When I reflect on our family I am truly amazed. Not at Lisa and I, but at what God has done for, through and in us in the process of building this family - a work that is not yet complete. We are blessed beyond what we could have imagined a few years ago, and beyond what we ever hoped for. Lisa and I always talked about a large family, and on that theme we even discussed running an orphanage as missions work for a time. It seems that is not for us right now, but bringing them home is.
Our son Jeff is nearly 16, and was our only for 8 years. He came into the world 2 months early, and scared me enough to begin looking for God. He went through a rough beginning, marked by nearly losing his life and then his legs, but today he is a big, strong, healthy young man who makes us very proud to claim as our son. He is an excellent student, a hard worker, and he is mature beyond his years. Jeff is intense, and has a heart for missions and travel. He has been to China twice, Romania once, and is headed to Mexico in a couple of weeks. We have always wondered what Jeff would do with his life with his unique blending of gifts, and I am still not certain. It is fun to be part of the pushing off team (like shoving a boat out into the current), and to be part of his support and encouragement team on the home front. I don't think that he is long for this continent, and will have to allow God to make us content with him being far away, which seems to be the only thing we are somewhat certain of.
When Jeff was 7 and we were not supposed to be able to have any more kids, we first began to consider the adoption option. We had no money, so we were seriously looking into foster adoption, when surprise, surprise, Lisa was pregnant.
Josiah was next, and just as foretold, he was pure joy. His beginning was much less exciting than Jeff’s was, but God wasn’t trying to get our attention this time around. Josiah is now 7, and still a delight to have as a son. He is our little prophet, and quite the dreamer, as well as being very caring and a nurturer. It is amazing to me to see how God has gifted Josiah to be able to absorb new family members right in the midst of his age, which means his space, his toys, his age level of interaction with Mom & Dad, etc., and be the guide, playmate, caregiver.....such a delight he is.
Shortly after Josiah was born, we entered our nomadic period, and we traveled around the country and Canada starting up new power plants. In 5 years we were living and working in Washington, Texas, Wisconsin, Oregon, British Columbia, Washington, California, Louisiana and finally Washington again, where we have settled. During that time we lived in 8 houses, and were part of 9 churches. It was a great adventure, but we were happy to say it was over a couple years ago when we settled here in Goldendale.
During the last year of our wandering, we felt drawn to adoption again, and to China. We began down this path thinking that we would adopt a healthy infant girl, who would of course grow into a lovely girl who would love us dearly. We began working with an agency in Portland called ASIA, and were well on our way when God began to do a major work in us. In an instant God changed our hearts and we knew that our daughter was not a healthy infant, and that we had to be prepared for significant special needs as He was in control, and not us. This is when we began to come to the conclusion that God had decided long ago what our family was to look like, and we just had to draw near to Him and see who He had for us.
In our drawing near, God revealed to us through a dream of Lisa’s, that our first was a little girl, who had a problem with her leg or legs. Then Jeff had a vision of her and said that she had a limp in her left leg. In October of 1993 ASIA had a new waiting child list come out, which is their list of children who are older or have special needs. I was traveling and called home to get Lisa and Jeff in front of the computer to see the list. Out of the 11 kids on the list, this is who jumped out at them.
WAITING CHILD: DongqunSEX: F
DOB: October 1999
SPECIAL NEED: Limp in Left Leg
Dongqun was brought to the institute on October 10, 1999. Since November 20, 1999, she has been living with a foster family. She is smart and loves to go to school. She counts and speaks in whole sentences. She likes to read books, watch TV and listen to music. Dongqun is introverted and sometimes stubborn. She can dress, put on her shoes and take a bath by herself. She is very independent. Dongqun is healthy although she walks with a limp with her left leg. She is a good eater and has a good appetite.
Both of them immediately said this is her. We were the first ones to see the list posted, and were first to respond and let ASIA know that she was ours. As it turned out, the “limp with her left leg” was congenital hip displacia, and her description was just as Lisa and Jeff had expected.
Not long after we had chosen Joy, we also had discussions about “what if they will let us bring home 2 of these kids?” That led to a second pick by every one, and even questions to ASIA about whether or not it could be done. They told us it was not allowed in China, but our discussions kept on. I was taken by an older girl (who we later met, and become friends with her new family in Portland) but the boys had another pick. There was a little boy on the list who looked sweeter than you can imagine, and the boys kept telling us “there is nothing wrong with him, he is just blind in both eyes”. That was the description about Song on the Waiting Child list, and they couldn’t see why that should hold us back from adopting him.
WAITING CHILD: Song SEX: M
DOB: June 1997
SPECIAL NEED: Blindness in Both Eyes
Song is an active child who loves to smile. He has been at the institute since January 1998. He is introverted and gets along well with his friends. Song dances when he hears music. He can dress and undress himself and goes up and down the stairs by himself holding onto the rail. Song's health is very good and he is seldom sick. He has a good appetite and his favorite food is chicken legs.
We kept our eye on him on the list while we waited to go get Joy, and while all of the other kids on the list were marked as “on hold”, Song was soon the only one left.
In late June of 2004 the 4 of us flew to China to bring home Joy ChiGi Downen. We had a grand adventure, and our home has been full of Joy ever since. She was aptly named. We moved to Goldendale shortly before going to get her, and she fit in with us in our new home immediately. Today if you meet her you would think that she was born and raised here, and she is known by nearly everyone in town. I am referred to as Joy’s Dad, as she is so much more remarkable than me. She is becoming a ballet dancing, piano playing, swimming socialite, who God has seen fit to gift with such a tender and caring heart for other people. What a wonder it is to see Him transforming a little bud into a beautiful flower to be a blessing to so many people.
After we were home for a bit we contacted ASIA to ask about Song. We were afraid that they would send his file back to China and we would lose track of him. There is a one year waiting period before you can begin the process again from China, and we knew they couldn’t hold his file that long. Since we were the only ones who had shown an interest in Song, they held his file longer than normal, and then sought permission from China to waive the one year wait for us. We got approval from China, and were off and running on adoption #2.
In December of 2004 we had plans of traveling during the summer of 2005, but it seems God had other ideas. Fitting our timetable of every 7 to 8 years, Lisa was pregnant. This was such a wonderful surprise for us, but also a concern as China requires you to wait one year after giving birth to adopt. We were so sure that Song was ours at this point, that we couldn’t bear not bringing him home before then. Through the efforts of All God’s Children International and ASIA, the decision was made to try to bring him home 4 months after the baby came, and we got approval to do that.
In August of 2005 Jeremiah Gustaf came into the world, and he was such a blessing to us. He was and still is such a sweet little guy. It is amazing to think that anyone can go through the process from conception, to birth, through the first year of life and not believe that there is a creator out there who has such a deep love for us. Young Jer is just walking, loves to get in the water, and has such a sweet disposition. From his mid-shin view I wonder what this family looks like. We think that he is going to be the anchorman on this ????? person relay team, but who knows what God has in store for us down the road a little farther. I do know better than to say "no more".
After the initial pace of one son in the first 8 years, 2 in 6 months was quite a shock. In January, Jeff, Jan Ogden and I went to China to bring Song home. He was just as sweet as his initial picture, and to our surprise and delight he could see through a narrow field of view with his left eye. His vision we found out later is about 20/1000 through that narrow field of view, and cannot be corrected, but he does so well with what he has been given. In the few months Song has been home he taught himself to ride a bike, he is learning to swim, to read and write, and to play the piano. Again, it is such a blessing to see the hand of God move so dramatically, and so near to us. I think it is like people who saw Mt. St. Helens blow from a couple hundred miles away. They were amazed. But the people who were REALLY close were REALLY amazed. That is how Lisa and I feel to be so close to such a wonderful thing.
So, here we are - a family of 7, who are anxiously awaiting the arrival of our next 2 members, Mary & Marta. God has done an amazing work in our family, and He is still moving. We have found (and are still finding out) that when we submit to Him, and are willing to obey, that there is always enough of any resource necessary to do what He asks us to. That part of the deal is His job - we just have to hear and obey.
Rich
No comments:
Post a Comment