I can't imagine my life without this girl.

This was my first glimpse of Kate NaNa. Isn't she wonderful? Don't you just love the cow vest?

I appreciate those of you who are still hanging out here. Really I do. I don't always have anything important or interesting to say, yet I know by word of mouth that some of you visit regularly. Thank you for that. It encourages me so much.

And if you are still hanging around after the last few posts that I have written, then hopefully I won't run you off with this one either.

Because I have another hard post to write.

I think you see where this is going, don't you?

Are you someone who is called to adoption?

Lately, some of you have shared with me that you have been praying about adoption, but you just aren't feeling it. Or maybe your husband isn't feeling it.

And so I have to ask another hard question: Are you praying with a surrendered heart?

If you are, and you aren't hearing from the Lord on this one, maybe God has other things in store for you. As I discussed with one friend recently, maybe God wants you to wait for His timing. (It wouldn't be the first time that our timing and His timing aren't the same thing:)

But, you have to be praying with a surrendered heart. To whatever God has for you. Whether it is child sponsorship, mission trips, adoption, or soup kitchens, pray that God will break your heart for the things that break His. And that is a hard prayer to pray.

I know that some people have been called to other things, and that is ok. But I know that some of you haven't even asked Him what you are called to do. Some of you are scared to ask that question. Maybe you are afraid of the answer. Afraid of what your spouse will think. Afraid you can't pay for it. Afraid of travel. Afraid your families will think you are nuts.

But aren't all of those things excuses? I know this because I have tried them. I have been afraid on this journey. But through it all, I can go back to November 2005 and remember. That was when Tim and started seriously considering adoption. We had discussed it before, but it was always something for later. Someday. But that month, we began to ask God to show us his heart. We asked Him if it was time to start our adoption journey, and we got a resounding yes. God gave us such a peace that it was time. Were we afraid? Yes, but we knew that God was calling us to something bigger than our fears.

Now I am going to say something else hard. Most of those children are not healthy infants. Some of them are, but most of them are older, hard to place children. They have special needs. But they still need parents. They still need a chance at more. They are still God's precious ones, in need of grace and love and hope. And you and I can do that. You and I can be God's hands and feet here.

So, what is next? Maybe you are just overwhelmed at all if this and you don't even know where to begin. You need more information. Go check out websites like No Hands But Ours. This website serves to encourage and inform parents about special needs. Join online forums like China Adopt Talk. This is simply a place for adoptive parents and potential adoptive parents to ask a million questions and encourage each other. (They don't just talk about China. There are rooms for other countries also.)

Maybe it is time for you to start talking to agencies. We used A Helping Hand, and we would definitely recommend them, but find an agency you are comfortable with.

Find out more about your state's foster program. There are so many children right here in the U.S. who desperately need homes.

Most importantly talk to adoptive/foster parents. I love it when people come to me asking questions. I will share honestly that adoption is hard. But so is parenting biological children. Like anything worth doing, you have to work at it. And it is soooo worth it.

What breaks your heart?

Well, I can hear crickets chirping from my last post, and I will probably get crickets with this one too, but I am going to do my best to say hard things anyway.

James 1:27 says, "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."

I don't know about you, but when I hear that, I can't brag about the ways I am taking care of orphans and widows. Most of the time, I do a pretty lousy job of it. When was the last time I took a widow a meal? When was the last time I volunteered in an orphanage (umm, never)? And while Kate NaNa once was an orphan, she is an orphan no longer. She has a forever family and thankfully no longer qualifies.

I also can't brag about keeping myself from being polluted by the world. Let's face it. There are a lot of way to be polluted, and I am not going to get into them all here. I am going to focus on one way.

All too often I think that the Church looks way too much like the world. I'm not talking about an organized Church (I could, but that's a whole 'nother discussion). I am talking about believers that should be the hands and feet of Christ, but aren't. Specifically, I think that we are too comfortable. We don't want to be bothered or step out of our comfort zones. And yes, I am guilty here as well. We are more concerned about having the newest technology or what we are going to wear tomorrow than we are about orphans and widows. I am not saying that gadgets or nice clothes are a bad thing. I am just saying that if we think more about these things than we do about the things that God cares about, the things that break his heart, then maybe our priorities are a little out of whack. When was the last time you wept for the orphan?

There are children out there without mommies and daddies out there. Many of them need special medical care. They need surgery to repair their cleft lips. They need club foot castings. They need life saving heart surgeries. They need foster care.* Are you still comfortable?

I don't know about you, but sometimes the needs feel a little overwhelming. Sometimes I don't even know where to start.

So, I have put together a list of ways you can participate in orphan care. This is not meant to be an exhaustive list. Not even close. It is simply meant to get you started. Some of these are Christian organizations. Some of them are secular in nature.

• In my last post I mentioned Compassion International and World Vision. World Vision's orphan sponsorships focus on children whose parents died with HIV/AIDS.
• I have a friend who works with orphanages in Ukraine. Last time I talked with him, he was looking for sponsors for children. Contact me if you would like more information. (Update: This is called MASTER Provisions.)
• My agency, A Helping Hand, does tons of relief work with orphans, specifically in Guatemala and China. They also gave birth to an organization called Orphan Voice that is run by their founder. They work in Southeast Asia. You can sponsor children, or volunteer to go on a trip.
• Both Hands - This is an awesome organization that helps widows and orphans at the same time! Basically, adoptive families get sponsorships to do work on the homes of widows. Very cool.
• Come up with your own awesome idea. Two of my friends recently held a big book sale, with all proceeds going to families who are adopting internationally. I love that. My friend Tara has a photography business and does adoption promos. I love that too!
• Start an adoption ministry at your church.
• Support the Dave Thomas Foundation. Yes, this is the Wendy's guy.

All of the following organizations operate in China (I am sure there are other amazing organizations doing work in other countries. China is just what I know about.):

• Maria's Big House of Hope, a part of Show Hope - Many of you will remember the tragic death of Steven Curtis Chapman's daughter. To honor her, there is a beautiful and amazing facility in China that serves special needs children. You can click on the links to find more information about sponsoring the facility, volunteering at Maria's Big House of Hope, or helping fund adoptions.
• An Orphan's Wish - Another wonderful organization with sponsorships for kids with special needs.
• Starfish Cleft Home or Starfish Foster Home - Both of these facilities allow folks to sponsor children who need surgeries and/or special medical care.
• Pearl River Outreach - Sponsorships for this organization pays for children to be taken care of in foster families rather than orphanages.
• Love Without Boundaries - This organization funds medical care, foster families, and lots of other great stuff. They have child sponsorships, and even a cool online store.
• Half the Sky Foundation - This is another organization doing wonderful work in China. You can sponsor children here too. (By the way, my friends are adopting a little boy from a HTS facility, so that's another reason to support them.)

Since this is National Adoption Awareness Month, I am definitely not done, but I will save it for another post.

* RE foster care - Foster care cannot replace forever families. They are usually temporary situations. However, in our family, we are thankful that Kate was privileged to be in foster care for much of her time in China. Foster care allows much more individualized care of children (obviously), but it also allows babies to form attachments with their foster parents which is an extremely important part of their emotional and mental development. We firmly believe that part of reason that Kate has adjusted so well is because she had a wonderful foster mother.

Blog Housekeeping

I have some sidebars on my blog that it is time to take down, but I have been putting it off because I didn't want to lose the information. This is the only place that I have our entire adoption timeline recorded in one place. So, I decided to do a blog post about it, so that I don't lose the stats, but I can take them off of the sidebar. Make sense? In other words, this post is purely for me and Kate NaNa and our family. We will return to our regularly scheduled posting whenever I can have a coherent thought.....

Adoption Stats

• June 17, 2005 - Sent in application to AHH
• January 2006 - Dossier to China (DTC)
• March 7, 2006 - Log In Date (LID)
• March 2008 - Began Special Needs paperwork
• July 11, 2008 - PAPL
• July 21, 2008 - Letter of Intent to adopt Su Xu Na (LOI)
• July 23, 2008 - Pre-Approval (PA)
• July 31, 2008 - Letter of Acceptance from China (LOA)
• August 21, 2008 - Travel Approval (TA)
• October 9, 2008 - Departure
• October 21, 2008 - Consulate Appointment (CA)
• October 23, 2008 - Return Home

Our Trip to China

• Thursday, 10/9/08 - Leave for China!!! 11:15am
• Friday, 10/10/08 - Arrive in Beijing @ 9:35pm, Trader's Hotel
• Saturday, 10/11/08 - Summer Palace & Great Wall of China
• Sunday, 10/12/08 - Tian An Men Square & Forbidden City
• Sunday, 10/12/08 - Depart Beijing @ 2:25pm, Arrive in Nanjing @ 4:20pm, Mandarin Garden Hotel
• Monday, 10/13/08 - Meet Kathryn Xuna!!!!!
• Tuesday, 10/14/08 - Adoption Day!!!
• Wednesday, 10/15/08 - Take a train to Suzhou in the am, Visit the SWI, the Humble Administrator's Garden, Jasmine Holiday Inn
• Thursday, 10/16/08 - Visit the Lingering Garden, Panmen Scenic Area, & a Silk Factory
• Friday, 10/17/08 - Visit Tongli Town, the water country. Return to Nanjing in the evening
• Saturday, 10/18/08 - Visit the Ming Dynasty Mausoleum & the Nanjing Museum
• Sunday, 10/19/08 - Visit Quinhai River & local park
• Monday, 10/20/08 - Depart Nanjing @ 7:50am, Arrive in Guangzhou @ 8:45am, White Swan Hotel
• Monday, 10/20/08 -Kate's Medical Exam and Visa Photo
• Tuesday, 10/21/08 - US Consulate Appointment
• Wednesday, 10/22/08 - Oath @ the US Consulate
• Thursday, 10/23/08 - Depart Guangzhou @ 8:20am, Arrive Home @ 4:25pm

Waiting Children and Show Hope

I am still working on my book, but I wanted to stop in to let you all know that A Helping Hand Adoption Agency just received a new list of Waiting Children. These children are waiting for their forever families to find them. Some of them have been on the list more than a year, some of them have just been added. Whether you are considering adoption or not, please stop by their website and pray for these precious children.

I also just received my monthly newsletter from Show Hope (formerly Shaohannah's Hope). They have recently opened their new facility in China, Maria's Big House of Hope, named after Steven Curtis Chapman's daughter. Click on the above links to learn more about this awesome project and more about adoption.