I have two weeks left here at The Home of God's Love. I think it really just hit me tonight that when I leave here I won't wake up the next morning and get to peek in on Ethan Matthew and get his first smile of the morning or see David Jeremiah's sleepy, confused morning face. I am not yet ready to leave the people that I love here- the babies, Show Hwa, Ted and Bev, Anna, Meredith, and all the older kids. I haven't been keeping track of how many days I have left, mostly because the only reason I will be happy to leave is to get to see my family and friends in America, not because I want to leave here. I wish I could have both my family/friends in America and the babies/kids/friends here in Taiwan in the same place. Gwo Hwei told me yesterday that I only have fourteen days left. He told me that when I leave his heart is going to cry. Isn't that so sweet? He's been a really good friend while I've been here. And he is such a good helper, feeding and holding the babies when he stops by. There are so many great people and kids here that I wish I could still have as a part of my every day life. I wish I could get to see all the babies I've helped care for grow up. I wish I could continue being an older sister to all the girls on the other side of the orphanage. Ya Wen told me the other day that she is going to cry when I leave, too. It broke my heart. Bah......no more talking about it. Such great people, such great memories I'll cherish forever.
To stay on a sad note......Baby Chiou (Timothy Joel) is being taken back by his birth mom. This is the second baby for his adoptive parents to lose (Baby Shih was the first), so please be praying for comfort and encouragement for them as the find out the news and continue back at square one with their adoption process. I am really sad that Timothy won't be going to them because they seemed like wonderful, wonderful people. Sometimes when adoptive parents lose a baby because the birth parents take him back, they keep the same name they had picked out for the next baby the are allocated. When Timothy's parents found out that Baby Shih (Elisha) was being taken back and that they were now allocated Chiou, they wanted to choose a new name so that they could keep praying for Elisha.
Happier news......We are getting two new babies this Thursday! One is a newborn, and the other is a four month old. Also, all they other babies are doing well. Ethan Luke rolled over for the first time, En Chr got a hair cut, David is able to put some weight through his legs and stand up with help, Rylyn is working on more teeth and eating better, Ethan Matthew has been less fussy and much more giggly, Mia and Maleeya are growing soooooo much, Brecken and Tristan are doing better with tummy time, James is still super cute, and David Jeremiah is smiling more and wanting more conversation.
Other good news......Meredith and I have enjoyed two wonderful days off in the past two weeks. Last week, we went into town with Anna and got new glasses and helped her run errands. Then, Meredith and I ate lunch at a new little restaurant by the lake. They serve really good waffles! This week, we went into Luodong and ate at a Chinese place and then got bings, Meredith's first! Later that day, we went on a walk with Jong Hau around the lake and then I got to play basketball with him and some of the other kids. I also got to hang out a little bit with Ya Wen and some of the littler girls. One of my favorite moments of the day was when Yu Ping, Ying Ju, and the social worker's daughter ran up to me calling, "Jie Jie (older sister)!" because they wanted to play. Best day off yet!
I need to get to bed, since I'm on early morning shift and it's almost midnight here. Thanks for caring about me and my time here. Thanks for your prayers!
Prayer requests:
- God to watch over Baby Chiou as he goes back with his birth mom
- That Rylyn's adoption would go through, that the case worker would be able to find her birth mom, so that the paperwork process can continue.
- For James' diaper rash
- Rest for Bev and healing for a lump on her eye
- For eyes to see, ears to hear, and a heart that can see God's heart and love here
-Strength to finish my time here with even more love each day for the babies and people I with whom I work
- God to be preparing my heart to come back to America and ending my time here in joy and thanksgiving
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