke to our hearts!)

"In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another...If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love is perfected in us." 1John 4:10-12

RA Received!

2008-01-26T01:51:00.000-05:00

We were most excited to learn that AWAA received our Referral Acceptance Letter today. Our RA is being expedited to us for signatures and it will then be expedited to China as quickly as possible. We pray that our TA (Travel Approval) will come before the Chinese New Year instead of after so we will not be so rushed in trying to get all of my travel arrangements finalized. It is still looking like I will depart for China sometime between Feb. 21st - 23rd. We are continuing to pray for God's provisions in this final step of Cindy's adoption. We greatly appreciate each and every prayer and ask that you please continue to pray that Cindy will transition, as easily as possible, into our family and will immediately feel/know that "she belongs."

God's Timing is Always Perfect...
As I have just hung up the phone from talking with Alexis I just can't get over how God's timing is so perfect. There isn't an individual (even in Hollywood) that could EVER write a story with the details and timing being so accurately PERFECT!! Too reflect back to the beginning of this blog which started with my mission trip to China and to see just how everything has unfolded so perfectly is mind boggling. Now to see how God is using Alexis during this time while Cindy is on her winter break and how Alexis has been able to take her out of the orphanage, share time with her, allow her to spend nights and talking in detail about what her life will be like if/WHEN she is adopted and how that coincides within weeks of my traveling to get her is incredible. Only God could have made these provisions in preparing Cindy for her upcoming journey and only He could do it in such accurate timing. Cindy is due to return back to school from winter break on March 1st which of course I should already have her by then so she will not even have to go back. Also to reflect back to just six months ago when the reality of what I was seeing and hearing was leading me to thinking that this young girl truly didn't have a chance of being adopted and given a descent life to today where we are just weeks away from adding her to our family is definitely by God's design. Though I try to capture in my journaling SOME of what has taken place throughout the months there is NO way I could possibly capture and type all the details and NO way anyone could EVER truly grasp ALL that we have seen take place and how we have seen God work in such miraculous ways! I pray others have been able to experience some of the greatness of God by following this journey from its beginning to now. If you have not read this blog from the beginning I encourage you to do so and hope that you too will experience how great our God is!

Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Proverbs 3:5-6

Update...

2008-01-14T02:48:00.000-05:00

On Thursday we received all the translated copies of Cindy's file and on Friday we received our PA (Pre-Approval), from the CCAA, for the adoption of Cindy! Our next step is to receive our RA (Referral Acceptance) and TA (Travel Approval.) We expect to receive these around the third week of February, which is right after the Chinese New Year. Then I should be departing for China shortly after.

I have been in contact with Alexis (the young lady who was adopted at 12 and is back in Fushun as a missionary.) It is wonderful to be able to call and talk with her! She has answered so many questions and helped me understand how we may best help Cindy when she arrives here in America. Cindy is now on winter break which means she has time off from school. So, when I called Alexis a few days ago I was able to talk with Cindy for a bit! She still does not know that I will soon be coming to get her to bring her HOME! All along I have been telling her that I am working very hard to return there soon so that I can again see her and also everyone else! Her nanny at the orphanage that I talk with feels that it would be best to wait until it gets closer to travel time before telling Cindy that we are adopting her because they know she is going to have mixed emotions. She will be very happy to learn that she is being adopted and will again have a family she can call her own and even more happy to learn that it will be us adopting her but at the same time she is going to be very sad to be leaving some of the children behind that she is close to as well as her nanny/teacher (the one I talk with) that she is also very close to! So I ask that you please keep her in your prayers and ask the Lord to prepare her heart for accepting us as her family and to comfort her and help ease the pain of saying goodbye to those that she has come to know and love over that past 2 1/2 years. It seems so unfair that this sweet young girl has had to endure such heartache and pain over the death of her family and will now again have to endure the heartache of losing those she has become so close to. I know the Lord will strengthen her through it all but it will still be mighty painful for her! Though she will understand that she will again have a family to love her unconditionally, support her, and give her a much better future with countless opportunities, it still doesn't make it any easier for this sweet 14 year old girl to bare such pain! As I sit her and type, my heart aches and my tears flow with the thoughts of what she is about to endure! But, I can rest in peace knowing that our loving Heavenly Father will help her and see her through this difficult time!! For it is He that has brought this about and He that has already made provisions in helping her before she is even aware of what is about to happen!!!

How, might you ask, has/is God making provisions?
Answer: Alexis!

We are still in awe of the fact that this young lady just happens (not really, we know it's God!) to be back in Fushun at this particular time to share the love of Jesus with those in the orphanage as well as with her family (that's right, her family! She actually has a sister and in her situation her aunt and uncle where able to adopt her sister but unfortunately Alexis had to be sent to the orphanage and was later adopted by the family in Florida. An amazing story! Anyways, for her to make contact with us, out of the blue, was also no coincidence! She is so sweet and God has given her such a wonderful heart for loving and helping others! As I talk with her over the phone, some nights for an hour, she tells me everything that she is doing while staying in Fushun and how happy she is to have the opportunity to be there and be able to share the gospel with her family and those at the orphanage! Wow, how God is using her! Anyways, God is so good and His provisions are above anything that we could ever imagine, even when we can't clearly see them!! I know God has given me/Cindy an angel (Alexis) to watch over and help Cindy and also to help us! Alexis has been talking, explaining, and helping Cindy understand more about Jesus and her need for salvation. She has also been talking with Cindy in detail about being adopted, leaving the orphanage, adjusting to a new life, learning a new language, adjusting to a new and totally different culture, and so forth. What an incredible gift we've been given in Alexis! We fell so comforted in knowing that through Alexis God is helping prepare Cindy for what is going to be the second most difficult, instantaneous life changing event for her! We are so very blessed and thankful for all that God has done but we also ask that you please keep Cindy, us, and all that lies ahead in your prayers.

But You have seen, for You observe trouble and grief, To repay it by Your hand. The helpless commits himself to You; You are the helper of the fatherless. Psalm 10:14

Final Stage of Cindy's Adoption...

2008-01-08T02:22:00.000-05:00

We are beyond belief and so happy to have received Cindy's file today! Let me begin by backing up a few days and telling you what has transpired. America World called us last Thursday morning to tell us that one of the liaisons in China had informed them that the CCAA would not be sending Cindy's file directly to AWAA instead they were going to post her file on the waiting children's website for all adoption agencies to have access to and be able to review and pull it, which means whomever pulled/locked it first would have it. To say the least this was somewhat disheartening (and unnerving) after everyone had worked so very hard in helping Cindy be united with us and to help in trying to get her file sent directly where we could obtain it. Ultimately we knew that God was in control and whatever happened was indeed His will! Well, PRAISE BE TO GOD that AWAA was able to view and lock in Cindy's file first! Keep in mind that there are many agencies in other countries whose day begins before the US and were able to view Cindy's file much earlier. Anyways, after AWAA locked in Cindy's file they contacted us, informed us of this great news, and rejoiced with us in this miracle from God! We have now signed all of Cindy's acceptance paperwork, forwarded it to AWAA, and it has been electronically sent to the CCAA!

Though we are still struggling with details of how we are going to complete this final leg of Cindy's adoption, we know that God will continue to provide! As you may know, the cost of adoption is overwhelming. In light of this, we received an additional blessing earlier today... we were informed by AWAA that they have added us to their Eternal Family Program!! The Eternal Family Program allows friends and family to participate in charitable giving toward Cindy's adoption. Of course we present this to you as an opportunity and not an obligation. This means that anyone who feels lead to help in bringing Cindy HOME can do so by making a charitable contribution to America World by clicking this link: AWAA Eternal Family Contribution be sure to designate your contribution to The Keegan Family, you can even type - Cindy's Adoption in the notes field at the bottom of the page. All contributions are 100% tax deductible for AWAA is 501(3)(c) organization. You will receive a receipt from America World for tax purposes at the end of this fiscal year.

We want to say "Thank You" for all your continued prayers and ask that you keep them coming for there is still much to be done! I ask that you please begin to pray for the travel portion of the adoption which I will be facing very soon! As many of you know this is not my most comfortable area! Also, please pray for me as I will be in temperatures which reach an average daily high in the teens and lows around -5 or colder! As you know I freeze when it is in the 50's!!

"And if anyone gives even a cold cup of water to one of these little ones because he is my disciple, I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward." Matthew 10:42

We RECEIVED Cindy's File!

2008-01-07T12:10:00.001-05:00

How BLESSED is he who considers the helpless... Psalm 41:1

How BLESSED indeed! We have been blessed beyond measure in the miracle of just receiving Cindy's file!! We will post more details later tonight.

A child whose situation seemed totally hopeless and was repeatedly told to us that it was due to being too complicated... through obedience to His call of pressing on for the cause of this young orphaned girl, soon she will again experience freedom from an orphanage and the love of a family. Wow, what an awesome God we serve!! May all PRAISE, GLORY and HONOR be lifted up to our Heavenly Father for all He has done!!

For this child I prayed; and the LORD hath given me my petition which I asked of him.
1 Samuel 1:27

Merry Christmas, Cindy!

2007-12-25T23:10:00.000-05:00

This wonderful video was a gift from my husband!

Update...
Currently we are still awaiting the arrival of Cindy's file. Though we had hoped to of already had her file in hand, we must also remember we are dealing with China and the bureaucracy of the Chinese government! As we patiently wait we ask that everyone continue to pray that we will indeed receive her file within the next few weeks, especially since she only has 10 weeks remaining until her 14th birthday! We also still have no guarantee that we will get her file but continue to pray that God will again bless us beyond our wildest dreams by granting this miracle for such a sweet precious orphan!

We are still being amazed by the provisions God continues to send to the Fushun Orphanage for the purpose of continuing His work there and allowing all who reside and work there to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ! Just a few days days ago we received a wonderful early Christmas gift coming to us straight from the orphanage...
As Cindy and I (and the nannies) continue to correspond with one another via emial, I was in the midst of awaiting a response from my last email sent to Cindy when I awoke a few days ago to find an email from a new individual that God has sent, as a special gift, to this orphanage as well as to us! Cindy's nanny had shared some of the emails Cindy and I have written to one another lately and this new individual, a young lady named Alexis, felt lead to contact me through email on Cindy's behalf and to let me know who she was and why she is at Fushun. What a wonderful Christmas gift!
As I have corresponded with Alexis a few times now, here is a portion of a couple of emails she has written...

Email 1:
Hi Criss

This is Alexis, I was the girl who wrote you the last letter. I was an orphan from this same orphanage that Cindy is living in but was adopted at age 12. I have been living in Florida for about 6 years. I live in Orlando, FL and I'm 18. I'm back to FuShun to my Orphanage to help out as a missionary ( but only for half year, I'll be going back to America after Chinese New Year, Chinese New Year is on FEB 7th, so Probably I will return home on March 2008. Just by reading the letters you have been writing to Cindy I realized that you're a Christian, Praised the Lord, I'm a Christian too. I came back to my orphanage to share the love of Jesus with everyone here. I really do thank God for giving me the opportunity to be able to come back to share the gospel with my HOMELAND people. It's very nice to be able to speak to you, maybe I can even call you sometimes, I buy calling cards here at China so that I can call home. Whats you number? If I do call you Cindy probably can speak to you too. I will defintely pray for you to be able to return to FuShun on February to get Cindy. I'm sure God will hear your prayers and will give you the desires of your heart. May God Bless!!!

Love,
Alexis

Email 2:

Hi Criss

How are you doing? Its nice to hear from you. I'm sure you'll be able to get Cindy when the right time comes. Yes I will defintely spend more time with Cindy and tell her more about Jesus and share with her more Bible stories. I told all the kids in the orphanage about Jesus, and shared many miracle stories with them. Cindy already asked Jesus in her heart. But I think even though she asked Jesus in her heart but she doesn't really understand. I also don't think she understands why she needs to read the Bible. But when she's on her Winter break I will definitely explain more to her. Ok....It's nice talking to you. My number is- (xxx) I would love to talk with you.

Alexis

...Wow, how awesome!! I plan on calling Alexis in just a little while and pray that I will be able to actually talk with Cindy! I have had the orphanage's telephone number all along but knew that with the language barrier the chance of actually carrying on a conversation with accurate understanding would be next to impossible but now with Alexis there to listen and help translation our conversations I will be able to talk with Cindy frequently! We are just in awe of this wonderful blessing God has given us at such a special time as Christmas!

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above... James 1:17

The Greatest Gift Of All...

2007-12-25T13:31:00.000-05:00

The Greatest Gift of All...
On Christmas Day God gave us the greatest gift of all His Son Jesus Christ!
He came as a very humble gift for the purpose of serving humanity.
He was born in an obscure village, a lowly place, and laid in a trough used to feed animals.
His purpose - To give us eternal life - Through His Son, Jesus Christ, God adopts us into His family. He takes us in with all of our sin, all of our filth, and just as we are, an undesirable orphan; bringing with us nothing that can be seen as good or desirable in His sight. Still, He loved us and showed His love to us by giving us the greatest gift of all!

What is the most memorable gift you've ever received?
What is the most memorable gift you've ever given?

As we celebrate together with our families the most wonderful time of the year, Christmas - the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, we also mourn the fact that there are so many orphans around the world who will not celebrate anything at all, not Christmas, not Jesus, not a family to love them, not even a small gift such as a toy.

As we remove the wrappings from all the Christmas gifts we will open this year, let us not forget those who were also born in obscure villages, very lowly places, that span of all the earth! There are 143 million orphans around the world who need a gift!

The most memorable gift an orphan could receive - Love & Support
The most memorable gift you could give - Love & Support

Coming Soon...
Information on how you could give a gift that will change a child's life!

Rescue The Orphan!

2007-12-25T09:00:00.000-05:00

Wow! Isn't it amazing to see how the love and support can change the life of an orphan?

God's Mission: Adoption

2007-12-25T02:43:00.000-05:00

God's Mission: Adoption
by Max Lucado

When we come to Christ, God not only forgives us, he also adopts us.
Through a dramatic series of events, we go from condemned orphans with
no hope to adopted children with no fear. Here is how it happens. You
come before the judgment seat of God full of rebellion and mistakes.
Because of his justice he cannot dismiss your sin, but because of his
love he cannot dismiss you. So, in an act which stunned the heavens, he
punished himself on the cross for your sins. God's justice and love are
equally honored. And you, God's creation, are forgiven. But the story
doesn't end with God's forgiveness.

For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but
you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out
"Abba! Father!" The Spirit himself bears witness with our Spirit that we
are children of God (Rom. 8:15--16 NASB).

But when the fullness of time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a
woman, born under the Law, in order that He might redeem those who were
under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons (Gal. 4:4--5
NASB).

It would be enough if God just cleansed your name, but he does more. He
gives you his name. It would be enough if God just set you free, but he
does more. He takes you home. He takes you home to the Great House of
God.

Adoptive parents understand this more than anyone. I certainly don't
mean to offend any biological parents--I'm one myself. We biological
parents know well the earnest longing to have a child. But in many cases
our cribs were filled easily. We decided to have a child and a child
came. In fact, sometimes the child came with no decision. I've heard of
unplanned pregnancies, but I've never heard of an unplanned adoption.

That's why adoptive parents understand God's passion to adopt us. They
know what it means to feel an empty space inside. They know what it
means to hunt, to set out on a mission, and take responsibility for a
child with a spotted past and a dubious future. If anybody understands
God's ardor for his children, it's someone who has rescued an orphan
from despair, for that is what God has done for us.

God has adopted you. God sought you, found you, signed the papers and
took you home.

Still Waiting!

2007-12-04T00:46:00.000-05:00

I just wanted to post a quick update to let you know that we are still just waiting to receive Cindy's file. I have been in constant contact with our liaison in China, our agency, and our agency's liaison. Everything is moving through the system but it has just taken a little longer than we had hoped. As of this morning all needed documents with the CCAA have been completed and is being scanned into their system. Once everything is scanned they will then electronically send all documents (Cindy's file) to the agency and as soon as the agency has them they will contact us. We are praying that we will have her file by the end of this week but ultimately know that it is all in God's timing not ours and His timing is always perfect! So for now we just continue to wait.

6 He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun. 7 Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him... Psalm 37:6-7a

Happy Thanksgiving!!

2007-11-22T08:59:00.000-05:00

Click on picture to enlarge it.

Wonderful News/Blessing!

2007-11-21T18:07:00.000-05:00

Yesterday we were informed that the CCAA has now found Cindy's paper work and will begin processing it. Our paper work is also now at the CCAA along with a special request attached to it asking for both files to be expedited in order to assure adequate time for all that is still needed as well as time to travel to China before Cindy's 14th birthday. Please continue to pray for the expediting of both of our files and also for them to be matched together! God is indeed good all the time and His blessings continue to amaze us! We couldn't be more thankful for such wonderful news, received just before Thanksgiving!

Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. Psalm 100:4

Dossier Arrives In China!

2007-11-19T00:44:00.000-05:00

As of 8:00 PM (Our Time) this evening our dossier was delivered to AWAA's representative in Beijing. Next she will hand deliver it to the CCAA where it will then be logged in and begin to be processed! Please continue to pray that Cindy's paper work will also be located within the CCAA where it can be matched with ours!!

Date/Time

Activity

Location

Nov 19, 2007

9:00 AM

Delivered

BEIJING CN

Nov 18, 2007

6:42 PM

Int'l shipment release

BEIJING CN

Nov 17, 2007

11:22 AM

Departed FedEx location

ANCHORAGE, AK

Nov 16, 2007

11:59 PM

Arrived at FedEx location

MEMPHIS, TN

5:13 PM

Picked up

MC LEAN, VA

Adoption - Enduring Love!

2007-11-18T19:11:00.000-05:00

FamilyLife.com - Click below to listen to today's broadcast.

Adoption--Enduring Love (Day 1 of 1)

Windows
Media

Real
Player

11/17/2007 - 11/18/2007 Saturday & Sunday
This weekend on the broadcast, Bob Reccord, president of the Southern Baptist North American Mission Board, and FamilyLife staffers Jared Elmquist and Thomas and Jill Monarch talk about their adoption experiences.

Guests Include: Bob Reccord, Jared Elmquist, Thomas & Jill Monarch

Why Can't It Be.... They Chose Me!

2007-11-17T04:30:00.000-05:00

This tender ballad about adoption will have you reaching for a kleenex, and hopefully will make you think about adoption in a whole new way. Inspired by an interview heard on the radio with Christian recording artist Mark Schultz, this heart-wrenching song was written by Debbie L. Rice. Debbie's father was adopted, and Debbie is also the mother of a little girl adopted from China.

DTC as of Today 11/16/07!

2007-11-16T23:42:00.000-05:00

As of today we are officially DTC - Dossier To China! Which means our paper work is now on its way to China. Please continue to pray that Cindy's paper work is located and that the two files, ours & Cindy's, will soon be matched together at the CCAA's office.

Standing in the Gap for the Orphan! (Part 2)

2007-11-16T20:51:00.000-05:00

FamilyLife.com - Click below to listen to today's broadcast.

Practical Care for the Orphan (Day 2 of 2)

Windows
Media

Real
Player

11/16/2007
On today's broadcast, pastor Rick Warren, author of the best seller, The Purpose Driven Life, explains how he and his wife, Kaye, were called to speak up for orphans in Africa.

Guests Include: Rick Warren

Prayers Needed! * Post 1 of 3 *

2007-11-15T22:23:00.000-05:00

We received word today that the CCAA does not have or cannot find (not sure which one) Cindy's file! Please pray that her file will be found or that the CCAA will accept faxed copies from the orphanage! Cindy's time is so very short and every day brings her a day closer to her 14th birthday which is when her file will be pulled and she will no longer have the opportunity to be united with a forever family who will take her in, accept her just as she is, and love her unconditionally!

We greatly appreciate every prayer being offered up for Cindy!! Thank you so much!!

Pray without ceasing. 1 Thessalonians 5:17

Cry of the Orphan - Money Matters Segment! * Post 2 of 3 *

2007-11-15T22:22:00.000-05:00

Cry of the Orphan - Click & Listen

http://www.crown.org/CryOfTheOrphan/ Once on the web page - Click the music player to hear this segment.

"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"

-- James 1:27, NIV

This fall, Crown is joining organizations like Focus on the Family, Family Life, and Shaohannah's Hope in support of the Cry of the Orphan campaign. There are over 143 million orphans worldwide. God may be touching your heart to invest in the lives of orphans. Read on for ways that you can help.

Tools to Help you Plan for Adoption

Debt Payoff Calculator - Get out of debt faster!
Budgetometer - Analyze your spending in the three major "budget buster" categories: housing, auto, and debt.
Savings Goal Calculator - Set your goal and see how much you'll need to save.

more tools

Reading Resources

Check out this book by authors Jason Weber and Paul Pennington called Launching an Orphans Ministry in Your Church. This is a great resource for involving your church in the ministry of caring for orphaned children.

learn more

Funding an Adoption: A Crown Article

Download this article in PDF format

Adoption offers a chance at a new beginning for many children cared for by state and private agencies and international orphan situations. Families constitute the building blocks of God's Kingdom. A strong family unit provides an orphan with the love and security that is needed to ensure that they grow into healthy adults and a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. 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" (NIV).

Adoption is part of the Great Commission, and we see that God's heart of compassion for the fatherless is clearly expressed throughout Scripture. We see adoption by believers as "missions in reverse" because adoption provides an opportunity to reach across the globe and bring children into homes where Jesus is present and God's Word is central.

The decision to adopt
Because the adoption of children needs to be planned, within reason, a decision to adopt must be made with prayer and the counsel of mature and trusted Christians.

In addition, inviting input from family members could be both insightful and helpful.

Other factors that need to be considered before making a decision to adopt: (1) meeting eligibility standards; (2) travel requirements; (3) the availability of the child desired; (4) willingness to adopt a special needs or biracial child; (5) the length of the process; and (6) the cost.

Cost of adoption
Depending on the circumstances, the cost of adoption can range between nothing to $30,000. Adoption from the foster care system may not cost anything at all and a subsidy may be available. Adoption domestically or internationally can cost between $10,000 to over $30,000. Some of these typical costs can include: adoption agency fees, attorney and legal fees, medical expenses, child-placement agency fees, court fees, filing fees, foster care/orphanage reimbursement, home study and home study follow-up fees, locating fee (if applicable), post-placement supervision expense, finalization fees, birth mother expenses, travel expenses, in-country travel and lodging (international), government filing fees.

read rest of article

Real Life Stories

The Woodruff's Story

David & Debbey Woodruff – adopted Ashton from China

My husband, David, and I have always felt we should adopt a child or two. However, because of many life circumstances, we had not been in a position to move ahead with an adoption until 2005. Throughout the year of 2005, many of our adoption barriers were removed and David and I knew the time was right. We began to pursue a China adoption.

When we started the process our biggest barrier was finances. We didn’t have all the money upfront, but David’s business was expanding, our apartments were going well, and we were nearing the end of the process to purchase a duplex. I thought, “I can be obedient. I can trust God with this area. We don’t have the money know, but I can see how it will work out. Besides, adopting from China takes at least a year anyway so we will have time to save all the money.” I thought I was walking in faith. . .

The Woodruff Children
with Ashton (center)

Through prayer and subsequent circumstances, we felt we should adopt a beautiful special needs toddler girl. We told our agency of our intent to adopt Yang Xiao Xia and we began the paperwork process. The paperwork was processed exceedingly quickly. Every time we thought we would have a few weeks between finishing one document and proceeding to the next step, we would receive a phone call or a letter that a document was completed in record time. We were going to bring our Yang Xiao Xia home much faster than originally intended!

With each expedition of paperwork, we rejoiced, but I secretly wondered how we would “raise” the money in the reduced timeframe. However, I would tell God, “OK, I can trust you. . .” About the time I was feeling comfortable again; that I could trust God with the new timeframe, the timing would expedite again. And, each time, I would say, “OK, you are the Provider. I’ll trust you.” However, each time I surrendered, the money issues grew. It became IMPOSSIBLE for us to earn enough funds for us to fund the adoption on our own. NOW we must fully rely on God. NOW we must trust.

A friend told us about Life International (www.lifeintl.org) and we checked them out. We encouraged our friends to prayerfully consider contributing tax-deductible dollars to help bring Yang Xiao Xia home. Through the help of Life International, we were able to raise 100% of the funds we needed in the last month before we traveled to China! We were so thankful for them and for God’s provision through our friends!

God’s blessings did not end with providing financially. In July of 2006, we met and brought home our precious Xiao Xia! Almost immediately the bonding began to occur. Xiao Xia (Ashton) immediately bonded with her siblings and they bonded with her. Ashton bonded with David and I and vice versa. She is a perfect fit in our family and everyone has adjusted beautifully – another God-thing!

Since coming home, Ashton has accepted Christ into her heart. She is our most ardent prayer warrior. In fact, when she first came home, she wanted to pray everywhere – in stores, in lines, in the bathroom, in restaurants, etc. We’d pray 4-5 times in an hour. She was so cute when she’d say, “Thank you for to God. . ..”

God definitely blessed this adoption in a positive way. He blessed us with supportive friends and family. He blessed us with Life International’s assistance with fundraising. He blessed us with quick and effective bonding. He blessed us with a well-adjusted little daughter whom we love very much. We are rejoicing because we know God is faithful.

If you’d like to hear more about our journey our journals can be found at: www.myladybugjournal.com under the Woodruff family.

read more testimonies

Standing in the Gap for the Orphan! * Post 3 of 3 *

2007-11-15T22:21:00.000-05:00

FamilyLife.com - Click below to listen to today's broadcast.

A Biblical Mandate (Day 1 of 2)

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11/15/2007
Today on the broadcast, Rick Warren, pastor of the widely acclaimed Saddleback Church in Southern California, tells Dennis Rainey why the Body of Christ should be concerned about the plight of the orphan.

Guests Include: Rick Warren

Thinking About Adopting? You MUST Hear This Segment!!

2007-11-14T20:09:00.000-05:00

Has adoption crossed your mind? If so, have you really thought it through or do you have a fairy tale way of thinking and picturing how it will be once you are united with a child? Have you really thought about the difficult times/struggles that you and your family will face along with those great times you are probably envisioning? This segment talks directly about this issue and I would HIGHLY encourage you to listen by clicking below...

Counting the Cost of Adoption (Day 2 of 2)

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11/14/2007
The idea of adoption often gets romanticized and can become a fairy tale to those who desire to bring a child into their home. On the broadcast today, Michael Easley, president of Moody Bible Institute and a father to three adopted children, tells Dennis Rainey about some of the realities of adoption.

Guests Include: Michael Easley

Defending The Fatherless! Powerful Message!!

2007-11-13T19:36:00.000-05:00

FamilyLife.com - Click below to listen to yesterday's (11/12/07) broadcast. This is a powerful must hear message!! I encourage you to take time and listen!!

Defending the Fatherless Through the Call of Adoption (Day 1 of 1)

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11/12/2007
On today's broadcast, John Fuller, Vice President of Broadcasting with Focus on the Family, talks with Dennis Rainey about the adoption of his youngest son, Zane. Hear him tell about the God-sized moments forever etched in his memory.

Guests Include: John Fuller

Amplifying the Voice of the Orphan!

2007-11-13T01:43:00.000-05:00

FamilyLife.com - Click below to listen to today's broadcast...

Amplifying the Voice of the Orphan (Day 1 of 1)

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11/13/2006
On the broadcast today, impassioned youth speaker and author, Ryan Dobson, and his father, Focus on the Family founder James Dobson, share some emotional moments regarding Ryan's 1970 adoption. Joining them in the studio are adoptive parents Dennis and Barbara Rainey, Focus on the Family president Jim Daly, and Focus on the Family broadcasting vice-president John Fuller. Guests Include: James Dobson, Jim Daly, John Fuller, Ryan Dobson, Dennis and Barbara Rainey

November - Adoption Awareness Month!

2007-11-11T00:30:00.000-05:00

11.01.07 NATIONAL ADOPTION MONTH MESSAGE TO CHRISTIANS: YOU ARE GOD’S PLAN FOR THE ORPHAN

Cry of the Orphan Uses National Adoption Month to Educate Christians on the Many Ways They Can Respond to the Cry of the World’s 143 Million Orphans

LITTLE ROCK, Ark., Nov. 1, 2007—November is National Adoption Month and Cry of the Orphan is using this time to share a simple but powerful message with Christians and churches across the country—you are God’s plan for the orphan.

The United Nations has identified 143 million children around the world as orphans. With so many orphans waiting for someone to reach out and help, FamilyLife, Focus on the Family and Shaohannah’s Hope (founded by award-winning musician Steven Curtis Chapman) joined together to create Cry of the Orphan, an unprecedented, unified campaign to challenge Christians and churches to get actively involved in caring for the world’s orphans.

“God cares deeply about orphans,” said FamilyLife’s Paul Pennington, one of the leaders of the Cry of the Orphan effort. “There are more than 40 references in the Bible that demonstrate God’s heart for orphans. So to be involved in ministry to orphans is to be involved in what matters to God.”

Mark Andre of Focus on the Family has a personal connection to the adoption issue. “As an adoptive parent myself I know that adoption is both a rewarding and also a critically important part of responding to the orphan crisis,” said Andre. “But we also want people to understand that it’s not the only way people can make a difference in the lives of orphans.”

The variety of opportunities for Christians and churches to help orphans include short-term mission trips to overseas orphanages, providing aid and resources to families and communities that are caring for orphans, serving as a mentor, and supporting and building orphanages, just to name a few.

Nov. 12-16, the Cry of the Orphan campaign will share its message with millions of people across the country. That’s when popular radio hosts Dennis Rainey of FamilyLife Today, Dr. James Dobson of Focus on the Family and Howard Dayton of Money Matters will work together—devoting their daily broadcasts and utilizing their organizations’ resources to show people how they can respond to the orphan crisis.

Shaohannah’s Hope, FamilyLife, and Focus on the Family have also launched CryoftheOrphan.org. Through this Web site, the ministries will share practical tips and offer resources to help people navigate through the adoption process, get their churches involved in caring for orphans, and better understand God’s heart on this issue.

Wonderful Message - Take Time To Listen...
FamilyLife.com - Click below to listen to today's broadcast of Acting by Adopting.

Acting by Adopting (Day 1 of 1)

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11/10/2007 - 11/11/2007 Saturday & Sunday
This weekend on the broadcast, Christian recording artist Steven Curtis Chapman, pastor and author John Piper, and professors Pat Ennis and Lisa Tatlock tell how adoption has changed their lives for the better. Guests Include: Steven Curtis & Mary Beth Chapman, John Piper, Pat Ennis, Lisa Tatlock

Paper Work Complete!

2007-11-10T20:53:00.000-05:00

Though this week we didn't receive Cindy's file like we had hoped to, it was still a productive week with our adoption process. Our paper work made it to the U.S. State Department and then on to the Chinese Embassy where all of our documents were authenticated. Once the authentication was complete, it was then sent on to our agency who received it yesterday (Friday.) The agency called us yesterday afternoon to tell us that everything looked great and that next Friday our dossier will be sent to the CCAA in China, this is also where Cindy's paper work is currently being processed. It is hard to believe that we have been able to accomplish all of this in just under eight weeks and we know that God has truly had his hand upon this process.

Please continue to pray for us to soon receive Cindy's file.

143 Million Orphans...How Could ONE Person Possibly Make A Difference!?!

2007-11-08T20:49:00.002-05:00

143 Million! That's approximately one-half of the population of the U.S.! Though the number is HUGE every ONE person who decides to do something, CAN change a life!

You have probably heard the Starfish Story several times but watch and listen to this video with orphans in mind instead of starfish.

No matter who you are, where you live, or what you do, you can make a difference! From praying for orphans to going on mission trips, from mentoring or supporting a child to adopting one (or more), there is a place for everyone because you are God's plan for the orphan; you just have to make the choice to do so!

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To God Be The Glory!

2007-11-08T02:27:00.000-05:00

This comes a little later than planned but here is the awesome blessing I wanted to share...

We have some dear sweet friends that for a few weeks planned, coordinated, gathered items, and spent much of their valuable time for the purpose of holding a yard sale to raise money for us/Cindy's adoption. At first we had no idea that they were planning/organizing this event but eventually we were informed and just in awe of the fact that they genuinely (and excitedly) wanted to do this for us/Cindy! I have to say it was very awkward and humbling accepting and allowing them to do this as we have never had anyone go out of their way to want to help us in such a way. As the days drew nearer to the yard sale the items started flowing in from many other friends and individuals that also wanted to help by donating to the sale. On Friday night there were several who gathered to sort, price, and prepare the items for the sale that next morning. The yard sale is actually an annual event held by the Boy Scouts where individuals buy a space to set up and sale their items. Well, due to the purpose of these particular items being sold and the money going toward adoption the ladies were given many spaces and was placed right in the front row. We also had another dear sweet friend donate 8x10 color photos of Cindy to display so those looking and buying would see that this was a mission project and not just merely someone trying to sell items and make money. When the the ladies later shared with us the amount they made we couldn't believe it. The total came to a little over $1000! God is so good to provide us with just what we need at just the right time! Though we hadn't told a sole, we had just been informed on Friday that we had to make a payment of $1000 to secure the post placements that will take place after our adoption is finalized. ***Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. Psalm 100:4 *** So needless to say we were truly in awe of the blessings we received from those that God used in a mighty way for His purpose of helping the orphaned children! I must say the most rewarding blessing is the fact that God used these ladies as His vessel to again bring the need of helping orphans to light and from that, I am now having many individuals come to me because they are questioning themselves and asking "how can I make a difference in the life/lives of orphans" and "what can I do?" To be given the opportunity to talk more about the needs of orphans and ways in which one can help means more to me than any blessing of money, though it was very appreciated! Of course adoption is one way in which you can change the life of an orphan, by giving them a loving home and a family who will love them unconditionally for life, there are also many additional ways in which one can help change the life of an orphan. I hold tight to the bible verse James 1:27 which reads "Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of God is this, to VISIT orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world." Why are we given this command? Here are my thoughts which I typed in a previous post on August 26th...

Excerpt Form August 26th Post:
They (orphans) indeed are very special to us and to God! We are all called to be the voice for the voiceless and these precious children as well as all the 143 million orphans around the world are the voiceless that we need to speak up for and defend! ***You hear, Oh Lord, the desire of the afflicted; you encourage them, and you listen to their cry, defending the fatherless and the oppressed. Psalm 10:17-18
We are also commanded to "visit" orphans in their affliction. Why would God command us to do this? I feel that by visiting such orphans will lead to the overwhelming response within our hearts that we, being the body of Christ, must do something to help! Whether it be to adopt, support an orphan or Christian organization working with orphans, or maybe to go and help! ***"Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of God is this, to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world." James 1:27
Have you ever exposed yourself to an orphan? Can you honestly say you understand and can relate to them and their needs?

Please pray and ask God how He might use YOU to help change the life of an orphan! You CAN make a difference to a sweet precious child of God!

And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me. Matthew 18:5

Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. Matthew 25:40

Dossier Paper Work Is In DC!

2007-11-05T00:58:00.000-05:00

To our surprise Thursday I came home after work to find our I-171H in the mailbox! This is the Notice of Favorable Determination Concerning Application/Processing of Orphan letter from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security/Citizenship & Immigration Services. As promised they expedited it to us but never would I have imagined we would receive it just three days after completion of our finger printing (they received them electronically from SC on Monday!) I was expecting to receive this letter possibly Monday (tomorrow) but was very excited to get it even earlier. Well since I had planned on receiving it Monday, I had also planned on completing all that was needed for this next step over the weekend but of course upon taking it out of the mailbox I immediately began to quickly gather all I had complete and check all that was still needed. I then started working on completing the needed items. I ran all evening from place to place to complete everything and finally did so shortly before midnight! Since my dear husband had agreed that this time he would take all our documents to Raleigh, I went over the procedure many times to make sure he had it down pat so there would be no errors in having all our documents authenticated. Friday morning he left the house around 6:30am and headed for Raleigh in order to assure he would meet the 10:00 drop off deadline so we could receive same day service. He then spent the day in Raleigh also completing needed items to add to our entire dossier in order for it to be complete for sending on to Washington DC. He eventually made it back to Wilmington around 4:30pm and I immediately began to make all needed copies and also go through everything to verify the correctness and completion of our dossier. He then took it to FedEx where it was sent to the courier service which will hand deliver it to the US State Dept. for authentication and then to the Chinese Embassy for authentications. This process will begin on Monday morning and be completed on Thursday afternoon. Our dossier will then be forwarded to our agency who will verify the accuracy and completion of all our documents and will then prepare it for sending to China!

As we still await Cindy's file and now also await our files (dossier) reaching China, we ask that you would please continue to pray that this week might be the week of more good news and that we might be matched with Cindy!

We want to thank everyone for your continued prayers as they are most appreciated!!

Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. Philippians 4:6

Continued Blessings...
I have much to share about events that took place on Saturday but due to feeling really under the weather today I will wait and post details on this tomorrow.

Finger Printing Complete - Praise the Lord!

2007-10-29T01:10:00.000-04:00

Well, we were informed this week that Cindy's paper work is indeed now in the hands of the CCAA but unfortunately we have not yet obtained it. As of Friday it was still being processed and moving through the channels/hands of those working to get it ready for matching her with a family. Please continue to pray that we are the "family". Friday was also our big day of traveling to Charleston, SC to USCIS to have our finger printing done. We were amazed at how easy the process was this time around. We arrived about 30 minutes early expecting a long wait only to find that we were the only two people there and we were in and out within 10 minutes. God is so good! This was another huge hurdle cleared!! Our home study was also finalized and mailed to USCIS this week which will now be matched up with our finger printing file for completion of our I-171H which we hope to receive within the next 5-7 days. As I mentioned previously this step alone normally takes over 3 months but USCIS had agreed to expedite everything due to Cindy's situation and timing being so very crucial. We were so amazed that they agreed to do this for us/Cindy and even our agency couldn't believe it because they (USCIS) are usually so firm and will not normally make exceptions for any reason!
Please pray that we will obtain her file this week and that we will also receive our I-171H.

I received another email from Cindy this week. She was updating me on how she is doing in school, which is very good except for English which she had taken a test this week and was upset because she had failed it. She is trying so hard to learn more English but it is very difficult for her as would it be for me to learn Chinese! She also informed me that she has been chosen to perform in a musical which will be held in the city. She is learning a dance to go along with her performance. She is excited at the opportunity to be able to go into the city and perform. On a sad note.. her nanny has shared with me that on the school bus there are some boys that are mean to her and some days she returns to the orphanage after school crying due to what has been said to her or about her on the bus. As I have thought of how wonderful it is that she has been able to attend an outside school where she can learn everything, just as all the other children, I never thought about how they might treat her knowing that she is an "orphan," she doesn't have a family of her own, and she lives in an orphanage. How difficult and excruciating it would be dealing with the loss of your family and adjusting to life as an orphan but then to have other children taunt and tease you would have to feel almost unbearable. To think the other sweet older girls in the orphanage with Cindy must also deal with these same type issues as does so many all across China. Anyways, the nannies still have not told Cindy that her adoption paper work is currently being processed because they are afraid she will not be able to concentrate on her studies. The nanny said that they just keep telling Cindy that by studying hard, only obedient children can be approved to be adopted (I wish they didn't tell her this.) They all hope that this has inspired her to study hard, and strive for excellence. She also said that Cindy is very eager to be a part of our family. It is so hard talking back & forth to Cindy and not sharing all the wonderful news of all that has/is taking place for her to be adopted. I cannot wait until the moment comes and she learns of this wonderful news!
Please continue to pray for Cindy and the other girls, that God would give them the strength to endure such insensitive behavior.

You hear, O LORD, the desire of the afflicted; you encourage them, and you listen to their cry, defending the fatherless and the oppressed, in order that man, who is of the earth, may terrify no more. Psalm 10:17-18

Update on the "D's"...
Here is a recent email I received from the "D's" giving an update on the situation with David and his father...

10/24/07

Dear Friends,

Remember David from the recent prayer/newsletter? Maybe not quite as quick a response as Daniel got in Dan 9:21-23, but God didn't waste any time answering your prayers. I wanted to share with you a text message just as I received from David yesterday.

Praise the Lord! I've just talked 2 my dad. I said how is everything. He said ok & he's gone home 4 a while and then come back. I said could u bring me my suit. He said sure. It's a short conversation. No yelling or shouting. No disowning or ¥ 600,000 threat. I think he's passed the emotioal hijacking period. Now it's all about the Truth War. Thank u all for ur prayers of faith. To God be all the glory. Pls keep praying 4 my caring and witnessing 2 him.

Thank you all for praying for David and the situation with his father. God is still in the business of changing people's (like David's father's) heart. This has been a tremendous growth opportunity for David. Please continue praying for him and for his father's salvation!

Like David said, “To God be all the glory”.

Another Hurdle Cleared!

2007-10-20T14:31:00.000-04:00

Yesterday I was informed that Cindy's paper work had been sent to the CCAA! Praise the Lord for another hurdle cleared! As we were rejoicing yesterday in learning of this wonderful news it also stirs a bit of nervousness within us knowing that her file is on it's way to the CCAA and will soon be matched with a family. Please be praying that we are that family which God has chosen for Cindy! Regardless of what happens next, the most important fact is that Cindy is so close to being able to walk out of that orphanage and into the arms of a family that will love her and help her achieve all that she is capable of! I am still mesmerized at the fact that God chose me as His vessel in accomplishing what was needed for this young girl who had next to zero chance of ever having her paper work completed and in the hands of the CCAA for her to be adopted to just this very thing now happening!! I am so unworthy of the blessings I have received just through being obedient and seeing this difficult situation through. Though it has been tough and stressful (at times) going between the different individuals involved as well as working full time, caring for my family, and doing paper work on our end; it has been most rewarding seeing/experiencing what I felt was impossible, but through God, totally coming full circle to actually happening! Honestly in the depth of my heart I never thought this child would ever have the chance of leaving that orphanage because of the difficulty with her situation! But PRAISE THE LORD for the plans HE has for Cindy!!

For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11

As for where we are...
We have completed our home study and it should reach the USCIS (Immigration Dept. of Homeland Security) before we go this Friday to Charleston, SC for finger printing. Please pray that they receive our home study and that everything goes smoothly for us on Friday! After our finger printing is completed we hope to receive the form/letter needed from the USCIS within 5 days! Due to Cindy's crucial timing situation they have agreed to expedite this needed letter which normally takes over 3 months to receive! Believe me when I say "for them to do this is also unheard of!!!" God has truly performed small miracles throughout this entire process!!

On an ending note...
I want to share this video that I have been wanting to post for quite a while but just haven't worked it in til now. Anyways, listen closely to the words. It speaks about all of God's children (every life He created.)

We are all so unworthy of His love and grace but yet He still stands with the door wide open waiting to receive each one if he/she would just be willing to accept the free gift of salvation, His son Jesus Christ. I think of how fortunate we are to live in a country where the knowledge and understanding of who God is; is mostly known and understood regardless of whether or not one claims it and receiving the free gift He offers is so easy, yet so many turn their backs and refuse it. And then I sit at my computer and read emails from another (our liaison) so desperately seeking this free gift yet cannot receive it (yet) because her total lack of knowledge in God Himself, Jesus Christ, and what she is reading in her bible hinders her from the truth. I have also just received and email from Cindy sharing the same feelings of discouragement and frustration due to not being able to understand what she is reading. It is so very hard for us to comprehend the total lack of knowledge they have yet this is reality and they truly do not even understand the absolute basic fact that there is a God that loves them/us/everyone so much that He sent His only begotten son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. John 3:16 I ask you to please pray for them and for what they are reading to become more clear. Also pray as I seek to try to connect my liaison with another Chinese person who will be able to help her in this area. Again your prayers are most appreciated!

Progress Update!

2007-10-14T20:12:00.000-04:00

Since my last post I have continued to be in touch with the many individuals who are helping to process Cindy's paper work and seeing to it that it reaches the CCAA in a timely manner. As of Friday morning we were told by our liaison that "Cindy's paper work would be available in the CCAA around Oct. 15th and no later than Oct. 20th." So please be praying that they hold to this timing and that her paper work indeed does make it there sometime this week!!

As for our paper work...
Since my last post we have been diligently working at the speed of light trying to complete all that is needed for us to adopt Cindy. In four weeks we have gone from application to completion of all that is required on our end except the finger printing (this is done at the Federal level through the USCIS which is part of Homeland Security - not your local state/county so you have to go to your designated USCIS support centers) we are scheduled to have this done in Charleston, SC on Oct. 26th. This entire paper work process normally takes 4-6 months to complete! This includes requirements such as physicals, immunization shots, background checks, ordering of new certificates (birth, marriage, etc.), application form sent to the USCIS (Immigration Dept. of Homeland Security), application letter to China, employment letters, many home study visits, and even more detailed paperwork (the fact we have already done this two other times has indeed worked in our favor.) We hope to have our completed home study back to us within the next two weeks and are also hoping to have our I-171H by the first week in November. At this pace we should be able to have our Dossier sent to China by the second or third week of November with the hopes of traveling back to Fushun sometime in late December or early January. We know that as each day passes Cindy is getting closer to her 14th birthday which right now only gives her about 16 weeks (government offices are closed much of February due to the Chinese New Year Celebrations) remaining before her file will be pulled and she will no longer have the opportunity to again be part of a family. We ask that you please continue to pray for everything to go smoothly and ultimately for God's will to prevail. Your ongoing prayers are most appreciated!!

On Another Note - Missions In China and Christianity...
Remember the "D's" who are the missionaries from Wilmington serving in China? Well I want to share with you a situation that their son "J" has been involved in and ask that you please please pray form him and a young man named David who has been a faithful believer in Christ for about two years now! Here are a couple of emails that I have recently received from them asking for prayer regarding this situation...

Email 1 (10/9/07:)

We have a young man in our ministry named David. He's been a faithful 
student for a couple of years, reaching out to the lost, helping lead a 
Bible Study, etc. Yesterday, he told his dad, an avid Buddhist, of his 
Christian faith. The father just went ballistic and disowned his son. Today, 
the dad called David and told him that because David was dead to his family 
and his life was a waste, he needed to repay his father all the money it had 
cost to raise him- 600,000 yuan- around $75000.
 
David has responded very well to his father's response. He wants to honor 
the Lord in his response and called to ask counsel about how to answer his 
dad. Even though he is saddened, he is happy that he has told his dad the 
truth of his convictions, and shared the gospel with him, too.
 
Please pray for David- that he would know how to respond to his father in a 
Christ-honoring way, and that he would be encouraged in the Lord. Pray that 
the truth of Ps. 27:10 would be very real to him, "When my father and my 
mother forsake me, the Lord will lift me up."
 
Another friend,I won't mention his name, met Christ while he was at the 
university and attended our lessons for a couple of years. He is a growing, 
faithful guy. His education had been paid for by the military, meaning that 
he owed the military some service after he graduated. He moved away while we 
were away this summer and is back for the holiday right now, staying in our  
home. He says the military issues a statement that they must be faithful to 
communism and if they profess Christianity "they will be executed." He has 
gone to church and to a fellowship while there but hasn't told his 
co-workers of his beliefs. Please pray for him to have wisdom in his 
profession of faith, and to be steadfast in the Lord.
 
In addition to gaining prayer support for these two young brothers, I also 
wanted some of you to see what some of the believers here face. It makes us 
stop and think, doesn't it? Freedom to follow Christ is a precious thing! 
And praying for those without that freedom is a privilege as well.

Email 2 (10/10/07:)

I just received this message from "J" so this is all I know about the
meeting with his student, David's father:

Just left there. Didn't go well. His dad was very unreasonable. Yelling and
trembling in anger. Wouldn't listen to anything we said. Said Buddhism is
right and David betrayed it in the family. Continues to demand money or
denunciation. Said I "J" am responsible. Threatened to get some guys and
break David's legs or kill him. David was mostly calm but tempted to be
angry. Hard to forgive but I think David is. His dad's friend came to
mediate and we left soon after. Need prayer!

So, that's it. Praise God for the chance to suffer persecution for the name
of Christ. It's very hard on this young man but I trust God to use it
mightily in both of their lives. Thanks for praying. I won't keep bugging
you with this prayer request but trust that some of you will continue
praying anyway. Thanks for your faithfulness.

Really makes you realize how blessed we are to be in a country where we can freely worship our Lord and Savior and share our faith without fear of such harsh persecution! Please remember to pray for the "D's" their son "J" and those they are ministering to as well as all the missionaries around the world who are exposed to this type of persecution on a daily basis.

Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.
2 Corinthians 12:10

Journey To Cindy

2007-09-26T01:05:00.000-04:00

I'm sure you've probably noticed that the title of this blog has been changed from just China Mission Trip to now include Journey To Cindy. I feel this made more sense than beginning a new blog because everything written thus far is truly part of Cindy's story.

To bring you up to date on what has been taking place...
This situation is a very complex and out of the ordinary situation which involves many people in China and America all working together at record speed to help unite Cindy with her forever family. It has been amazing to see the number of people the Lord has brought together all working toward this goal, yet more amazing is how we are seeing the Lord use this situation in many ways to reveal Himself and His love to those who truly do not know or understand God or Jesus Christ! You might be thinking, "Oh they probably really do know God and have heard of Jesus," but what you really don't understand is they HAVE/DO NOT! Yes some may have heard these names but even they truly do not know anything other than these names and that it somehow connects to Christianity, which as you know is not allowed in China! We can't even imagine someone not knowing God or hearing of who Jesus Christ is yet there are 1.4 billion Chinese most of whom have never heard of Jesus! This is truly a lost country and though it is difficult to evangelize openly, God is working in amazing ways through many underground missionaries and everyday the gospel is being shared with more and more Chinese! Anyways, there is so much I would love to share with you in this area but it would take much too long to do at this time, so instead what I would like to share is just a glimpse as to how God is working through this situation...

The Fushun directors that were so adamant about Cindy's case being much too difficult to process (granted it has been very difficult!) due to the in depth work it would require on their behalf as well as actually making contact with the brother and physically having to go and get documents signed and notarized from him, have went above and beyond all you could possibly imagine! Those of you who know China, how bureaucratic it is as well as how it takes at least ten people to accomplish one task, will understand the huge hurdles and road blocks that would have to be tackled in this situation. Well these directors have worked so very hard and diligently in completing Cindy's paperwork and have also continued to follow it to assure that it is being handled correctly and efficiently in the Civil Affairs government dept. They have even traveled back and forth there themselves to assure all is going well. You may not be able to really grasp the importance of this but trust me when I say, "for them to have done all they have, is unheard of!!" Here is a portion of an email I recently received from my liaison: By the way, the liaison had to take a bus 45min.-1hr. to get to Fushun where she would then travel to the government office with Mr. Shao. All these individuals are doing all this work with no pay, also unheard of in China!

9/21/07
...As a matter of fact, Ms. Zhu, Mr. Shao and I went to the Provincial Affairs together the other day. They were so kind to help me before they went to Shanghai on business and I could tell even before that they, especially Mr. Shao had done a lot of work. What impreseed me much is that Mr. Shao is dedicated to the matter and promises he'll see to it even utilizing his own personal relationships to facilitate it.

...I'm sure your love for her will touch God who definately will help! By the way, I made it a habit to read the bible and scriptures you recommended to me every morning and night and I feel so good and nearer to God. And I'll be a good person! I don't know much, though. But by reading it, I think I understand your moving deeds better. God bless you!

The above email is from a liaison I have in China which I talk with frequently. She translates everything that is taking place between us, the directors, and the Civil Affairs and she too has shared with me how she has been changed by this situation. She now (just recently received) has a bible and as you read above she is reading it every morning and every night, praise God! She says she don't understand a lot but I know with time God will reveal much to her and will increase her understandings!

I know with all my heart that our being at this orphanage in July has forever changed those we came in contact with, especially the directors and nannies! As we shared the love of Jesus through our actions; our time, our love, our help, our commitment, our gifts, and our true sense of connecting with them at their level, they were able to see a difference in us and even commented to us on how they had been so moved by our love for them. I know God is still working today in the hearts of all these individuals and isn't it ironic (not really - we know it is God) that they now are working so very hard and diligently in helping us! Anyways, I ask that you please please pray for them and that God will prepare their hearts that when/if I return for Cindy that I can share the gospel with them!!

Alright you noticed that I stated when/if I return; well to update you a little more on the situation at hand I must share that though everyone is working so hard for us to adopt Cindy there is still no guarantee that this will happen due to Cindy's situation being totally out of the normal process of how the adoption process works. So I also ask that you please pray for this situation and all we are doing! We truly covet all your prayers!

How could you take part in helping bring Cindy home...
PRAY! At this point we just ask for everyone to pray for us, Cindy, and the situation at hand.

Thoughts to ponder...
To think that this sweet, smart, precious young girl not long ago lived a life similar (yet much different) to any of ours in a way that she did have a family. A mom and dad that loved her very much as well an older brother (this says a lot about her parents as they were only allowed one child yet had two, which means that they would have paid stiff harsh penalties for having and keeping Cindy!!) that still loves her so much that he is willing to lose her forever to help her gain a better life. This young girl who seemed to have so much, at age 11, lost it all in an instant and found herself without anyone or anything. With her mind spinning & not fully understanding all that has happened as well as her heart grieving over the loss of her parents, she was taken to Fushun SWI where she now had to adjust to life as an orphan and accept this orphanage as her home. She now would have no outlook for a descent life due to the fact that her records will forever label her as an "orphan" which is the lowest in society and though one may be extremely smart, this label will keep them as a mere peasant. Anyways, to think this young orphan girl, now 13 1/2, is so close to gaining a new family, a new country, a new life with countless opportunities for her future; all of which the Chinese people can only hope and dream of!!! But most importantly the opportunity to freely come to know Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savior and the ability to freely worship Him! Isn't it amazing to see how God works and how He uses those of us, who are so undeserving yet willing to allow Him, as His vessel! If for some reason us adopting Cindy is not God's perfect will (again at this point we have no guarantee) I know all of our love, diligence, and hard work is to unite her with the family He has chosen for her!! As devastating as it would be to us, I know God's plan is always perfect and it is not about us but about Him and His will! But again we would ask that you please please keep those prayers coming!

And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose. Romans 8:28

Here I am Lord, Use Me!

2007-09-18T23:57:00.000-04:00

I am going to start this post by giving more detail of the time I spent with Cindy and what transpired during that time at the orphanage.

Upon our arrival at Fushun and initially meeting the children it was no time at all on that first day that my heart became deeply bonded with Cindy as well as hers with mine. That first day I asked the directors about her and what led to her being brought to this orphanage. As I previously shared with you on an earlier post, her parents along with her uncle were killed in a car accident when she was eleven years old and she had no one else who was able to care for her. I continued to ask more questions in hopes of learning if her paper work was being processed so that she would have the opportunity to be adopted but I was informed that it wasn't and that it was too complicated. Well I continued to ask more and more questions until they finally told me that she had an older brother who had a family of his own but was barely able to provide for them and therefore could not take in Cindy and care for her (I don't think he was even given the option as he could barely provide for his family.) Anyways, though the government sent Cindy to the orphanage they still had her paper work with her brother having some rights to her. By the end of that first day the directors were also able to see the bond that Cindy had with me and they along with the nannies would come to me and say "adopt her adopt her she is a very smart girl and her love for you shows" but in the very same breath would say oh but you can't her paper work is much too complicated. Well as we departed the orphanage that first day, leaving her there was already very hard for me. I have visited many other orphans and other orphanages and yes your heart does go out to them and their situations and needs but this truly was totally different! Almost instantly upon meeting Cindy I felt I must do everything I can for her and though my mind was thinking well we might be able to adopt her my rationalization was saying "no" I can not do this and I truly do not want to do this! Well that night I was praying for the Lord to please make it clear that I am not to even think this way and to please make tomorrow different and to take away the strong feelings and bond I have with her.

So as our second day began and we arrived at the orphanage I had already made up my mind that I was not going to spend a lot of time with Cindy rather I was going to spend the day totally involved with the other children. Not to say that I spent the whole first day with her because I did not. I spent equal time with most all the children it was just the time spent with Cindy was so different in many ways. Anyways, throughout that day even though I tried so very hard to pull away from Cindy and not spend time with her she continued to be close to me most of the day and would help me with the other children. At one point she asked if she could show me her classroom and where her desk was. Of course I allowed this and she was so very proud to show me her school work, which by the way she received A's on almost all her work even her English work. Since she already knew some English upon her arrival at the orphanage the directors and nannies have helped her learn more as well as allowing a teacher outside the orphanage to help her. She also showed me some of her drawings which she insisted that I have to take home with me. I still continued to try to go another direction as I already knew that this situation was going to be very difficult. Well we again left the orphanage and I truly felt that I was leaving my child behind. There are no words that can possibly describe what was taking place at this time.

As I lay in bed that night I just cried out to the Lord to take all this away that I did not want any of this nor did I want the pain that I was feeling. I couldn't understand any of it and truly did not want to try to understand it. I just wanted it to go away! I kept asking "why?" and "why me?" Well as I lay there and continued to cry (literally) and pray seeking an answer to the "whys" I truly felt the Lord was indeed directing me to continue to push and seek what I could do for Cindy. I had convinced myself that the bond and feelings that I shared with Cindy was simply for the purpose of drawing me close to her that I would push hard for her situation and help her. At this point I thought to myself, ok I will try very hard to help her but that would be the extent of it.

On the next day I immediately began to really dig deeper and ask more specific questions about Cindy's situation, her paper work, what it would take to get her paper work going, and if there was anything I could do to help. As I continued to question, at one point I was told her brother would have to sign documents to allow Cindy to be adopted and then at another time I was told that there was something wrong with her registration card. They would continually tell me "no, no it is too complicated; we would like to help Cindy but the paper work is too complicated." Well of course in my mind I was thinking; nothing is too complicated for God and I must continue to push. I kept asking them to please just pick up the phone and call Civil Affairs and ask what would need to be done to get her "paper ready" (a term used in the adoption process which means all is complete for the children to be adopted.) They would just say too complicated and she has just a little time, which they were referring to her 14th birthday being only months away. They truly were not being hard to deal with they just really thought there was no possibility to get her "paper ready" for adoption in such a short time with the difficulties due to her situation. Anyways, throughout this day though much was taking place with me and the directors Cindy was very close around me and I again spent much time learning more about her. She would play the piano for me, show me more of what she learned and like to do, and took me to where she slept which was is a tiny bed that as she lays on it to sleep her body is much longer than the bed. Her bed, along with the other older children, is the exact same size as the beds they have for the toddlers. When it came time for us to again leave to go back to our hotel I was again overcome with the feeling that I was leaving my child behind.

Well up to this point I had said nothing to my husband about any of this but strongly felt I must now share all of this with him and thought that he would immediately and firmly tell me what I should do which would be in the direction totally against anything about us adopting her. As I tearfully explained all I could about Cindy, I was in total disbelief when he said, "you must do everything you can to get her "paper ready" for adoption! I could not even speak at this point as I was truly in shock over his feelings regarding the situation. The Lord had to of went before me and totally prepared his heart for this because I would not have ever expected this type of response. Tim truly has a heart for orphans along with mine but for the mere fact that we have just brought home two girls in the past two years and we are so very cramped for space as it is and have been trying to get a larger home for a couple of years now but at the same time have been waiting for the Lord's timing to be right, this was just inconceivable.

So with all that has taken place we began to pray and seek the Lord's will in all this and truly what we were to do. Throughout the remaining days at the orphanage I continued to talk with the directors about Cindy's paperwork and pushed as hard as I could but didn't really get anything accomplished. The time I spent with Cindy was very hard on her and myself as well as the nannies and directors as they could clearly see the special bond we shared. Well as much as I dreaded that last day approaching it finally arrived and as you saw in previous posts was very very difficult for us all. It was also hard seeing the nannies and directors so upset while they watched as Cindy and I said goodbye. Well needless to say I truly truly felt this time that I was forever leaving my child behind.

The next few days in China before our departure home was very difficult but I managed alright just holding on to the fact that God is sovereign, His plans are always perfect and knowing that His will would prevail in this situation. Though I still didn't understand "why" and "why me" I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that God had hand picked me to be on this mission trip, at this particular time in life, at this orphanage, and drawn to this child! Though I may not fully understand all the details nor be able to see the whole picture I knew there was a reason and one day, even if it wasn't until I got to heaven, I would understand and have an answer to the "whys."

Well upon my return home, though the first few days I tried to just put what had happened behind me and focus on other ways in which we could and would try to help the older children of Fushun, I was unable to just let the situation with Cindy go. As we continued to pray it was clear that we had to do everything in our power to fight for her and try to get her "paper ready" whether that would lead to us possibly adopting her or maybe another family. There was "no way" that we could just sit and do nothing knowing that she had just a few months left before her file would be pulled and she would never again have the opportunity to be part of a "family!" So I made contact with someone I felt might be able to help and he agreed that he would do everything he could to see if he could help. We strongly felt if it is God's will then He will indeed move all the hurdles and road blocks and will expedite all that is needed for Cindy to become "paper ready" and have the opportunity for adoption. Well over the course of the past two months of praying, talking back and forth with many different individuals about this situation, as well as talking back and forth to the directors of Fushun it is with pure joy, honor, and praise to God to be able to share all He has and is accomplishing! Cindy's paper work has now totally been completed by the directors of the orphanage which includes the notarized document needed from her brother to allow for her to be adopted and is now in the hands of the Civil Affairs Office. The next step is for it to be sent to the Chinese Center of Adoption Affairs (CCAA) where she will be matched with a family that is willing to adopt her (her "forever family.") At the same time, on the other side of the world, a family has been working very hard in getting all the necessary paper work started in hopes to be able to adopt Cindy and bring her home. The family that is seeking to adopt her of course is "The Keegan Family!"

In our humanness we allow our minds to consume us with thoughts of how are we going to be able to do this; what will people think (we are crazy!), what about the finances, where will she sleep (in a closet!?!), how will we ever accomplish so much in such little time, etc. When in reality it comes to the point of, "are we going to be obedient?" Are we going to step out of our comfort zone, not worry about what others think and allow God to work and ultimately all praise and glory and honor will be given unto Him! We must just simply say " Here I Am Lord, Use Me!" And truly allow Him to do so!

For you have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but you have received the spirit of adoption, by whom we cry out,"Abba, Father" Romans 8:15

Followup From Prior Post

2007-09-17T00:48:00.000-04:00

I explained in a previous post that our group was able to donate a couple thousand dollars to the Philip Hayden Foundation which they will put toward the building of a facility where they will be able to house and better educate and equip the older orphan children with needed life skills to better their futures and help them become a responsible/productive citizen within their community. This is indeed very important but most important is the fact that this is a strong Christian organization who will present the gospel to these children and teach them about Jesus!

Well, here is what has taken place in this area within the time that we have been back from China...
A staff member of Philip Hayden Foundation has made contact with Mrs. Zhu, director of Fushun SWI, and has explained that they would like to help the older children of Fushun. The next step is for Mrs. Zhu to visit PHF's facility and for a staff member of PHF to visit Fushun SWI. They are doing this in hopes that they will be able to eventually bring some of Fushun's older children to live at Shepherd's Field and attend their program. Here is a portion of one of the emails from Tim at PHF...

Hi Natalie,

Thank you for your email. It was really a great blessing for me to receive
it. Fushun has always had a very special place in our hearts, b/c it was
the first place in China that God called my wife Pam, our children and me to
work. We spent a year there from in 1988-1989. That's is also the place
where God first gave us a vision to help orphans in China. While we were
there, we never were able to go visit the orphanage, mainly b/c we couldn't
find anyone who knew about it.

What a blessing for you to have had the opportunity to go there and get to
know the children. It would be an honor to be able to help those kids in
Fushun by giving them an opportunity to come to SFCV to be part of the our
program. I think you know our vision is to help these older "forgotten
teens" who have very little hope for life outside of the welfare institute
system. I don't know what the best way is for us to engage the Fushun
Orphanage, but I do know that if this is God, He will make a way. One way
we could approach them is to just call them and tell them about our program
for the girls. Or you could use your contacts to do that. I am fine doing
it either way. Let me know your thoughts on that.

In the mean time we will continue to pray for an open door to bring hope to
the girls.

Blessings,
Tim

Please continue to pray for this situation and that God's will be done! PHF will be able to help these children in many ways!

As for my conversation with David (w/ Visiting Orphans)
I was able to share with him the details of how awesome our time was in Fushun and how God worked mightily in our midst. I also shared details about Cindy and what had taken place throughout my time there with her and he was able to give me some direction on what I would be able to do once I returned home. There is still much more to share in this area which I will cover on my next post.

I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that God placed me on this mission trip at this particular time in life for His purpose and to accomplish His will. I also know that it was only made possible through all of you (but ultimately God) who supported me through many different ways and I again want to say "Thank You" with all my heart. This gift you have given me will forever be cherished! I have indeed been blessed beyond measure!

An ending note...
Remember the "D's" (missionary family from Wilmington now serving in China) that I shared information about in my very first post? They are back in Wilmington visiting but will again be leaving for China on Wednesday. Well, our family was able to have dinner with their family and a third family yesterday evening. Our time of fellowship together was such a blessing and we were able to learn more about them and their ministry in China. I was also able to hear him speak at a local church this evening. It is amazing to hear the stories of how they are ministering to the Chinese people and the number of those who are coming to accept Christ as their Savior! They now have the opportunity where they are going to be able to go into factories where there are as many as 20,000+ workers (it's hard to imagine this size factory.) These workers come from all over China into the large cities to work for better pay. Many of these factories are ran by men who come from areas such as Hong Kong, Taiwan, etc. and are Christians. Because they are Christians they are allowing the "D's" access for the purpose of ministering to the workers. In the process of their ministering they will be pulling the ones who are most devoted and eager in learning and will further disciple them and in time they will go back to their villages throughout China and teach about Christ and His saving grace. They are so excited about the doors that the Lord has opened and ask that you remember them and their ministry in your prayers. They are a dear sweet Christian family who is carrying out the great commission. Please remember them in prayer. If you would like to learn more about them, be added to their newsletter, or would like to support them please let me know and I would be happy to share with you how you can do so. I would love to add pictures of their family but I don't want to jeopardize their safety in China so I won't. If you would like to see pictures of their family just let me know and I would be happy to share some with you.

Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen
Matthew 28:19-20

Back In Body...Not In Spirit!

2007-09-15T17:08:00.000-04:00

Well I have now been back home for almost two months and I cannot express how my heart longs to see the children of Fushun! I think often about what they might be doing at a given time or rather what they might not be doing. Even though they are extremely fortunate to be at this particular orphanage where the directors care deeply for them and try very hard to provide for them the best they can, they are so limited to what they are able to do and their days primarily consist of the same routine day in and day out. One thing that I will forever hear over and over again in my mind is the sound of the electronic gate that would open and close to let us in and out of the orphanage each day. It would beep and then slowly roll back making a loud clanking noise as it went. I often think about these children (and the many others) that are locked behind this steel gate and how they do not even have the luxury to take a walk down the dirt road that the orphanage is on to see and experience "life." We are so very spoiled to all we have and are able to do here in America! To often we think about what we are going to buy next or what vacation we are going to take or how we need to up size a vehicle or home because we are too cramped. We don't ever stop to think about the fact that we truly could make due with what we are blessed with and also take a tiny portion to put toward blessing another who so desperately needs help. There are so many ways in which one is able to do this; with all my heart I pray that we, the body of Christ, will rise up and seek how each of us are able to accomplish God's will in helping His precious children.

Did you know...
If only 7% of the 2 billion Christians in the world would show hope to a single orphan, looking after them in their distress, there would effectively be no more orphans! I feel that God has indeed called us to help! God's word has many passages that speak directly about this.

"And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me." Matthew 18:5

Additional update will be posted tomorrow.

Back in Beijing

2007-09-06T01:47:00.000-04:00

Once back in Beijing, we went to straight to the hotel where we all rested. The next day we were scheduled to tour the Great Wall and then the Jade Factory. Our time was near the end but we did have this one last day to visit a couple of places before heading back home to America. I must say at this point it was still very hard on us all as we were missing the children of Fushun so very much!! We had already been discussing ways in which we might be able to continue helping the older girls of Fushun once we return home! (More to come on a later post of how this is taking place!)

Anyways, back to the Great Wall. To visit this massive wall is something to behold!! No words can adequately describe the awesomeness of this wall! It is one of those things you just have to experience to fully grasp how incredible it truly is! To think of the labor force it took to build such a structure and especially on such rugged steep mountains! You can't imagine how steep the stairs are that you have to climb to get to just one tower and to think of the men who carried the materials up such steep mountains and labored upon it in building this wall which spans across 4,163 miles is almost incomprehensible!

Well we arrived at the Great Wall and began our journey up. The weather was very hot and as we started up the wall, we quickly became even hotter due to the work out, the number of people, and being grid locked together with them while climbing. The steepness of this section of the wall really gave us a workout but most of us did make it to the first tower! At this point we decided to call it quits, that is all of us except for John and Zack. They had their minds set on accomplishing as much as they could and actually made it all the way to the top (of this section of the wall, that is!) As they climbed, the rest of the group waiting in the shade for their return and then congratulated them on a job well done! This was a difficult climb! More information about the Great Wall can be found at the end of this post.

Our next stop once we left the Great Wall was the Jade Factory. To see them take raw jade and by using their hands glide the jade across a small rotating blade with a stream of water flowing over it and be able to create incredible objects was really fascinating! We were taught a lot about jade; it's history, importance, uses, etc. Click here to learn more: Chinese Jade & Jade Pictures

Later that evening when we returned to our hotel we again packed and checked everything one last time as we would all be leaving out the next day. Because we were traveling to different parts of the US our times of departure varied. David (with Visiting Orphans) and I were flying back together. Our flight was the latest out of our group which means we were the last to leave out. After the rest of our group had left throughout that next morning it was around lunch time so David and I walked to KFC to get some lunch before taking a taxi to the airport. David had not been with us throughout our mission trip because he was with one of the other groups at a different orphanage. There were actually 95 individuals who arrived (on that same day we arrived) from all over the US which were broken down into 5 teams. The 5 teams traveled to different provinces/orphanages where they were scheduled to serve/work. Anyways, my conversation with David was very uplifting as well as eye opening in many ways which I will later post about more in detail as there is much to share, so hang in there with me! I am trying so very hard to post as quickly as I can but it is extremely difficult working full time, juggling everything I have to do, and trying to sit down after I put my girls to bed to journal, post, and add pictures! It really takes a lot of time to journal everything in detail and add pictures. The pictures alone take a very long time to load!

Anyways, here is more on the Great Wall.

A Little History On The Great Wall...
The Great Wall of China, one of the greatest wonders of the world, was enlisted in the World Heritage by UNESCO in 1987. Just like a gigantic dragon, the Great Wall winds up and down across deserts, grasslands, mountains and plateaus, stretching approximately 6,700 kilometers (4,163 miles ) from east to west of China. With a history of more than 2000 years, some of the sections of the great wall are now in ruins or even entirely disappeared. However, it is still one of the most appealing attractions all around the world owing to its architectural grandeur and historical significance.

Construction of the wall: The mystery of the construction of the wall is amazing. The construction of the Great Wall, drew heavily on the local resources for construction materials, was carried out in line with the local conditions under the management of contract and responsibility system. A great army of manpower, composed of soldiers, prisoners, and local people, built the wall. The construction result demonstrates the manifestation of the wisdom and tenacity of the Chinese people.

The Great Wall is reputed as one of the seven construction wonders in the world not only for its long history, but its massive construction size, and its unique architectural style as well. The construction of the Great Wall began between the 7th and 8th centuries B.C.

The labor force used by various dynasties for the construction of the walls was no less impressive than the wall itself. The well-organized defenses of the Great Wall were built by the arduous work of millions of workers. For example, when the Great Wall was first brought together under the direction of General Meng Tian over a period of 10 years during the Qin Dynasty, 300,000 troops were used. In addition to the frontier soldiers, the builders included conscripted laborers and convicts in exile. Later in 555 A.D. under the Northern Qi Dynasty, a 450-kilometre section of the wall was built from Nankou, Beijing, to Datong, Shanxi. 1.8 million people were forced to join the ranks of the laborers. Owing to the arduous work and poor conditions both for living and construction, a lot of people died in the course of this project. Some of their remains were even buried in the wall.

As we all know, the Great Wall is the treasure of China - even the world. It really is a great masterpiece of mankind, with its beautiful scenes and grand construction.

Click here to read more about the Great Wall: Wikipedia - Great Wall

Additional pictures can be found in photobucket; Fushun folder & Pics 8 - Great Wall and Jade Market

God's Timing - How Incredible!!

2007-09-03T14:11:00.000-04:00

Remember in my post from last night I described the gift we gave to Maggie and how excited she was that we gave her a bible? Well to my astonishment I just (5 minutes ago) opened my AWAA email account, to find this email from Maggie to Natalie which she in turn forwarded to our entire team. This email is definitely proof of how God used us throughout this mission trip and He continues to work amongst the people in China!! Maggie is a sweet young single mom with a 4 year old daughter. She works a lot, attends college, and studies very hard in hopes to soon be able to come to America (actually Hawaii) and make a better life for her and her daughter.

Hi, Natalie,

So happy to have heard from you. I should have checked my e-mail earlier, but I’ve been .really busy with my preparation of the graduation thesis.

I was deeply impressed and touched by your generous love and kindness and our stay at the orphanage was a very happy and meaningful experience. If possible, I would more than pleased to have another chance of working together with you.

By the way, thank you very much for your tips (that meant more to me and helped me a lot for I could concentrate myself on my studies in the coming weeks without much living pressure) and the precious gift—the Bible. As you know, I’ve always dreamed of having an original of my own and it is your coming that made it true. Oh, I can’t tell how grateful I feel for what you’ve done for the kids and for myself. Every night before going to bed I read it and it brings me a very peaceful mind and I think God is everywhere.

Time passed quickly but the days we spent together in Fushun is always so unforgettable and I’m sure that is one of the best memories in my life. Even now the remarks “to help the widows and orphans” made by you on behalf of all the members in our group occur to me occasionally and I will learn from you and do whatever I can to help those in need.

I fully understand your love and concern for Cindy, Betty and Lucy and I hope God can help them for they are so cute but pitiful. In fact, I’ve been in touch with the orphanage and was happy to learn that a few days after we left they led the kids to Dalian, a very beautiful city in the province for sightseeing. So whatever the result of your and Christina’s and others’ efforts will be, the kids will feel grateful and at least we know that they are taken good care of at the orphanage for everyone there is so kind and dedicated to them.

Let’s pray for the kids together and God bless you all.

Please send my regards to Scott, Zack, Rachel, Nathan, Christina, Robert, Patricia, John, Allison, Ai Keow, Amanda and Caitlin.

There is no boundary for love. And attached is the “family photo” sent by the orphanage.

Good luck to you all and I’ll keep in touch with you.

Yours,

Maggie

全国万名职场女性，齐聚非常美女，惊艳 2 0 0 7

Lei Feng Memorial Hall

2007-09-03T01:01:00.000-04:00

This would be our last day in Fushun and we started it by meeting Mr. Shao and Mr. & Mrs. Zhu in the lobby of our hotel. To thank us, for caring so much for the orphans of China that we would give of our time to come here and for all we had done for the Fushun Orphanage, the children who reside there, and to them (the directors) they wanted to take us to visit the Lei Feng Memorial to learn more about the life of Lei Feng, who was a young orphan boy who became China's most famous symbol of sacrifice for others and his selflessness and devotion have inspired at least three generations of people over the past 40 years. When we arrived at the memorial there were many very nicely dressed gentlemen waiting at the curb for our bus to stop and us to unload. We received a very special welcome as though we were very important guests! We began our tour on the outside grounds and eventually made our way inside the memorial. I really enjoyed this tour and learning about Lei Feng. As you can see in the pictures of him, he was truly a compassionate caring individual who always put the needs of others before his own needs. There is no way I could ever adequately explain the life of this admirable young soldier and what he did for so many others! He is definitely one who should be recognized and known worldwide! Below you can read a little about who Lei Feng was.

As we made our way to the end of the tour we were asked to sign a registry book. Well after we all had signed and Natalie wrote a message, they wanted to take a picture to show our visit to this memorial. Why, might you ask, would they want a picture to show of our visit, for we are no one special. Well, it is because they did see us as someone special in what we have done by coming to Fushun for the purpose of helping others. They are actually going to post this registry book with our signatures and message along with the picture upon the walls of this memorial along with their own message labeled below it, I assume. God indeed continues to work!! Can you imagine this now being part of the Lei Feng Memorial?? Never in our wildest dreams would we!

Anyways, we left the Lei Feng Memorial and headed back to the city of Shenyang which is where the airport is located. Little did we know that once we said goodbye to Mr. Shao and Mr. & Mrs. Zhu that they had actually left out to be slightly ahead of us on the road. Unaware of this, as we approached the outskirt of town we were surprised to see they were pulled to the side of the road waiting for us to again wave goodbye as a thank you! They were so very gracious to accept our coming to visit and spending so much time in their orphanage and was most appreciative of everything!

Moving on, once in Shenyang we stopped for lunch at a Korean restaurant. It was a new experience for me as I have never eaten at a Korean restaurant before. You have to remove your shoes then step high through a door which enters you into your own private table setting. In the center of the table is an area which is where they light a fire to use for cooking your food. We had many side items along with the main dish of squid or beef. I only ate the beef. The food was actually pretty good. After our meal we presented Maggie (our guide/translator) with a gift. It included several small items but most important it included a bible. The first thing she pulled from the gift bag was the bible which she was so happy to get! She commented to us that she had always wanted one and would use it to study. I believe God will use this to reveal to her more than just what the pages of this book says! Please pray for Maggie and for her eyes and heart to be opened to what she is reading throughout the pages of this bible, the living word of God!

We eventually made it to the airport where we had to say goodbye to Maggie and then board the plane for our flight back to Beijing. The flight to Beijing was pretty good other than it was still very hard on us all leaving the orphanage and the children whom we had grown so attached to. We have all been forever changed by this mission trip and will always hold a special place in our hearts for China's orphans as well as the numerous orphans around the world!!

We were all so blessed to have had the opportunity to experience all that we did during our time in Fushun, China! "Thank You," again to all those who supported the work of this mission trip in so many different ways!! You too were used as God's vessel in allowing His work to be done here in this town of China!!

Additional pictures can be found in photobucket; Fushun folder & Pics 7 - Lei Feng Memorial & Shenyang

More on the life of Lei Feng...
Lei Feng is probably the only ordinary Chinese to be remembered by the whole nation, and his selflessness and devotion have inspired at least three generations of people over the past 40 years.

His boyish smile still beams today from posters, newspapers, television and children's textbooks, and his name is known even to preschoolers.

To the Chinese, the young soldier whose life was cut short at the tender age of 22 has remained alive, and his patriotism, compassion and self-sacrifice have become a part of the moral standards for the 1.3 billion population.

Lei Feng was born a peasant in 1940 and lost both his parents by age seven. At 20, he joined the People's Liberation Army and spent all his spare time and money helping the needy. On Aug. 15, 1962, he was killed when a truck backing up struck a pole that toppled at him.

He became a household name in March 1963 when late Chinese leader Mao Zedong called on the whole nation to learn from him, and March has since been dedicated to the national "Learn from Lei Feng" campaign -- one that has never been halted despite convulsive changes in the country's contemporary history.

During the 1966-1976 Cultural Revolution when Mao Zedong was idolized by the entire nation, Lei Feng was known as "Chairman Mao's good soldier" who had resolutely adhered to Mao Zedong Thought.

In the centrally planned economy of the late 1970s and early

1980s, most Chinese vowed to lead a frugal and meager life just like Lei Feng. Children were told to wear old clothes passed on by their elder brothers and sisters, and it was considered a disgrace to throw something away before it was completely worn out.

"To learn from Lei Feng" was at that time an important assignment for schoolchildren, who would, in their spare time, do voluntary work in their neighborhood and at railway stations, helping the elderly clean up houses, bringing a lost child home or carrying luggage for
passengers.

"When asked what they had done, over half of the class would say they had returned wallets they found on the road or helped blind people cross streets," recalled a retired primary school teacher in Shenyang, capital of northeastern Liaoning Province.

Today, the Chinese are learning from Lei Feng in a much broader sense. Many do voluntary work, help the needy by donating money, body organs and blood, or apply to work in poverty-stricken western areas.

Many private business owners, known as the new rich in China, are also seeking to emulate Lei Feng by donating money to sponsor public welfare projects, help school dropouts and create job opportunities for the unemployed. And for many private firms, the Lei Feng spirit has become an important part of corporate culture.

"Exemplary Followers of Lei Feng" are being elected each year in many Chinese localities to carry forward the soldier's spirit.

A 19-year-old girl named Zhang Tiantian recently wrote a biographical novel, "The Song of Lei Feng", to express the younger generation's love and respect for the hero.

"Like all my peers, I've been encouraged to learn from Lei Feng ever since I was a child," said Zhang, who traveled last year to Lei Feng's hometown in central Hunan province, and the PLA Shenyang Military Area Command where he was a soldier, to interview Lei's old acquaintances and find out more facts for her novel.

"When I sat in his former residence all alone, I felt I could see him -- a pleasant big boy," she added.

"Everyone lives in a specific social context, and so did Lei Feng," said Zhai Yuanbin, copywriter at the Lei Feng Memorial Hall in Fushun City, Liaoning Province. "The 'Lei Feng spirit' has been interpreted from different perspectives over the past decades, but its essence remains unchanged, namely love for the motherland, determination to serve the people, a strong sense of responsibility, perseverance and innovation."

"Lei Feng is a true hero: his life was made up of simple, day-to-day events that reflect his devotion and sense of responsibility, instead of world-shaking events or miracles," said a citizen in Shenyang who claimed to have been born in the same year as Lei.

In his spare time, Lei Feng was a voluntary tutor for primary school students in Fushun City. His account of his own miserable childhood and the profound changes brought by the Communist takeover in 1949 ignited patriotism in many children.

"He once asked us what we would like to do when we grew up," said Chen Yajuan, one of the students Lei Feng tutored, "We all said we wanted to become scientists or artists."

"'Why not a farmer or a worker?' he asked us in return," recalled Chen, now in her early 50s, "He then told us never to ignore petty things or ordinary people."

Chen's alma mater, Benxi Road Primary School in Fushun City, is the predecessor of today's Lei Feng Primary School.

"Inspired by Lei Feng's words, I've been doing my best in everything I do," she said.

Lei Feng has won the respect of many people for his compassion. The Lei Feng Memorial Hall in Fushun has received over 64 million visitors since it was opened in 1964. When it was closed for renovation last year, people still poured in from every corner of the country, presenting fresh flowers, liquor and jujubes to show their respect.

The "Lei Feng spirit" has impressed foreigners as well.

"It's the common goal of the human race to pursue happiness through serving people and contributing to social progress," said Hiroshi Miyazaki, general manager of Dalian Harada Industry Co., Ltd in Liaoning. "The 'Lei Feng spirit' is an everlasting heritage for all of humanity."

Items Purchased For The Orphanage & Children

2007-09-01T02:09:00.000-04:00

Here are some of the items that our team was able to purchase for the orphanage and the children who reside at this orphanage. This was possible because of the donations that were given by so many from various cities/states around the US. What a blessing it was to see all that was able to be purchased/provided because of those who gave to help! They were all very appreciative of the items received!

What your donations helped to buy...

3 new upright air conditioners
New rice cookers and 2 electric stoves
4 new washer-dryer combo units
New digital camera
New video camera
6 new high chairs that convert to desks
5 new baby walkers
4 beds for brain paralysis children
Foam mat flooring
New potties & urinals
Baby toys to develop fine motor skills
4 scooters
5 bikes
4 rooms painted
96 outfits
48 pairs of shoes
5 baby strollers
2 baby swings
3 bouncy seats
8 overhead toys & mobiles for babies
4 dressers
$2000 donation towards the new facility for training older girls at the Philip Hayden Shepherd's Field Children's Village
And much more...

As I mentioned, Natalie, Bob, & crew (directors & nannies) shopped almost everyday that we were in Fushun but by the divine hand of God was unable to spend all the money. It is truly awesome to experience God at work and to see how He continued to multiply this money many times over! On our last day (in China - back in Beijing) we still had about $2000 left which we were able to donate to the Philip Hayden Foundation which is in the process of building a new facility to house older children to help better educate them so they will be able to have the skills to survive once they are of age and ready to be introduced into society. This is a huge need that has really been overlooked or rather not really ever addressed! The older children/orphans of China desperately need better education and life skills to prepare them to be able to survive once they leave an orphanage setting. This facility will provide the resources and education to equip them with the necessary skills needed to become a responsible/productive citizen within their community. But most importantly this facility will also have the opportunity to teach them about Jesus!

Additional pictures can be found in photobucket; Fushun folder & Pics 6 - Items purchased.

I will try to add a couple more posts this weekend!

Do You Feel Lead To Help?

2007-08-27T22:49:00.000-04:00

After I posted yesterday evening I received an email from Half the Sky updating me on the wonderful steps they have been given and are now taking to help even more orphans throughout China. Half the Sky is an amazing organization that helps China's orphans in numerous ways. You can learn more about them and how you too can help by going to these links: Half the Sky and Half the Sky - Help

Please pray about how God will use you to make a difference in the lives of these precious children who so desperately need your help!

Here is a copy of the email Jenny sent me...

From :	Jenny Bowen
Reply-To :	"Jenny Bowen"
Sent :	Sunday, August 26, 2007 8:39 PM
To :	"Christina Keegan"
Subject :	Blue Skies for China's Orphans










Hello from somewhere on the road in China.  I don’t know when I’ll finally
get an opportunity to send this message, but I can’t wait any longer to
share our good news.

Some of you will read about this in our upcoming newsletter, which should
be going out in the mail right now.  Here’s an excerpt….

'In the spring, I told you that we had been approached by China’s Ministry
of Civil Affairs with an extraordinary invitation.  They asked if we would
like to bring the Half the Sky model and its four programs to welfare
institutions across China through the Blue Sky Plan.  Now, it seems, it is
actually happening.  Our fall build in Wuhan, which you made possible
through the Children’s Day Challenge (thank you!!) will be the first of 31
Blue Sky / Half the Sky model children’s centers across China.

'Blue Sky is a new government initiative which promises, over the next
five years, to create, replace or upgrade 300 children's welfare
institutions, also making services (rehabilitation, medical care and
special education) available to poor families in the community, in order
that, according to President Hu JinTao, "orphans and disabled
children...can live under the same blue sky...as us all."

'We know, and we believe that the Ministry understands, that the beautiful
bright new buildings of Blue Sky don't really matter to the children. The
children don't care if the walls are faded and the furniture is worn. What
matters is that someone cares about them. That they are held and spoken to
and feel safe. That they know they are loved. And Half the Sky has been
entrusted with that tremendous task.

'We’ve been invited, over the next 5 years, to create a model HTS center
in every single province of China, allowing us to share what we’ve learned
with 300 institutions, who will then go on to teach others.

'What an amazing moment for all of us!'

Now, back to China’s backroads, where I’ve been trying understand what
this all means.  So, during my travels, I’ve been asking institution
directors what Blue Sky means to them.  Here’s the picture from their
perspective:

Across China there are dozens of small county-level welfare institutions.
Most house primarily old folks and, perhaps, a handful of children.  Those
children receive only basic care.  In addition, I am told, there are many
thousands of children living on the streets, without benefit of even that
basic care.

The purpose of Blue Sky is to create or upgrade children’s institutions in
mid-size (prefecture-level) and large cities so that children currently
receiving sub-standard care and those receiving no care at all will have a
warm place to call home.

Those places -- the 300 Blue Sky institutions -- will have facilities for
medical care, rehabilitation, special education, preschool, infant
nurture, and, hugely important, Half the Sky-inspired Family Villages –
permanent family housing for children who do not qualify for adoption,
either because they have severe special needs or because they are orphaned
but have known living relatives who can’t (or won’t) care for them.

The government’s idea is not to build more orphanages or to promote
institutionalization over foster care or adoption.  At the Ministry I was
told that every child belongs in a family and that will always be the
priority.  At one institution I visited this week, the director told me
this:

“Things are changing in China.  The old idea that one must have a son to
work the land and take care of you in your old age is slowly going away.
Young people are leaving the land and going to the cities to work.  Now it
is rare in these smaller city institutions that we receive healthy
abandoned infants.  But there are over 3,000 orphans living in small
county-level institutions or living on the streets in our jurisdiction.
Blue Sky will mean we can give those children loving care too.”

Of course, in a perfect world, there would be no need for welfare homes at
all.

In a perfect world, every child in China would have a family to call her
own.  But, until that wonderful time, we are so proud to be given the
opportunity to share with so many what we have learned: It is possible to
let every single child know what it feels like to be loved and to matter
in the world.

We have an enormous challenge ahead.  But it’s a challenge we accept
without hesitation.

Nine years ago a small group of adoptive parents had a simple vision to
make life better for the children they couldn’t bring home.  Look how far
we’ve come!  Who could have imagined?!  There’s no question that we’ll
continue down this amazing road.

Thank you, all of you, for bringing us to this place.

With love,
Jenny

* * * * *

Here are some notes from our wonderful volunteers:

AUCTION
Our annual auction is coming up fast on October 18-25. HTS supporters will
be able to bid on many wonderful items including Going Home and Chinese
New Year Barbies; signed copies of I Love You Like Crazy Cakes and Every
Year On Your Birthday by Rose Lewis; The Lost Daughters of China by Karin
Evans, and China Ghosts by Jeff Gammage; scrapbooking items; custom
jewelry; silk outfits; knitted scarves; a gourmet dinner in the Bay area,
and more!!  If you can help by donating an item, please contact Carla
Seidel at volunteer@halfthesky.org.

COMPUTERS NEEDED
We are in urgent need of 40 new desktop computers for our HTS centers in
China.  Because we can’t offer tech support at most of our locations, we
are really trying to find NEW equipment.  If you or your company is
China-based and has an IT supplier who might donate even one or two
computers, we would be most grateful.

Thanks again!

Jenny Bowen
Executive Director
Half the Sky Foundation
www.halfthesky.org

Half the Sky was created in order to enrich the lives and enhance the prospects
for orphaned children in China. We establish and operate infant nurture and
preschool programs, provide personalized learning for older children and
establish loving permanent family care and guidance for children with
disabilities.  It is our goal to ensure that every orphaned child has a caring
adult in her life and a chance at a bright future.


Want to receive our free Half the Sky newsletter, full of stories and photos,
via regular mail?  Just go to our website www.halfthesky.org and click on "Join
our Mailing List."

May God richly bless all who extend a helping hand!

The one who blesses others is abundantly blessed…   Proverbs 11:25

Last Day At The Orphanage!

2007-08-26T19:16:00.000-04:00

Well we arose again to learn that the Fushun Daily Newspaper had ran yet another article about why our group was there in Fushun and what we were doing in the orphanage. As I said previously not in our wildest dreams would we ever have thought that we would be visiting China, on a mission trip, and actually be in their newspaper with detailed information on who we were, why we were there, what we were doing with the children, etc. But for God to have planned even more exposure is just awesome!! Not only was He revealing Himself to the Chinese people through this local newspaper but also through their local television station. This segment aired on television the night after the 1st newspaper article. Though we were unable to see it because we were not back in our hotel at that time, nor would we have known what was said as it was in Chinese of course, we were told that it was a very good segment. (Later we were all given DVD copies to take home with us!) Anyways, it was truly a wonderful feeling yet also a humbling one in experiencing first hand how God was using us, ordinary individuals who can't even clearly communicate due to the language barrier, as His vessel to reveal Himself! We will forever be changed by what we have experienced on this mission trip!

As we started our morning together in devotion time, we prayed earnestly about the day that was before us. We knew it was going to be a tough one especially towards the end of the day when we would have to say goodbye to all of the children. We had formed such a strong bond with these children and came to love them dearly! They indeed are very special to us and to God! We are all called to be the voice for the voiceless and these precious children as well as all the 143 million orphans around the world are the voiceless that we need to speak up for and defend! ***You hear, Oh Lord, the desire of the afflicted; you encourage them, and you listen to their cry, defending the fatherless and the oppressed. Psalm 10:17-18
We are also commanded to "visit" orphans in their affliction. Why would God command us to do this? I feel that by visiting such orphans will lead to the overwhelming response within our hearts that we, being the body of Christ, must do something to help! Whether it be to adopt, support an orphan or Christian organization working with orphans, or maybe to go and help! ***"Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of God is this, to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world." James 1:27
Have you ever exposed yourself to an orphan? Can you honestly say you understand and can relate to them and their needs?

On to the children...
Once we arrived at the orphanage and made our way inside we were informed that today some of us would be helping them to prepare lunch for everyone. They were going to teach us how to make Chinese dumplings! We first spent some quality time with the children then a few of us made our way to the kitchen to start preparing lunch. They new we would need much time to do this as we Americans didn't know how to make Chinese dumplings! Cindy came along with me to show us how to properly make these dumplings. Mr. Zhu (director's husband) is an expert at making dumplings and his looked so beautiful! Well, after him showing me over and over for about twenty minutes I finally got a thumbs up that mine looked good! You have to fold, tuck, and squeeze them "just right" for them to turn out the way they should. Anyways, once we completed stuffing and folding the dumplings they were carried off to the building where all the meals were prepared. We then proceeded to spend more time with the children as we knew each minute that passed was getting closer to having to depart, which none of us wanted to do! W hen we were told that lunch was ready we all made our way to the dining area for a feast. The dumplings were really good as was as all the side dishes. As you can see by their table, the children really enjoyed this meal! I am quite certain it was truly a feast to them as they probably only receive a meal like this on very special occasions.

After lunch we took the children outside to see and play on some of the items that had arrived. You truly can not imagine all that was purchased for this orphanage and these children!! God indeed blessed the donations that were given from so many and multiplied it many times over!! As much as Natalie and Bob bought, they continued to think each day that the items being purchased would deplete the money. As the days passed, at one point someone jokingly said, alright today if anything is on sale tell them you are paying full price. They could not seem to spend all the money (can you imagine?) Well that is indeed what happened! We were on our last day and still had a couple thousand dollars that we weren't able to spend. Even after we all went out the night before and just started picking out various items we thought the children might like and could use. Anyways, back to being outside with the children, they had so much fun playing with their new toys. Even Mrs. Zhu (director) was having a good time learning to ride one of the scooters!!
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever! Amen! Ephesians 3:20-21

Well after we spent much time playing with the children outside, it came time for us to make our way back inside and upstairs to
surprise the children with a birthday party. The cake we had purchased locally was absolutely georgeous!! The detail of the frosting was incredible, although the pictures do not really show this!! The children really enjoyed the party and especially the cake! After the party and cake we began to hand out the gifts we had brought for all the children, nannies, and directors. It was now time to began telling them how much we enjoyed our time with them, how much we loved them, and how much we were going to miss them! Before I go further I must share the fact that during this week Cindy and I grew very attached to one another and I spent the week talking/pleading with the director and nannies about Cindy's situation and how they/I could help get her "paperwork ready" so that she could be adopted. As I mentioned earlier, Cindy is 13 years old and will turn 14 on March 4, 2008. In China their policy is; that on the child's 14th birthday their files are pulled and they are no longer considered adoptable! China does not allow a child 14 or older to be adopted. Cindy knows this and knows that her time is ticking which means she may not have the opportunity to ever again be part of a "family!" She is a sweet sweet, smart, precious young girl/teenager that deserves a family who will love her and in turn this family would also be so very blessed to gain such a wonderful daughter!! Anyways, as we began to say our goodbyes to the children Cindy was very upset and crying. I knew this moment was going to be very very hard but I had prepared myself and am usually one that can hold it together at least for the time needed. Well I was doing alright until Cindy brought me a gift which was a card she had hand made for me. As I opened the card two pictures fell out. They were pictures of Cindy when she was younger. In one picture she looks to have been about 7 or 8 and the other about 10. They were obviously taken by her parents before they were killed in an automobile accident. As these two pictures were possibly the only two pictures she owned and the fact that she wanted to give them to me, proved to be more than I could handle emotionally and the tears began to flow. I kept telling the nanny that I could not take her pictures but she told me I must or she would be even more upset. The thought of taking these pictures was devastating to me! (Of course at this moment I wasn't thinking that I would be able to make additional color prints to mail back to her.) At this point everyone there was also upset. Our team was crying, the nannies, and the directors were crying. I kept making my way out to the restroom to pull myself together and then back to Cindy. During this time of everyone crying together, we explained to the director that we had a Chinese/English version bible (very nice bible) and asked if it would be alright to give it to Cindy for her to read and study as well as use to teach the other girls and the director said "yes, certainly!!" I sat down beside Cindy and as she cried I told her to read this bible everyday. I underlined many verses and used the ribbons to mark their pages. I told Cindy to read these verses and also to read and study this bible. She told me she would read and study hard!! I also left her the small photo album that I had brought of my family, that she liked so much. This was indeed one of the most difficult moments of my life! I would have given anything to have been able to grab hold of her and not let go, instead to have brought her home with me to live forever! As the pain was deep I held on to the fact that God is sovereign, He is in control, and He has a reason for my being at this orphanage at this time and connected at the heart with this child! I feel that God will continue to work within this orphanage and with these children and will prayerfully and patiently wait to see what the future may bring. Before we departed I was given email addresses for the director and the nannies so I would be able to keep in touch with Cindy and the other children.

On an ending note, I previously explained to you that on the first day we arrived at the orphanage the directors had asked us if we were Christians which meant we believed in Jesus. I also explained that Fushun was a large coal industrial city and was called the "capital of coal." Well to our surprise, in the midst of all the emotions of saying goodbye, the directors approached us and said they had a gift they wanted to give to each of us (they actually approached the others, as my gift was just sat down beside me due to all that was taking place.) It was packaged in a green box; so we opened the top, removed the shredded protective paper, and began to pull out a black object. We were totally astonished and speechless when we pulled out a hand crafted compressed coal crucifixion of Jesus!! What a priceless gift!! To think we were given this from individuals in a country who's government claims China to be agnostic and where Christianity is not welcomed amongst their people. God is working in China and changing the hearts of the Chinese regardless of their government rules! There are NO WORDS that could ever describe or express what we had seen God do amongst us and through us each and every day we spent on this mission trip!! Later after we had left the orphanage I just kept thinking about the individuals, who would be just mere laborers, and how God had probably also used this in revealing Himself to them as they spent many hours making and hand carving each of these crucifixions for us!! You know every day we continued to think nothing could top what we had experienced that day but each and every day it did!! Oh yea, sometime in the midst of our saying goodbye, the directors told us they wanted to meet with us in the morning to take us to a museum. Details on that are still to come.

Please pray for all these precious children living in Fushun Orphanage as well as all the many orphans worldwide who struggle everyday! Also, I ask you to please pray more specifically for the older girls at Fushun and their situation. They are all very smart sweet girls that due to unfortunate situations have had to be sent to Fushun which they have now had to accept as their "home." (Also for the many number of older children that find themselves in similar situations and due to their age tend to fall through the cracks of the system and therefore are also forgotten.) Pray that they too will have the chance to be part of a "forever family" that they so deserve!

Additional pictures can be found in photobucket; Fushun folder & in Pics 5.
I will try to post our additional final days in China as soon as possible!

Please Hang In There With Me!!!!

2007-08-21T01:13:00.000-04:00

I am so sorry it is taking me so long to add another post and even to finish journaling details of the mission trip!!!!!

I have been and am still extremely overwhelmed in starting back to work at Wilmington Christian Academy and all that I have to accomplish before the first day of school, which is this Thursday!! I have been working non stop even on the weekends in wrapping up all the loose ends and training new people to be prepared for the start of school.

Please be patient as I work on completing my journaling of the last few days we spent in China. Thank you for your understanding and support!!

Continued Blessings!

2007-08-16T02:43:00.000-04:00

Well as we arose this next day, we saw the article about us being at the orphanage in the newspaper. Our guide/translator typed out a translated version of what the article said. They talked about how happy the children were to meet their foreign mothers and fathers from the other side of the pacific who came to spend time with them. It also had the following headings followed by detailed information ... Foreigners Act as Nannies at the Orphanage, There is No Boundary for Love, and Adoption is Devotion! Who'd of thought that we would make it in the Fushun Daily Newspaper? Well, God of course!! Because it was Him that was being reflected not us!!

We had planned that today we were going to take the children (the ones that were able) to a local park. We wanted to get them out of the orphanage setting and expose them to a different environment, which by the way the directors and nannies also do this at various times! So, upon our arrival at the orphanage we prepared the game we were going to use in the park which was blow up bowling. Then we helped get the children ready and loaded them on the bus. It was probably about a 15-20 minute ride to get there. Once we arrived Mr. Shao lead the way which was down a flight of stairs through a gate and then there were many many more stairs that lead down a hill, which was a wilderness setting. While we were walking down the many flights of stairs some in our group were commenting on the fact that we would have to climb those stairs to get back to the top, urgh! Anyways, once we reached the bottom of the stairs it opened up and was beautiful. Again to our surprise Mr. Shao had a special treat planned for us which was; we were going to take the children on a boat ride on this Fushun Reservoir!! So we made our way further down to the boat and loaded all the children on and then ourselves. It was an awesome boat ride with just georgeous views which the children (as well as ourselves) absolutely loved! I am quite sure this was a 1st time experience for most all of these children.

After we returned from the boat ride and climbed the many stairs back to the top of the hill! We walked about 1/2 mile and along the way we passed many old buildings as well as a swimming pool and then even more buildings. We were told that many years ago this area was a retreat facility that many people would spend time at to relax and enjoy the beautiful and quite surrounding wilderness. The pool is still in operation and there was actually gentleman swimming in it when we arrived. There was also a climbing wall that people were using which was HUGE! I have never seen a climbing wall this tall before! Anyways this is where we set up the bowling pins for our game. The children had a blast playing this game but I think they may have enjoyed the lollipops they would get for knocking down the pins even more. We all had a really great time!

Later on when we returned to the orphanage Natalie, Bob, & crew headed out on their usual daily shopping spree to again buy more items for the orphans. The rest of us worked with the children in making foam visors, which of course they had fun doing and again was happy they could wear them and also show them off. After our craft we played musical chairs which the children had so much fun playing. After so much excitement we then spent some quality down time with the older children as well as the babies. Later when Natalie, Bob, & crew returned they informed us that today's purchases included... outfits for all the kids, sandals for all the kids, some bicycles, scooters, uniforms for all the nannies, baby walkers; They also were able to buy 4 specialized beds for the more severally disabled children and 10 potty chairs for them, as well as many many more items!! Oh another blessing today while shopping was that the department store where they purchased the children's clothes was having a BOGO sell so the number of shirts they purchased they received the same number of shirts FREE! In every shopping trip thus far they have been blessed in receiving many many things FREE! They kept thinking they would soon begin to run short on money but to their amazement every time they would go to pay, the total would be much much smaller than they had anticipated!! What kept coming to mind was Jesus feeding the five thousand! The money seem to keep multiplying and they just couldn't believe that they were able to buy so much yet continue to have so much more left to spend!! God was definitely blessing this money and allowing it to stretch much much further than it ever should!!! How awesome it was to be able to experience and see what was taking place with these funds that were given from the hearts of God's people to help His precious children!!

This verse says it all...

Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. Matthew 25:40

Additional pictures can be found in photobucket; Fushun folder & Pics 4

China Mission Trip / Journey To Cindy

Happy Mother's Day!

What a Busy Saturday!

Wow! How Time Flys By!

Special Visit!

One Month Home...

Adoption Is Greater Than The Universe - John Piper

1st Week Home!

Home Sweet Home!

Day 4 in Guangzhou/ Cindy's Birthday/ LAST DAY!

Day 3 in Guangzhou...

Day 2 in Guangzhou...

Computer Problems!

First Day in Guangzhou!

Last Day in Shenyang...

Surprising Last Night in Shenyang!

A Day of Leisure!

Details of Yesterday...

Very Long & Exhausting Day!

Now In Shenyang! Gotcha Day!

Leaving Beijing!!

Now In Beijing!

Journey Begins in 7 Hours!

Cindy Has Been Told...

Hooray For TA - Praise God!!!

Incredible Gift!

US issues lucky money for the Year of Rat...

Chinese Spring Festival

Still Waiting On TA...

RA Received!

Update...

Final Stage of Cindy's Adoption...

We RECEIVED Cindy's File!

Merry Christmas, Cindy!

The Greatest Gift Of All...

Rescue The Orphan!

God's Mission: Adoption

Still Waiting!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Wonderful News/Blessing!

Dossier Arrives In China!

Adoption - Enduring Love!

Why Can't It Be.... They Chose Me!

DTC as of Today 11/16/07!

Standing in the Gap for the Orphan! (Part 2)

Prayers Needed! *** Post 1 of 3 ***

Cry of the Orphan - Money Matters Segment! *** Post 2 of 3 ***

Cry of the Orphan - Click & Listen

Tools to Help you Plan for Adoption

Reading Resources

Funding an Adoption: A Crown Article

Real Life Stories

The Woodruff's Story

Standing in the Gap for the Orphan! *** Post 3 of 3 ***

Thinking About Adopting? You MUST Hear This Segment!!

Defending The Fatherless! Powerful Message!!

Amplifying the Voice of the Orphan!

November - Adoption Awareness Month!

11.01.07 NATIONAL ADOPTION MONTH MESSAGE TO CHRISTIANS: YOU ARE GOD’S PLAN FOR THE ORPHAN

Paper Work Complete!

143 Million Orphans...How Could ONE Person Possibly Make A Difference!?!

To God Be The Glory!

Dossier Paper Work Is In DC!

Finger Printing Complete - Praise the Lord!

Another Hurdle Cleared!

Progress Update!

Journey To Cindy

Here I am Lord, Use Me!

Followup From Prior Post

Back In Body...Not In Spirit!

Back in Beijing

God's Timing - How Incredible!!

Lei Feng Memorial Hall

Items Purchased For The Orphanage & Children

Do You Feel Lead To Help?

Last Day At The Orphanage!

Please Hang In There With Me!!!!

Continued Blessings!

Prayers Needed! * Post 1 of 3 *

Cry of the Orphan - Money Matters Segment! * Post 2 of 3 *

Standing in the Gap for the Orphan! * Post 3 of 3 *