It has been over a year now since God began whispering to us that it was time again for us to be blessed by His plan for children in our lives. And again, we were surprised. Partly because we realize that we're not getting any younger and partly because the idea of yet another toddler in the house causes us to pause and ask "What?!" In order for His plan to bring great joy and blessings to our lives for His pleasure and will, He renewed our desire for adoption and began leading us to you, one step at a time. First there was the application we filed with Lifeline Children's Services in August of 2007. Then a long paper chase that lasted until spring of 2008. After completing our paperwork, we packaged it all up and sent it to China to be logged in. At that point, God was working every detail to make sure that we met you soon and He was preparing us for that day. After hearing from China that our paperwork had been accepted and logged in, we began waiting for what we thought would be a year or two. But God decided to accelerate things. After nearly a year's work and waiting, He finally began to unfold before our very eyes what He had been planning all along. We weren't expecting that call in June from Lifeline asking us to review a file with your picture in it, but we knew it was from God. Because Lily Grace knew it was coming and she told us so.
Now it has been 134 days since God showed us a picture of you and asked us to care for you and to love you as if you'd been with us forever. And as it turns out, Lia, you have been with us forever. And until recently, we did not even realize it. But that's another story for another day. Recently, God has been making it clear that you were in His plan for us all along, and He has brought tears to our eyes frequently, as He ministers to us while we have waited (not so patiently, I might add) for His time. Tears of joy, tears of frustration, tears of happiness. So that now, when He brings you home soon, we will know 'why' things happened in the past the way they did. For His Word tells us in Romans 8:28 that "in all things, God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to his purpose." Through our journey to Lily Grace and now to you, God has placed before us families who share our passion for His plan of adoption and who have experienced Him, up close and personal, so that we may be comforted by their shared experiences. For that we are ever grateful to an awesome God.
God even has an angel, well positioned and able to occasionally give us some encouraging news about you. Otherwise, we have very little information about how you are doing, but we pray every day for you and about you. Here's what we heard recently about you.
"She is the most vocal child at the orphanage. She can repeat anything, count, recognize colors, and have conversation. I don't know about her health condition other than ... , but it doesn't seem to affect her speech or motor skills. She is very sweet and friendly and happy. Her nanny said she always says, "Where's Kui Kui? Where's Huang Huang? Where's Guang Guang?" etc. about her friends that have been adopted."
Lia, we are sure that you and Lily Grace will completely dominate the conversation around here soon. Austin and I are learning some Chinese, so that we may know some of what you are saying when we see you, that we might soften the anxiety that will accompany "that" day for you. But please don't be too amused by our Southern pronunciation of the beautiful Chinese language. And if we say something confusing, just look at us and smile. We'll figure it out, I am sure. As far as where each of your friends have gone, we will do everything we can to help you find out. We already know two children who came home from where you live and we will reunite you with them when we are able to bring you home.
Lia, we promise, we will see you soon. God has been telling me that it will happen soon. So, until we do, we will continue praying for you. We thank God for our Angel, who tells us about you and we pray for her and for you. We pray that someone tells you each day that you are loved. And we pray for those who provide your care and who love you unconditionally. We know it's getting cold there, so we pray you are warm and comfortable. We pray that soon we can bring you home and introduce you to your family and begin to care for you. We pray that you have received the care packages we have sent and that, by now, you have seen our pictures and heard our voices.
And we thank God for every blessing that He gives, through grace and mercy, faith and love, perseverence and strength. And for little children never known by their parents, but loved eternally by their Jesus.
And Lia, we thank God for sending our Letter of Approval (LOA) from China on Friday, October 24th, 2008. We are beginning to make plans for seeing you before the year ends!!!!!
We love you and we will see you soon,
Jerry, Connie, Austin, and Lily Grace
