last minute prep, prayers, and provision–we’re going to China!

Today was a blur.  It was a good blur, but a blur nonetheless.  I can’t believe that it’s almost tomorrow already.  Kim and I will be on our way to China in less than 36 hours.  She packed yesterday for herself and Annabelle Mei Yun; I haven’t started yet, but I can be ready to go to the moon in 15 minutes…

Tuesday is the official morning o’meetings at Calvary.  We start with a small group of us at 9, then add the rest of the staff in at 11.  It’s always a good time for hearing what God is doing in the lives of others, in various ministries, for sharing prayer needs.  Lots of laughter, lots of tears.  When I walked into the room for the whole staff meeting, there was an envelope at my spot.

Someone put $300 cash in an envelope for our trip!  Wow!  We knew that God would provide for us through this adoption process–we believed it form the get go.  But it’s been so fun to see how he has met our needs all along the way.  I don’t know who gave us the money this morning, but THANK YOU!

Our visas, passports, and travel documents came back to us today from our agency.  Kim’s visa was approved months ago; mine is stamped Jan 11, 2010.  I wonder what the hold up was on mine…

We had Delma over for dinner tonight.  She’s going to be living with our kids while we’re in China, taking care of them, running them all over Happy Valley.  She’s such a blessing!  What a beautiful example of loving and serving like Jesus.  We don’t think we could live without Delma.  Lots of our friends have offered to help with the kids while we’re gone.  Feel free to call Delm to see if she needs a hand…3 kids, 3 cats, and a dog, and only one Delm.

This evening we had two different sets of visitors.  The first was part of the 11th grade girls Bible study.  These 4 wonderful women showed up to celebrate with us, to see if we needed anything for the trip, and to bless us with prayer!  How cool is that?  They came to our house to pray for us!

After they left, 2 other PSU ladies (former students from our youth min) stopped by with a gift from their small group.  Kim was their leader all the way through high school, and it’s been awesome to see how they’ve grown in their faith over the years.

Kim posted a batch of new pictures on her facebook.  You might have to friend request her if you want to see them.  We sent a final care package to Annabelle–a birthday cake, lots of fruit and candies!  She got to have a party with the kids and caretakers who have been her family for the past several years.  She’s beautiful, and they looked like they had a great time celebrating.

annabelle's farewell party

Thanks for praying for us, for supporting us through this whole process…we’re in the home stretch!