A Trip That Has Left Us Forever Changed~ by Tiffany

We were blessed beyond measure to have the opportunity to visit my cousin Hilary and her husband David in the Philippines over our winter break from teaching.  They have lived there for the past 10 years working in beautiful ways to serve the Lord!  It was such a huge gift to be able to go and work along side them, worship and pray together and by the Lord working through them, grow in our walk with the God.  I feel like I see Jesus more clearly now!

 My new, precious friend that still has part of my heart there with him.  He one of the little ones that Hilary and David are loving and serving.  His favorite word is "wow" which we all find ourselves constantly saying and then smiling as we think of him!

 

 

 Hilary opened a clinic to provide care for mothers who could not afford it otherwise but it is so much more than just that.  The staff worships together, prays over the clinic and studies the word together daily. They also study and pray with the moms that deliver with them.  It is a beautiful outreach and peoples lives are being changed - both those that come in for help, and those that work there!

 The staff was just great!  They loved on our kiddos and they welcomed us right in, kindly letting us work alongside them! 

 We were allowed to "assist" with some of the deliveries which was such an amazing blessing!  I have been on the other side of this miracle before, but never on the side where I got to watch it all happen!  How beautiful and amazing!  Hannah got to catch the placenta upon delivery, Adyen got to cut the umbilical cord and we all got to pray over the babies in their first moments, asking God to bless their precious lives!

 

 One of the Moms choose to give her child up for adoption, so we had the opportunity to love on this precious baby girl until it was time for her to go to the orphanage.

 

 Hannah and Ayden made many new friends with the children playing in the street outside the clinic.

 

 

Jeepneys are the most popular means of public transportation in the Philippines.  These vehicles were originally made from the U.S. military jeeps left over from World War II

 

 Tricycles serve as a kind of taxi here!

 

The following pictures are from some of the other works that Hilary and David are involved in within the community there in Cebu.

The Dumpsite

 Houses build on top of the trash in the dumpsite.

 

 Adyen helped to lead games for the children in the dumpsite while Hilary and her staff talked to the Moms about family planning, did medical exams and made appointments for them to come into the clinic.

 

We were so blessed to be able to just love on these precious little ones!

 

 

The Red Light District

Weekly visits and check-ups for those living and working in the Red Light District in Cebu.   

 

The Men's Prison & Woman's Jail

 

The Leprosy Colony

A couple of the sweet, precious women we met at the Leprosy Colony.  Such loving people!

 

How do I even begin to sum these things up?  Things that went beyond anything I have ever seen or experienced.  At the prison we were able to go and just share what God put on our hearts and watch these men cry out to God as His Spirit moved among them and we prayed over them.  In the jail I noticed that the woman there were no different than you or me - just broken people that need Jesus just as we do - and I was filled with love for them.  At the Dumpsite, I saw people just trying to survive by finding food to eat and things to recycle for income.  My kiddos were touched by the looks of joy that were still on their faces amongst such difficulty.  In the Red Light District I felt much compassion for these people, realizing that many of them do what they do because they were either trafficked at a young age, or they grew up in this environment knowing nothing else.  At the Leprosy Colony I was overcome with sorrow for their suffering so I cried with them and told them I was so very sorry.   I was blessed as I watched my children step outside of their comfort zones and stand up and share what they felt God was putting on their hearts as they spoke to the Lepers.  Then we handed out lots of hugs and reminded them that they are dearly loved.

At one point, I remember watching Hilary put some ointment on one of the little ones sores in the Red Light District and I thought to myself, what good is that going to do when she is surrounded by the filth that is her home.  But then as quickly as that thought came, came another.  It is not about the medicine inside that ointment, it is the love.  They need the "ointment" of God's love and that is what Hilary and others are bringing to them - along with a smile and a hug - week after week.  It is God's Kingdom breaking into this dark world bringing His light, and it is beautiful! 

God keeps reminding me that it is not about getting all the words or actions right, it is about being faithful and just trusting God to speak and act through you when you show up.  Trusting Him to multiply the "fishes" that we bring, believing that His strength is made perfect in our weakness. 

One day this world will be whole as He created it to be - I just saw it get a little closer.

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Breakthrough- by Eric

Praise God from whom all blessings flow!

We received word yesterday that some unexpected anonymous funds were given to our family.  We have a significant adoption payment coming due soon so this is an incredibly timely gift. God continues to provide! We are so very thankful!!

And then, today, it seems the breakthrough with Pierce's adoption we've been waiting for took place.  

Pierce- Age 5

Since our last update we've made numerous phone calls and had many meetings with the orphanage directors.  We've been asking, pleading, and urging the orphanage to begin his file so that he can be adopted.  Finally, they agreed last month.  However, without a letter from the orphange stating our family's intention to adopt him it would be next to impossible for our folder (which has been sitting in Beijing since October) to be matched with his.  They have been resistant to writing this letter....until today.  Granted our adoption journey with Pierce has been two steps forward and one step back but it seems as though we just took a leap. We just received word that 2 of the 3 directors at Pierce's orphanage have agreed that they should do everything possible to ensure our adoption of him including writing the letter.  The third director is out of town until next week. 

Over a year ago they said we would never adopt him....that he would never be adoptable.  Now they are working WITH and FOR us!  Praise God!  He has moved mountains, and Wendy's persistance and tenacity has paid off. :0)  

Please continue to pray for Pierce and the entire process of him becoming a part of our family. 

A special day! by Tiffany

We were blessed to get to spend a wonderful day with friends helping out someone in need.  We were told about a farmer in a town about an hour away from our city whose family is currently going through a really tough time.  He and his wife have a new baby, the wife just had a serious surgery and the farmer's father is ill.  He has a mountainside full of oranges, but they are becoming ripe quicker than he is able to pick and sell them.  We were able to go with many people to pick the oranges for him and then pay him for what we took.  It was a blessing for us all!  Here are some pictures from beautiful area.  However, the pictures do not do it justice.  Everywhere you looked, all around was dotted with orange! 

 

                                                             Early morning bus ride!

A beautiful walk to the farmer's spot on the mountain.

 

The Farmer and his 3 month old daughter.

 I just love the way the take advantage of every little bit of space!

 

                                  Ayden & Hannah

Brinson

A new friend I made on our outing!  Just about every time I turned around, there he was, right at my side and courageously using every bit of English he could muster!  Before leaving he had picked me a bouquet of flowers!

 

                 3 of our students & friends!                            
                                                                                       Hannah & her dear friend Rader

                                               Do you see all the oranges?

Doing the laundry

                                        Now you don't see one of these everyday!

                                                   Making orange wine

                                                      Stacking firewood

Latest Adoption News - by Tiffany

We are matched!  We recently received the wonderful news that our paperwork has been matched with Huihuang’s paperwork (the child we mentioned on our last post) and China has agreed to process everything in order to finalize the adoption!  This is such a big step in the whole process and such an exciting one!  After much thought and prayer, our family has decided to name him Elishama Alan and call him Eli.  Elishama means “God hears”.   Being deaf and having been abandoned at the age of two, I am sure there have been many times in his little life when he has felt as though he were not heard.  It is our desire to teach him and show him that God hears him – He always has and He always will!  We chose the name Alan after my Dad, Edward Alan. 

Praise be to God, Eli is currently in a wonderful foster care center in China named Harmony House where he is now receiving much love and teaching!  Eli is about to be 7 years old and he is around Ayden’s shoulder in height.  The people at Harmony House have told us that Eli is eager to learn and quite smart!  We are putting together a box to send to him and they said that if we include some English materials they will begin to work with him on those.  Apparently he is still very new to signing, but from my understanding they have tried to communicate to him that he now has a forever family and he seems excited and as though he understands!  Harmony House has actually invited us to come visit him on our Winter Break from teaching so we are going to do our best to make that trip in January!  If all goes according to schedule, everything should be finalized and we should be allowed to travel to pick him up somewhere between April 15 and June 15! 

We just wanted to share this update with you all.  Thank you for being so prayerful with us about this whole journey.  Please join us in thanking God for His prompting, provision and power to bring this all about!  For His willingness to work with and through us in spite of our weaknesses and His promise to be with us through it all and give us the ability to do, through His Spirit, what our faith prompts us to do. He is good!

Adoption Update - by Tiffany

After we found out that our agency could not get Gary’s file and we would not be able to adopt him, I began praying that God would show us what He wanted us to learn from this and with much certainty, I began to see just how much I had been “leaning on my own understanding”.  I was taking so much comfort in what I knew and in what I could see – Gary’s personality, his disability and his disposition.  When the “known” was taken away, I found myself fearing the unknown and then I realized it was not God I was leaning on. Although that was hard, it was what was needed – God is good to give us what we need.

So we began to pray and ask God where to go from here.  What happened little by little in the two months that followed were beautiful reminders of God’s faithful leading as we saw His fingerprints  on situation after situation.   He led our hearts, brought us all on the same page, encouraged us through others that didn't even know they were being used by God and did it all in His gentle, loving, yet powerful way. 

We are now in the process of trying to adopt a little 7 year old boy named Huihuang (hway-hwang).  We should know within a week or so if his file has been secured by our agency and matched with ours.   He is a precious little boy who our agency has told us is very playful, eager to learn and in need of reassuring love.  We look forward to meeting him and giving him unconditional love that he can count on – the kind of love that God gives us and makes us able to give to others.  Huihuang is deaf, so we are all eagerly beginning to learn sign language; and God has already provided beautiful resources through a dear family friend who signs!  He is so good!  

We will continue to keep you posted!  Thank you so very much for your prayers~

Adoption--Davenports

Adoption update--Davenport

So, do you want the long version or the short version?  How bout both?   :) 

Short version:  We are pursuing the adoption of 2 little guys from China, ages 6 & 5.  One is Hu MingTao (Sheldon) and the second is Shi Chun (Pierce).  We should be able to pick up Sheldon around April and Pierce's file has not been started by his orphan*ge yet.  

Long version:  

Upon returning to China from our summer in the states, I went to Pierce’s orphan*ge and found the people in charge to be resistant again to our requests.  We were hopeful that his file would have been started by now but unfortunately it hasn’t.  China often operates within a ‘who you know’ system.  Therefore, G*d has provided two potential contacts in the government that we are prayerful can help us through some of the obstacles we are facing at the orphanage.  From an earthly standpoint, things look bleak.  There is no way this will happen without G*d.  But, He is in control!  We have also not been allowed to visit the children since returning.

When we first began the adoption process we were told that if adopting two children was anywhere on our radar our paperwork must reflect, from the beginning, a desire to pursue two.  We could change our mind from 2 children to one during the process, but not from one child to two.  We’ve talked and prayed about this for some time.  We’re very excited and at peace about expanding our clan from 4 to 6.  Brinson has been praying about 2 nearly every day since February J 

Sheldon is a boy in Langfang (near Beijing).  He recently became available for adoption and I saw his profile on a website (http://reecesrainbow.org/63509/taran). He is spunky, joyful, and energetic.  Additionally, his file was completely ready and waiting.  It also was a file that our agency would have easy access to, which can be rare.  We received an email with his medical history and spoke to some U.S. physicians.  Within a couple of days we made the decision that Sheldon would be a Davenport!  It will be official in paperwork world in one month.  But it is official in our hearts now!  We are thrilled about this little guy joining us in, hopefully April’ish.  The wait is tough. 

Please pray that our governmental contacts will prove beneficial.  Of course, our Heav*nly contact is WAY more powerful than the most powerful official here and we continue to have faith in His plans.      

Special Times by Tiffany

We had a wonderful time in America - getting to spend time with family and friends.  It was such a gift that we are really thankful for!

It has also been a huge blessing to be back in China, building relationships and taking advantage of opportunities provided by our Father!  He is so faithful.   

After only three weeks of classes, we had a holiday - The Moon Festival.  We had a wonderful time eating their traditional Moon Cakes under a really beautiful full moon at the top of a mountain with precious friends! 

 On the bus with XinXin

 Cowhead Mountain

 Hiking/Camping trip with friends!

 Amazing views!

 HUGE moon - after the night of the Moon Festival

 Such troopers, still smiling after a 4 hour hike in!

 We slept on the top of the hill at the base of this Pagoda - highest point in Shiyan!

 Walking backwards felt easier on the legs going down the hill!

The "trail" we hiked on!