The Picture is Becoming Clearer With Each Passing Day

When I think back to Fri., Sept. 17th, at about 9:20am, I will never forget those moments...suspended in time, when I cried out to God, sitting on the floor of the CCAA with a girl, that I was not quite sure would board a plane with us to come home....and I am overwhelmed that He answered my prayer, again...again, He answered our prayers. At that point, I prayed for His will to be done in DanNi's life...because I wasn't too sure at that point, maybe she would be better off in China...where she knows the language, has friends, etc.

But the whole time in the back of my mind, I kept thinking about her eternal salvation....did she know who God was? Was she raised in a Buddhist home before going to the SWI? Did she get any religious training at the SWI, or at school? And today we found out, she is lost, without a Savior. Again, it is overwhelming to me to think there are still people in our world, not just any people, but now my daughter, my OWN DAUGHTER, has not heard of God. We have been praying each night with the girls, but we aren't sure she understands what we are doing. I have not tried to explain it yet, not trying to push things, but just continuing on with the bedtime routines we've been doing for years. And Meredith reassured me (she is VERY concerned about her salvation) that at dinner tonight for the first time during the blessing, DanNi did not continue to eat, but stopped. Meredith said she had one eye open...her sweet innocence and tenderness for her sister amazes me.

So, the picture of this journey is becoming clearer with each passing day, when on Fri., Sept. 17th, up close, in my mind, it all looked so black, pretty hopeless. But with each moment, He is making it more colorful and things are coming into focus, as we back away from the canvas He is creating for our family. I know it won't be completely revealed until we are in heaven, but we continue to pray for our new roles as DanNi's parents.

I was very encouraged to hear that she did not have any previous training in Buddhism, because that was a concern of mine; and traditional Chinese culture is based a lot on luck...and I as a believer, do not believe in 'luck' but in the divine sovereignty of God. So, it will be interesting to see how all this plays out as we learn more about DanNi, her past, and how His providence that brought her to our family will change all of our lives.

Please continue to pray that the walls around her heart and mind...walls built to protect herself from past and future hurts, and understandably so, would begin to fall, so the walls of truth.... that Jesus loves her, God created her for a purpose and He desires her to know Him, could begin to take shape.

We took our oath today, at the US Consulate..and before that, each family and adoptive child was called to a window to complete the whole process. The kind Chinese lady asked for our passports and then presented a piece of paper under the little window. Originally, we were told just one parent would sign the document. But, the lady said since DanNi was 12, she could sign. My heart almost stopped...until the lady asked DanNi to sign her name, she picked up the pen, and signed her name without hesitation. I think the angels in heaven rejoiced...I know I for sure wanted to shout for joy!

Amy also told us she asked DanNi when we were leaving the Consulate if she had any worries or concerns, and she told her "No", she just missed her friends. Please pray for her about that, too. I'm sure it is incredibly difficult, for her, who has depended on her friends as if they were family, to leave them, and realize she will most likely never see them again. That's a whole lot for a 12 year old to handle.

One of the neatest moments today, though, was seeing a 14 year old young man, who just days before his 14th birthday, was an orphan and was almost destined to be an orphan forever, but today, he was sitting with the people God has ordained to be his family. Wow! Just to be able to see that, I could hardly contain my emotions.

Good night....we cannot wait to be home!