Finding Place

We went to Michal's "finding place" today. That is a nicer way of saying, the place where her parent(s) abandoned her. I wasn't sure that I wanted to go see her finding place, and I really wasn't sure how I would feel when I got there.

This bus stop (right behind the blue car) on the side of this VERY busy, dirty street was where her parent(s) walked away and left there 1 day old little girl.  

I FELT ANGRY.

I know the reasons they left her were probably many. I pray they didn't feel good about leaving her there. I am glad it was not winter like it is today with bitter cold. I try to understand that her parents probably just 'did what they had to do'.  

Maybe they are poor. They probably knew they could not afford to repair her cleft lip and palate. Maybe her mom was even having trouble feeding her. Maybe they feared if they kept her, she would die because she couldn't eat or because they couldn't afford to feed her. Maybe her family already had another child and so she would have put there family over the limit for the number of kids the government will allow them to have without fines.

Reasons. Reasons. They all stink.

Christians are called to love children. ALL children. It is crapy that life makes that really hard some times. It stinks that money, man-made rules, and fear made it where my little girl had to be left on the side of the road.

The two street names for the intersection where the bus stop is.

So, if I ask myself, "Where was God that day?"

I quickly know the answer. He was right there. He saw it all. He knew she was going to be left before it happened. He loved her then. He loves her now! Michal is HIS baby first and foremost. 

I know God cried that day.

I know God protected her from all those speeding cars. 

He kept her away from any evil person that may have hurt her.

 He got her safely to the orphanage that has kept her alive, healthy, repaired her lip, and that hopefully gave her some love too for the past 17 mths.

That day as she was being left, as she was laying there alone, so small,

God knew we were already on our way to get her!!

He had been calling us to adopt for YEARS by that time 

We had already been working on her adoption paper work for 4 1/2 months by that time. 

We had been praying for her for 4 1/2 months by that time. 

We prayed every night for God to protect, provide for her and love on her. We prayed that if there were no humans that would/could care for her, that He would send angels to care for her.We know that He did! How do we know? Because in our lives, we have experienced a God is who is:

Faithful

Loving

Powerful 

Never fails

Omnipresent: He was with us, and with her everyday!

Her Daddy!

Our God hates what happened to her, but 

OUR GOD REDEEMS!!!

Our God sets the lonely in families!

Our God gives great gifts!     Blessings!

I get to look at this beautiful face every day! I get to watch her grow and fulfill all God's plans for her life.

I get to wipe this sticky, sucker covered face and tell her I love her, and about how much God loves her. I get to tell her all that He has done for her. I get to assure her that He will continue to be faithful!

We also get to make her a citizen of the GREATEST country on earth! A country where she will be free!

Wow! What an honor and a part of His plan!

Made it to NYC!!

In Savannah earlier today, my dad and Matthew's dad, as well as our good friends Terri, Carolyn, and Lexi came out to the Savanna Hilton head international airport to see us off!!

Jackson insisted on pushing the luggage cart himself! 

Bye Daddy!

Bye Mom!

Friends to see us off! Thanks Palmer/Rockwells!

On the plane headed for NYC!

We made it! Next plan to Korea leaves at midnight.

Travel Day!!!!

Today at 5:59 pm we will leave Savannah and fly to New York City on the first leg of our journey. We will land in New York City around 8 PM. We have a four hour layover. We will leave New York about 12 midnight and when we arrived in Korea it will be 5 AM Saturday. 

We will journey on to China on 1/15 after a few days stay with friends in Korea.

Because our Internet connection may not be very good while we are out of the country I probably won't be updating the blog regularly.

I will be making post to a secret page I created on Facebook called Journey to Michal. 

If you are on Facebook and would like to be added to that page please message me and I will be glad to add you.

Please pray for good flying weather, flights that run safely and on time. Pray for peace and joy for us. Pray we will have patients with airports and van rides. Pray we will be content no matter where we are! Please pray God will prepare Michal for all the transitions and experiences she will soon face. Please pray for our sons as we will be away from us for three weeks. Please pray for their grandma and poppy is they will be taking care of the boys.

Thank you all for your prayers and support.

Packing, Travel Count & Surgery Research

Count Down:

Wow! 4 days until we get on the plane!!!

                This is our actual plane!

It is still unbelievable. After 20 mths. We finally get to go get Michal!

We know our Gottcha Day will be January 19th. That is the day they will finally put Michal in our arms!

Our Consulate appointment will be January 29th. That is the day she gets her passport and visa so we can finally bring her to America!!!

Big days ahead!!!

Korea:

We will start our journey in Korea:

Since our plane was going to land in Korea anyway, we don't need a Visa to stay less than 90 days, and we have friends we can stay with in Korea, we decided tospend a  few days with Tim & Xay, some of our Sycamore Church family! 

They were staying at our house the day we started this adoption journey. They moved to Korea a short time after that. 

They have been waiting patiently for us to come to their side of the world!

Packing:

Packing is well in hand! We are just picking up a few odds and ends now. 

Matthew packed most of his clothes today. I pulled out a lot of mine the other day, but I will try on outfits and make sure I have all I need tomorrow.

We packed a good many snacks, clothes, and toddler gear for Michal.

Researching China:

Matthew has us researching China every night via You Tube!! We have been doing that for months.

We have developed a whole new group of friends via Facebook that have traveled to China before us to adopt children. We also had dinner last night with a family that returned from adopting their daughter from China two months ago. They answered even more questions for us.

Researching Surgery:

We have been told for month by our friend who is a Shriner that we would be able to get Michal's surgery through the Shriner's Hospital in Cinncinati for free. We were not sure if that would really work. However, I spoke to the Shriners today and they assured me that Michal's surgery, as well as our travel cost and hotel stay will indeed be free every time Michal needs surgery.  They assured me, we will never see a bill. 

We will start making official plans for her surgery on Monday. It is exciting to know we can move forward with lining up the surgery she need without concern about what our insurance will and won't pay for!! It is also wonderful to know be won't paying for costly surgeries for years to come! What huge blessings!