We are getting close…so so close. If the Lord sees it fit to grant us our miracle (a TA this week or next) we could be traveling in 2-4 weeks. It’s starting to hit all of us in very BIG ways.
First, I MUST SHARE A PRAISE!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am humbled and grateful to announce that our church (in partnership with LifeSong for Orphans) has set aside a matching grant of 3000.00!!!! LifeSong will set up a tax deductible account for us, and it is our hope that we can raise 3000 before we leave in a few weeks, and our church will generously match that offer!!!! This comes at such a crucial time when we are needing to come up with the remaining 8000.00 in cash fees to bring our baby girl home. We have been saving over the past year. We cashed out on Brian’s 401K….and yet, we are not quite there. But, you know what, I am not worried! God is so much bigger than money barriers!! Seriously, if Jesus fed five thousand men with just five loaves of bread and two fishes with the small yet sacrificial gift of a small boy…..then, I know He is able to provide a way for us to get to our baby girl!
***this isn’t a plea for money….it is simply an amazing opportunity to give those who desire to give a way to do it in a tax-deductible way. It’s a way to help bring Tahlia home for those who feel called to help us. I will post more about this in a new post after I finish this one. But, I couldn’t go any further w/o giving PRAISE to God for this amazing gift!!!
Ok, back to our call for prayer! Friends and family, we have had the blessed opportunity to travel along with other MaoNan families as they have brought home Tahlia’s SWI sisters. It has been amazing to see the miracle of adoption in these families. Here are two that I would like to share with you, so that you can have a better idea of how to pray for us. What the road ahead may look like for us while in China.
Here is the blog link of one of Tahlia’s MaoNan sisters. She was in the same room with Tahlia up to a few days ago when she met her new family. I am certainly not saying that this will be exactly how our story will look, as each child is different in how they initially come to trust and attach…but, this seems to be a common story with the children coming out of Tahlia’s Orphanage. Though, there each child’s SWI experience has been different too.
Please pray for Grace as she is slowly learning to trust her new parents, and allow herself to be loved by them.
I am so grateful for blogging friends who journal their stories….it allows us to be more ready. Though, we really are walking by faith….and trusting the Lord to equip us with exactly what Tahlia needs at the right time.
And, I won’t leave you with just the above story. I really want to give you a bigger picture of what the faithful love of the Father can do. Here is Poppy’s story. She was also in the same orphanage as Tahlia. But, that was three months ago. Here is a very special post about the “before” and “after” and how Poppy came to trust and love!! The transformation is so beautiful, it made me well up in tears! This post is a testimony to the “Miracle of Adoption.” Love is a powerful thing and can change lives…..
I also want to say that even though we are anxious and sometimes struggle with fears. We are leaning on and trusting God who has brought us this far. We are leaning on our prayers and the prayers of friends and family. This is His story and we are so grateful to be a part of His great plans for Tahlia’s life. Had we not listened and obeyed His calling for our life, saw the vision He laid on our hearts, then we may have missed this amazing privilege to be Tahlia’s parents. We would have missed seeing God work so faithfully. We would have missed being a part of the amazing miracle of adoption. We do fear, at times, the unknown. However, we fear much more missing the will of God and His purposes for our lives. We fear missing out on being used in powerful ways to show His Love to those He loves. We are blessed to be walking this path to our daughter. It is our prayer that Tahlia will one day come to praise and love her heavenly Father as she sees His love for her.
Please pray for us. There are so many unknowns on the road that is ahead of us…..But, we are confident that we are in the center of God’s will. And, there is no other place we would rather be.
Isaiah 41:10
“Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” (NIV)
Love the family photos and the update! Praying!