First Fundraiser for Gable--Mercy Shirts!!!!

Hey EVERYONE!!

I'm bursting at the seams with excitement to roll out our new fundraiser shirts!!

Read more about this design below.

WHY in the world are we doing this AGAIN????

He is why.

{Oh my heart.}

We need to get Gable home so we can properly care for his cancer. (Hepatoblastoma.)

And to love on him silly.

Oh those chubby cheeks!!

This design is something I created over the course of a few days (with some awesome feedback from a few of my peeps!) based on an image I saw in my mind from Hosea 14:3, "In You, O Lord, the orphan finds mercy." The silhouette is specifically God the Father holding our little Gable...safe and sound in His arms of love...but it is to represent the loving care He gives to EACH of our children.

And all of us who have adopted these precious treasures formerly known as "orphans" KNOW what a blessing it is that the Father has mercy on them (and us) and unites us together in heart.

What is going to make this Tshirt/hoodie EXTRA SPECIAL is that it's going to have names of YOUR beloved children on the back! What?? That's right! ALL of our precious kiddos get listed on the back en masse as orphans who've been shown mercy from our gracious God.

This is an example of what our shirt will look like with YOUR children's names on the back!

Yay!!!

The back space is going to be limited, so this will be open for your submissions and T shirt and hoodie orders only for TWO WEEKS. We want to get right on printing and shipping these out to you so you'll have them in plenty of time for Christmas giving! Cut off date for orders will be DECEMBER 7, 2014.

Order using the tab at the top "Mercy Shirts for Gable" or click HERE.

When Intentions Don't Match Up with Reality…Part 2

Okay, so I guess I learned that I am LOUSY at doing part 1 and part 2 posts!! (Forgive me.)
But people, it's now time for PART TWO.
If you don't know what I'm talking about, you would be ahead of the game to read PART ONE here.
And now…on to part two. (WAIT A SECOND...I know you skipped part 1!! GO READ IT, SILLY!!)
I concluded part 1 with a list of how we can act in the face of something that takes us by surprise…we can look at it from our limited human perspective, or take on God's perspective.
Because sometimes, life throws something at us that we NEVER saw coming.
And so it is with us. Now.
Up till now, we have dealt with a long list of medical diagnoses which include (but Lord knows are not limited to): collapsed lungs, thyroid disease, arthrogryposis, scoliosis, concussions, spina bifida, congenital hip disorders, neurogenic bladder and bowel and a multitude of broken bones.
Never did I foresee this one being added to the list.
GULP.
The "C" word.

But there it is, big and ugly. Seeking to kill, steal and destroy.
But God.
Let me tell you a story.
Once upon a time, in a land far, far away,  a baby was born.
He was a boy.
Soon after as he was born, it was discovered that he had an odd shaped abdomen. He was pale, listless and clearly something very scary was wrong. 
A frightened set of parents did what was illegal, and unimaginable: they abandoned him. 
Maybe they knew that they could not possibly pay to have the proper treatments. Maybe they knew an orphanage would. Or they could HOPE.
Once found by the police and taken to a local orphanage, an exam was performed. Blood work was taken and the worst news possible was delivered: the newborn child had a massive malignancy in his liver.
Hepatoblastoma.
Incredibly rare. Incredibly scary.
And he was alone.
Over the next months, the baby had 3 surgeries and lots of chemotherapy.
The baby was given special care in the orphanage through a program called Half the Sky. He began to gain weight, hit milestones and a very bubbly personality emerged.
And the boy's papers were prepared so that he could find a permanent home.
He waited. And waited. "Cancer" is a very scary word on a file, you see.
Far away, in another corner of the world lived a mother of seven children. She was busy each day making food, washing clothes and encouraging other people in their own adoptions. She had a VERY FULL life and was not looking for more work.
She was not. She was not.
Her social worker alerted her to the upcoming expiration of her family's home study, to which she and her husband adamantly responded that they were letting it expire as they were DONE ADOPTING CHILDREN. Their family was full.
And expire it did.
But God.
God used the adorable boy on the side bar of this blog "Jesse" to crack open that tightly shut door of their hearts. Perhaps they COULD find room in their home for one more? But after further prayer and consideration of ages and physical needs the answer was clear: he was not theirs.
Once this cracked door let in light…God showed the picture of the baby to this momma of seven children. Her youngest child happened to be sitting on her lap at the time the picture popped up on the computer screen.
"Oh Mommy!!!" he cried. "I LOVE HIM!!"
The busy mother paused as her heart began to pound and tears began to well. In the next 48 hours God did some of the most amazing and supernatural acts to show this mother and her husband that He intended for this boy with cancer to come home to them and to become their son forever.
Gulp.
And they still were not sure. They wanted MORE proof.
So they prayed. 
And prayed.
And asked for other people to pray that God would speak CLEARLY to their hearts.
One person in particular (oh what a blessed woman of God she is!!) responded to the request for prayer in a most unusual way.
She told this family she would personally give them $10,000 to bring him home.
And they were stunned. But still unsure. It wasn't until she gave them a detailed plan of how she would raise these funds for this boy to become theirs that they finally realized that MAYBE this was how God was answering their prayers for clarity!!
And all of a sudden, a flurry of activity began. 
Applications, fingerprints, home inspections and personal interviews were underway. A home study had to be prepared!! (This is funny to someone, I am sure!)
And then, yesterday, after a very long wait, this family got the news that this boy's home country had approved them to adopt this boy with cancer.
They were OVERJOYED!!!!!
They would boldly welcome this dear child into their family of 9 and grow once again. 
~ (I want to say, "the end" but you guys know that this is NOT the end of the story!!)
And so, with great JOY JOY JOY in our hearts we announce that yes,
WE ARE ADOPTING AGAIN…even though OUR plan was to be all done.
Even though our idea was SEVEN…God's idea was eight!!!
And as you may already know, GOD WINS!!!! 

A Front Row Seat to Miracles (Esty's Health Progress)

I am SO EXCITED to report about all God has done in Esty's physical health!!
I've waited for so long…hoping that I'd have a good report but everything was always SO BLATANTLY FULL OF BAD NEWS.
As you may remember, when we picked her up from the orphanage back in January, she was sick.
Very sick.
So sick she was within 1-2 days of dying.

Seriously.
But God orchestrated all our paperwork, clearances, fundraising and plane tickets so we were there on the Monday before she died. 
And God directed our steps all the way to the International clinic where she was given the medical attention that put a halt to the kidney infection that had gone into her blood.
And then, we came home to America.
And we began investigating all her renal health issues.

We did endless tests. We were at the hospital weekly.

And no matter what test was run, they all had bad news: she was in a desperate state of health. 
Stopping the blood infection in China was not enough.

When we got the results back…it was hard to not cry.
For a solid 15 minutes, the pediatric urologist showed me test after test and each time would say, "Well, her bladder should look like a round ball, but this is how her bladder looks," and on and on through every test. 
There was no good news. 
Nothing. 
I was just simply astonished.
And then, we went to the nephrologist. 
He too reported difficult news. "She is a patient who is on the path to total dialysis and/or kidney transplant."
How does a mom take it all in????
I couldn't blog. 
It was just too much.
Naturally, we began some intervention. 
Fast forward 6 weeks.
Today, we had another serious test to see how the pressures are being managed in her bladder. You see, she already had Stage 4 reflux into BOTH kidneys. This is often solved by immediate surgery. Our team wanted to try medication and daily self catheterizing. We've done that faithfully for the past few months.
Today, the test began and our urologist immediately exclaimed, "Oh my! Look at that bladder! It almost looks normal!"
:)
And fast forward to the end…she has NO SIGNS OF REFLUX INTO HER KIDNEYS!!!! The meds and cathing have WORKED!!!!
I was dancing around the operating room in my funny jumpsuit and hairnet! 
GOOD NEWS FOR THE FIRST TIME!!!!
Now the deal is, she must stay on this plan the rest of her life. Monitoring her progress with further testing will always be part of her life. We cannot reverse the damage already done to her kidneys by years of neglect…but…
The future of dialysis/transplant is now DECADES off into the future, no longer an imminent concern!!!!
Are you kidding me?!?!?!?!
CELEBRATE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
And Esty? Well, she was busy playing an iPad game where she applies make up to a mermaid. She did look up and wonder at my silly dance party but then just kinda shrugged her shoulders and went back to choosing a nice party dress.
Someday I will tell her this story.
A story of a God who sees her. Who saw her broken and needy. Of a God who cared for her every step of the way, even when she felt alone. The story of a woman across the world who heard Him speak of a waiting orphan in great need. The story of how He lovingly matched their hearts. The story of how He rescued her just in the nick of time and provided all the right medical care at the perfect moment. The story of how she would be obedient to take her medicine and learn to self catheterize and He would work more miracles to extend her life. The story of how He wanted her named Esther…because He wanted her in place for the special work He has for her to do.
I will tell her this story.
She will know how the God of the Universe loves her. And how valued she is. And I pray that she will embrace Him wholeheartedly and live out the marvelous plan He has for her life.
What an honor it is to have a front row seat to watch this miracle unfold!!!

Foster Care and Adoption Support {Orphan Sunday Special}

James 1:27 commands believers to "look after orphans and widows in their distress."
How do we do that, church?
Do we all HAVE to adopt???
Absolutely not.
Recently someone said to a group about us, "If you know Brian and Amy, you'll know they are passionate about adoption. If you hang around them long, you'll become convinced too that you should adopt. They think EVERYONE should adopt!"
He was being facetious of course, but I wanted to highlight the fact that there are MANY MANY ways to love on orphans and support the families that have made these orphans their sons and daughters. 
And for the record, we do NOT think everyone should adopt.
Adoption is a calling. You only do it if God calls you into it. Why? Because you will only survive it by God's power in you. I wrote a post about it recently, you can read that HERE.
You should adopt only if becoming a healing home for wounded children sounds appealing to you. Because it is waaaaaaay more than just fundraising and filling out mountains of paperwork. Just as parenting is way more than pregnancy tests and stretchy pants. It's a lifelong commitment to a child whose beginnings are broken.
Have you lost a grandparent? An aging parent or sibling? Perhaps you've been like us and have lost a child...or three.
But...can you imagine being a child yourself and losing your family?
Being utterly defenseless in the harsh world...with no one to dry your tears and tell you it's going to be alright.
Because so far, it hasn't been.
I know how hard it was to bury our son, and I was an adult with a strong marriage and wonderful friends and family supporting me. 
But being a young child without those support systems? Imagine being one of these children who shivers tonight, eating dirt to fill their bellies just so they can sleep and not be pestered by their hunger.
When we adopt these precious treasured children, their pain comes with them. Even babies adopted at birth suffer loss.
Parenting a child with loss is a serious challenge. And it's not one the family can do alone.
Today, on Orphan Sunday, I want to issue a call to support adoptive and foster families.

Because not EVERYONE is called to do the adopting. Some are meant to be support. And let me tell you, from one who has adopted and is supported...I could not do what I do for my family without that support.
I simply could not.
What does it look like to support a family who has said yes to foster or adoptive children?
I asked a woman who is actively supporting a local family in our church family to brainstorm some ways to help and she had some wonderful insight. Listen to what she shared with me: 
"First we should be in prayer about how God wants us to partner with these families and then we should go where he leads and interject ourselves into their daily lives.  
I think the best thing is to be available.  In my experience with working with the family I support, I try to never be in a position that I cannot add one or two of the little people into my day. I have car seats that I purposely keep in my car.  
You have to be assertive at times because the mommy with an army of kids does not even have a clue as to how you can help so don't ask them what can I do...give them options. For example: "I want to help you right now...I could take one or more of your children for a while, I could take some laundry and do it or I could sit here with them while you go out for a while." Often and open ended question to an overloaded mom is only more frustrating.  
Set up ongoing plans. Offering to do laundry weekly for a given amount of time, doing routine yard work, helping with house work are all great ideas.
Impromptu help such as giving a call when going to the store and asking what could you pick up for her today, or taking momma a special treat during the day since she doesn't get out much. Simply sitting with her for some adult conversation. Taking lunch for her and all her kiddies. Sitting with the little people while she goes and takes a nice long interrupted shower. Setting up a date night on the calendar and arranging care for all the little ones. Getting a list from mom of special people she would want or need to be contacted in case of such an event.  
Also, getting a team behind you to be your go to people is helpful. I believe God does not call everyone to adopt but us all being part of the body of Christ should be part of adoptions to help in parenting these children and ultimately turning their lives around and becoming part of the body of Christ too. 
We all need to be prayerful as to HOW we fit into adoption/foster/orphans lives not IF we do."

I couldn't agree more. We are the body of Christ TOGETHER. Some of us are called to the role of adoptive parent, and some are called to help finance the actual adoption. Some are called to be the friend who gives adult conversation and laughter, others are the nitty gritty hands-on servants who occasionally lift the load of the daily grind.
Look around. There are families around you serving the foster kids in your county. Go find them and offer support. Find the adoptive families and pray about your role in their lives.
How might you help? I know from these people who support that they are blessed in their role as much as I am blessed in my role as adoptive parent.
Start by asking God. He's got the best ideas and no doubt some amazing plan for you and the lives of others. 
Oh, and if YOU ARE the adoptive/foster family--LET OTHERS IN TO HELP YOU. Seriously, get over yourself. Yes, your house is a mess. No, you haven't looked in the mirror since 6 am. Yes, they know you have dirty laundry and dirty dishes. LET THEM HELP YOU ANYWAY. 
Both sides will delight in experiencing the blessing of being the Body of Christ to one another. Pray about it...and let Him begin weaving you together.

Adoption is a Calling

It was in the middle of the movie...when I first heard His voice.
"Will you go?" I heard in my heart.
As the movie continued, I was no longer watching the story from the outside, but I was seeing myself in that situation and all I could hear, see or think were the words,
"WILL YOU GO?????????"
I looked around me, were others hearing these words too?
My heart began to race. I felt adrenaline shoot through my body.
"Would I go?" Over and over the question repeated itself.
I was trying to watch a movie with my friends...but God was up to something far greater.
"Will you go? Will you go? Will you go?" the Holy Spirit repeated.
Finally I got up and ran out of the auditorium. I had to get out. To run.
As my feet hit the pavement, the words came over and over again, "Will you go? Will you go?"
I ran back to my dorm room and went into the dark laundry room where washers were churning out stains.
"Will you go? Will you go? Will you go?" the washers even rhythmically repeated the very same words.
I closed the door and fell against it with my back. A deep breath to try and calm myself didn't really work. I knew SOMETHING BIG was happening.
I prayed, "Lord, I don't really understand what you mean by "will I go," but I WILL go. Just show me."
These were my words over 23 years ago.
Fast forward to September 2013. I have lived a lot of life since then. The call to GO has been interpreted in my life as to GO to the nations and be a missionary.
And I have been so so so blessed to have that experience. Many times over, in multiple nations, cultures and environments.
But then, God stopped our overseas work. How did He do it? 
We lost our son Oskar.
{sigh. sweet boy. i'll never stop missing you.}
We never saw it as a stopping point, but our great Creator God who has mighty plans for us all, used it as such.
For years now, I have struggled with trying SO HARD, SO STINKING HARD, to get back overseas. To do mission work once again. To sink deep into a foreign culture, soaking in another new language, making friendships, living life alongside a people not my own.
I ache to do this. It's been set deep inside me.
Yet I remain here. My own culture, people who generally look like me. 
And we all speak English.
And shop at Walmart. (small town, don't judge.)
But, God has been up to something...something I had not expected!
(this is going to seem obvious to you perhaps, but I'm a bit slow...)
We have been adopting.
And as many, many people who have known our hearts to GO GO GO to the nations have said, "Look! God is bringing the nations to YOU!"
After about the fifth person said that, I started to HEAR it.
Hmmmm???? 
And then, a few weeks back, our pastor had us stand as he read these words from Romans 10:14-15:
"But how can they call on Him to save them unless they believe in Him? And how can they believe in Him if they have never heard about Him? And how can they hear about Him unless someone tells them? And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent? That is why the Scriptures say, "how beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news."
And I gasped.
All this time. All this time I had understood my calling of "will you go" to mean that I had to be physically leave my home country and dwell in a foreign land...and do ministry.
But alas! God has so many creative ideas!! (Just look up in the sky at night and be amazed!!)
God's calling on my life that moment, was consistent with His word in Matthew 28:19-20:
"Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age."
O. My. Soul.
All this time I thought I had to be living in a place where I bought my food from hawkers sitting over their produce in markets where I must barter for the best deal.
I thought I had to live a life where I took taxis for transportation.
Where I spoke languages not my own.
Where I had to miss out on major extended family events because I was a world away.
But actually? Actually????
God has brought the nations here. 

Just look at them. Sitting on my couch. Playing with one another and some balloons. 
The nations.
Small children, who were orphans. Here. In my house. On my couch. In clothes that I bought. Eating food that I cook.
The nations.
"Ask of Me, and I will give you the nations...as an inheritance for you," says Psalm 2:8
Wow. I sang that song in Haiti...never clueing in to this future meaning.
And that moment in church back in September when I gasped over the reading of Romans 10?
I realized that ADOPTION is a fulfillment of my calling.
"Will you go?"
It has meant many things in my lifetime. (and I ever hope and pray to go overseas again once we raise all these precious children!)
But one of the most important ways WILL YOU GO has been lived out in my life...
...is to go and bring home the orphan.
Wow. Somehow, in the midst of all the fundraising and the paperwork, I'd missed the big picture.
So, how is adoption a CALLING?
So often people use the phrase, "I'm called to adopt."
But what does that mean????
It means the most personal type of ministry possible. EVER.
Instead of going and living overseas, you bring the overseas orphan back into your world. (Obviously this is international adoption I am speaking of. I fully support domestic adoption, but am writing about my own process here.)
Instead of going and opening yourself to new friendships, languages, cultures, foods and seeking out those whom God directs you to minister to...you are focused on ONE HEART. (maybe more!) 
You are not just meeting with a few people to train them in God's Word and hope to see them next week...no, you have brought them home.
Around your table, into your bathtub, into your routines.
You do their laundry, you wipe their bottoms. 
You kiss their boo boos, you wipe their noses, you clean up their vomit.
They crawl into bed with you when they are frightened, you correct their ugly behavior and point them to Jesus.
This is UPCLOSE and PERSONAL, baby.
This. Is. Ministry.
On the most invasive and personal level.
And it's life-long. With life-long, generational impact.
Your grandchildren will not look like you.
You don't just give up your home culture and holidays with your mom and dad, sisters and brothers, nieces and nephews. 
You get those.
But you bring a needy, hurting heart into an environment of safety.
You become a safe place for a very hurting child.
You become a healing home. You become a conduit for which Jesus does slow miracles of healing.
Your daily life becomes a slow cooker for God to do His most amazing work--not just in those former orphans lives either...He does them in YOU too.
Through these hurting children, a mighty light shines upon your own heart.
You see yourself in ways you would have never known. You see things IN yourself you never have seen.
And there is ugliness there. Selfishness. Desire for comfort, for easy. For calm. 
And Jesus touches you. Brings His Spirit and softens. He changes you.
The job of the adoptive parent is to HOST.
You are hosting the long, deep healing of Jesus in the lives of the children you have grafted into your family.
It is slow.
You do not need to fix. He fixes.
You do not need to even understand the depth of their ache. Their hurt. Their trauma.
You need to give them safety, unconditional acceptance, routine...and Jesus.
You keep giving them Jesus.
And often, you need to back up from the moment at hand and SEE.
You need to remember what greater thing is being done in your midst. 
God Himself has chosen your family, your home, your life to become His canvas for His marvelous healing work in His precious children.
Hurting children. Adoption never happens without hurt.
You don't lose your birth family without ache. Without scars.
You don't endure abandonment without repercussions.
You don't survive abuse without impact.
And God has called YOU to bring them into your most intimate space and allow everything of theirs to hang out.
And it ain't pretty.
It ain't easy.
But it is rewarding.
"But how can they call on Him to save them unless they believe in Him? And how can they believe in Him if they have never heard about Him? And how can they hear about Him unless someone tells them? And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent? That is why the Scriptures say, "how beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news." Romans 10 says.
How can they respond to Jesus when they are sitting in orphanages or on the streets fighting for their very lives?
How can their deeper spiritual needs be met when they are cold? When they are hungry? When they are unprotected from predators? 
When they have no one to hold them? No one to tell them, "You are so special," or "you are mine?"
Adoption is the MOST personal type of ministry. 
And there is no furlough.
There is no "going home."
This is permanent.
Your life, your family, your future is now bound up with these children. 
Children who will grow up differently...because you were called to this.
Children who will test you in ways you never dreamed possible.
Children who have deep needs that you never knew existed.
Children who will bring you greater joy than you have ever dreamed.
Children who are 100% YOURS. And you are 100% theirs.
Adoption is indeed a CALLING.
And for me, it is the ultimate fulfillment of the Spirit asking me "Will you go?" back 23 years ago. 
~~~~~~~~ Several weeks ago, some nasty articles came out where children's stories were told about being passed around from adoptive home to adoptive home. These reports deeply grieved me. I prayed long and hard about how to respond. 
What came to the surface for me, was the incredible need for SUPPORT for the families who have said YES to the fatherless. 
As well as on the front end, helping people wade through the question of "is adoption right for me?"
I truly believe that adoption is amazing. It is truly incredible. 
I love adoption.
But it is NOT right for everyone. Clearly.
If you are not willing to have your life turned upside down by someone who has intense needs, then adoption may not be right for you.
If you are not willing to rely completely upon Jesus for your every need, (because you will NOT be able to handle it--I promise!!), then adoption may not be right for you.
If you are hoping to create a "colorful" family because more and more people are doing this, then adoption may not be right for you.
If you are willing to let God do a mighty work within you, your family and a child you adopt, then adoption may be RIGHT for you.
If you are willing to become a healing home for a hurting child, then adoption may be right for you.
If you are willing to turn over all your plans to God, then adoption may be right for you.
I pray this helps.

Now Fundraising for Esty---with Scentsy!!!

We have been blessed again with an opportunity to raise funds for Esty's adoption!
A new friend, Jennifer, has so graciously offered her entire commission to Esty's fund from anyone who purchases Scentsy (super fun, good smelling "treats" for your home!) using her online party website!!
WOO HOOOOOOOO!!!!
That's 25% of total sales will go directly to help us bring dear Esther "Esty" out of her orphanage and HOME where she can begin school, therapy and understanding that she is TREASURED AND LOVED by us, her family.

Yah, this girl makes my heart go pitter-pat. I want to love on her so badly!!!

All you have to do to participate is to click on this link to Jennifer's site and choose "Scentsy for Esty Shaw" under the SHOP tab at the top (so her party gets the credit!) We have until OCTOBER 15th to have sales come in.
Oh, and get ready for your stuff to get to you PRONTO! My friend ordered her stuff one day and got it THE NEXT DAY!!! Hello late shoppers...is that birthday coming soon? Here ya go!!! Yer welcome!!
So whatcha doin still reading? Get shopping: www.jenniferchester9286.scentsy.us
...and THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!! 

Precious Marlena...let's FIND HER FAMILY!!

It has happened again.
I've fallen in love.
{My husband is probably so happy I do this with orphans and not men...hahahaha}
I know that for us, we are max capacity.
Emotionally.
Financially.
Spatially. (our house...our van can take more!)
So I'm going to blog about HER.
Seriously, I even posted a plea in our agency's Facebook group BEGGING for families to RUN to her page and see if she might be their child!!
I am not able to paste her sweet face here...but you can go HERE and see her adorable face and watch her cuuuuuuute video!!!
I beg you to go and see if precious Marlena might be YOUR daughter. She is someone's...I am JUST SURE!!!
Some really wonderful people met her in person and go one with exclamations about her "Awesomeness!!"
Marlena is 11 years old and loves to recite poetry and sing. She has a beautiful voice. She has an even temperment, is gentle and very sweet. She is very much desiring a family. (AND DID I MENTION SHE IS AMAZINGLY BEAUTIFUL!?!?) Seriously, one look at her sweet face and I was gone.   GONE.
Marlena has cerebral palsy of all four limbs and low tone in her trunk. She uses a stroller instead of a wheelchair because her upper body is not strong enough to roll the chair. After she is home and receives therapy, she will be an excellent candidate for a power chair. I believe that this may look like a "severe special need" to some, but when you see her...WHEN YOU SEE HER...you realize what I did about Toby...and then Esty:
"She is mine. It doesn't matter about her challenges. That child needs to be here and OUT OF THAT ORPHANAGE so she can thrive!!"
And oh will she bloom. The girl's got blooming potential!!
So you've taken this much time to read about this treasured child, will you just click and SHARE this post with your networks so we can try and locate her family???
By the way!!! I've got some GOOOOOD NEWS!!!
MATTHEW (from this post and this post) HAS A FAMILY!!!!!!!!!
WOOOOOO HOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! (Please say a prayer for them, they are in RUSH MODE to process their paperwork so they can have adoption day BEFORE September 12th, his 14th birthday. Seriously, even IF he has this dedicated family coming for him, if they cannot beat that deadline, he stays an orphan.) 
PRAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!
{Please go share about Marlena now!}

It's Time to Party!

This sweet girl has been waiting in China for a family...

At 4 years old

And waiting...

at 7 years old

and waiting...

at 9 years old (current)

But it's time to PARTY!!!!

WHY????

BECAUSE SHE HAS A FAMILY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This precious little girl who has lived so long waiting, wondering, hoping she would be chosen and loved has finally been chosen.

This kind of news bring me joy unlike any other!!!

But this little girl has a particular family that is close to my heart...

Look below and you will see why!

keep going...

Yes! She is OURS!!!

We joyfully announce our daughter waiting in China...

Esther Marilyn HanHan Shaw

"Esty"

See? 

It IS TIME TO PARTY!!!!!!!!!!

"The Lord has done it this very day, let us rejoice and be glad!"

                             

                                                                             Psalm 118:24

Help! Emily Needs a New Family!!

Sometimes things go differently than we plan them.

This is the case for Emily.

Oh, she is precious, friends!! I have seen her sweet face. I have read her story.

But her story is FAR from over...and I suspect it might include YOU!

Let me tell you a little bit about this situation and WHY she needs a new family.

Sweet Emily was found only days old in southern China and has been raised in an orphanage.

Sweet girl waited for TEN LONG YEARS to be chosen for adoption.

Finally, she was chosen!!

A precious family with other daughters previously adopted from China came forward for her. They were given Pre-approval from China to adopt Emily.

They even sent Emily a care package with clothing and pictures of them so she would know how she is cared for, loved, and wanted.

Sadly, something has happened that stops this adoption short.

Her almost-adoptive Mommy calls Emily, "The Child Who Saved My Life" and here is why...

In order to update their home study, the mother needed to have a physical. (Trust me, with many kids at home, our own regular healthy checks definitely get forgotten!) But because of the desired adoption, this Mama went in for a check up.

At that visit, the doctor discovered it had been a while since she had undergone a mammogram. So one was ordered.

Very soon afterwards, she received a frightening phone call.

She had a mass that was very dense. She needed an ultrasound.

The results came back that she the density was Triple Negative Breast Cancer. She had a biopsy to confirm and then soon after a lumpectomy.

The cancer is very aggressive and had grown even within that time.

This Mama begins chemotherapy this week.

Meanwhile, as is customary, she shared the news of her cancer with China. They gave her some devastating news:

She was no longer able to become Emily's mother.

This completely wrecked her.

Can you imagine? Such double bad news??

But we know that in ALL THINGS God works them for good to those who love Him!! (Romans 8:28)

And so, we search now for another family who can step into the vacancy created by cancer.

A family is needed for 10 year old Emily who is a healthy little girl. This precious orphan who must be very heartbroken to learn that after waiting for so long and finally being chosen...that it isn't going to work out.

Will you consider adopting precious Emily? Her file is listed with a particular agency, but they are willing to release her file to whichever agency will process her new adoption.

Pray for Emily...as well as for the cancer treatments and the devastated heart of her almost-mommy!!!

Please contact me if you want to learn more about how to become Emily's family.

Please Meet...Two Toby Heroes!!

I'd like to introduce you to some Toby heroes:

Pete and Aaron

These dear brothers had a combined birthday party yesterday! Long in advance they told their mom, "We don't want to have people bring presents for us...instead we want people to bring donations to help Toby come home."

Wow.

Speechless.

Mom said it was fully their own idea.

These boys gave up their birthdays...for the sake of an orphan they'd only seen pictures of on the other side of the world.

They found us in church this morning with big smiles on their faces, "We had our party yesterday," and they held up a wadded white envelope. 

Inside, $289.

That's right.

Two hundred eighty-nine dollars these brothers collected to help bring Toby home.

Tears welled up in my eyes, "So you boys had no presents at all?" my heart aching as I realized their sacrifice.

"Oh we had cards!" Pete piped up. "Lots and lots of cards!!"

They get it. I love that they get it.

Children with hearts bigger than mine. Children who walk away from me at church with the joy in their steps from giving sacrificially.

My heart swells with joy as I watch God bring a far off orphan into our family. He amazes me daily.

:)

Toby, come home.