For Such a Time

I'm coming to realize more and more that my time in Ch1na was divinely orchestrated to meet certain kids' needs at a very certain time. In the days and weeks since I left Shepherd's Field, several of my precious little students have gone to be with forever families. There is...

Mariah....now called Brookie...who met her family just a couple days after I came home from teaching her preschool class this summer. I got to see the adoption liaison tell her she had a family and present her with a special album full of pictures of her new mommy, daddy, and two siblings. The miracle of adoption shines through her face in every picture I now see of her new life with her forever family...take a look here.

Brent...one of my favorite little boys from Kindergarten class. While in Ch1na I mourned over the fact that he could never be adopted, due to some legal issues with his abandonment years ago. As my brightest and best student, always the one who picked up on the vocabulary words the fastest and amazed me with his ability to pick up written as well as spoken English, Brent broke my heart with all of his potential that could not be realized in a family setting. Yet shortly after I came home, he was welcomed in by a loving foster mama in Ch1na who will love on him and care for him as if they were legally bound as mother and son. His face too radiates the beauty of forever love, of knowing that he now belongs to someone.

Lexi (now Susi)...my little preschooler who always greeted me with a quick scoot across the floor (she's a paraplegic and so unable to walk) and a huge, face-splitting smile. A sweet, beautiful little girl, she too has now found a place as a daughter and sister in a large, loving family. I didn't think it possible that her smiles could grow any bigger, but these photos have been proof of what having a new mommy, daddy, and siblings can do!

Henry...the sweet boy who called me "Ammy" and always loved suggesting songs to sing at the start of kindergarten class...he now has a very sweet family (whom I actually met this summer!) working to adopt him.

 

Perry, Zechariah, Grace and so many others that I held and loved on are also awaiting families hopefully this Fall. So while I wish that I could see every one of these precious "Gotcha Days", I'm amazed at G0d's work of giving me a whole summer with these precious people to help prepare them for their next phase of life...adoption. The bits of English I taught in class and the songs we sang may help make their initial transitions a little easier. The hugs and love we shared hopefully have prepared them to love and be loved by a forever family. You never know how G0d could use all the simple things we did this summer in this short window of time before their adoptions to lay the foundation for the beautiful stories G0d has planned for them with families of their very own. I'm so grateful to have had the time that I did with these amazing kids and pr*y G0d's richest blessings on their new lives at HOME!