I-800 Approval, Care Package, and Why

We received our approval on 10/14, almost exactly three weeks after we mailed in our I-800 application.    We were actually quite surprised by how it came so quickly, as we were told the current trend was 3-5 weeks.  Things are going along very smoothly so far.    With the approval, it is very likely now that we will be able to travel in early December, and come back by the end of the year!     We are so excited.   We will stay in China for three weeks this time, since we have to travel to two different provinces to pick up the girls.    We are also hoping to stop by Hong Kong for a few days, before we head to Beijing.     It sounds so complicated already!   We will see how it all work out.    I really appreciate your prayers.

We send our 5-year-old daughter Bethany a care package through LadybugsNLove last week.   I specifically requested toys with sounds and different textures and a doll or stuff animal that speaks simple English.  LadybugsNLove was so kind, and went out shopping for toys that meet all my specific requests(picture below).   I am so grateful for that.    The package also included an adorable outfit, some healthy snacks, our family picture and a short letter we wrote to Bethany.       Her foster parents will read the letter and describe our family picture to her.    

We also received two updated pictures of Bethany.  Her hair has been shaved.   :-(   But she has the same lovely and happy smile on her face.    Look carefully you will see she is holding a set of keys in her hands.  San and I are guessing that toys or things with sound probably give her comfort and security.   Just imagine being blind and standing in the middle of nowhere with no one holding her hands!     San and I are determined to hold her hands and won't let go!  

  
It was very interesting that, when I send LadybugsNLove Bethany's information,  Angela, LadybugsNLove's China contact, sent me back an email right away and told me that she knows Bethany!     About two years ago, another adoption agency, Faith Adoptions,was advocating for her, and asked Angela to get some updates of her.    She told me Bethany is such a sweet girl and how excited she is that Bethany will have her forever family now.     The world is so small.

By now, most of our friends know about our decision to adopt two children, with one of them being blind.   This decision is plain crazy.    I thought so too, when San first expressed his desire to adopt Bethany last December.   When we started our second adoption application, we applied for one child, and blindness was NOT on our list of acceptable special needs.    We first saw Bethany's file last October, and there has not been a day gone by we didn't think about her.    We later learned more about her, and found out she will not be able to go to school until she is much older, as the nearest blind school is about 3 hours drive from her village.     This stuck in our minds.  A blind girl with basically no chance of education.  So San and I set out to research resources for the blinds here in the United States.    What we found was astonishing - there are many many resources for the blinds at county, state and federal level, absolutely free of charge to us.  

While San and the children already decided this blind girl is our daughter, I struggled.     Many times I doubted, "is it possible that God wants us to adopt a blind child?"      It didn't make sense to me at all.

Many times I felt like Moses  "I don't think I can handle it...."   Other times I felt like Jonah, "I don't want to do this - it is too hard.."   I just want a peaceful, predictable, stress-free life.

From January to April early this year, a chain of events happened that have made deep impressions in my heart.   Many times, God has specifically answered my questions and doubts through different scriptures, people, articles, songs and books.   Everything, everything seemed to be saying "Go ahead; I am with you, child."      God, by His grace and mercy, slowly took away all my fears and doubts, and replaced them with joy and peace.

On May 4, we received a phone call from our adoption agency asked us if we would consider this 1-year-old cutie (Ruth).   Our hearts were torn, because we knew we could only choose one child.   After two days of prayers, San and I both felt an overwhelming peace to adopt both of them!   We submitted an application to our agency and social worker requesting to adopt both of the girls.    We were approved 15 days later.

During the months we were praying about this decision, God has used many scriptures to encourage us, confirm and assure this decision.   Time after time, these scripts pointed us to these three words,  FAITH, HOPE and LOVE.

- LOVE -

We believe that every child is "fearfully and wonderfully made" and His works are wonderful (Psalm 139:14).
We believe God loves all the children in the world, and they all deserved love.

During the months of prayers, I attended a women conference titled "God Loves Me".    During the entire conference, I had only one thought in my mind - I have no doubt that God loves me and my family, but I kept asking God, what about these orphans who were born with such disadvantage and live in an environment offers very little love, hope and future?   "How can I tell these children God love them?"   I couldn't stop thinking about this question.   I figured only one way.   

- FAITH -

Two blind men came to Jesus begging for healing (Matthew 9:27:29).   Jesus asked them, "Do you believe that I am able to do this?"  "Yes, Lord." They replied.  Jesus touched their eyes and said, "According to your faith will it be done to you."     What Jesus said pierced my heart like a sword.

I've never seriously thought about being a Christian means taking God's words at its face value.     Most of the decisions we've made in the past have been within our comfort level or based on a predictable pattern.  I don't see how we can handle 6 kids (let alone a blind child), most people around us don't neither.  

During the months of prayers, God repeated reminded me of his provision through these scriptures:

"God's grace is sufficient for us and His power is made perfect in our weakness"(2 Corinthians 12:9).  

"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.   Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you."  Jeremiah 29:11-12

I've read Jeremiah 29:11-12 many many times before; but this time, verse 12 stood out like nothing before; what a promise we have in God.   

We can't;  but God can.   

- HOPE -

The decision to adopt Bethany has been a humbling soul searching experience.   I have thought about it long and hard from every possible angle and perspective.  Ultimately, it begs for only one question - what do we live for?    If this life is just a temporary journey to eternity, then may be it is not such a bad idea to pick up one, two or three more children, who are completely helpless and lost, along our way, and show them the way, the truth and the life in Jesus Christ to eternity.

I have a lot of fear of the future.   When we took Bethany's file to our Ophthalmologist to try to understand more about the genetic cause of her blindness, the first response she had was that this is going to be a life-long burden.     We knew.  (But may be not;   many blind adults in America live independently and productively.)   We cannot change her diagnosis.  But perhaps we can make her life journey a little safer, a little easier and a little happier.    Ultimately, we are just an instrument of God.     God is the one who will accomplish His plan and His will in her life.

"I remain confident of this : I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living"(Psalm 27:13).

We trust that there will be people who will lovingly accept our daughters and there will be grace to help them reach their God-given potential to the fullest and become productive adults.    This world is just temporary; our ultimate hope is in the coming kingdom where we will be with Jesus forever.   On that day, Jesus will wipe every tear from our eyes, and there will be no more death, mourning, crying or pain.  I can't wait to tell our blind daughter that, on that day, Jesus will make everything okay, and she will see Jesus face to face.

And the greatest of all, LOVE -

We love them; because God first loved us.   When San and I got married in 1992, we moved into a 1-bedroom apartment with hardly anything in it besides a few suitcases of clothes and a few pieces of hand-me-down furniture.  But now, every time I look around our 4-bedroom house full of stuff, I deeply feel the blessings God has generously pour out on us in all areas of our lives over these years.   We want to share these material blessings with these children.  We want to tell them and show them the great love of this invisible God.  

When we really come to think about it, the logic is very simple;  a child needs love and family (how much more for a blind child!), we have a loving family and some extra space in our house, so we can help.    During the months I was praying about this decision, our 8-year-old Faith would always ask me, "Why does it take you so long to decide?"     I wish we could always see things through the lens of a child.

After all, as parents, we only do the planting and watering.  Ultimately, God is the one who make them grow and flourish.    Their future is in the hand of the mighty God who saves!