China, Day Two

What a day! Sarah and I had a really good night's rest, despite the hour or so I had of wakefulness around midnight. We had a fantastic breakfast – our hotel caters to people from many nations, so we had a wide variety of foods to choose from including eggs (fried, boiled, or custom-made in an omelet), bacon, ham, cheese, bread, yogurt, and cereals – as well as the obligatory Asian cuisine of sushi (we chose not to take the chance), fried rice, and congee (the bland overcooked rice normally fed to young children in China). We met our wonderful guide Li Gun (who calls herself Reagan) at 9 AM and headed in our van out of Beijing through heavy traffic to make a short stop at a Jade Factory. We were told by our guide that jade has been used in various ways in China for many centuries, and a lady working there gave us a quick tour showing some of the techniques of cutting a polishing the jade (we saw a man polishing a piece of jade get something in his eye!), followed by an opportunity to pay a small fortune to buy some finished pieces. We chose a relatively inexpensive piece which consisted of a round-shaped hollow piece with twelve holes in it contained inside a second similar piece larger than the first, all cut from a single piece of green jade. The piece-within-a-piece structure of the sculpture symbolizes the unity of family, which we felt reflected our reason for being here in China in the first place.

From the jade factory we made our way to a nearby section of the Great Wall of China. In the photo, the inscription on the stone to the left of us is a quotation from Chairman Mao which says something about how a Hero is not a hero unless he climbs the Great Wall. Sarah and I climbed a bit of the wall to a wider area, and naturally, since I wanted to be considered heroic, I headed on up the staircase to the next tower. I hike with my dad every year in the Smoky Mountain National Park for several miles up Mount LeConte, so I figured this walk up the steps on the Great Wall would be a breeze. Boy was I wrong! There were so many stairs I lost count of them, many were more than twice as tall as stairs on a standard staircase in the States, and they were well-worn and slick as glass. There was a very slight drizzle in the air also, making the climb even more treacherous. By the time I made it to the base of the next guard tower my legs trembled and felt like rubber, and I felt compelled to turn around and gingerly make my way back down.

Our next stop on the tour was the royal Summer Palace of the Chinese emperor. This largely consisted of viewing beautiful scenery while riding a boat shaped like a dragon along one side of a huge lake. On this boat ride we learned from our guide the significance of numbers in the Chinese culture: Number 9 is the royal number, the number of power. 8 signifies good fortune, and 6 is for good luck. 4 is the number for death. As we rode back to the hotel we discovered that many Chinese pay extra money to have the numbers 6 and 8 on their license plates in an effort to improve or preserve their own fortunes, and we jokingly observed the many vehicles on the road and examined their license plates for such numbers.

We said good-bye to our driver and guide and headed to a set of shops near our hotel to grab a pizza (excellent!), some fried rice, and bananas, apples and oranges from an outdoor fruit vendor. We saw a sad scene on the side of one of the streets – a lady lying on a short gurney covered in blankets, with a urinary catheter bag hanging off and her deformed feet exposed and a container nearby for donations, presumably for her medical care. We ate our dinner together in our hotel room. Sarah fell fast asleep around 4:30 PM soon after we finished our dinner, and as I lie here on the bed, I'm thinking of how privileged we are to learn a little about Matthew's cultural heritage a few days before we get him. Tomorrow we'll get a chance to see the Forbidden City, then we will head out of Beijing to start the real reason we're here: to complete the process of getting our precious boy and bring him home!

Joe

Day one of many....

Our days and nights are mixed up. I probably would have kept sleeping, but Joe has been stirring for a while. It's just a little past midnight here in Beijing. Our Hotel is lovely, very fancy. It is the Jianguo Hotel. I have tried several times to replicate our guide in pronouncing it, but it is a wild word. Beijing is a big city so it feels modern. Everything is in Chinese characters and English so we are not feeling lost at all.
Apparently, there were all kinds of wrecks yesterday morning when we left for the airport. Our flight was around 9:30 and we arrived at the airport at 9, following a 2 hour drive to the airport which should have taken around 40 minutes. The plane had already pulled from the ramp. We walked outside and up the plane steps to find our seats among the waiting passengers to Chicago. I offered my most humble smile as we made our way to the very last seats against the back wall of the plane. This was when we first felt YOUR prayers and God's hands holding us so carefully. One flight attendant sought us out to offer us waters. No one else was served before the flight left, but she was so kind to us- even though we held the flight up. She sat next to us and we shared with her where we were going, China, to adopt our son. She listened and asked questions. I pulled out Matthew's little picture to brag on him like a new mother. I soon realized that I don't even know him. With Thomas, I show his photo and proceed with comments on how he looks and acts just like his daddy. He is shy, but so hilarious. Catherine is a darling little girl, so tender and delicate physically, but feisty and spirited internally. Matthew, he is my son. I read that he likes to tear paper by slipping a sheet of paper under his foot and tearing it with his one hand God gave him. How ingenious. I've read that he is a good eater. All I know of my baby is what has been shared with me.
On the flight to Beijing, it took aroun12.5 hours to get here. Around 7 hours in, I felt so relaxed, comfortable and thankful to the great God I serve- who had listened and answered to the many prayers being prayed over our flights. I knew we were being covered.
Everything looks amazing from the sky... clouds above and below. Patchwork fields and little pencil lined roads among homes and apartment buildings. We were treated to a treasure of a display though as we flew over Siberia.... long sheets of ice with cracks that stretched for miles. Then, the tallest mountain ranges covered in snow, looking like peaks of Cool Whip that stretch as far as you can see for hours at a time. Mesmerizing.
We slept quite a bit on the plane and I was blessed with dreams of Matthew, his face seeing us and us seeing him. My mind kept going through the meeting day- and feeling so overwhelmed with the greatness of my God who, in all of His plans, cared enough for Matthew and us, to connect us together in such an intimate way, family. The same God who created the heavens and earth knew that one day, in China, a mother would feel desperate enough to abandon her precious newborn son. He knew that He would give Joe and I the gift of being Matthew's parents.

From the book, “Kisses From Katie” by Katie Davis (page 57)

“Mommy.” She said it and I knew. She was mine. I was captivated because Mommy is forever. It is such a powerful name. Mommy means “I trust you.” Mommy means “You will protect me.” Mommy is for shouting when you need someone dependable and for laughing with when you are excited. Mommy is for crying on and cuddling with when you are sad or giggling and hiding behind when you are embarrassed. Mommy is the fixer of boo-boos and the mender of broken hearts. Mommy is a comfort place, a safe place. Mommy means you are mine and I am yours and we are family.

reflecting

Joe is at work. Thomas is at school. My housekeepers are here and I won't let them in my room or bathroom because it looks like Hurricane Irene has blown through with all of the packing. Catherine is following them closely- wanting to help in her Dora pajamas and the fanciest pair of 4-inch heels I own. Last night, we went trick-or-treating with Kara and her kids. I kept having these moments of realization as I watched her China baby, Drew, mumble some Chinese here and there. Thomas hit every pile of leaves he came across... I mean, um, Captain America. Caki was a princess Captain America. Leave it to her to come up with her own version of what she wants to be. I'm just so proud and humbled to be a mommy. This is not something I take lightly or for granted. This is a gift of the most valuable worth. It has brought out a softness in me that would have never been revealed through any other means. I have been able to understand the love my Heavenly Father has for me through being a mother. And I understand how perfect His love is and how imperfect mine is.

Matthew, my new son... my heart can not contain my love for this child. May it pour out of me so abundantly that he knows he is home, secure, cared for and wanted!

How blessed is God! And what a blessing He is! He's the Father of our Master, Jesus Christ, and takes us to the high places of blessing in Him. Long before he laid down earth's foundations, he had us in mind, had settled on us as the focus of his love, to be made whole and holy by his love. 5Long, long ago he decided to adopt us into his family through Jesus Christ. (What pleasure he took in planning this!) He wanted us to enter into the celebration of his lavish gift-giving by the hand of his beloved Son.
--Ephesians 1:3-6 (The Message)

Long, long ago, before even the world was a gleam in my Father’s eye, he decided to adopt me. He did this “according to His pleasure and will” as the NIV put it. By the time I came along, all pink and wrinkled, He’d already done the paperwork. The legal documents were signed, with one line left for my signature. God loved me so much, that He penned the document to require that I accept adoption into His family, much like our legal system today where an agency or the birth mother must okay the transaction.
I became his child in December of 1986 through Jesus Christ. When I accepted the Savior, I signed on the dotted line. Then, God wrapped me in His arms, took me into His Kingdom, and said “Welcome home.”

last night as a family of four

Joe came in the office to tell me that he was about to start reading bedtime books to the kids and to come join them all in a few minutes for bedtime prayers- this was our last night as a family of four. Interrupted from typing up every detail of Thomas & Catherine's needs for the next 18 days while they are left here in the states, I stopped in mid sentence, looked up and saw the look on my dear husband's face that says, " Life will never be the same."

Joe's parents are picking up the kids tomorrow afternoon and keeping them for a while. My babies.... their smells, bedhead, sweet snuggles..... I'm already missing them.

Orphan Statistics

I just wanted to share these statistics as a reminder… A reminder to pray. A reminder to give. A reminder to advocate.

God loves every soul – equally and passionately — and grieves for each situation individually more than my finite mind can understand.

It is estimated there are between 143 million and 210 million orphans worldwide (recent UNICEF report.)

The current population of the United States is just a little over 300 million… to give you an idea of the enormity of the numbers… (The current population of Russia is 141 million)

Every day 5,760 more children become orphans

2,102,400 more children become orphans every year in Africa alone

Every 15 seconds, another child in Africa becomes an AIDS orphan

There are an estimated 14 million AIDS orphans in Sub-Saharan Africa (a number higher than the total of every under-eighteen year old in Canada, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and Ireland combined)

This figure is estimated to reach 18 million orphans in Africa alone by 2010 (only two and a half years away)

8 out of 10 children orphaned by AIDS lives in sub-saharan Africa

Approximately 250,000 children are adopted annually, but…

Each year 14, 505, 000 children grow up as orphans and age out of the system by age sixteen

Each day 38,493 orphans age out

Every 2.2 seconds another orphan ages out with no family to belong to and no place to call home

In Russia and the Ukraine, studies have shown that 10% – 15% of these children commit suicide before they reach age eighteen

These studies also show that 60% of the girls become prostitutes and 70% of the boys become hardened criminals

Another Russian study reported that of the 15,000 orphans aging out of state-run institutions every year, 10% committed suicide, 5,000 were unemployed, 6,000 were homeless and 3,000 were in prison within three years…

It can be difficult to allow ourselves to really think about these statistics and what they represent. Its easy to respond numbly and see the statistics in terms of thousands or millions… but when we allow ourselves to become personally involved and risk the heart-grief that follows awareness, they become more than mere statistics… they become real children with real hearts that ache for their parents and real bodies that hunger for care. Every single child that makes up the thousands or millions is a precious child, just like our sweet Matthew.

I pray that my own heart will continue to be stirred and my resolve strengthened to speak out for those that have no voice. These precious children need advocates. They need men and women willing to make a difference… willing to stand in the gap and act on their behalf.

May our hearts grow softer and our voices rise louder…

“Defend the cause of the weak and the fatherless; Maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed. Deliver the weak and needy from the hand of the wicked.” Ps 82:3-4

(Sources: Human Rights Watch: “Abandoned to the State: Cruelty and Neglect in Russian Orphanages” November 1998 ; www.hfgf.org/statistics.pdf ; www.unaids.org/epi/2005 ; UNICEF’s Childhood Under Threat: the State of the World’s Children, 2005 ; www.unicef.org/uniteforchildren/ )

La Represa 10/2011

La Represa, Dominican Republic. This was my third trip here. Joe and I went last February 2011 for a medical mission trip and also in January 2010 following the Haiti earthquake.
The children here are not orphans. In fact, they are so well loved by their parents and entire community- possibly beyond anything I have experienced in the U.S. Only a decade ago, 30% of children passed away before the age of 10 due to disease and malnourishment. Now, this would be a rarity and I am so thankful that God’s hand has literally come down from heaven upon this community.
Let me show you….

This is where we stayed. It's an old vacation home with sketchy (at best) sewage pipes, running water, electricity, etc...)


Growing everywhere…. Limes, oranges, bananas, coconut, coffee, rice, cacao, okra, grapefruit, avocado, starfruit and yuca.



Roaming everywhere…. chickens, roosters, donkeys and pigs.

… and massive spiders. (shown spread out on an 8x10 sheet of paper for size reference)




Reach, reach in
With the hand that heals all our suffering
Conquer all that is not of You
Bring Your spirit through
As we fill these walls with Your praise... ~ Watermark




Kids Club- Fruits of the Sprit






Jesus, come and walk the halls of this house
Tread this place and turn it inside out
With Your mercy...
Jesus, teach us the prayers that open these doors
Until Your light floods in and illuminates these floors
And let Your truth be on our steps and in these rooms
Jesus invade... ~ Watermark

Thank you Lord for friendships.



The little hand-clapping games I played as a child came in so handy to break through language barriers. Love is a language we all understand.

So is silliness!






These children joyfully cross the river twice each day to come and go from school.


The coolness of the water on your legs against the heat of the bright sun is breathtaking.


Father God, guide these tiny steps to walk in your way! Provide for her every need. May she know You as her Savior!

May they stand strong for You!

Keep their minds sharp and equip them with the ability to learn, work and provide for their families.

Remind them that they have friends in Christ who love them.

Father God, please teach her the value you have given to her life, her body, her innocence. Protect her as she grows up.









Black sand beaches


To my sweet sisters, I will see you again soon!