We have a new little one in our midst as of today. His name is Chen Jie, not to be confused with our other baby Chen Jie En. :) He is a baby from another Home that does adoptions on the island. The woman who runs that operation is named Deana Pawn, and Ted sometimes helps her out with paper work on some of her adoptions. This time Ted is finishing the adoption, so the baby came to stay with us until the rest of the adoption is finished. His adoptive name is James, and he is a sweetie. He is six months old and was all smiles when he arrived. He has had some troubled getting settled down at nap and bed time, but is doing well for his first day here. He reminds me a lot of Kwen in some ways and of Elijah in others. It's funny how any baby I meet I am not going to compare it to the little ones I've taken care of here.
As it seems to happend around here, when one comes another one goes or vice versa. We got the sad new today that Baby Chiou's (Timothy Joel's) birth mom wants to take him back. If Ted and Bev can't talk her out of her decision, this will be the second baby that Timothy's adoptive parents have lost (Baby Shih was the first). Although it's good that the birth mom loves the baby, it is hard because when a baby gets taken back, I always wonder if it will get the care it needs and am saddened that it will most likely be raised to worship idols.
Please pray for Baby Chiou's birth mom that she will come to know the Lord and that she will have a soft heart to give him up to his loving, God-fearing family in the States.
Also, I am now into Ezekiel in the OT. The idea of God's people being unfaithful to Him and His anger/hurt over their prostitution seems to be the theme, as well as his restoration and unfailing love for those that turn back and seek and love him. It's been interesting to ponder on. It is pretty much the meat of Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel, so it is pretty important to God's heart. I am still hoping to at least finish the Old Testament while I am here. If not, I have a long plane ride home to get some reading done!
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Cherish Every Moment
I have been so bad about keeping this up the past two months! Here's the rundown, short and sweet style:
- My parents and brother left almost a week ago and made it home safely. It was such a joy to have them here and be able to show them what my life has looked like, as well as experience old and new parts of Taiwan with them. Besides going to Taroko, we were able to go into Taipei for a day, go to Su'ao a fishing village for an afternoon, drive up to the tea fields in the mountains behind the Home, shop in the Luodong market, and play with lots of wonderful babies. I think my mom wanted to take a few of them home! :)
- Jennifer left the same day as my parents, so the help is down to Meredith and me plus Show Hwa during the week days. Bev took over the night shift where Jennifer had been working. It really doesn't seem like the work load is any different. We actually have been getting to go to bed earlier than before!
- We have eleven babies right now. David, En Chr, Rylyn, Ethan Matthew, Brecken, Tristan, Feng (now David Jeremiah), Lin (now Ethan Luke), Chen (now Maleeya), Chiou (Timothy), and Hwang (Mia). I think Chiou and Mia are the two new ones that I haven't ever written about on the blog. They are both about three weeks old. We got them when they were just a few days old. Chiou was the baby we brought back from our Taroko trip. If you are good about paying attention to the babies we have....which I'll be impressed because I've made it very confusing :)....you will notice that two babies are gone. Chi baby, the Vietnamese baby, whose English name was Ethan Luke, was taken back by the grandparents of the husband to the birth mom. So Chi's adoptive parents were then allocated Lin, which is now why his name is also Ethan Luke. I know, confusing, right? The other baby that is no longer at the Home is baby Shih. He was also taken back by his birth mom. We are really praying for both of those babies, especially Shih. My mom fell in love with Shih when she was here, probably because she has a soft spot for screaming babies. :) He was very fussy, just ask Tyler. His mom is a single mom that has a child in high school, 3rd grade, and a two year old, and now she has Shih, as well. Please pray for his well-being and for the mother to find strength, patience, and Jesus.
- Rylyn and the twins had their courtdates. Please pray that the rest of the process would go smoothly for them and that their adoptive parents would have encouragement and patience in the hardest waiting stage in the adoption.
- I have decided to keep my original plans and come home on March 14th. I am hoping to work at a summer camp this summer and then go to grad school in the fall to get my masters in social work or something that will prepare me to work with a non-profit/mission organization. There are still lots of things up in the air about all of this, so please be praying for God's sovereignty and guidance...that he would make things especially clear and that he would give me the will to follow through.
- My church has asked me to skype into their chapel service for the grade school kids this week. I am really excited to talk to them and answer their questions. Please pray that God would speak through me and that our interent would work on Thursday morning, since it has been so finicky lately.
I only have a little less than a month left here. Time in the last few months has slowed down compared to the first three that flew by. I am really trying to cherish every moment I have with the wonderful people and babies here. I want to be able to clse my eyes and see everything just as it is here when I get home. I think I will be ready to come home to see friends and family, but I don't like to think about leaving this place yet. It has been a place of solace and peace for me. I have learned a lot about love, service, and truth. I am so grateful to God for bringing me here and am looking forward to meeting with Him and learning even more in my last month. Thank you to all of you who continue to pray for me and those here in Taiwan.
- My parents and brother left almost a week ago and made it home safely. It was such a joy to have them here and be able to show them what my life has looked like, as well as experience old and new parts of Taiwan with them. Besides going to Taroko, we were able to go into Taipei for a day, go to Su'ao a fishing village for an afternoon, drive up to the tea fields in the mountains behind the Home, shop in the Luodong market, and play with lots of wonderful babies. I think my mom wanted to take a few of them home! :)
- Jennifer left the same day as my parents, so the help is down to Meredith and me plus Show Hwa during the week days. Bev took over the night shift where Jennifer had been working. It really doesn't seem like the work load is any different. We actually have been getting to go to bed earlier than before!
- We have eleven babies right now. David, En Chr, Rylyn, Ethan Matthew, Brecken, Tristan, Feng (now David Jeremiah), Lin (now Ethan Luke), Chen (now Maleeya), Chiou (Timothy), and Hwang (Mia). I think Chiou and Mia are the two new ones that I haven't ever written about on the blog. They are both about three weeks old. We got them when they were just a few days old. Chiou was the baby we brought back from our Taroko trip. If you are good about paying attention to the babies we have....which I'll be impressed because I've made it very confusing :)....you will notice that two babies are gone. Chi baby, the Vietnamese baby, whose English name was Ethan Luke, was taken back by the grandparents of the husband to the birth mom. So Chi's adoptive parents were then allocated Lin, which is now why his name is also Ethan Luke. I know, confusing, right? The other baby that is no longer at the Home is baby Shih. He was also taken back by his birth mom. We are really praying for both of those babies, especially Shih. My mom fell in love with Shih when she was here, probably because she has a soft spot for screaming babies. :) He was very fussy, just ask Tyler. His mom is a single mom that has a child in high school, 3rd grade, and a two year old, and now she has Shih, as well. Please pray for his well-being and for the mother to find strength, patience, and Jesus.
- Rylyn and the twins had their courtdates. Please pray that the rest of the process would go smoothly for them and that their adoptive parents would have encouragement and patience in the hardest waiting stage in the adoption.
- I have decided to keep my original plans and come home on March 14th. I am hoping to work at a summer camp this summer and then go to grad school in the fall to get my masters in social work or something that will prepare me to work with a non-profit/mission organization. There are still lots of things up in the air about all of this, so please be praying for God's sovereignty and guidance...that he would make things especially clear and that he would give me the will to follow through.
- My church has asked me to skype into their chapel service for the grade school kids this week. I am really excited to talk to them and answer their questions. Please pray that God would speak through me and that our interent would work on Thursday morning, since it has been so finicky lately.
I only have a little less than a month left here. Time in the last few months has slowed down compared to the first three that flew by. I am really trying to cherish every moment I have with the wonderful people and babies here. I want to be able to clse my eyes and see everything just as it is here when I get home. I think I will be ready to come home to see friends and family, but I don't like to think about leaving this place yet. It has been a place of solace and peace for me. I have learned a lot about love, service, and truth. I am so grateful to God for bringing me here and am looking forward to meeting with Him and learning even more in my last month. Thank you to all of you who continue to pray for me and those here in Taiwan.
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