A Sweet Day

There have been some difficult days in this adoption process, days of frustration, days of tears, days when I read scripture after scripture to keep myself centered. Yesterday, was a sweet day. Several times yesterday, my son Mark said, ONLY SIX DAYS UNTIL WE LEAVE! After years of waiting, it is a bit surreal.

We are so blessed to be surrounded by supportive family and friends. This little boy has so many people that have prayed for him and taken an interest in his story. Yesterday morning, our church family truly bathed us in prayer as we prepare to make the journey to China to bring him home. It was a special time. More tears from our family, but this time they are tears of joy. As people prayed that we would have no issues with travel restrictions or swine flu, two different people told us they had this vision of God parting the sea so we could walk on dry ground. What a comfort that is to us.

We are also blown away, once again, by God's providence. As we began this adoption, we believed and trusted that somehow, He would provide the funds for it to be completed. We couldn't see how it would happen. If felt like a huge leap of faith into what appeared to be thin air. But we are reminded again that our Father does own the cattle on a thousand hills. He sold a few more yesterday! People have been so generous in learning of the extra days we will be required to stay in China. I had one friend email me and say she thought it sounded silly, like a drop in the bucket, but she felt like God had told her to give us $30. That drop in the bucket was the beginning of a downpour. At church yesterday, we were told the church was making a very generous donation to help us with our added expenses. People stuffed checks in my husband's pocket. The love we have been shown and the care for a boy no one has met except through pictures is an amazing love.

In the afternoon, we spent time together as a family celebrating Anna's birthday (she will turn 5 while we are in China). She wanted to go to the zoo. It was such a relaxing and precious afternoon together, exactly what our family needed as we prepare for a busy week, long separation and big changes. To top all of that off, my husband strangely received a text message from work while we were at the zoo. It appeared to have originated in a processing center. It informed him of some sort of stock option that was being exercised. It was something related to the company he previously worked for that was acquired by the current company. The bottom line of the message is that on June 30, while we are in China, there will be a deposit made to our checking account. It appears this will be enough to ensure we complete this adoption debt free! Our gracious, heavenly Father really does own the cattle on a thousand hills. We are so thankful he sold a few more on our behalf yesterday, six days before we leave for China!

Below is a video my husband posted last night. He put this video (slide presentation) together a couple of months ago.