Blessings Abundant

One of my co-workers likes to respond to the frequent question, "how are you?" with a smile and the words "BBB! Blessed beyond belief." As a child of G0d, saved by His Son J*sus' work on the cross, I can truthfully utter these same words every single day...that I am blessed beyond anything I could ever deserve or imagine. And yet, in thinking back over this amazing trip to Ch1na, I feel particularly blessed to have seen G0d's personal care and tender mercies so clearly this summer. It is fitting to write into this final chapter of "Two Hands and a Heart" a list of just how abundantly He has blessed me through this trip, though I know I can't possibly enumerate everything He has done...

-I am blessed to have been carried through this journey on the wings of people's prayers. You don't fully comprehend the power of having friends and family members praying diligently for you until you're in a trying situation, or taking a leap of faith, or going outside your comfort zone. Those are the times you know it is only by God's grace and power that you keep on and endure, and that that grace and power has been accessed for you by so many saints' daily conversations with our Father. What a privilege it is to be lifted up and prayed for....if you did that for me this summer, please know how deeply you have blessed me!

-I am blessed to have experienced the Ch1nese culture again and been loved on by its people. I love seeing G0d's hand at work in new places and His creative artistry behind all of our differences and uniqueness. Not everyone gets the opportunity to experience Him in a different continent, and I don't take it for granted that I have. He is an amazing G0d!

-I am blessed to have heard my name called out in the voices of dozens of orphaned children, to have looked into their eyes and smelled them and held them and lived life with them.

-I am blessed to have been a small part of the opening up of precious Wendy's heart (see this post for more of this story) towards others and, hopefully one day, to her Creator. This is something I never expected I'd have the privilege to do, yet G0d blessed me with it nonetheless. The latest reports I hear of her progress are amazing...she is friendlier, more agreeable, more softhearted with staff members and visitors....all things I and many others prayed for while I was there. It cheers my heart like nothing else. One staff member even said to me, "Annie, you changed her!," and while I know that it is G0d alone who can work in a heart like that and give Him all the credit for anything He did through me there, it is an incredibly blessing to see that He used me, even in my inadequate human frailty. The glory goes to Him!

-I am blessed to have shared the blessing I received living at Shepherd's Field with so many other people through stories, pictures, and this blog. I love knowing that other people are impacted and inspired to get involved in these kids' lives simply by hearing my experiences there with those amazing kids. So neat to see G0d's work there go on through so many different people!

-I am blessed to have had awesome fellowship with countless staff members, visitors, and interns from all over the States and in China. I thank G0d for His grace in providing me with all these neat friends and for giving us a shared heart for what He is doing in Ch1na. I am so thankful for the interactions I had with Ch1nese believers and ch*rches too that gave me an inside glimpse of Chr1st1an1ty in their country. How sweet it is to now have brothers and sisters on the other side of the world to continue sharing encouragement, prayers, and support with.

-I am blessed to have made contact with many of the kids' adoptive families and to have helped lighten the load of their waiting by sharing stories and lots of pictures of their children. This is a ministry I never anticipated going in to this trip, but I am so blessed that G0d has given me the opportunity to support and encourage these families who are sacrificing so much to bring these children home. I am blessed to have loved on these kids while they wait for their mamas and babas to come bring them home. <3

-I am blessed to have seen again the towering Great Wall rise against a smoggy sky, the beautiful vistas of the Summer Palace, the maze of traffic in central Beijing, and the little markets lined with silks, jade, pearls, panda hats, porcelain, calligraphy, costumed dolls, and so many other little trinkets....all little sights I love about this second home of mine.

-I am blessed to have served as a teacher, being stretched to where I have never been before, but loving every minute. I am blessed to have shared my language with children who may one day speak it regularly in their new homes. I am blessed to have read my classes B1ble stories and sung songs of the great Sav1or I pr*y they may come to love and serve for their whole lifetimes. I am blessed to hear from others that "my kids" still ask about me, that they recognize me in photos and eagerly talk about "this teacher they had named Annie." I don't deserve this memory or love, but G0d in His lovingkindness blesses me with it anyway.

-I am blessed to have been given abundant opportunities to practice flexibility, patience, trust, agape love, and compassion.

-I am blessed to have seen G0d's faithfulness once again in the m1nistry of Shepherd's Field. Witnessing His hand of favor, protection, and provision first hand again has helped strengthen my fa1th and deepen my trust in G0d's ability to meet all of His children's needs...no matter how great the obstacles or dire the circumstances.

-I am blessed to have prayed over these children in person, literally carrying them to the One who can alone do all things.

-I am blessed to have had my heart broken over the suffering and injustices of orphan-hood and special needs. I am also blessed to have seen how G0d transforms those ills, redeeming them and making them into something beautiful through His grace.

-I am blessed to have felt my Father's intimate presence and tender loving care in a unique, out-of-the-ordinary way. Removed for two months from home, family, friends, my ch*rch, and everything familiar, J*sus became all I really had and this brought me closer to Him than I have ever been.

-I am blessed to have in my heart the unforgettable memories of a blue Ch1na sky after the rains, the feel of a just-abandoned baby in my arms, shared "awwwww's" with Sara over the things our little Niu Niu said over Skype, the laughter of my kids, the bantering across rooms of the ayis, the taste of a good bowl of tomato and eggs over noodles or sweet-n-sour pork, the chirps of the cicadas from the tree-lined drive, and the joy of loving intermingled with tears of parting.

-I am blessed to have had my two hands always full of children and a heart overflowing with love like I never expected. G0d has answered all my prayers for this endeavor so faithfully, and I will never forget the precious little people He gave me the opportunity to serve this summer.

So ends this journey through my amazing summer at Shepherd's Field. My two hands have reluctantly moved on to new adventures and journeys, though my heart will forever be back in those five houses full of the world's most precious little faces. It's so hard to post this last update and shut the cover on this story for now, but I am so grateful for all of you who accompanied me through each little scene and look forward to continuing to tell this tale of G0d's faithfulness for years to come. What I have seen and lived and felt this summer will no doubt shape all the coming stories of my life as well as those of many others' and I eagerly anticipate seeing how He will continue to use it for His glory. I will miss connecting with each of you here, but invite you to come along for the ride on my two regular blogs, Hope Now (orphan care/adoption advocacy...includes a recent post about my sponsor boy, Perry's, adoption!) and This Hope-Filled Heart (personal scribblings...email me for an invite). See you there!

Signing off one last time, with an abundantly blessed heart,
Annie <3

"Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to Him be glory in the ch*rch and in Chr1st J*sus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen." ~Ephesians 3:20-21