{hk airport & good news}

while i sat in this airport at the start of this 4-month china stint, i got the news that a boy i called timothy had officially been match with his forever family. this was fantastic news to me, as he was a boy that captivated and burdened my heart after my short-term trip to the beiliu orphanage in 2013. (that post can be read here.)

well, here i am 4 months later, back at the hong kong airport. and guess what... i just got the news that "timothy" (now called joshua by his forever family) will be adopted next week! 

for me, joshua truly represents a picture of god rescuing orphans. in just a little over a year, he'll have gone from being found in a locked orphanage room to a foster home to his forever family. and the transformation that has simultaneously occurred as he's received love and attention and nutrition is truly remarkable. not only has his physical appearance vastly changed, but he's now walking and learning and playing and laughing, etc., which is a stark contrast from the institutionalized-like behavior he demonstrated when i first met him. 

i can't wait to see pictures of him with his forever family! and the best part, i know god isn't done transforming him yet. i'm sure there will be issues to work through, even once he's with his forever family, having experienced such a traumatic past. however, i would like to claim, in faith, god's complete healing for this amazing little boy. and i pray that some day he'd know his heavenly father who rescued him.

{a sweet handoff}

4 months ago none of us knew she existed.

but one mid-september day the jaundiced baby girl with big round eyes caught my attention.

various chinese doctors said she wouldn't live very long.

we advocated for her nonetheless.

a family stepped out in faith to call her their own. 

everyone worked hard and fast(!) on paperwork (family, adoption agency, orphanage, etc.).

god knocked our socks off by raising her adoption expenses in a matter of days.

more paperwork was completed.

lots of people prayed.

god moved mountains!

and a few hours ago, i had the awesome privilege of handing brooklyn over to her parents!!

and by tomorrow/tuesday morning (china time), when i'm boarding my plane to come home, 

it'll be official: she'll no longer be an orphan!

it was definitely a pretty sweet way to end this 4-month stint in china.

and a forever reminder that if something is god's will, nothing can stop it from happening. 

join me in praising god for what he's done; all glory to him alone!

and let's keep praying for sweet brooklyn... 

-for her to easily and quickly feel safe and loved by her forever family

-for her health to hold steady until she's back in the states 

-for her future liver transplant

{longing for family}

a few weeks ago we contacted families that had adopted from this orphanage in the years past, asking if they'd be willing to share pictures of their children. we obtained photos of the children when they were either still here at the orphanage or newly adopted, as well as pictures of them today (which in some cases, is years later). we printed and laminated the photos, identified the children with both their original chinese and new english (if applicable) names, month/year of adoption and their family name.

i think i had close to 18 families in the final project, which was hung across the room where the nannies dress and bathe the children. (plans were to put a nice bulletin board or something together, but the orphanage director nixed the idea of putting a more permanent fixture anywhere. and because the local stores only sold fluorescent colored pieces of large paper, the final project was definitely a bit more elementary school style-ish than i would have liked, but it got done nonetheless.)

the nannies love updates, especially photos, of the kids they've cared for. i am hoping this might provide daily encouragement for them to love and care for the children well.

on christmas eve, when i took some cookies, christmas music, coloring, etc., and headed upstairs, one of the older non-verbal boys grabbed my arm. he loves treats, so i was sure he wanted to see what exactly i had with me. but it wasn't that. he took me into the room where the photos were hanging. he started verbalizing sounds, pointing at the photos, etc. at first i asked him if he remembered someone in the photos, as he'd older and probably remembers most everyone on the wall. but that clearly wasn't it. i watched his gestures again, and after pointing to the pictures on the wall, he kept pointing to himself. then i got it; he wants a family. when i asked him if he wanted a family, just like the kids on the wall, he immediately started shaking his head, "yes!"  

pray for zachery and all those he represents who long for family. even though some of them have never been around a family and likely have no real concept of that what is, they still long for it... to be loved... to have someone's attention... to be hugged.... and everything else their little minds hope "family" entails.