We have a match!

We are so excited to introduce you to FuMei! She's a 7 year old from Shanxi Province in northern China. She's introverted, shy and timid and loves to dance and color. She has a repaired cleft lip and palate. She's very little by American growth charts! Only the 3rd percentile. So she will look like a 5 year old. She has spent all 7 of her years in the orphanage as she was abandoned soon after birth at a nearby hospital.

We got the call on Friday from CCAI and because she was a little older than we had said we were willing to take they gave us a few days to look at her file, talk with our social worker and our pediatrician, dentist and the Cleft Lip/Palate Clinic down at Children's Hospital. We spent a lot of time on the phone and in prayer over her and this decision. After praying and considering all the pros and cons of adopting an older child, we really feel that this was the girl the Lord has for us. One huge blessing is that her orphanage is in the north where Mandarin Chinese is the main dialect, which is what David and I speak fluently.

So, what is the next step? We are waiting to find out! I know that soon we will be able to put together a little care package filled with pictures of her new family and little gifts for her. We should also receive more information from the orphanage and hopefully some more pictures of her. We have a lot of preparations before we are able to travel and they still say that we won't be traveling to get her for 3-5 months!

We would appreciate your continued prayers for all of this. Pray that the orphanage would really start preparing her for this transition, which will probably be the hardest thing she has done. The more they talk to her about us and show her our pictures the better it will be. They have said that she will start school on Sept. 1st. Pray that the other kids around her will treat her well and not tease her about the cleft lip. Pray for us as we wait patiently now. I especially will need more time to complete the preparations. Pray that I will be able to prioritize my activities this fall. And please cover our family in prayers! The kids are all excited and have completely come to love her already. Each of us feel that she is the one for us, even after hoping for an infant. We have unity amongst us and a sense of peace. But it will be a big change for our family and we value your continued prayers.

We are still really hoping to bring our 4 children with us when we go get her. They are old enough to really enjoy the trip and want to be a part of bringing her home. Because of the grant from Shoahannah's Hope, we have enough to pay for 4 tickets. Please continue to pray for God's provision for the rest.

We will keep you posted more frequently now since we have a face to go with the hope! Blessings, Lynn