Our First Two Heroes!

We have said many times since August 20th that we need a hero. We know that Jesus Christ is the #1 hero and that he is capable of working through people. Our prayer has been for someone to be used by Him to help us. Today that happened twice! And our agency also called with good news.

Where do I start? Okay, first... Ethan has been moved back to the Changzhou City to the orphanage. This means he is stable and able to be off of oxygen and healthy enough to be around the other children. Praise God! While I know there is no better place for him than HOME, I feel happy that he is back with people who know him and care about him. He is back to the only place he has ever known and is probably feeling less scared and lonely. We received word that we will be getting copies of all of his medical records so we can take them to the doctor here and come up with a plan of how to care for him. He does, for sure, need a pacemaker and the doctor in Nanjing wanted him to be older before they did the surgery. However, two organizations, Half the Sky and Tomorrow's Plan, are working together to get him moved to the China Care Home in Beijing for the surgery. We are hoping and praying that he can either have the surgery soon OR come home soon and have the surgery here. We are not sure until we talk to the doctor and read his records what will be safer for him. We are very encouraged by all of this news!

After the good update from GW, Tim got a voicemail from American Airlines. He had emailed several people that work there, in hopes of getting some kind of reduced airfare for Ethan's trip here. This amazing lady, Debra, called him and said to call her back. When he did, she explained that she was really sorry about everything that had happened. She thanked him for what our family is doing and asked if she could put us on her prayer list at church. She kindly explained that at American Airlines, they get 100-250 emails a day asking for help and they just couldn't help. Tim thanked her for the prayers and told her that was more important anyway. Then a few hours later, he had another message from her to call ASAP. When he returned her call she was very excited to tell him that after their first call she felt like she should talk to her supervisor again about us. He said "let's just do it" and gave us 4 vouchers for $740.20 (this was the penalty that was charged to us for changing our flights home) each, for a total of $2960.80!!!!!! We can use them any time in the next year and the can be combined, so this should cover the tickets for Tim and me! Praise God!  Debra at American Airlines, you are our HERO!!!  Thank you for listening to God!  We will never forget it! 

 

It has been weighing on my heart that his birthday is Friday and he is not with us. Now that he is back to the orphanage, we have the option of sending him a birthday cake and having the person who delivers it take pictures of him with his cake and friends. With such short notice, we weren't sure what to do. We looked at a few websites that have been recommended to us by other adoptive families. We found the Ladybugs N Love sight, which is one we looked into earlier in the process, but it was shut down at that time for health reasons for the in-China person. Anyway, there was a phone number of the American contact so Tim called and left a message. She called back and as soon as Tim started to explain our unique situation, she already knew all about us. (this must be our 15 minutes of fame!) She has a son with heart issues who came home very ill, so we know that she understands! She said she would do everything she could to get Ethan a cake for his birthday, even with the short notice! God Bless her!!!!!  Kelly at Ladybugs N Love, you are our HERO!  Thank you for being connected to the adoption community and for knowing how important it is to waiting families to send care packages to their waiting children.  You are the hands and feet of Christ.

 

We continue to be overwhelmed by all the prayers for our family.  We have been able to cry on the shoulders of some of the most amazing people who are lifting us up and walking right beside us through this storm.  We are so thankful that we have had good news to share with everyone.  We are thankful to God for being patient with us as we have been struggling with His timing.  And for all the people who have used His words to comfort us, God bless you.  I am teaching the pre-k class the Pledge to the Bible and it is such a good reminder that His word is a light unto my path.  So blessed to be surrounded by these reminders each day.

 

We are hoping for another hero that has the financial means to help us.  With all the money that is wasted by rich people, if just one celebrity or millionaire could just find it in their hearts to give to us, we would be so thankful.  We are confident that God is working on someone somewhere who could spare some money.  It’s uncomfortable to talk about and silly to dream that someone like Brad Pitt is going to say, “hey, I’ll give a fellow adoptive family $30,000, that’s pocket change to me!”  But I know that God can move mountains and I will continue to ask him to help us find  a way to bring Ethan and Reese home where they belong.  So, if you know a celebrity that wants to do something good, send them our way! HA HA HA!

 

We have planned a little party for Ethan’s birthday on Friday night.  We have asked our friends to join us for cake and icecream and then we are going to write messages and prayers on cards attached to balloons and send them into the sky for Ethan.  I know I will be an emotional wreck, but I thought this idea was the best way to celebrate our little guy.  Someday we will be able to tell him about this party and he will know how many people loved him and couldn’t wait to meet him.