Everything is fine!

Shiyan came to our room last night about 8:30 and said that it is all fine! We go to the Consulate today at 3:00 p.m. to take our "oath" and get Zach's visa! We are almost done! YEAH!!! (And thank you, Sara! We have really appreciated all your efforts on our behalf. You are truly a wonderful Social Worker!)

We spent our afternoon yesterday swimming (Zach really loves that) and playing at a "park," which is really just an open cement area for kids to play). We brought Zach's ball and had a great time.

We also met another family almost exactly like ours! They are adopting an 8 year old boy and have 3 kids waiting for them at home. It was such a blessing to talk to them. They, too, felt God worked through the entire process to validate their decision to bring home their son. Their son, Elijah, is deaf and their story is fascinating. They live in Colorado and she has felt lead to speak to congregations about adoption.

As I listened to their story about what their son endured in the orphanage, it breaks my heart. He was abandoned at the age of 6 (perhaps he had a illness that caused his deafness). In the orphanage, he was placed with profoundly retarded children. He was abused by the other children, and even has scars on his face as a result of an attack from another child.

So, now that I am writing my last post from China, I have to share my heart, again, for the orphan.

James 1:27 : "Religion that God our father considers pure and faultless is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress and to keep from being polluted by the world."

Fellow Christians -- How are we doing? It is wonderful to feed the hungry and house the homeless. That is important and necessary in every society. But God, in His Holy Word, specifically tells His people to care for orphans and widows. That is what He is calling "pure religion." There are over 100 million orphans (some estimates say 140 million +). What are we doing? We can't just say that giving food to the local food shelf satisfies this command of God. He absolutely tells us to do these things, too, but there is a big difference between what is said in James 1:27 and these other acts of kindness. The difference is that, in most societies, orphans and widows are the most hopeless and helpless people in the society. What can children do for themselves? They can't work (at least in ways that are moral). They can't provide for their needs. God tells His church to meet those needs but, by and large, we are not We are truly thankful for our church and their heart to be open to orphan ministry! But more churches need to do this. We need to understand that when we say that the other efforts on behalf of the needy are equivalent, orphans go hungry and orphans are left without hope. We must do both. We need to stock the food shelves. AND we need to care for the needs of orphans and widows. If the church was actually doing its job, there would not be so many orphans going hungry on the streets of Manila. There would not be so many children in orphanages in Russia, China, South America and Africa. There really are so many ways we can reach these precious children for Christ. Missionaries do wonderful work. But there are not enough of them to reach this massive number. Foster parents can make a huge impact on every child that comes into their home. Again, there are not enough people stepping up to take on this responsibility. Many foster homes are filled to capacity.

And then there is adoption. Children like Zach and Elijah needs homes as much as the most adorable infant who is waiting for a home. They have experienced a great deal of rejection in their short lives. When we asked Maddie, who was the biggest advocate in our family to adopt Zach, why we should do that she simply said "train up a child in the way he should go" (and in the end he will not turn from it). This is our 10 year old daughter, quoting God's Word about the importance of what a Christian family can do for a child -- any child they choose to love and cherish the way God intended for them to be loved and cherished. When Christians adopt orphans, these children are given the greatest hope we have to give. They are trained in God's Word and told about, and shown through our actions on a daily basis, the work Christ did for them.

Thanks for "listening."