Tag: god

News

Giving Thanks

LS

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

One of the many aspects of living in another country is that country specific holidays have a very different feel to them. Thanksgiving is a great example. It is a holiday of great importance within the United States. Friends, family, food, and time off are all a few characteristic features. However, in Germany, Thanksgiving is not a reality. Work and school take place as normal. It is not as easy to find the same traditional foods and family live too far away.

For our kids this has an additional impact. Often labeled as third culture kids, children of those living overseas grow up between two worlds. They don’t fully identify with either culture because there are aspects that are missing from both. While we do try to incorporate things as best as we can, it really isn’t possible to fully replicate them.

Yet, one of the things we certainly do hope to pass on in a heart that is focused on thankfulness for the many blessings we have received. We have seen the Lord do so much in our lives. In such a short time, we have experienced personal change, family change, and many other remarkable changes – the benefit of living in the pressure cooker of sanctification for a season. We are thankful for the remarkable developments and bondings we have already witnessed take place in our family. The journey is very far from over (it is really still at the starting line), but the initial few steps have been in the right direction. This is only due to the grace and kindness of God.

We are also so thankful for the remarkable care we have received from MICC. One of the reasons we opted to return to Munich following the adoption was the community we were surrounded by. Yet, we have to say that even our greatest expectations have been exceeded. We have had people checking in on us, sending us encouraging messages, taking time to talk and listen (especially helpful when hard days seem unending), gift cards given, clothing (to where we are now out of space) donated, cars loaned, cleaning services, organizational help, flexibility with ministry, groceries given, extra eyes on kids, translation services, and so many more things. It has been unbelievable how much help has been pouring in and undoubtedly the road would have been immensely more difficult without this. We are so thankful for all the ways we have seen the hand of the Lord at work through the people of the Lord.

We are also thankful for our family. The Lord has put each person into our family in a special way – one not without serious challenges and difficulties, but one which is unique and handcrafted. We praise Him that He is a God who redeems, who rescues, who is patient, who is gracious, and who adopts His children. We pray that we can reflect Him to our adopted children.

Recently one child wrote a thank you card which included the statement – thank you for adopting me. We are thankful daily for the Lord adopting us and we are thankful that He has provided the opportunity for us to adopt others. There are still plenty of difficulties that we face and will face, but we do hope and pray that thankfulness will undergird our path. The Lord is gracious and He is good, His mercies are never ceasing and are new every morning.

News

The End of an Era

LS

We have been so thankful to journey with you through our adoption process. It has been a journey that often feels like a highspeed rollercoaster and sometimes we aren’t sure if we are upside down or right side up. One of the more difficult loops we have had to endure has been our second adoption process.

In 2019, we were matched with a then 10 year old boy named Shan who lived in northern China. As we prepared to head to Scotland, we fully anticipated and even planned to be traveling to China a few months later. As 2020 rolled in and the world shut down, we were told our adoption process was on pause. Like with almost everything, we thought this would be a question of weeks…then months…and then it turned into years.

Throughout it all we continued to pray fervently for our son and for adoptions to resume as quickly as possible. We also sent several packages for birthdays, Christmas, and other occasions. As time continued to march on, we watched our son grow up via pictures every 5-6 months. We saw videos of a growing preteen who addressed us as mom and dad. As the days turned into years, our hopes continued to go up and down. Rumors were in that certain families were possibly be reevaluated for travel, other countries were sending a few families over, China asked how many of the original families were still in process. And then, quite suddenly, without any warning, at the end of August 2024 we received word that China made the decision to close all adoptions.

The language was carefully analyzed – it wasn’t clear if this referred to only future families or those in process too. And yet, these felt very much like desperate grabs…we were pretty sure the door had closed. Lifeline was amazingly helpful throughout this. They sought to care for families, provide all options, and empathize with the difficulties of 5 years of unmet expectations. In addition, they redoubled their advocacy efforts focusing on families who were matched. We became part of 300 families whose stories grabbed the attention of various news outlets, all in the hope that this would help generate interest at higher levels.

Along with many of the other families, we tried to not get our hopes up, while still desperately not wanting to give up on our son. While we were in Brazil, Lifeline launched its biggest advocacy effort yet. This involved a series of videos showing stories and making pleas. It also involved drafting and signing two letters – one to the President of the United States and one to the President of China. Lifeline’s own president spent significant time talking to anyone in Washington D.C. who would listen and made it up to some fairly high levels in seeking to plead for the families.

The recent meeting between the two presidents was seen as the best hope. China Lifeline staff and the Chinese Child Welfare Protection Agency indicated the only chance would be if intervention happened at the presidential letter. All the efforts amazingly did net the information and letters being placed into the preparation packet that was handed to the President. Prayers were that it would come up as a part of the discussion. Unfortunately, a few weeks out the indications demonstrate that this topic was never broached. Due to this, this week Lifeline made the very difficult decision to suspend their China adoption section.

Although none of the families on that call were shocked or surprised at this decision, it was the thing none of us wanted to hear either. Lifeline, without a doubt, took this as far as possible and then some. And we knew it would probably come to an end sooner or later…in fact, last year was the fairly sure nail to the coffin. But this certainly marks the end of an era – a long, very drawn out process. In some ways, the deaths that you see coming a long way off are some of the most exhausting. It is the train you cannot stop, but you try to delay it in any way possible. The deaths that come sudden and unexpected pack a stronger gut punch, but there is an aspect of the swiftness that brings a different set of pain than those which never seem to end.

We don’t know why the Lord allowed our second adoption to end this way. We hate this most for Shan, who longed for a family, was told he had a family, and is left without a family. Furthermore, we aren’t even sure if he knows why. We pray that God will bring the truth of the Gospel to him and that perhaps one day we might finally be united in eternity if not before.

It wasn’t a shock, it was to be expected, it was already a truth our hearts knew…and yet, the end of an era has come with much sorrow. In His grace, we know the Lord is near to the brokenhearted and remains sovereign and good…even when this era dies a thousand deaths.

News

Fish Tank

LS

Life has felt a bit like a fish tank recently. Fish tanks are interesting because we like to peer in them to study the continents. Except that we aren’t so much looking in as feeling like the ones being examined. Some of this is by design and we are thankful for it. Our desire has been to be as transparent as possible in sharing our adoption. It is our hope to encourage others through the failures and successes, to help others gain insights into the highs and lows of adoption, and most importantly, to point everyone to our glorious God who adopts us and sustains us through this journey. This fish tank is one which we hope will be a blessing to you and encourage you to possibly consider adoption, care for those adopting, and develop a heart for the fatherless.

However, there is another type of fish tank we find ourselves swimming in. Although this likely happens with all ages, one of the interesting aspects of adopting older children is that communication is involved in a way it wasn’t with Elijah. All adoptive children enter into adoption carrying an enormous amount of baggage. The lives lived have significantly altered the way that they see and experience the world. This also impacts drastically the way they build or struggle to build relationships.

Repeatedly over the course of the last few weeks our kids have been studying us to carefully analyze our swimming patterns. The underlying question is how safe is the water? Are there sharks? Are these parents the same as our past experiences? It shows up in different ways from each child. Some of it is observation and hesitation. Some of it shows up in questions being asked of us. Questions like – are you sad? Are you tired? Are you angry? And not just once or twice, but in some cases multiple times a day. No matter what the answer is, there is skepticism in follow up. Statements such as you look happier in these pictures before you adopted us indicate the underlying uncertainties and fears that still exist.

Of course, the hard part of being in a fish tank is that the swimming space can feel very constricted. None of us are perfect and being in pressure cookers and under microscopic examination with constantly rising tensions, the pots do boil over. On the one hand this means that failures, even minor ones, can have a significantly larger impact. Trust has to be built and for those who have only experienced it broken have walls erected that first have to be slowly brought down brick by brick. That is before anything can even hope to be built back up. The concept of walking on eggshells can feel very real for adoptive parents, who are trying very hard not to trigger past trauma without knowing where all the mines are buried.

On the other hand, when failures do occur, and due to sinful natures they eventually will, it provides an opportunity. There is a chance to try to correct wrong reactions that are engrained into the memories of kids. They get to see how we handle our failures even as we are trying to help them learn how to approach their issues. Because it isn’t just that we are being micro-examined, it is that sometimes we are being experimented upon to see how we react. Some of this is intentional, but a good bit is unintentional learned habits and patterns. Unfortunately, we don’t always play the guinea pig as well as we ought to. And our emotional tanks seem to get drained very day…multiple times…and the reserves are somewhere in the rearview mirror…very distantly.

Yet, isn’t it a blessing that the Lord redeems situations that are failures. Thankfully He is sanctifying us and teaching us how to help our children reestablish trust…it is a long term project…very long term…but each step gets us one step closer. And your prayers are a tremendous blessing. We need them and can testify that the Lord is graciously working through them.

News

Sleepless in Munich

LS

Adoptions have a funny way of bringing curves and twists – some of which we can see coming and others tend to blindside. After several days of hyperactivity, it was apparent that something was not entirely correct. Yet, the difficulty can be that there are so many possible reasons that narrowing it down can be difficult. Recently mom determined that lack of sleep is at least one of the contributing factors for the girls. We already knew this was an issue for the boys, but it became even more apparent on a recent overnight trip dad took with them. As excited as they were to go, new places, new faces, and new locations means additional stress and anxiety. It also meant they didn’t want to sleep alone nor did they sleep well.

As you might know, lack of sleep combined with stress and anxiety results in emotions all over the place. In fact, if we could bottle up and sell the emotions present in the house by everyone, we would be millionaires. Along with that comes plenty of mistakes from all parties. One of the hard parts is that older children come with imprinted memories. This also means that actions, words, tones can sometimes trigger recollections of darker times. Even though this is not our intention, it can cause some set backs. However, it also gives us the opportunity to model apologies, swallow our pride, and seek to empathize…all things that we are not nearly as good at as we would like. In fact, one thing we are learning is that if you want to end each day feeling good about yourself – don’t adopt. We slide into each evening with reverberating thoughts about all we could have, should have done and said. Perhaps this is one of God’s pressure cookers of sanctification.

We were thankful to celebrate a birthday today and even more thankful that dollar store toys can generate happiness. It was also a blessing to get a call saying that we can now proceed with the city notification of residence for our kids. Next week we will hand in the final paperwork and get this step done which is needed for many other aspects. Slowly we are learning foods which will be eaten without too much push back and we are seeking to gradually establish more routines.

There are still plenty of challenges and we still feel like we are just barely managing to make it to the end of each day. Yet, we also don’t want to ignore the blessings the Lord continues to shower on us. We have kids who are really great and have wonderful attributes. We have an amazing church family who continues to help in all kinds of ways. We have so many people, just like you, praying for us…something we have never been so aware of needing so desperately. And God’s heart toward adopting us, His patience with us, and His forgiveness of us all seem a little more real when walking through adoption ourselves.

Now…if we can just manage to get everyone to get enough sleep…

News

Yoyo-ing Along

LS

Our lives feel like a bit of a yoyo at the moment. We do our best to remind ourselves that there is (hopefully and prayerfully) a time when the speed of the yoyo will slow down a bit. But when scissors are taken to things other than paper, toilet paper rolls end up submerged, complaining never seems to cease, disappointment over not getting everything desired at this moment, and mom and dad already feeling overwhelmed it can seem like our bouncing up and down is happening rapidly in a single day.

We are thankful for the prayers, the notes of encouragement, the gracious offers to help, the things dropped off and given to us, a car and groceries passed along. And we praise the Lord that even when we are at our most overwhelmed, we have been blessed with fairly good kids who, though they drive us nuts at times, also show kindness and care. The Lord is always at hand even when the dark skies seem to blot out the sun.

We managed to get some routines slowly established and some basic schoolwork in place. Our children pick things up well and fairly rapidly, showing that much of their delay is due to unfortunate circumstances rather than competence issues. Time is what they need and devoted attention. However, that is a struggle to given when our attentions are divided 5 ways already, not counting our other obligations. So even though it feels like we are the proverbial boy who is throwing starfish back into the ocean with a beach full to go, we try to remind ourselves as well that though we might not be able to get to them all, we can save the one in our hands.

And at the same time, it is easy to forget how much pressure and stress we are all under. Children are facing a massive amount of new information and sensory overloads every day. We are also in a similar position although it can be much harder for us to spot because there is so much more familiar to us. And it always seems like the “to do list” not only keeps getting longer, but it also keeps getting more complex. Renewing Michelle’s residence permit has turned up requests for some things we weren’t expecting (like proof of having completed language courses and being currently enrolled), the filing for registration in our city takes much longer and is not so clear (tomorrow is our appointment), doctors visits need to get scheduled soon, dentists, and the clocks just seem to speed up. It certainly feels like we are in a pressure cooker which is probably why the yoyo ride seems even more intense and we are all a little less well behaved and a little more on edge.

Yet through this we are reminded of how God is patient with us, how He is gracious beyond all measure. That the things He calls us to, He doesn’t just abandon us in. Rather, He walks alongside us and it is His strength that we need. Thankfully, we are able to discover alongside Paul, that His strength is perfected in our weakness. And He continues to bring others alongside us to help, to encourage, and to uphold.

His hand holds the string and He controls the tempo…so while the yoyo might seem to be giving us motion sickness, in His hands, it is actually producing a glorious harmony and combination of masterful brilliance.

And one day, we trust we will be able to look back and stand amazed and the majestic skill He displays.

News

The Fellowship through Christ

LS

It was a true joy for us to be back in fellowship at our local church in Munich. There is an indescribable joy in being in the presence of fellow believers – perhaps this is one aspect of what Christ means when He tells us that the Sabbath was made for man. Gathering together for worship breathes life into weary souls. And to say we haven’t been weary souls would be to simply put a mask on reality. The return to Germany has not been easy. For all the difficulties we face in Brazil, having dedicated time and dedicated finances intended to help facilitate bonding has been an incredible blessing. Having done two adoptions now, we are very thankful for the time requirement in Brazil. Even though it adds a lot of additional finances and puts a strain on holiday time, there is really a lot to be said for focusing so much attention on family without anything else interrupting. Ironically enough, our first adoption was almost as long in country, but under very different circumstances. Luke was there alone for most of the time and it was under the stress of not knowing when we would get residence permit approval to be able to leave. It was a blessing to be together in Brazil and to have these weeks set aside just for this purpose.

That being said, it does make transitions much more difficult. We spent a lot of time together and suddenly kids are having to adjust to not having dedicated attention by parents. There was freedom to do what we wanted, to focus on engaging with our kids and building memories. Suddenly that freedom doesn’t exist as easily – there are household chores, yardwork, work responsibilities, etc. From a child’s perspective this must feel like being dropped into the deep end of the swimming pool. The level of change these children have faced over the last 2 months is quite astonishing – it is more than many people face over the span of several years. Moving countries, leaving everything behind, facing everything new, and then to do it with changing family structure and dynamics. You might imagine how hard that could be especially when you mix in time changes.

With all of this happening, we felt like we were somewhat limping into church this morning. Yet, even getting there was filled with acts of generosity and grace: a loaned car that allowed us to drive when Munich decided to do massive renovation work on public transportation, a willing translator who sacrificed his Sunday to help kids understand the sermon, a housewarming set of groceries and food, an impromptu ride home for Luke, additional clothing and gifts. Our emotional tanks were more than a little drained because trying to care for kids can often mean setting aside caring for yourself. The transition has not just been hard for little ones, but big ones too. Resuming workloads is always difficult – this is why Mondays are stereotypically dreaded. Yet, through it all, the Lord’s sustenance continues to be visible and today it was on full display through His people. We are so thankful for how He provides for us, cares for us, and lifts us up – and we are thankful He does that through you all.

What a joy it was to see so many and how that helped us walk through the fog of the transition. The number of people spending time with us, seeking to care for us, praying for us, and encouraging us has been a blessing. We are thankful.

Difficult days lie ahead and difficult days lie behind. Every transition involves setbacks and the feeling of spinning wheels. With time, traction is regained. And in the midst, it is a blessing to be surrounded by a wonderful community – both those near and those far. The many wonderful remarks to these posts have been uplifting, the emails and WhatsApp messages a blessing. The picture of the Body of Christ at work is glorious indeed. And on a day when we celebrated the birthday of our youngest, it was just what the Great Physician ordered. Thank you for helping us walk this path filled with incredible, deep, profound hardships and also overflowing with amazing, delightful, inexpressible joys.

News

Two Edged Sword

LS

We were so thankful to have a day without a drop of rain! This was a special blessing and despite the cool water temperatures, it meant that the kids were out at the pool and the beach all day. The wonderful thing about this is that it allowed us to take full advantage of our location! Having a mini vacation to end our time in Brazil has been a huge blessing. We have really needed some time to catch our breaths…although in reality it is more like time to gasp for air before going back under again in rapid dunk fashion. You see playing out all day has a downside to it – everyone is tired and this means emotions are high and fuses are very short. The two edged sword that cuts.

Today had multiple conversations with multiple children over multiple incidences that left feeling hurt, people moving to separate themselves, and mom and dad having to divide and conquer. These are opportunities to build upon and correction can actually be a powerful tool in the hands of a gracious God. But it does have an emotional cost and keeping emotional tanks above empty is not always easy.

Along the way we continue to see the strengths of our children. We remarked how blessed we have been in so many ways. There are many easily conceivable situations that could have been much, much more difficult. Yet, every strength has a corresponding weakness to it. A more empathetic child can also bruise much more easily. An independent easy going kid can also turn out to be extraordinarily stubborn. A tolerant child can be slow to recover when too many switches have been flipped. A child who can be very witty and humorous can also be very sarcastic and imitating poor behavior in an attempt to gain an audience. A sweet, happy kid can swing to angry and very vocal when things aren’t hitting her correctly (for any of a million reasons). A two edged sword that slices.

Thankfully the Lord is in the business of smoothing out jagged edges and polishing up shiny spots. He takes rough stones and redemptively transforms hearts to create diamonds through His salvific activity. It is our desire that He would graciously draw each of our children to Himself in His good timing. Until then, it is our prayer that He will give us wisdom to continue to point each of them to Him.

And as we seek to do that, we are thankful that we currently have access to unlimited levels of caffeine…at least until we have to leave this place (anyone want to help sponsor a lifetime supply?).

News

What’s in a Name?

LS

One adoption aspect that all families face is what names will their newly adopted children have? With Elijah’s adoption we picked the name in advance and because of his age, didn’t really have any discussions with him about this. We wanted to keep him connected to his culture and so kept his Chinese first name as his, now, middle name.

But with our Brazilian children we were a lot more apprehensive about picking names. They are much older and, as you might have seen from some other posts, understand quite a bit more. In fact, it is astonishing how quickly they are able to pick up on our emotions (even though we think we are doing a good job of hiding them). Perhaps this also gives you a clue as to what they are most sensitive to…which likely has a lot to do with their history. Because the process required it, we did pick names for them, but also wanted to have discussions with them to give them an opportunity to weigh in and say yes or no to the names. Like with Elijah, we want to keep as many cultural connections as possible. So we opted to keep all the first names the same and instead add new middle names.

One of the things that has been important to us over the years is the meanings of names. Time and time again, Biblical characters have names that signify very important aspects of their lives and ministries. Elijah, for instance, means My God is Yahweh. This fits his story very well as he ministers in a time when the nation of Israel is wavering between false gods and the One True God. Elijah stands as a testimony to the true God and he resolutely proclaims the same truth as his name. This is one reason why we wanted our son to have this name – it is our prayer that his life will make the same proclamation – My God is Yahweh.

The very little that we knew about our children from their files was the basis for name selection. We chose the name Samuel as the middle name for the oldest child. There were really several reasons for this. This was a name we were hoping to give to Shan, whose adoption we still pray will go through. But it is a name of great significance to us because it means God hears. Samuel is the product of God hearing the prayers of Hannah and she specifically names her son this because God heard her pleas. Both Shan and our oldest son are at an age where they are able to have a say in the adoption process – to choose to be adopted or not. Both have chosen to stay in the adoption process in the prayer of getting a forever family. But, furthermore, our oldest son at one stage during his time in the orphanage, wrote a letter asking God for a family. We picked this name because we believe that God heard that cry and is answering it through us. This has also been a point of discussion with the oldest. Even tonight, he was asking again about why we picked this name. We shared the meaning and how his letter inspired this (he was curious to know how the document had this information…which we don’t actually know other than whoever put it together knew this fact). All we know was that he wrote a letter to God and then lost it somewhere. But tonight he filled in just a bit more – that it was a letter specifically asking God for a family. And in sharing the meaning of his name, he commented that we are God’s answer to his letter.

Our second child’s middle name is Nathaniel, which means gift from God. We have been praying for him (and all the other kids) for almost a year now and truly believe that he is a gift from God to us (even though at times our patience wears thin with this gift…perhaps it is a gift in many ways – to build patience in us!). During the final visit with the psychologist yesterday, we role played what will happen at the court hearing next week. Part of the process is that we will finalize the new names. Our second child told the psychologist not only his new middle name, but what it means…maybe more of what we are saying is sinking in than we realize 😀

Our third Brazilian child’s middle name is Liana. This name means My God has answered. It is our hearts desire that she will be able to claim this statement some day. That God is her God and that she recognizes how He has answered.

Our fourth child’s middle name is Ruth, meaning friend. And true to her name, she is a very friendly personality. She is happy to strike up a conversation with almost anyone and has a very winsome personality. Like the Biblical character, we pray that her greatest friend will be the Lord Himself.

What’s in a name? Well, as it turns out, an awful lot! And here is one of the many places that physical adoption mirror spiritual adoption. You see, when God adopts us into His family, we also receive new identities, new names. We are called His Children, Beloved, Saints. Our lives are never the same – it takes years and years for us to slowly start to open up and believe this. The attachment process is often arduous and filled with us ignoring Him, going hot and cold on Him, and doing just about anything to test the limits of His love. But our identity never changes and neither does His love. We pray we will be able to reflect and communicate this truth to our children. And we are thankful that even already, the names of our children give us opportunities to discuss God.

What’s in a name? A world of prayers, history, and new identities.

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First World Problems

LS

We know we are very blessed and have lived in countries that are all very well off both in terms of finances, but also technology and modernization. Brazil is also a country that is doing quite well for itself. We have been thankful to get to learn more about Curitiba and the country as a whole. It is amazing how massively large this country is!

One of the things we have gotten used to, living in Germany, is hanging out clothes to dry. However, we weren’t necessarily counting on not having a dryer, being in an apartment (so only a narrow and short balcony for outdoors space), much higher humidity levels, and temperatures sometimes only getting into the 50s and 60s Fahrenheit or 15 to 20 Celsius. That combined with seven people and a single drying rack means that clothes are not really every truly dry and they are decorating the entire apartment.

Given that we are so large, a single Uber (the most popular means of transport) simply doesn’t work for our family anymore. But because we only have one phone with a Brazilian SIM, calling two is not quite so easy. Thankfully, living in Europe, we are used to walking a lot – and this is now getting our kids used to that. We were grateful that yesterday the store closest to our house reopened after being closed for renovations. Carrying enough groceries for 7 people on a 15 minute walk with a bunch of kids is a chore indeed…but thankfully we no longer have to worry about gym memberships. Carting around jugs of water is more than sufficient workout. But the kids are pretty good sports about helping out and they are doing pretty well with having to be told no when all the sparkling things in the store catch their eyes.

Today was a national holiday in Brazil – Brazilian Independence day. Not much happened close to us, which is actually good since holidays can sometimes be occasions for political rallies. We were thankful to have a fairly smooth first church service today (with plenty of activity books on hand) and were even blessed to have a long conversation afterwards with a lovely couple who shared about their three grown, married children (one living stateside, another in Italy). They were especially interested in our adoption as one of their grandchildren is also adopted – it is a blessing to connect with people who have some more internal insights into the ups and downs. It was also wonderful to sing familiar hymns translated into Portuguese.

First world problems aside, we continue to be thankful for the way the Lord is working and the time He has blessed us with. We are thankful for all the finances raised that are helping to make this possible and the additional savings we have been able to set aside to make this as memorable as possible. Thank you for your prayers, your generosity, and your care!

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Tears and Smiles

LS

The ups and downs of adoptions are very real. The emotions are all over the board for all involved. Little ones have hard times regulating, but sometimes big ones do too. And it is a bit of a be careful what you wish for type of thing. On the one hand it is our prayer that our children will become comfortable as quickly as possible and not have to be “putting on their best faces”. On the other hand, as they start to do that, behavioral issues also start to emerge.

Having a child suddenly decide to leave the store because their response to stress is flight (literally) adds some additional stress to parents who are telling kids we cannot and will not buy everything they set their eyes upon that looks like gold. It also means suddenly quadrupling the stress for one parent while the other needs to track down the flight taker. And the decisions to ignore instructions, calls, and understood requests by all of our children (including one who knows what he is and isn’t supposed to be doing in our family), all add to compounding stress. The language is already a trick for us, but when our brains can’t even process the sentence because another child is immediately demanding our attention, it certainly feels overwhelming. Thankfully God is kind with us all even when we struggle to be with one another.

We have also been reminded of a painful part of our journey. Nearly a year ago we learned that China was ending its adoption program, including for those who were already in process. We are part of 300 families who were matched and on their way to travel nearly 6 years ago and who are still left holding nothing but a few pictures and broken hearts. Our adoption agency, Lifeline, has been continuing to seek to advocate for these families and these children. At this stage it would take serious governmental intervention. We would love to ask you to join us in beseeching the Lord of all governments to move in a way that simply doesn’t seem possible at the moment. We would also love for you to check out Lifeline’s Facebook page (which is well worth a visit in any case) to see advocacy videos and how you can help in some very easy, simple steps. And, as an added bonus, if you keep your eye out, you will see one from us, that we tried to put together in the midst of being in Brazil – because we strongly believe that our other son needs to be advocated for and deserves to come home. Lifeline’s page can be accessed by this link: https://www.facebook.com/lifelinechild

Through the tears there continue to be smiles. We have seen our children initiating more conversations with us. They are also learning routines, pulling out the Portuguese/English Bible at night and the Portuguese and English Jesus Storybook Bible. They find mom’s reactions to certain things hilarious and are devouring her delicious cooking. Dad has been unexpectedly hugged and not just when someone wanted him to buy something (as before). We know some days will be very hard and others will be filled with mountain top experiences. Yet, through it all, our heavenly Father kindly carries us through each season as He continues to knit our family together.