Rene's Reflections - version 1
joek...@insightbb.com
stories . . .
Our guide is Susan, a smart, single young woman who loves the Lord. I
asked her how she became saved. She said over the years a friend and
co-worker talked to her about God, but she thought Christianity was
for the week. Then, she reached a point in her life where the goals
she set for happiness (good career, good marriage) eluded her. I
think she may have already been working in the adoption industry (not
for AHH), and she said she was under a tremendous amount of pressure,
feeling a huge weight on her shoulders. Then, she worked with Peter
and three AHH families who were adopting special needs children in her
home town (Xi'an, Shaanxi province). She said the families were so
happy, and she was drawn to them. She assumed they were happy because
they were healthy, but she had their paperwork and knew that wasn't
true. After an Easter service they attended together, someone in the
families asked her if she knew Jesus and if she wanted to. At first,
she agreed to pray because she thought it couldn't hurt, but by the
second sentence, she became overwhelmed with emotion. She doesn't
like to cry period. Much less in front of people. Later that night,
she started to weep again as she prayed to God. She tried to hold it
back but couldn't. She was amazed that her overwhelming burden
lifted. After she became saved, she began working on her mom. She
asked all the travel groups to pray for her, and a year-and-a-half
ago, her mom was saved.
To explain the one-child policy, Susan described her co-worker
Alison's situation. I was very interested because Alison made a very
important decision in our lives. Last fall, we got a new Family
Advocate at the agency, and once again, informing China about Millie
was up for debate. China's rule is that you wait one year after a
biological addition to adopt again. The wait had slowed, but Millie
was just three months old last fall. Ultimately, the agency relied on
Alison to make the call. She decided NOT to inform China, and it was
the right decision. We received our referral on July 6 and Millie
turned 1 on July 9 . . . Susan said Alison had one child (a boy) when
she accidentally got pregnant again. Alison's husband, not a
Christian, wanted to end the pregnancy. Eventually though, he was
supportive even though it meant he had to give up his good government
job. If he had stayed at his job, the government would have fined
them heavily because one of their employees violated the one-child
policy. Also, Alison and her husband have to pay a fine in order to
have their second child, a daughter registered as a citizen to receive
health care and education benefits. They almost have the total amount
which is $1,875 US dollars. The average salary here is $500 US
dollars a month. Alison's son is now age 5, and her daughter is age
2. Susan says the girl is very strong-willed. Another co-worker was
watching her one day. She was bouncing on the couch, looking like she
was on top of the world. The co-worker said, "Don't jump off the
couch." The girl took one look at the co-worker, jumped off the
couch, and smiled. Sound familiar? Ha!
We get our girls at 3:30 p.m. today. Everyone is anxious. Six of the
babies in our group (the ones from Beihei) are older, 18 months.
Additional information they received says they have been nurtured by
one main care giver (who they call "grandma") at the orphanage. Susan
says to expect lots of crying. And the other two babies (ours and
Melody Wong's, a single mom from Tucson) are younger but have been in
foster care. We are taking them from the only families they have ever
known. Also, we learned last night that many are sick with "flu-like"
symptoms (Shawn, I'll be in touch.). Please pray for healed little
hearts and bodies and for smooth transitions.
We have a great travel group. Eight babies are adopted this time.
For two couples, it is their first child (one couple from Bardstown
and the other from Tampa). As I mentioned before, Melody Wong will
be a single, first-time mom. Her cousin, Melissa Wong (from LA) has
traveled with her. Five families already have kids. Dawn has three
biological sons (ages 11-6). Dawn is traveling with her mother-in-law
and really missing her husband who "takes care of her" while she takes
care of her boys. Dawn is a teacher in Meade Co. Eric (pastor in
Houston, TX) and Jenny Frige have three biological children, two girls
and one boy (ages 9-3). Like us, the Sauls already have one daughter
from China. Rayanna Saul is almost 5. They live in Bardstown. And
Penny and Bobby Parris have two daughters, ages 25 and 23. They also
have three grandchildren (ages 3-just born). They started thinking
about China adoption when one of Penny's co-workers (age 50) brought
in his daughter from China. They tried to escape it, but God wouldn't
let it go. Like us, most are here as an act of obedience.
Like last trip, Aunt Sarah made us a badge with Molly's picture. When
the young girls working in the jade and pearl factories see it, they
say she will be smart because of her large forehead. When we showed
it to Susan, she said the same. She said the eyes also show "strong-
will." No hope for the weary here! Glen, the local guide, says Jingxi
(Molly's home town) is a beautiful place-green with waterfalls and
mountains. He says the girls from there are said to be beautiful
also. Molly and Melody Wong's daughter, Tiffany, are from Jingxi.
The other six babies are older, 18 months, and live in Beihei, a
beautiful resort town on the coast near Vietnam. We may have the
opportunity to visit those places. On Wednesday, Susan said one of us
could take the two-and-half-hour one-way trip to Jingxi. Susan
doesn't think Molly should go back (so I would stay at the hotel with
her) because she may be sick. Also, Glen is trying to work out a
school visit for Joe.
So 3:30 p.m. today is Gotcha Day. That is 3:30 a.m. Monday your
time. We'll call you. Just kidding!