Sunday, August 10, 2008

The Wasteland

I am sure you are all familiar with the rollercoaster of hormones and emotions that go along with a typical pregnancy. Did you know that "paper pregnant" women go through the same sort of emotions? Yep, I can speak to that myself! I have been paper pregnant for about 21 months now. Talk about emotions! Lonnie and I thought that the process to start our family would be something like this: 1) fill out the application with Holt. 2) do all the paperwork required. 3) wait about 18 months. 4) go to China and pick up our little girl. Well, if you've been reading our blog or talking with us, you know that God had a different plan in mind.........we've been waiting for more information on His plan!

Have you ever read the book the Dream Giver? I read it almost 4 years ago--about the time Lonnie and I started dating. I remember God giving me the dream back then to one day adopt a child. Last week I decided to get the book back out to reread it, in case I had heard incorrectly about the dream God had given me. I am so glad that I dusted that book off. Lonnie & I were given lots of great reminders. The part of the book I can best relate to right now is what Bruce Wilkinson (the author) describes as "the wasteland". This is the time after a dream has been identified, after a person has stepped out of their comfort zone and said yes to that dream, to then the waiting time for that dream to come true. This is where I have been sitting for quite a while. During our time in the wasteland, I have questioned "God, did you really give me this dream to adopt, or did I make it up"? I questioned if God had forgotten about us and our dream. But then I was reminded of how the time in the wasteland is not a waste! God uses this time of waiting to increase our trust in him, to build our strength, and to do things in us that we don't even realize. So, as we sit and wait to one day meet who God wants to bring into our family, I thank Him for this wasteland! I also was reminded that Lonnie & I don't own this dream of building a family through adoption---it's His dream. So we are working on giving that dream back to God so He can do with it what He wants.

2008 Olympics

Hi All. It's Nancy here. My dear husband is in the process of teaching me how to blog, so I thought I'd better try it out!

The 2008 summer Olympics are in Beijing, China, so there have been all sorts of news stories about China over the last couple of weeks. While watching the news stories and the Olympics, it makes me think about being in China one day to meet the child God has hand picked for us!

The news stories have talked a lot about how well the Chinese economy is currently doing. Young people there appear to be enjoying their new wealth, moving out of the country side to the cities. However it makes wonder about what their hearts feel like. Gaining material wealth is not what satisfies the heart. I pray that Christianity will continue to spread throughout China so the people of China are full of eternal riches.

One story Lonnie & I watched last week talked about how there is such a high suicide rate for the women in China. Women who live in the country side are forced to do hard labor. They do farm work because they have no education.  They feel pressure to have baby boys (as boys can help out with the farm work better than girls); when they give birth to a baby girl, they begrudgingly place her for adoption. Women working in the cities work seven days a week. We heard of one woman who worked in a factory in China where she was not allowed to speak at all over the 12 hour shifts she worked. Women feel lonely and disrespected.

My heart aches for all the women in China---the moms who are forced to place their baby girls on the roadside, hoping someone will come by and take her baby to a local orphanage---the young women who recently moved from the country to the city to "take in the city life" until they realize how lonely it is there too.

A couple from our church has been to China on a mission trip. They saw people there being touched by Christ. He's up to something there! I pray for all those mothers, orphans, orphanage workers, foster parents........that their hearts would be filled with His love and joy. I pray that the child(ren) that God has picked for us would feel His love and joy until we meet.

Below is some information that Holt (our international adoption agency) recently emailed out about the Olympics:

All eyes are on China for the start of the upcoming 2008 Olympic Games.   This year's Olympic theme is, "One World One Dream."    There will be more than ten thousand athletes competing in the games, representing more than two-hundred nations.  

For the first time, the 2008 Olympic medals incorporate the use of jade.   The obverse side of the medals represent the Greek goddess of victory, Nike, while the reverse side of the medals are inlaid with jade with the Beijing Games emblem engraved in the metal centerpiece.

Each of the five Olympic mascots, called Fuwa, have a special meaning and represent one color of the Olympic rings.  

  • Beibei, the fish, represents the blessing of prosperity    
  • Jingjing, the panda, represents the blessing of happiness  
  • Huanhuan, the Olympic flame, represents the blessing of passion  
  • Yingying, the Tibetan antelope, represents the blessing of health  
  • Nini, the swallow, represents the blessing of good luck  
For those of us not able to attend the games in person, the opening ceremony will be televised on August 8, 2008, or (08/08/2008).   The number eight is considered a lucky number in Chinese culture and is highly sought after in license plate numbers, phone numbers and street addresses.   The closing ceremony will conclude the games on August 24, 2008.  

The official website for the 2008 Olympic games is:   http://en.beijing2008.cn/