The delay in my posting has been due to not only a huge Thanksgiving dinner for 40...but, also, some complications from my neck injury (or neck long-term status of a nearly totally degenerated disc)...anyway, for the past 48 hours I'd had neck and headache.
In 2006 I had a bout of viral meningitis that hospitalized me for a week. I'd never been truly sick before and the experience frightened me and my family severely. I had endured about one week of headaches before the full-blown, can't move, must crawl up in a ball and beg for some relief-pain hit in my head and neck. It was the pain in the neck...and the base of my skull that was so punishing. I've had a few times since then that I've felt pain reminiscent of that same pain, a few times in the States...and now my first time Here. The fear that rushes through me is the worst part. When I was There, I worried about how hard and terrible it would be again to be sick like that...how awful for my family... But Here! I was starting to feel panic set it at the thought of the type of care I could get Here if I was sick like that again. We all know what stress does to pain...so...it has been a tough couple of days.
We had teammates lifting me up, a co-worker who paused to lay hands in pryr on my neck before I left the school yesterday...and a family who loved me enough to send me to bed last night at 6:30...
And viola...I feel recovered this morning! I give Him all the thanks for this!
I've been so eager to post to tell you about our Thanksgiving meal.
The event after two days of baking and cooking came off quite well. Only two sets of guest arrived 1 hour late...as we were trying to keep the food warm...and our hearts cool.
We have a tradition at the table to ask each person to relay what they are thankful for this year. As for some of our guests, this was their first ever Thanksgiving, Daddy suggested that I give them some time to prepare and that I take time to fully introduce everyone around the table to each other and to say what they mean to us.
Person by person, family by family, I went around the table and talked about why they were significant to our lives. We had a wide-range of persons represented, from our school-bus driver, to a wealthy man about to begin his own high-tech company. When I got around to our "Chinese Family," I took the time to fully introduce our dear friend/brother who has cared for us for over 5 years now. (He is the one who has helped us maintain the relationships with all our children's foster families.) His younger sister, Xiao Mei, was also at the dinner. She has been the person who, on our behalf, has taken care of the details and management of Qian Qian's care and surgery. Knowing that most of the people at the table didn't know about the project to help Qian Qian, I took the opportunity to tell about our first meeting, the subsequent arrangements, the rallying of those of you who have come to his aide, and the fact that his first surgery was completed last Thursday.
They all sat in rapt-attention.
I was a little teary-eyed at moments as I shared the story...periodically it was translated to those who only speak Chinese at the table. I was so excited to fully share what He has done with all these guests.
Then the time came for us to go around the table to share what we were thankful for in our lives. I was positively astounded by the openness and candor with which everyone spoke. It is culturally so unusual! The wealthy business-man, with tears in his eyes, spoke of Qian Qian's story and how deeply touched he was by it. He said that his eyes had been opened to ways that he and his company could help those in need Here!
Each person shared generously about the blessings in their lives and how much our friendships now meant to them.
Then it was Xiao Mei's turn. She spoke about her thankfulness for our relationship and how it had given her the chance to help someone else. That for the first time in her life, she felt proud of herself, that she made a difference in some one's life. Her eyes, rimmed with tears, as she thanked us for enlisting her help with Qian Qian.
I took that moment to share how the Book teaches that when we give of ourselves and help others, those we help receive a blessing...but that we who are the givers....receive the greater blessing. I told them this creates such joy in us that we cannot wait to give again!
(Later her older brother told me, with misty eyes, that it was the very first time in his life that he'd ever heard her use the phrase of "being proud of herself"...that she has had a very difficult life, and has had sort of a hard heart, but that he saw a great softening in her heart through her eyes, as she's spent hours helping Qian Qian's family.)
Then the school bus driver (who I will dedicate an entire post to soon) spoke. He shared that he'd had no contact with foreigners before our family. That he had negative opinions about people from our country...he thought it was wise to be fearful of Americans...that they are not to be trusted....perhaps to simply be hated. (I reflected at that moment about how many in my home country feel fearful of my host-country.)
He spoke that after seeing our family, watching us through the adoption process with The Bruiser and The Singer, that the only word he could use to describe Americans now was...loving. He said he had seen great Love...and that he was so thankful he'd seen such a thing.
We were so blown away. It was so encouraging, and satisfying...to see that hearts were softened...that the message of Him...LOVE...was reaching the hearts of those He's placed around us Here. We felt positively exhausted...and thrilled as we went to bed that night.
The first Thanksgiving Here, people came to dinner like they were visiting an exhibit at the zoo. In hindsight, they were not very comfortable, they were pleasant and very entertained. The second year they came, they chatted more, stayed longer, and we felt that we'd come a long way in their acceptance of us. This year...this year we felt as though our FRIENDS had come to dinner. They shared deeply and lovingly with us. We talked of what we mean to each other...there are so many more wonderful examples to write about...but I have no time to do so. They stayed, and stayed, and stayed after dinner. We had dinner at 3 pm, none left until nearly 10 PM. We laughed and chatted and shared stories and watched kids playing joyfully. We broke out some jigsaw puzzles and kids and adults both got around our now THREE plywood tables covered in bedsheets, to play together.
Today I am going to see Qian Qian in the hospital where he is recovering. I will take news of your prayers and support of him. I am so excited.
At our meal, as I spoke about Qian Qian, I talked about how a single stone thrown into a still pond makes ripples that expand and expand to touch further and further reaches. I am overjoyed to see how this is true in the matter of Qian Qian. So many lives are now being touched by His love for this boy.
I nearly gave money and walked on by.
I very nearly missed the beauty of getting down on the pavement, of sitting with his mother to hear her story...the deeply spiritual experience of looking into his eyes and seeing my Lrd staring back...inviting me to wrshp him by helping this little one, the least of these...in need.
This is only the beginning. We've only just begun to see the ripples...how far will they reach into the lives of the people around us?
30 November 2010
26 November 2010
Surgery!
Happy Thanksgiving to all!
We will enjoy our feast on Saturday, if He wills, as this week we continue on at school.
I've enjoyed a marvelous birthday with so many loving well-wishes from far away, precious cards from my students and colleagues, flowers from parents, SKYPE visits and a precious gift from my parents, dozens of kisses from my kids, and the most creative card from my dear husband, ever.
If the day could have possibly gotten better...it did...
Qian Qian received his first surgery! His lip is now closed!
I will have pictures in a few days as I plan to visit him in the hospital soon.
Finally as he nears 10 months of age, his mother is looking on his changed face for the first time this morning! All went perfectly well, and our local helpers were truly touched by the results of all their efforts.
I was further delighted to hear that Qian Qian's father, who if you remember had abandoned the mother as she would not give up Qian Qian because he saw the situation as hopeless, traveled to our city (many, many hours by train with no seat)...to see the miracle for himself. They were reunited as a family at the hospital yesterday!
We are in awe of His mercy and the privilege of watching this healing. What a beautiful way to remember this Thanksgiving. We will continue to lift up Qian Qian's family as they begin a new chapter together.
He will be cared for in our city for the next several months as we continue to "fatten him up," so that we can send him in the Spring to meet the Medical M team in Kunming and have his palate closed.
Continue to lift up his family as they live very simple lives with a meager existence. We hope that the day will come in the not too distant future, when they can return to live on the land as farmers in their home province, as generations of their people have done before.
Must rally the troops for school!
May your hearts be full of Thanksgiving today and everyday for all He has done!
We will enjoy our feast on Saturday, if He wills, as this week we continue on at school.
I've enjoyed a marvelous birthday with so many loving well-wishes from far away, precious cards from my students and colleagues, flowers from parents, SKYPE visits and a precious gift from my parents, dozens of kisses from my kids, and the most creative card from my dear husband, ever.
If the day could have possibly gotten better...it did...
Qian Qian received his first surgery! His lip is now closed!
I will have pictures in a few days as I plan to visit him in the hospital soon.
Finally as he nears 10 months of age, his mother is looking on his changed face for the first time this morning! All went perfectly well, and our local helpers were truly touched by the results of all their efforts.
I was further delighted to hear that Qian Qian's father, who if you remember had abandoned the mother as she would not give up Qian Qian because he saw the situation as hopeless, traveled to our city (many, many hours by train with no seat)...to see the miracle for himself. They were reunited as a family at the hospital yesterday!
We are in awe of His mercy and the privilege of watching this healing. What a beautiful way to remember this Thanksgiving. We will continue to lift up Qian Qian's family as they begin a new chapter together.
He will be cared for in our city for the next several months as we continue to "fatten him up," so that we can send him in the Spring to meet the Medical M team in Kunming and have his palate closed.
Continue to lift up his family as they live very simple lives with a meager existence. We hope that the day will come in the not too distant future, when they can return to live on the land as farmers in their home province, as generations of their people have done before.
Must rally the troops for school!
May your hearts be full of Thanksgiving today and everyday for all He has done!
24 November 2010
Refocusing
I suppose that due to my shameful lamenting regarding my birthday on Thursday...I needed a reality check about how blessed I am...
I got an email from a dear friend who herself crossed over to 40 last month...and a few other encouragements (thanks Donna) that life on the "other side" seems to be going well...
The email from my friend said that she too had been feeling a bit out of sorts with the changing of the decade for herself and then that day, two guys came over to meet with her husband, each with MAJOR challenges in their lives...and she felt like she received a big wake-up call from Him to count her blessings.
I received such a jolt last night about welcome news for my birthday this Thursday...
Qian Qian has recovered from his fever, and is admitted again to the hospital. If all goes as planned, he will have his lip closed on Thursday! That is a magnificent birthday present!
I was standing in my kitchen when I got the call. I was thinking of how tired I felt at 6 pm...how I still had to make sour cream for Thanksgiving...and roast the pumpkins so I could make pumpkin pie...how I had to make sure and reinforce the flimsy rack in my big toaster oven so that the turkey would not fall down on the little heater elements...and make some sort of cream of mushroom soup for the broccoli casserole base...of the boys fighting raucously over a truck...two girls complaining about having to help me make the salad and set the table...Daddy being home late again from school...two other sisters in a verbal combat over whose turn it was to turn on the heaters in the beds...
I nearly missed the phone call due to the din (in my ears and in my mind)...
Then, like a ray of sunshine from above...He gently reminded me that This (Qian Qian, the Thanksgiving outreach, the precious children he's given me, the husband who serves his family with love and diligence, the school and the people who gather there each day and make our life full)...THIS is what it is all about...and I am blessed beyond compare.
How silly I've been. How utterly ungrateful. I am ashamed.
What a gift to mark the occasion in my mind of my 40th birthday as the day I wrshped Him by helping a young boy have a future and remain with his birth family.
My life is abundant...as He promises all of us who follow Him...each day worthy of celebration and Thanksgiving...how could I ask for more? Each day of each year has brought me to this place and I would not go back to some earlier day for anything. To sacrifice anything He has brought me during these 40 years would be unbearable.
I am once again, full of anticipation...how much more I will learn of Him...how many more thrilling journeys will He lead us on...in the next years should He give them to me.
I'm embarrassed to have written so much about this...really it is too much navel-gazing...but it has crowded my thinking over these past few days...and I can only write about what has been on my mind. Otherwise my writing is forced and too dry for reading.
Taking my eyes of Him produces such silliness...of focusing on things that are meaningless...and missing the matters that are of preeminent value.
Returning my gaze to Him swells my heart with Thanksgiving...
I got an email from a dear friend who herself crossed over to 40 last month...and a few other encouragements (thanks Donna) that life on the "other side" seems to be going well...
The email from my friend said that she too had been feeling a bit out of sorts with the changing of the decade for herself and then that day, two guys came over to meet with her husband, each with MAJOR challenges in their lives...and she felt like she received a big wake-up call from Him to count her blessings.
I received such a jolt last night about welcome news for my birthday this Thursday...
Qian Qian has recovered from his fever, and is admitted again to the hospital. If all goes as planned, he will have his lip closed on Thursday! That is a magnificent birthday present!
I was standing in my kitchen when I got the call. I was thinking of how tired I felt at 6 pm...how I still had to make sour cream for Thanksgiving...and roast the pumpkins so I could make pumpkin pie...how I had to make sure and reinforce the flimsy rack in my big toaster oven so that the turkey would not fall down on the little heater elements...and make some sort of cream of mushroom soup for the broccoli casserole base...of the boys fighting raucously over a truck...two girls complaining about having to help me make the salad and set the table...Daddy being home late again from school...two other sisters in a verbal combat over whose turn it was to turn on the heaters in the beds...
I nearly missed the phone call due to the din (in my ears and in my mind)...
Then, like a ray of sunshine from above...He gently reminded me that This (Qian Qian, the Thanksgiving outreach, the precious children he's given me, the husband who serves his family with love and diligence, the school and the people who gather there each day and make our life full)...THIS is what it is all about...and I am blessed beyond compare.
How silly I've been. How utterly ungrateful. I am ashamed.
What a gift to mark the occasion in my mind of my 40th birthday as the day I wrshped Him by helping a young boy have a future and remain with his birth family.
My life is abundant...as He promises all of us who follow Him...each day worthy of celebration and Thanksgiving...how could I ask for more? Each day of each year has brought me to this place and I would not go back to some earlier day for anything. To sacrifice anything He has brought me during these 40 years would be unbearable.
I am once again, full of anticipation...how much more I will learn of Him...how many more thrilling journeys will He lead us on...in the next years should He give them to me.
I'm embarrassed to have written so much about this...really it is too much navel-gazing...but it has crowded my thinking over these past few days...and I can only write about what has been on my mind. Otherwise my writing is forced and too dry for reading.
Taking my eyes of Him produces such silliness...of focusing on things that are meaningless...and missing the matters that are of preeminent value.
Returning my gaze to Him swells my heart with Thanksgiving...
23 November 2010
Future Plans
We had a big visit from the Chancellor of Schools here last week.
This is a high-stress time as we endeavor to make sure that everything looks FABULOUS, that all the children behave PERFECTLY, and that our teaching is FLAWLESS. So as you can imagine...failure is inevitable.
Additionally excitement surrounded the fact that, for the very first time, the CAO of the corporation who owns the school, was also bringing an entourage (think 20 people) to view the school. In fact, our beloved Principal rearranged the class schedule to ensure that the visitors would be viewing all the English classes! So if they didn't like what they saw...it would be easy to blame the foreign teachers! :) Of course, no pressure here!
In the balance was truly the very future of our school. Right now our Elementary School is housed in the "pastel palace"...or the Kindergarten building. We're in our 3rd year there...we're growing as is the Kindergarten. Something must give!
But due to lots of volatility, the future of the corporation's ownership, and thus the school's ownership, has been hanging in the balance for the past 10 months. Much to our delight, the ownership of the corporation has just recently be firmly settled, yet we were still unsure if commitments would be made to build the official Elementary Building. Furthermore, there were big questions as to if the school would continue on to Middle School, as they are currently licensed. For the past 10 months, we've heard that it was a "no"...so we've been envisioning what to do with Magpie and The Bug in September of 2012...when they'd be ready to go to Middle School.
Of course, we've committed all these issues of our future to prayer and largely been at peace KNOWING that He has a plan...and that He knows and loves our children more than we do. Often, while on this journey of living cross-culturally, we've had to refocus our thinking on the central truth that He called us as a FAMILY (not as a couple with kids hanging on for the ride)...and so He has a perfect plan for each of our children during the years we are Here.
We were delighted to hear, that He has answered our prayers! We were told on Friday that the decision has been made, and announced that the new Elementary/MIDDLE SCHOOL building is scheduled to break ground in March, 2011! The projection is that the new Elementary building, and the Middle School will open for students in September 2012...exactly when our older girls will be slated to move on to Middle School!
On a recruiting note...we're looking for a few new teachers for our school for the next school year! If you have a tug on your heart to serve here...and you have a teaching certificate...EMAIL ME...and spread the word to others who might feel stirred to come teach alongside us!
These days He's been reminding me about the SECURITY that life in Him brings.
While it is true we have no idea what the future will bring...we have total PEACE in knowing that He does. Even for the highly optimistic (which I am,) the news of the world and the challenges of this life can tempt me to worry about our kids and our family's future. This adventure of leaving There and living Here has taught me one delightful lesson...I can REST with my future and my CHILDREN'S futures...in His all-powerful and loving hands.
Our future plans? It remains true that we do not now for certain. Each day we wait to see what He will do...but our confidence in Him overrides all the uncertainty and brings us joy in this journey.
All praise and thanks be to Him!
This is a high-stress time as we endeavor to make sure that everything looks FABULOUS, that all the children behave PERFECTLY, and that our teaching is FLAWLESS. So as you can imagine...failure is inevitable.
Additionally excitement surrounded the fact that, for the very first time, the CAO of the corporation who owns the school, was also bringing an entourage (think 20 people) to view the school. In fact, our beloved Principal rearranged the class schedule to ensure that the visitors would be viewing all the English classes! So if they didn't like what they saw...it would be easy to blame the foreign teachers! :) Of course, no pressure here!
In the balance was truly the very future of our school. Right now our Elementary School is housed in the "pastel palace"...or the Kindergarten building. We're in our 3rd year there...we're growing as is the Kindergarten. Something must give!
But due to lots of volatility, the future of the corporation's ownership, and thus the school's ownership, has been hanging in the balance for the past 10 months. Much to our delight, the ownership of the corporation has just recently be firmly settled, yet we were still unsure if commitments would be made to build the official Elementary Building. Furthermore, there were big questions as to if the school would continue on to Middle School, as they are currently licensed. For the past 10 months, we've heard that it was a "no"...so we've been envisioning what to do with Magpie and The Bug in September of 2012...when they'd be ready to go to Middle School.
Of course, we've committed all these issues of our future to prayer and largely been at peace KNOWING that He has a plan...and that He knows and loves our children more than we do. Often, while on this journey of living cross-culturally, we've had to refocus our thinking on the central truth that He called us as a FAMILY (not as a couple with kids hanging on for the ride)...and so He has a perfect plan for each of our children during the years we are Here.
We were delighted to hear, that He has answered our prayers! We were told on Friday that the decision has been made, and announced that the new Elementary/MIDDLE SCHOOL building is scheduled to break ground in March, 2011! The projection is that the new Elementary building, and the Middle School will open for students in September 2012...exactly when our older girls will be slated to move on to Middle School!
On a recruiting note...we're looking for a few new teachers for our school for the next school year! If you have a tug on your heart to serve here...and you have a teaching certificate...EMAIL ME...and spread the word to others who might feel stirred to come teach alongside us!
These days He's been reminding me about the SECURITY that life in Him brings.
While it is true we have no idea what the future will bring...we have total PEACE in knowing that He does. Even for the highly optimistic (which I am,) the news of the world and the challenges of this life can tempt me to worry about our kids and our family's future. This adventure of leaving There and living Here has taught me one delightful lesson...I can REST with my future and my CHILDREN'S futures...in His all-powerful and loving hands.
Our future plans? It remains true that we do not now for certain. Each day we wait to see what He will do...but our confidence in Him overrides all the uncertainty and brings us joy in this journey.
All praise and thanks be to Him!
22 November 2010
So sorry...no internet
Well, finally, it is Monday morning and we're back online.
I really don't know what happened...why suddenly our internet connectivity was interrupted (even though others in our building were not)...but a quick visit from a kindly computer tech fixed it.
(Okay, truth be told, THREE visits...the first was from a guy working for the wrong ISP...translation issues; the second was from a guy working for the right computer company...but he couldn't fix my English only computer...translation issues; the third visit from the second tech who brought a buddy along with him who could read English. That's just how things go Here. When I lived There, I used to think waiting in line behind 3 people at Walmart was a MAJOR slowdown in my life.)
Thanksgiving is this week. It is also a milestone birthday for myself. I've always LOVED birthdays as my family will attest. However, I feel a bit glum this year about entering this new decade. I think that is probably shameful to say...but it is true. They say 40 is the new 30...so, perhaps , although my 30s have been the busiest decade of my life, I'll think on that when Thursday comes! ;)
Speaking of Thanksgiving...
We nearly had to call it off. The past two years we've held very big dinner parties with turkey and as many American trimmings as we could achieve. The first year, I even made mashed potatoes for 45...without a mixer! (I thought that was a real hardship...now I've live Here longer so I don't think of it as so bad anymore!)
Anyway, this is the time of year that a few, VERY SELECT turkeys fly over from the US and must clear customs. No kidding, at least not about the clearing customs...they are supposedly quite frozen for their entire sojourn to the Middle Kingdom.
As has been my custom, using money we've saved up for the purchase of the bird (no joke, turkey here is $3.50 per pound! For a frozen turkey!)...I would make the trip one hour away to the major Western-food market. But alas, this year...no turkeys appeared in the freezer section. Several desperate phone calls revealed that the turkeys were stuck in Shanghai...that they had not cleared customs! Worse yet, they MAYBE would clear in time to arrive in stores on Thursday (Thanksgiving Day)...but we were not to know until THEN!)
Mrs. Wu, our teammate, and I began frantically "shaking the bushes" of any possible contact we might have that could provide us with turkey! You can't imagine how ridiculous this is to our neighbors, desperate for a 7 kg bird to eat...and how utterly hopeless it is to not have access to the key element of the Thanksgiving Feast!
(Thanksgiving has long been my favorite holiday. In part because it was always my birthday and all my family gathered for games and food...but it is during this next month that my longing for family back There really peaks for the year. My heart feels heavy and sore from the missing...but I've been blessed to busy myself with this huge Thanksgiving feast as an outreach...which has given me little time to pine in my heart.)
Finally, after contacting an American woman who owns a restaurant here in our city...she texted back after several tense hours..."WE HAVE TURKEY ON ORDER FOR YOU!" Oh, the joy of it! ;)
Daddy joked that the distributor supplying the restaurant (and now us) must have a contact in customs in Shanghai...asking that buddy to DELAY those turkeys' clearances just a few more days...so a few more scalps can be taken! :)
Mrs. Wu graciously took a big trip across town to pick it up as freezer space big enough to house our two turkeys is hard to come by! Then under cover of night, with heads shaking by the security guards at our complex, 30lbs of turkey in her little pink roller cart, they let her into the school kitchen so she could store the prizes in their freezer... and I breathed a sigh of relief. Thanksgiving has been saved!
On a quick Qian Qian note...we hope to see him return to the hospital this week, recovered from his fever, and ready for his surgery. I promise, I will post more as I know it.
There is more news to tell...but, the sun is rising Here...and we have each 3 layers of clothing to put on...more tomorrow!
Happy Thanksgiving dear ones! May our hearts reflect genuine gratefulness for all He has blessed us with each day of our lives!
I really don't know what happened...why suddenly our internet connectivity was interrupted (even though others in our building were not)...but a quick visit from a kindly computer tech fixed it.
(Okay, truth be told, THREE visits...the first was from a guy working for the wrong ISP...translation issues; the second was from a guy working for the right computer company...but he couldn't fix my English only computer...translation issues; the third visit from the second tech who brought a buddy along with him who could read English. That's just how things go Here. When I lived There, I used to think waiting in line behind 3 people at Walmart was a MAJOR slowdown in my life.)
Thanksgiving is this week. It is also a milestone birthday for myself. I've always LOVED birthdays as my family will attest. However, I feel a bit glum this year about entering this new decade. I think that is probably shameful to say...but it is true. They say 40 is the new 30...so, perhaps , although my 30s have been the busiest decade of my life, I'll think on that when Thursday comes! ;)
Speaking of Thanksgiving...
We nearly had to call it off. The past two years we've held very big dinner parties with turkey and as many American trimmings as we could achieve. The first year, I even made mashed potatoes for 45...without a mixer! (I thought that was a real hardship...now I've live Here longer so I don't think of it as so bad anymore!)
Anyway, this is the time of year that a few, VERY SELECT turkeys fly over from the US and must clear customs. No kidding, at least not about the clearing customs...they are supposedly quite frozen for their entire sojourn to the Middle Kingdom.
As has been my custom, using money we've saved up for the purchase of the bird (no joke, turkey here is $3.50 per pound! For a frozen turkey!)...I would make the trip one hour away to the major Western-food market. But alas, this year...no turkeys appeared in the freezer section. Several desperate phone calls revealed that the turkeys were stuck in Shanghai...that they had not cleared customs! Worse yet, they MAYBE would clear in time to arrive in stores on Thursday (Thanksgiving Day)...but we were not to know until THEN!)
Mrs. Wu, our teammate, and I began frantically "shaking the bushes" of any possible contact we might have that could provide us with turkey! You can't imagine how ridiculous this is to our neighbors, desperate for a 7 kg bird to eat...and how utterly hopeless it is to not have access to the key element of the Thanksgiving Feast!
(Thanksgiving has long been my favorite holiday. In part because it was always my birthday and all my family gathered for games and food...but it is during this next month that my longing for family back There really peaks for the year. My heart feels heavy and sore from the missing...but I've been blessed to busy myself with this huge Thanksgiving feast as an outreach...which has given me little time to pine in my heart.)
Finally, after contacting an American woman who owns a restaurant here in our city...she texted back after several tense hours..."WE HAVE TURKEY ON ORDER FOR YOU!" Oh, the joy of it! ;)
Daddy joked that the distributor supplying the restaurant (and now us) must have a contact in customs in Shanghai...asking that buddy to DELAY those turkeys' clearances just a few more days...so a few more scalps can be taken! :)
Mrs. Wu graciously took a big trip across town to pick it up as freezer space big enough to house our two turkeys is hard to come by! Then under cover of night, with heads shaking by the security guards at our complex, 30lbs of turkey in her little pink roller cart, they let her into the school kitchen so she could store the prizes in their freezer... and I breathed a sigh of relief. Thanksgiving has been saved!
On a quick Qian Qian note...we hope to see him return to the hospital this week, recovered from his fever, and ready for his surgery. I promise, I will post more as I know it.
There is more news to tell...but, the sun is rising Here...and we have each 3 layers of clothing to put on...more tomorrow!
Happy Thanksgiving dear ones! May our hearts reflect genuine gratefulness for all He has blessed us with each day of our lives!
17 November 2010
More on Qian - We need some Prayer
A quick post this morning to let you know that Qian Qian's lip closure surgery did not go forward yesterday as we'd expected because he developed a fever in the hospital the night before.
Qian Qian's mom had changed his formula and apparently his system did not react well to that. So as of yesterday, they had to leave the hospital again, we've purchased the original formula for him now...and hopefully within a week they will be able to re-admit him. Please be lifting this boy and his little family up. It seems that there are many strikes against them and trying to navigate not only the logistical issues (such as his Mom not speaking the common language) and cultural issues (such as how to provide specific support to help with food, etc) is a real struggle. We're getting quite an education in culture and into the general opinion of "charity."
Please also lift up our native "helpers" here who have extended themselves with hours of effort on this effort and have faced criticism from family members who think such an effort as this is folly. Even this week they have also had to defend our cause against the Doctor who is helping Qian Qian and the other patients' families in the small hospital room...who see such an effort to help a poor, countryside boy...as completely illogical.
Lastly, we ask you to lift up protection for all of us involved. We need wisdom and His covering as we're going deeper into the family's life to help Qian Qian. I recently had to remind our native helpers that no matter what others say...or how Qian Qian's family might act (his Aunt also recently offended the native helpers)...that we're doing this because HE said to...and that it is for Qian Qian...and he is an innocent boy who needs help.
Please stand with us asking for all these things to be handled in such a way that when others ask WHY?...that we can give Him the glory fitting Him.
More when we have it to report!
Qian Qian's mom had changed his formula and apparently his system did not react well to that. So as of yesterday, they had to leave the hospital again, we've purchased the original formula for him now...and hopefully within a week they will be able to re-admit him. Please be lifting this boy and his little family up. It seems that there are many strikes against them and trying to navigate not only the logistical issues (such as his Mom not speaking the common language) and cultural issues (such as how to provide specific support to help with food, etc) is a real struggle. We're getting quite an education in culture and into the general opinion of "charity."
Please also lift up our native "helpers" here who have extended themselves with hours of effort on this effort and have faced criticism from family members who think such an effort as this is folly. Even this week they have also had to defend our cause against the Doctor who is helping Qian Qian and the other patients' families in the small hospital room...who see such an effort to help a poor, countryside boy...as completely illogical.
Lastly, we ask you to lift up protection for all of us involved. We need wisdom and His covering as we're going deeper into the family's life to help Qian Qian. I recently had to remind our native helpers that no matter what others say...or how Qian Qian's family might act (his Aunt also recently offended the native helpers)...that we're doing this because HE said to...and that it is for Qian Qian...and he is an innocent boy who needs help.
Please stand with us asking for all these things to be handled in such a way that when others ask WHY?...that we can give Him the glory fitting Him.
More when we have it to report!
16 November 2010
A Sad Night
The first year we were Here, we, being pet lovers at heart, happened upon two cats at the pet market in the city. Though we had traditionally been "dog people," living on the 8th floor of an apartment and being at school from 7:45-5pm daily...we realized that cats were a better fit.
There are pictures of our cats in this blog back in 2008 when they first came to us.
The kids were completely smitten and really have loved having them.
Last year, early one morning we were greeted with a terrible call from a neighbor who told us in very broken English, "I see cat outside, I'm afraid, it is bad."
We rushed out on our balcony and looked down the eight floors to discover that "Sweetie Pie" had leaped/fallen from our balcony to her end.
It was awful as you might imagine. We became ultra-vigilant about the doors to the balconies being shut at all times...and we carried on.
Three weeks ago, our second cat, Switch, began to get very, very lethargic. We took her to the vet, who prescribed an anti-biotic, that did seem to perk her up and we thought she was over whatever it was. (Her blood work had shown infection.)
Then two days ago, on Sunday night, I saw her breathing very rapidly, with great effort.
Not really being a cat owner, I knew that the situation was serious, but was unclear how serious after my "internet doctoring" all night on Sunday.
Monday, Magpie and I went out in the driving, cold rain to get to the bus stop to take her to the vet. (It is always on these occasions where I feel the most stymied by my "old life" and the "new one" Here. When I lived "There" I would have jumped into my car, made an appointment at the vet's down the street, and been in reach of the best veterinary care in minutes.)
But as it is Here, we walked with the cat wrapped up in blankets in her carrying case. Stood in the rain, pressed onto a loud, crowded bus, rode jerking and jostling for 30 minutes...just to get out in the rain again and hope that a taxi would come by our way. Another 25 minutes in a taxi and terrible traffic got us a block or so away from the vet's. We walked through some major construction (scaffolding coming down, heavy equipment being moved, all manner of "dangerous" construction mess lying about) holding our grievously ill cat, umbrella and purse...in the blowing rain.
Upon arriving there, we gave the update, they viewed her, took her temperature that was very low...and said, "this cat is very serious. At this hospital there in nothing we can do for her. She may need an X-ray, there is one X-Ray at the vet hospital further on in town (another 40 minutes)."
When I saw that her temperature was so low...and the complete inability of the vet's office to do anything about it...I began to get very worried about the outcome of the night...and Magpie's heart who was along on this journey.
We traipsed back out, nearly tripped on a rat the size of a small dog as he was scurrying back down a hole in the cement walkway...walked 3 more city blocks trying to find a taxi...getting wetter and wetter with cold, cold rain.
We talked in the taxi, Magpie and I, about what we might be facing. We wept a bit, but held out hope that we would try all we could to help Switch. Even still, my foreboding was growing.
Upon arriving at the next vet hospital, they greeted us with terrible news. "With the cat's temperature this low, there is nothing we can do. Seeing her breathing so rapidly, and listening to her lungs, she has very serious pneumonia. Her chest is full of water. She will probably not live until tomorrow."
I don't know if this would have been the same outcome if we had been There. But, we're not There, we're Here.
Perhaps further treatment was not recommended because of the fiercely practical nature (regarding the spending of money) of our host culture would have prevented them from recommending treatment on a cat they knew was going to die anyway.
But here we were, in this cold little vet hospital, surrounded by all the reminders that everything is different Here...IVs hanging in glass bottles for dogs that were "ill", an old metal cupboard displaying a few dozen "cures" for minor ailments that was dirty and disarrayed, windows wide open while the wind blew in heavy gusts of rain onto the floor...and we made the only decision we could.
The cost for a "peaceful death" was about $15 USD. I'm not sure that it is used very often Here...but we asked for it...seeing our little friend suffer so much and hearing now her plaintive, painful meows...we sobbed in that cold office until they came to tell us she had gone to sleep peacefully...and then we sobbed some more.
We made arrangements for her...and stepped out arm in arm into the storm to find a taxi we hoped would agree to take us the nearly 2 hour trip home.
There are pictures of our cats in this blog back in 2008 when they first came to us.
The kids were completely smitten and really have loved having them.
Last year, early one morning we were greeted with a terrible call from a neighbor who told us in very broken English, "I see cat outside, I'm afraid, it is bad."
We rushed out on our balcony and looked down the eight floors to discover that "Sweetie Pie" had leaped/fallen from our balcony to her end.
It was awful as you might imagine. We became ultra-vigilant about the doors to the balconies being shut at all times...and we carried on.
Three weeks ago, our second cat, Switch, began to get very, very lethargic. We took her to the vet, who prescribed an anti-biotic, that did seem to perk her up and we thought she was over whatever it was. (Her blood work had shown infection.)
Then two days ago, on Sunday night, I saw her breathing very rapidly, with great effort.
Not really being a cat owner, I knew that the situation was serious, but was unclear how serious after my "internet doctoring" all night on Sunday.
Monday, Magpie and I went out in the driving, cold rain to get to the bus stop to take her to the vet. (It is always on these occasions where I feel the most stymied by my "old life" and the "new one" Here. When I lived "There" I would have jumped into my car, made an appointment at the vet's down the street, and been in reach of the best veterinary care in minutes.)
But as it is Here, we walked with the cat wrapped up in blankets in her carrying case. Stood in the rain, pressed onto a loud, crowded bus, rode jerking and jostling for 30 minutes...just to get out in the rain again and hope that a taxi would come by our way. Another 25 minutes in a taxi and terrible traffic got us a block or so away from the vet's. We walked through some major construction (scaffolding coming down, heavy equipment being moved, all manner of "dangerous" construction mess lying about) holding our grievously ill cat, umbrella and purse...in the blowing rain.
Upon arriving there, we gave the update, they viewed her, took her temperature that was very low...and said, "this cat is very serious. At this hospital there in nothing we can do for her. She may need an X-ray, there is one X-Ray at the vet hospital further on in town (another 40 minutes)."
When I saw that her temperature was so low...and the complete inability of the vet's office to do anything about it...I began to get very worried about the outcome of the night...and Magpie's heart who was along on this journey.
We traipsed back out, nearly tripped on a rat the size of a small dog as he was scurrying back down a hole in the cement walkway...walked 3 more city blocks trying to find a taxi...getting wetter and wetter with cold, cold rain.
We talked in the taxi, Magpie and I, about what we might be facing. We wept a bit, but held out hope that we would try all we could to help Switch. Even still, my foreboding was growing.
Upon arriving at the next vet hospital, they greeted us with terrible news. "With the cat's temperature this low, there is nothing we can do. Seeing her breathing so rapidly, and listening to her lungs, she has very serious pneumonia. Her chest is full of water. She will probably not live until tomorrow."
I don't know if this would have been the same outcome if we had been There. But, we're not There, we're Here.
Perhaps further treatment was not recommended because of the fiercely practical nature (regarding the spending of money) of our host culture would have prevented them from recommending treatment on a cat they knew was going to die anyway.
But here we were, in this cold little vet hospital, surrounded by all the reminders that everything is different Here...IVs hanging in glass bottles for dogs that were "ill", an old metal cupboard displaying a few dozen "cures" for minor ailments that was dirty and disarrayed, windows wide open while the wind blew in heavy gusts of rain onto the floor...and we made the only decision we could.
The cost for a "peaceful death" was about $15 USD. I'm not sure that it is used very often Here...but we asked for it...seeing our little friend suffer so much and hearing now her plaintive, painful meows...we sobbed in that cold office until they came to tell us she had gone to sleep peacefully...and then we sobbed some more.
We made arrangements for her...and stepped out arm in arm into the storm to find a taxi we hoped would agree to take us the nearly 2 hour trip home.
14 November 2010
The Bruiser - Prayer Requests
For those of you who read this and are "pray-ers"...we ask you to join us in seeking some direction on treatment for The Bruiser.
He was born with a mild form of arthrogryposis which caused contractures in his hands and clubbed his feet. We thought that his feet had been corrected already by the Social Welfare Institute. Yet when we received him back in June, it was clear that this was not the case.
During our summer furlough, we visited a renown children's hospital in the US for consultations about what could/should be done. The costs of the consultations alone were $1800 USD! We can only imagine what it would cost for us to return for a short period of time to the US for treatment! (He requires hand surgery...which really MUST be handled in the US...and the mild clubbing of his feet needs to be corrected.)
We visited the local orthopedic hospital here in our city. The reputation of the hospital is that it is "the best in the province" where we live. Their consultation veered significantly from the US doctors recommendation for serial casting for 6 weeks, ortho braces at night after the casting series, and potentially a cutting of the Achilles tendon if needed to enable him to stand flat footed. (This procedure is called a tenotomy.)
Anyway, the local hospital recommended surgery to "move tendons" in The Bruisers foot to "balance the weak and strong sides of the feet." Obviously, there is no way we're going for surgery in a case where the docs in the US only recommend serial casting.
So, we're at a tough spot here. We know that He has a plan for The Bruiser's needs. We know that He placed him in our family and that somehow a miracle will be performed to help us in getting the care that The Bruiser needs.
Apparently, there are some Doctors trained in the recommended method of the US docs, who practice in Beijing and Shanghai. Both locations would require a weekly flight or train ride to see the doctors in their city for the cast to be re-done...for a period of 6 weeks. The treatment itself is not that expensive (the casting)...and we have the orthotic shoes we need for The Bruiser's "after-treatment"...but the TRAVEL would be really difficult financially and would require a great deal of time that we have very little of these days!
We're feeling really pressed that the time is now to begin this necessary treatment...but while we keep sending out feelers around the country here...we're still unsure of how He is leading.
So we put it to you and ask you to lift it up...
His hand surgery needs to be done before he is 5. As he is 3 just now, we have a bit of time for that to come to fruition...but the feet...the time is now.
In times like these we have to hold fast to the faith that He is in control, and that He is not surprised by this need...that He has the answer, and we're waiting for Him to reveal it.
Thanks for those of you who will lift this up with us!
He was born with a mild form of arthrogryposis which caused contractures in his hands and clubbed his feet. We thought that his feet had been corrected already by the Social Welfare Institute. Yet when we received him back in June, it was clear that this was not the case.
During our summer furlough, we visited a renown children's hospital in the US for consultations about what could/should be done. The costs of the consultations alone were $1800 USD! We can only imagine what it would cost for us to return for a short period of time to the US for treatment! (He requires hand surgery...which really MUST be handled in the US...and the mild clubbing of his feet needs to be corrected.)
We visited the local orthopedic hospital here in our city. The reputation of the hospital is that it is "the best in the province" where we live. Their consultation veered significantly from the US doctors recommendation for serial casting for 6 weeks, ortho braces at night after the casting series, and potentially a cutting of the Achilles tendon if needed to enable him to stand flat footed. (This procedure is called a tenotomy.)
Anyway, the local hospital recommended surgery to "move tendons" in The Bruisers foot to "balance the weak and strong sides of the feet." Obviously, there is no way we're going for surgery in a case where the docs in the US only recommend serial casting.
So, we're at a tough spot here. We know that He has a plan for The Bruiser's needs. We know that He placed him in our family and that somehow a miracle will be performed to help us in getting the care that The Bruiser needs.
Apparently, there are some Doctors trained in the recommended method of the US docs, who practice in Beijing and Shanghai. Both locations would require a weekly flight or train ride to see the doctors in their city for the cast to be re-done...for a period of 6 weeks. The treatment itself is not that expensive (the casting)...and we have the orthotic shoes we need for The Bruiser's "after-treatment"...but the TRAVEL would be really difficult financially and would require a great deal of time that we have very little of these days!
We're feeling really pressed that the time is now to begin this necessary treatment...but while we keep sending out feelers around the country here...we're still unsure of how He is leading.
So we put it to you and ask you to lift it up...
His hand surgery needs to be done before he is 5. As he is 3 just now, we have a bit of time for that to come to fruition...but the feet...the time is now.
In times like these we have to hold fast to the faith that He is in control, and that He is not surprised by this need...that He has the answer, and we're waiting for Him to reveal it.
Thanks for those of you who will lift this up with us!
13 November 2010
Hospitality
These past few days have been crammed with major responsibilities at the school (mid-term exams)...and showing hospitality to some dear friends from the US who traveled to bring home their new son from our city, as well as a fellow we've been waiting to connect with for some time from a group perhaps key to our future Here.
Tuesday we set out at 2:30 (I took the big girls out of school with me) to make the 1 hour 15 minute trip across town to see the family at their hotel. We enjoyed thoroughly the touch of home culture with the food gifts they brought us (Thanksgiving is now on for sure ;) ), but especially the fellowship with their children for our kids. We made their acquaintance through our adoption agency for The Singer and The Bruiser. We have been so blessed by their prayers and support during the press to get the boys home before our visas expired...then later we found out that our boys actually knew each other in their foster homes! What a tremendous gift this was for both families.
Wednesday we entertained the gentleman from the group I mentioned before. I was unsure how comfortable he would be around our table with so many eager children to engage him in conversation. We were thrilled to discover that he himself is one of 12 kids...the youngest of 12...and he felt right at home with our busy household. He took time to speak with each of the kids individually, showing such loving interest in them...that they all felt so full at the end of the meal.
Bub had assisted me that night in making the gravy for the potatoes. I remarked to Bub as we were serving the dinner, "Bub, I really think that this is the best gravy we have ever had!" "REALLY?" he said excitedly. So, as Bub will commonly do, asked numerous times during the dinner, "So guys, how's the gravy?" The question would be met with a chuckle and every one's hearty agreement that the gravy was great.
Finally the gentleman visiting us said, "Bub, I'm not just saying this, but truly this is the best gravy I think I've ever had." "REALLY?" again the answer from Bub. "Oh, yes, and I wonder if you could teach me how to make gravy, too?"
"You DON'T KNOW HOW to make gravy?" Bub questioned in shocked amazement.
"No, I don't. I know that is hard to imagine that a grown man like me cannot make gravy yet. But, really, I wish you would teach me. Maybe if your family comes to visit my home in Beijing?"
"Yeah, okay." then after a silence... "Have you got a kitchen?"
The man broke out in laughter, "Yes, I do!"
Daddy interjected smoothly in his dry manner..."Well sir, you're half-way there then!"
Thursday brought the opportunity to entertain the adoptive family in our home again. We had them visit the school where they participated in classes in both the Kindergarten and Elementary. Their children were such good sports, up for anything, as we moved them from class to class and questioned them about their home.
That evening they came for dinner as did several local friends...we served dinner for 24...and witnessed once again some of the most powerful bonds of adoption. It is exciting to see how we have been able to connect with and minister is a small way to some families coming to our city (or adopting from our province.)
Our friendship solidified with the family, they departed, much to our children's unhappiness. Truly, our kids had one of the best evenings they could remember playing with the visitors...they were spectacular kids.
Today I'm up early as we have the city-wide English competition. We've been preparing for two weeks for the students participating. Today is round one. So at 1 pm on Saturday (today), we will get on the school bus and ride into the city for 4-5 hours of competition.
Sunday will bring fellowship in the morning, but will also bring another trip into the city to admit Qian Qian into the hospital for his lip closure surgery!
His heart test was good and he is cleared for this first surgery. His mother is straddling the gulf between high hopes and trying not to believe that we come through with helping them as promised. I think she thinks at this point that it is too good to be true. Dozens of times she's asked WHY we would do such a thing for a stranger. Those communications are sharing more deeply our reasoning...but I am reminded that this is how the Grace of Him reaches us...when we were strangers to Him (from our point of view)...he rescues us in our need...love is the only answer we can give.
I'm feeling the glow of His love in our lives these days as He's sent visitors this week to minister to us in our need...marveling at the vastness of his network...and at the intimate knowledge He maintains of each of us. Both Qian Qian and I are known, loved, and He desires our return of wrshp in response to His love.
The visitors this week revealed the neediness we are in, but their presence was a gift from Him to encourage us as we move forward seeking His purposes for each day!
Tuesday we set out at 2:30 (I took the big girls out of school with me) to make the 1 hour 15 minute trip across town to see the family at their hotel. We enjoyed thoroughly the touch of home culture with the food gifts they brought us (Thanksgiving is now on for sure ;) ), but especially the fellowship with their children for our kids. We made their acquaintance through our adoption agency for The Singer and The Bruiser. We have been so blessed by their prayers and support during the press to get the boys home before our visas expired...then later we found out that our boys actually knew each other in their foster homes! What a tremendous gift this was for both families.
Wednesday we entertained the gentleman from the group I mentioned before. I was unsure how comfortable he would be around our table with so many eager children to engage him in conversation. We were thrilled to discover that he himself is one of 12 kids...the youngest of 12...and he felt right at home with our busy household. He took time to speak with each of the kids individually, showing such loving interest in them...that they all felt so full at the end of the meal.
Bub had assisted me that night in making the gravy for the potatoes. I remarked to Bub as we were serving the dinner, "Bub, I really think that this is the best gravy we have ever had!" "REALLY?" he said excitedly. So, as Bub will commonly do, asked numerous times during the dinner, "So guys, how's the gravy?" The question would be met with a chuckle and every one's hearty agreement that the gravy was great.
Finally the gentleman visiting us said, "Bub, I'm not just saying this, but truly this is the best gravy I think I've ever had." "REALLY?" again the answer from Bub. "Oh, yes, and I wonder if you could teach me how to make gravy, too?"
"You DON'T KNOW HOW to make gravy?" Bub questioned in shocked amazement.
"No, I don't. I know that is hard to imagine that a grown man like me cannot make gravy yet. But, really, I wish you would teach me. Maybe if your family comes to visit my home in Beijing?"
"Yeah, okay." then after a silence... "Have you got a kitchen?"
The man broke out in laughter, "Yes, I do!"
Daddy interjected smoothly in his dry manner..."Well sir, you're half-way there then!"
Thursday brought the opportunity to entertain the adoptive family in our home again. We had them visit the school where they participated in classes in both the Kindergarten and Elementary. Their children were such good sports, up for anything, as we moved them from class to class and questioned them about their home.
That evening they came for dinner as did several local friends...we served dinner for 24...and witnessed once again some of the most powerful bonds of adoption. It is exciting to see how we have been able to connect with and minister is a small way to some families coming to our city (or adopting from our province.)
Our friendship solidified with the family, they departed, much to our children's unhappiness. Truly, our kids had one of the best evenings they could remember playing with the visitors...they were spectacular kids.
Today I'm up early as we have the city-wide English competition. We've been preparing for two weeks for the students participating. Today is round one. So at 1 pm on Saturday (today), we will get on the school bus and ride into the city for 4-5 hours of competition.
Sunday will bring fellowship in the morning, but will also bring another trip into the city to admit Qian Qian into the hospital for his lip closure surgery!
His heart test was good and he is cleared for this first surgery. His mother is straddling the gulf between high hopes and trying not to believe that we come through with helping them as promised. I think she thinks at this point that it is too good to be true. Dozens of times she's asked WHY we would do such a thing for a stranger. Those communications are sharing more deeply our reasoning...but I am reminded that this is how the Grace of Him reaches us...when we were strangers to Him (from our point of view)...he rescues us in our need...love is the only answer we can give.
I'm feeling the glow of His love in our lives these days as He's sent visitors this week to minister to us in our need...marveling at the vastness of his network...and at the intimate knowledge He maintains of each of us. Both Qian Qian and I are known, loved, and He desires our return of wrshp in response to His love.
The visitors this week revealed the neediness we are in, but their presence was a gift from Him to encourage us as we move forward seeking His purposes for each day!
08 November 2010
Qian Qian Update
Though he kicked and screamed...cried and cried...Qian Qian made it through his first thorough medical exam in his life.
Last Friday a local hospital here, arranged by an organization out of Peachtree City, Georgia...gave him a pre-op physical that ruled out anything major...except his heart. They were unable to get a an all-clear on his heart due to the absolute fit he was having during the medical exam. So tomorrow, we try again for the all clear.
If we have the clearance on his heart tomorrow, he will stay in the hospital and should be given the first step of his life-changing surgery this week. His lip that has been unrepaired since his birth nine months ago, will finally be closed. This is the first step of many that Qian Qian will need to walk through, we are so thankful that He is making a way for this little boy who He loves.
The treatment plan has taken shape, we believe. After this surgery for his lip closure, (all surgical costs being provided for by the organization out of Georgia), he will be cared for here in our city. We need to see him gain a bit more wait so that in the Spring, he can travel with his mother and aunt to a city several provinces away, where a medical team from Canada will visit to do a week's worth of surgeries for cleft-affected children. Through a connection provided by a dear sister in Toronto, I've been able to correspond with the Doctor himself who will do the palate repair for Qian Qian. They will put him on their priority list and we will pay to send him there and to pay for their food and accommodation. This is a tremendous opportunity for Qian Qian and we clearly see His hands at work in providing it for this little guy!
We are now ready to accept funds for Qian Qian as costs are already mounting for the medical exams and the family's provision (as the Aunt will lose several days in her work as a street peddler so that she can be the translator for Qian Qian's mother who does not speak the national common language.) Additional health care costs and the provision of necessary nutritional formulas must now be purchased to help Qian Qian 'fatten up' for the palate surgery in the Spring. Additional monies not used in these days for the first surgery will be put toward the Spring travel to the distant province for the second surgery, food and accommodation for the family's stay there around the surgery date.
We have, at the suggestion of a few who were willing to partner with us in helping Qian Qian, added a "ChipIn" widget to our blog here. You can donate to his care via a secure transaction by clicking on it, if you so choose. If you would prefer to send a check to our US PO Box, please email us to let us know.
We have enlisted a couple of key people here locally who have physically given of themselves to go to the hospital with Qian Qian, to make certain he had his medical checks as needed. On Saturday I had the opportunity to speak with one of those dear souls who has helped us respond to the HS prompting to help this boy who was begging just a few weeks ago with his mother. The local friend told me that in the beginning, he was willing to help us, because we asked him to and he cares for us. Then he said, when he met Qian Qian's family at the hospital, he found himself feeling deeply touched...that this was a "meaningful thing"...and while he didn't understand fully why we would stop on the road to help this mother and baby...that he felt it was an "honorable" thing to do. Now as we are on the verge, Lord willing, of Qian Qian's first surgery, he told me that he sees what is happening as a "God arrangement," too fantastic for coincidence...but a clear indication of a love he believes the world needs.
I am so eager to see Qian Qian again. I cannot wait to hold him in my arms...to feel the weight of him while I stare in his eyes that stirred the deepest parts of my soul...to say to him someday that He knew him, and told me to stop and do whatever needed to be done to help him and his mother...
...I can't wait to tell him that I saw Jsus in his eyes...that the HS invited me to worship Him...through helping one of a billion souls in this foreign land He's sent us to...
...I have stood in many fellowships. I have been with many gathered together to praise Him....I have experienced Him in many places...but I never saw Him...until I looked in Qian Qian's eyes...
...and I will never be the same again...
Last Friday a local hospital here, arranged by an organization out of Peachtree City, Georgia...gave him a pre-op physical that ruled out anything major...except his heart. They were unable to get a an all-clear on his heart due to the absolute fit he was having during the medical exam. So tomorrow, we try again for the all clear.
If we have the clearance on his heart tomorrow, he will stay in the hospital and should be given the first step of his life-changing surgery this week. His lip that has been unrepaired since his birth nine months ago, will finally be closed. This is the first step of many that Qian Qian will need to walk through, we are so thankful that He is making a way for this little boy who He loves.
The treatment plan has taken shape, we believe. After this surgery for his lip closure, (all surgical costs being provided for by the organization out of Georgia), he will be cared for here in our city. We need to see him gain a bit more wait so that in the Spring, he can travel with his mother and aunt to a city several provinces away, where a medical team from Canada will visit to do a week's worth of surgeries for cleft-affected children. Through a connection provided by a dear sister in Toronto, I've been able to correspond with the Doctor himself who will do the palate repair for Qian Qian. They will put him on their priority list and we will pay to send him there and to pay for their food and accommodation. This is a tremendous opportunity for Qian Qian and we clearly see His hands at work in providing it for this little guy!
We are now ready to accept funds for Qian Qian as costs are already mounting for the medical exams and the family's provision (as the Aunt will lose several days in her work as a street peddler so that she can be the translator for Qian Qian's mother who does not speak the national common language.) Additional health care costs and the provision of necessary nutritional formulas must now be purchased to help Qian Qian 'fatten up' for the palate surgery in the Spring. Additional monies not used in these days for the first surgery will be put toward the Spring travel to the distant province for the second surgery, food and accommodation for the family's stay there around the surgery date.
We have, at the suggestion of a few who were willing to partner with us in helping Qian Qian, added a "ChipIn" widget to our blog here. You can donate to his care via a secure transaction by clicking on it, if you so choose. If you would prefer to send a check to our US PO Box, please email us to let us know.
We have enlisted a couple of key people here locally who have physically given of themselves to go to the hospital with Qian Qian, to make certain he had his medical checks as needed. On Saturday I had the opportunity to speak with one of those dear souls who has helped us respond to the HS prompting to help this boy who was begging just a few weeks ago with his mother. The local friend told me that in the beginning, he was willing to help us, because we asked him to and he cares for us. Then he said, when he met Qian Qian's family at the hospital, he found himself feeling deeply touched...that this was a "meaningful thing"...and while he didn't understand fully why we would stop on the road to help this mother and baby...that he felt it was an "honorable" thing to do. Now as we are on the verge, Lord willing, of Qian Qian's first surgery, he told me that he sees what is happening as a "God arrangement," too fantastic for coincidence...but a clear indication of a love he believes the world needs.
I am so eager to see Qian Qian again. I cannot wait to hold him in my arms...to feel the weight of him while I stare in his eyes that stirred the deepest parts of my soul...to say to him someday that He knew him, and told me to stop and do whatever needed to be done to help him and his mother...
...I can't wait to tell him that I saw Jsus in his eyes...that the HS invited me to worship Him...through helping one of a billion souls in this foreign land He's sent us to...
...I have stood in many fellowships. I have been with many gathered together to praise Him....I have experienced Him in many places...but I never saw Him...until I looked in Qian Qian's eyes...
...and I will never be the same again...
Changes
We made it through the gauntlet of birthday party/sleepovers...and we are still standing.
This week is full of some more significant events, we have visitors from a special group coming to see us. We will also welcome a family who is adopting their child from our city to our home for a special night of connecting with them. We have a city-wide "English competition" that our students will compete in this next weekend, too. Of course, this will be AFTER we give mid-term exams this Friday morning!
It is easy for this pace of life to push us on, force us forward even when we are not ready to move on.
For the past year of living Here, several key people who we've connected with, or who were "helps" to us during our period of settling in have left. It is no joke to say that at least twelve key people have moved on from the school/company/LQ where we live. Each month we grapple with new news that someone we care about and who has supported us when we've been in a pinch (usually with culture or translation)...is leaving. This weekend brought news of two more who will soon be gone.
Yet the momentum of life in the schedule of school carries us swiftly on down the river. We really have precious little time to consider all these changes...we just keep swimming.
This week we will also mark the five-month anniversary of the New Guys adoptions. How can it already be 5 months?! So many things have changed with the boys...language acquisition, bonding, The Bruiser can feed himself and walk up stairs alone...much with them changes each week, that we are not able to take into our notice either.
The Bruiser, which I will detail in a further, more focused post, continues to struggle the most at adapting to family life. His little soul was so damaged by institutionalization. We are learning volumes more about the ramifications of these things with his development and its effect on bonding...but still...not much time for naval-gazing. It seems that he will stretch us, teach us, confound us the most of all nine of our children.
Sometimes my parenting philosophy could be summed up like this..."making a big wake." If we press forward and make a big enough wake behind us, they will all (the children) get sucked into it and pulled along too. The Bruiser seems to be the only one who is intent is swimming against the wake...pressing as hard as he can against the momentum to join in and come along smoothly.
So far our resilience for change as a family remains high. Still I find myself thinking now and again about change that moves things that we "depend upon" out of our reach. Am I holding fast to the Rock, to the Anchor that holds when all else is torn away? We hold to a faith that does not disappoint...yet when the "holding" depends on me, I so often lose my grip...or my attention is drawn away.
It is mornings like this when I need to return to the Truth and meditate on it...that it is He holding me...and that He will never lose any who He has claimed as His own. If holding it together, through change and challenge depended upon me, we would be utterly lost.
This week is full of some more significant events, we have visitors from a special group coming to see us. We will also welcome a family who is adopting their child from our city to our home for a special night of connecting with them. We have a city-wide "English competition" that our students will compete in this next weekend, too. Of course, this will be AFTER we give mid-term exams this Friday morning!
It is easy for this pace of life to push us on, force us forward even when we are not ready to move on.
For the past year of living Here, several key people who we've connected with, or who were "helps" to us during our period of settling in have left. It is no joke to say that at least twelve key people have moved on from the school/company/LQ where we live. Each month we grapple with new news that someone we care about and who has supported us when we've been in a pinch (usually with culture or translation)...is leaving. This weekend brought news of two more who will soon be gone.
Yet the momentum of life in the schedule of school carries us swiftly on down the river. We really have precious little time to consider all these changes...we just keep swimming.
This week we will also mark the five-month anniversary of the New Guys adoptions. How can it already be 5 months?! So many things have changed with the boys...language acquisition, bonding, The Bruiser can feed himself and walk up stairs alone...much with them changes each week, that we are not able to take into our notice either.
The Bruiser, which I will detail in a further, more focused post, continues to struggle the most at adapting to family life. His little soul was so damaged by institutionalization. We are learning volumes more about the ramifications of these things with his development and its effect on bonding...but still...not much time for naval-gazing. It seems that he will stretch us, teach us, confound us the most of all nine of our children.
Sometimes my parenting philosophy could be summed up like this..."making a big wake." If we press forward and make a big enough wake behind us, they will all (the children) get sucked into it and pulled along too. The Bruiser seems to be the only one who is intent is swimming against the wake...pressing as hard as he can against the momentum to join in and come along smoothly.
So far our resilience for change as a family remains high. Still I find myself thinking now and again about change that moves things that we "depend upon" out of our reach. Am I holding fast to the Rock, to the Anchor that holds when all else is torn away? We hold to a faith that does not disappoint...yet when the "holding" depends on me, I so often lose my grip...or my attention is drawn away.
It is mornings like this when I need to return to the Truth and meditate on it...that it is He holding me...and that He will never lose any who He has claimed as His own. If holding it together, through change and challenge depended upon me, we would be utterly lost.
04 November 2010
Driving the porcelain bus...
That crazy expression was popular in the late 80's and referred to hugging a toilet bowl when being ill.
Twice in one week now (after a few years of nary such a nasty experience)...I was driving the bus again!
Last night, in preparation for this weekend's massive sleepover and dinner/breakfast, I had to travel the 1 hour to the "Western Food Market." I had already taught the full day of school, but time was not on my side, and so I simply had to face the traffic.
Shopping at the market is like a combo Costco/Wong's Lucky market sort of experience. It is true that we can find certain items for Western cooking that cannot be found at any of our local markets there. Yet there are also the Chinese favorites with awesome-ly strange labels and their offerings. Some day I will do an entire post about some of the product labels here...
(I must post this one because I keep forgetting to tell anyone about it. I was at the "shopping mall" the other day and there was a perfume vendor set up in a kiosk sort of selling station. They were offering 8-10 glamorous looking bottled scents, I scanned them to see if I recognized any of them. Just as I nearly was past their location my eye glimpsed the sign overhead. The perfume manufacturing company's name...."Fartier.")
At any rate, last night by the time I got to the check-out (where no one helps you even put your groceries on the belt, let alone to bag them up though there are seemingly HUNDREDS of blue-coated employees involved in conversations all over the store)...my head started to ache. It was one of those headaches that started behind my left eye, gave me some flashy vision, and grew more intense by the moment. I started to get really overheated in my multiple layer dressing as I fought to bag my "monthly" shopping up. To my aggravation, I realized that I had forgotten to replace the headache powder in the little bottle of my purse that recently gave up its last pill.
Once arriving in the parking lot the tiny, tiny, tiny "mini-bus" I'd rented we quickly packed it up, the driver and I...and we were on our way for the 1.5 (it was now definitely rush, or more appropriately, sitting in traffic-breathing fumes hour) trip home.
I had the driver stop so I could get a drink and something quick to eat. But as soon as I ate a few bites I knew I'd decided on the wrong course. The next hour and a half was spent trying to keep my eyes closed, head down, and stomach contents in my stomach. I was horrified at the thought of throwing-up in the driver's car...and the sicker I got...I could remember NO CHINESE to explain my predicament.
Finally, after what seemed like the worst 10 hour drive home, I got up to our apartment and reached the bathroom in time to take the bus for a spin.
I'm much better this morning and must get everyone off to school here soon...but I was thinking about culture stress. When we're ill, really ill like I was last night...all of the "charms" of living Here are totally gone. The lack of control, the ability to care for myself, is totally removed as it usually is...but on nights like last night, it produces fear. The smells, the traffic, the hardship of simply getting groceries to feed the family, riding in mini-mini buses with no suspension that jolts my neck and a driver who lights up now and again...people who stare at me because I'm a foreigner, or who want to practice their English at the sight of me...being very cold, then very hot...other shoppers who stop and gawk, or who come to my cart to pick through what I'm purchasing while shaking their heads in either disapproval or befuddlement...employees at a shopping market that will not help you get your massive purchase out the door (or even simply move out of your way while shopping...or expect you to be on high alert while they are racing their forklifts around the store nearly whacking a dozen customers)...I just wanted to curl up in a ball and cry on the way home last night.
But, today...the supply tank of positive outlook has been restored. Today Qian Qian will go to have his pre-op exam and we'll know (be praying that there are no other major health concerns beyond the cleft lip/palette) when he can have surgery! All my kids are awaking from a sound night of sleep and they are well. Daddy is a marvelous partner who takes care of us when I'm laid low...we have food, shelter, work...and a purpose for our lives. I realize again how soft I am when it comes to real hardship and suffering...and I feel ashamed.
Living outside of our comfort zone is a continual stretch...and I am impatient for the day when I can say it no longer makes me uncomfortable...but I wonder if that will even come as I spent so much of my life in another culture, with a different way of life?
Sorry for the rambling this morning. This is what is pressing on my mind today...and so perhaps I bore you with the reading of it.
It is a new day to deepen relationships, to be listen for key topics to emerge in discussions...to love on the kids of our school...to follow the journey of helping Qian Qian another step further...and to simply "take up space" on this side of the world...oh, that we might fulfill the hope of our calling.
Twice in one week now (after a few years of nary such a nasty experience)...I was driving the bus again!
Last night, in preparation for this weekend's massive sleepover and dinner/breakfast, I had to travel the 1 hour to the "Western Food Market." I had already taught the full day of school, but time was not on my side, and so I simply had to face the traffic.
Shopping at the market is like a combo Costco/Wong's Lucky market sort of experience. It is true that we can find certain items for Western cooking that cannot be found at any of our local markets there. Yet there are also the Chinese favorites with awesome-ly strange labels and their offerings. Some day I will do an entire post about some of the product labels here...
(I must post this one because I keep forgetting to tell anyone about it. I was at the "shopping mall" the other day and there was a perfume vendor set up in a kiosk sort of selling station. They were offering 8-10 glamorous looking bottled scents, I scanned them to see if I recognized any of them. Just as I nearly was past their location my eye glimpsed the sign overhead. The perfume manufacturing company's name...."Fartier.")
At any rate, last night by the time I got to the check-out (where no one helps you even put your groceries on the belt, let alone to bag them up though there are seemingly HUNDREDS of blue-coated employees involved in conversations all over the store)...my head started to ache. It was one of those headaches that started behind my left eye, gave me some flashy vision, and grew more intense by the moment. I started to get really overheated in my multiple layer dressing as I fought to bag my "monthly" shopping up. To my aggravation, I realized that I had forgotten to replace the headache powder in the little bottle of my purse that recently gave up its last pill.
Once arriving in the parking lot the tiny, tiny, tiny "mini-bus" I'd rented we quickly packed it up, the driver and I...and we were on our way for the 1.5 (it was now definitely rush, or more appropriately, sitting in traffic-breathing fumes hour) trip home.
I had the driver stop so I could get a drink and something quick to eat. But as soon as I ate a few bites I knew I'd decided on the wrong course. The next hour and a half was spent trying to keep my eyes closed, head down, and stomach contents in my stomach. I was horrified at the thought of throwing-up in the driver's car...and the sicker I got...I could remember NO CHINESE to explain my predicament.
Finally, after what seemed like the worst 10 hour drive home, I got up to our apartment and reached the bathroom in time to take the bus for a spin.
I'm much better this morning and must get everyone off to school here soon...but I was thinking about culture stress. When we're ill, really ill like I was last night...all of the "charms" of living Here are totally gone. The lack of control, the ability to care for myself, is totally removed as it usually is...but on nights like last night, it produces fear. The smells, the traffic, the hardship of simply getting groceries to feed the family, riding in mini-mini buses with no suspension that jolts my neck and a driver who lights up now and again...people who stare at me because I'm a foreigner, or who want to practice their English at the sight of me...being very cold, then very hot...other shoppers who stop and gawk, or who come to my cart to pick through what I'm purchasing while shaking their heads in either disapproval or befuddlement...employees at a shopping market that will not help you get your massive purchase out the door (or even simply move out of your way while shopping...or expect you to be on high alert while they are racing their forklifts around the store nearly whacking a dozen customers)...I just wanted to curl up in a ball and cry on the way home last night.
But, today...the supply tank of positive outlook has been restored. Today Qian Qian will go to have his pre-op exam and we'll know (be praying that there are no other major health concerns beyond the cleft lip/palette) when he can have surgery! All my kids are awaking from a sound night of sleep and they are well. Daddy is a marvelous partner who takes care of us when I'm laid low...we have food, shelter, work...and a purpose for our lives. I realize again how soft I am when it comes to real hardship and suffering...and I feel ashamed.
Living outside of our comfort zone is a continual stretch...and I am impatient for the day when I can say it no longer makes me uncomfortable...but I wonder if that will even come as I spent so much of my life in another culture, with a different way of life?
Sorry for the rambling this morning. This is what is pressing on my mind today...and so perhaps I bore you with the reading of it.
It is a new day to deepen relationships, to be listen for key topics to emerge in discussions...to love on the kids of our school...to follow the journey of helping Qian Qian another step further...and to simply "take up space" on this side of the world...oh, that we might fulfill the hope of our calling.
01 November 2010
The Weekend
This past weekend was a trifecta event.
Magpie turned 11 years old on Saturday...The Singer reached 3 years of age on Sunday...and we tried to do a little "Trick-or-Treating" in a community that knows nothing about the custom.
I apologize that 3 of these photos are turned on their sides. I have made 5 attempts to correct the error...but blogger, or my photo editing program is on strike...so, I'm posting them anyway and hoping you don't break your neck trying to view them!
Below: The Singer on his big day...he and The Bruiser were costumed as frogs. They were not so thrilled about it. The Singer was especially traumatized by another boy who wore an "Incredible Hulk" costume. Come to think of it, I was sort of traumatized by the Hulk back in the day myself.
Above: The Bruiser shows you his dental work...while this picture shows him with the frog eyes on top of his head...most of the day he was using the aforementioned teeth to chew on the eyes, instead.
Below: Magpie at her birthday breakfast. She loves the raspberry/white chocolate scones that I make for special days. Since we'd had such illness, her sleepover had to be rescheduled until next week so we did a low-key breakfast and then we took a sick cat to the vet. A birthday dream for Magpie, I'm sure. (In the photo you see our nifty plywood table top that Daddy fashioned a few years ago to accommodate the dozens of dinner guests we often have.)
Below: Now you can return your head to the upright position and see a bit of Magpie's personality as she opens a gift from her Gramma J and Pendy...
Below: The Singer's birthday cake...complete with trucks and fake rocks (actually chocolate candies)...thank heavens I remembered to bring some cocoa with us this year...we've got LOTS of cakes to bake!
It is a funny thing when you try to "import" a tradition like Trick-or-Treating. Especially here in a "warm culture" (read Foreign to Familiar book for clarification on what that means)...
Here when you are doing something, everyone just joins in. There really is no such thing as an invitation. For instance, once some friends of ours who live across town heard about the trick-or-treating...they just showed up, for lunch at our house, and went along with their daughter. Kids and parents from other floors just came into our apartment when they realized that there was "something" going on for Graham's birthday. They entered, pulled up chairs to sit down in the dining room...and enjoyed the cake we served them.
In my home culture, we would never think of coming into some one's home, and especially to a party they were having, UNLESS we were invited.
But we don't live There anymore...and I have to remain flexible and fluid EVERY TIME we have something planned...the additional guests numbered nearly 10...but we did our best to be welcoming and happy with whomever showed. It truly is a constant learning (and stretching) exercise.
We've got a sleepover with at least 15 girls this Friday in our apartment. I've got a dinner for 30 that night (parents and extra students from school as well as the passerby neighbor who will come, of course)...and then breakfast for all the girls before they leave the next morning.
But in the midst of all that craziness...we'll have the chance to show love to more children and their parents (and interested neighbors)...and to tell more of our story...of the miracles we have seen...so that they might hear and believe.
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