Wednesday, November 30, 2011

The Most Precious Gifts...

Many of you may know, five years ago we heard about a very ill baby who needed a family. Chenchen had lived most of her life in a palliative care unit in China because she was born with a liver disease that if left untreated, would kill her before her second birthday. When we heard about her, we instantly knew she was meant to be ours. Now, 4 years later, this warm, funny, gentle-hearted, and humble little soul, who we named Sarah, thrives on hugs, kisses, and cuddles, and whose kindness and care for others goes well beyond her six years. we often think back to the doubts, questions and emotions we had during her adoption and think, what joy and laughter and love we would have missed had we turned her away.

Sarah has gone from seeing the doctor’s once every 3-6 months now going once a month for scoping and ultrasounds. Her doctors tell us her condition has advanced and a transplant may be in her near future. Our hearts ache when we think about the days that lay ahead for her and so, we ask you to remember Sarah in your prayers.

Sarah prays a good bit herself actually. We learn a lot by listening to her pray. Very regularly, for the past three years, she has prayed that God would give her siblings. Interesting enough, a month ago, we learned of two other babies who mirror Sarah’s story. They both have the same liver condition as Sarah and both are with the same extraordinary non-profit, New Hope, who cared for Sarah during her first year of life). It was impossible for us to adopt the children as we no longer met the requirements, however, we felt led to offer our help, hoping somehow, we could connect them to doctors who could stabilize them until they could be adopted.

Now, we should have learned a long time ago that “impossible” is a non-issue for God. Impossible becomes nothing more than a vapor when it stands in the midst God’s love and compassion for orphans.

So, long story short – we are adopting these babies! We were cleared just this past week by both our Home Study and Adoption Agencies. It may be anywhere from 6-12 months before we bring them home, but a handsome baby boy AND another precious baby girl are on their way! Yes – you heard that right: TWO!!!!

And so, we are asking that you join us – march onto the battlefield of prayer with us! Due to the complexity and the speed at which the whole situation is moving, we are asking for His leading, guidance, wisdom, discernment, clarity, provision and protection over our family. We have $50k worth of adoption expenses to raise ($25k for each baby), 10-12 months of paperwork to cram in as quickly as we can do it, coordinating with two agencies and upwards of 10 people, and most importantly, the increasing criticalness of Sarah’s condition as well as the babies themselves.

Before we let you go, there is one more thing we would like you to pray about…

Directly after we committed to adopting these two little ones, two more with the same liver condition were delivered to New Hope within days of each other; a baby girl and a baby boy. It is an extremely rare thing to receive two children with this condition at the same time, but four is – unbelievably extraordinary. Many people might want to see this in a negative light, but we are choosing to believe God’s promises – that He loves these children – and for some reason, He has gathered and maneuvered them to New Hope for a reason. We believe there is a family out there, amongst our family or friends or acquaintances (or amongst yours!) whose heart is being prepared specifically for these little ones – it’s just a matter of finding them.

So, as completely out-of-the-question as this may be, we are asking you to take these children before the Lord and ask Him in earnest if either (or both) of these babies are meant for you. He will either etch these children into your memory so deeply you cannot forget them, or…He won’t. We hope you will take a leap of faith, and help us spread the word. We know what we are asking may be uncomfortable, and we don't ask for your help lightly, but for these little ones, it may be their only chance at living.

To wrap things up, throughout the last five years, we’ve gone through some rough spots. We may not be well off, or hold high powered jobs, or buy fancy clothes - things may not be easy - but God continues to bless us with things far better than material happiness. We would have never known the love and tenderness Sarah brings to our daily lives had we overlooked her or considered her adoption as “something other people do.” And don’t rule out the impossible! Many times the impossible is where you get to see God work His miracles! Let's step out in faith - being open and willing to give Him our whole life, whether it's through adoption or not, by trusting Him with everything we have. Because that is what true and authentic faith is - the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. (Hebrews 11)

Thank you so much for reading this ridiculously long post. From our hearts to yours, we hope you have a wonderful Christmas! May the Lord richly bless you and your family with the most precious of all gifts: Faith. Hope. And the greatest of these…Love.

2 comments:

gonzofamily said...

Kim, I loved reading about your family and learning about your heart for orphans! We have 4 adopted children, all from foster care and are in the prayer phase :)of our next adoption (that's that time when we're asking "are you sure God?" and He always is)! I will be praying for all to come together as quickly as possible for your adoption of those 2 precious little ones. If you get a chance visit my blog (www.seedsofhope-matt1720@blogspot.com) and www.promise686.org (also on Facebook). Promise686 is a foster and adoptive ministry at our church that we are on the ministry team for. It's been amazing to watch God work through all us messed up, imperfect sinners, to bless lives of orphans from around the world to our own back yard!
Praying God's blessing on all 5 of you!!!
Katie Gonzalez

Anonymous said...

How do we sign on?

Marek and I always planned on a little one... Maybe this is a sign for us?