Why do we love?

1 John 4:19 " We love because He first loved us." Thank you Jesus!

  

Sooooooooo we started another T-shirt fundraiser! 

I can love Him and others because He first loved me!

Matt 24:40

 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

So for you Jesus...

https://www.bonfirefunds.com/bringing-peter-home/?r=22415

This is our second go at a t- shirt fundraiser and although I am HIGHLY TEMPTED to be discouraged that this one might not happen either ( we need 50 orders and so far we have 5 pledges), I am putting my trust in Him that He has a purpose even in what may seem" unsuccessful" in worldly terms. He is always after our hearts. If somehow He has touched someone's heart that is all the success we need. 

Oh, and that small thing about the $17,000 we need to bring Peter home... We trust Him, that He has got that too. "We love because He first loved us." He loves Peter even more than we do! He has plans for this little guy, just like you and I! 

( Peter on the left, a buddy on the right)

 If you would like a t- shirt, long-sleeve or hoodie you can place an order at the above link. PLEASE share with your friends and loved ones! 

Thank you and God Bless!

Happy Birthday Peter!!

The day started off with great hope and anticipation! The night before I received a message that the cake we were ordering would be  delivered ( it was already in the AM in China). The orphanage staff would be preparing for Peter's party around 12pm.

I thought back to when I first heard about our sweet little guy. The orphanage had prepared his paperwork when he was 6 months old and still he waited. When our agency came to start a one-to-one program with his CWI, they had expressed concern to our coordinator about him finding a family, since he had yet to be chosen. 

So today, especially today, was going to be a big day! It would signal a shift, a change on day that had gone unnoticed before. He is CHOSEN! He is LOVED! He has a family that will travel a world away for HIM! Maybe the fullness of that change was not quite felt in the moment of icing glory!!

However I know the staff felt it!! The celebrated by painting the kids faces with face paint make up!! 

Happy Birthday to our little guy Peter!!! We look forward to celebrating your birthday and EVERYDAY of life with you!

All for 1 because of 1!

This Fundraiser has now closed!

To say Noah (our 7 year old) is excited to have a brother, would be an understatement. Even before Selah was home he was asking if we could adopt a little boy too. He has faithfully prayed for his brother. Now that his brother is soon to come home he in for the fight! He has been coming up with ways he would like to raise money to help his brother come home.

One of the ways we talked about raising funds was adoption t- shirts! We sat down and wrote down his favorite colors, ideas, and Bible verses. We worked with great people at Fund the Nations and decided on this design!

All for 1 because of 1... 

"For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, "Abba! Father!" Romans 8:15

 We are so excited about these shirts! The reminder and encouragement they bring and the testimony they are to bring! Glory to Him!!!

  How this sale works...  we will collect orders and when we get to our minimum goal of 25 shirts sold we will place the order and get them out to you! Please place your orders by clicking on the paypal link on our blog. We can also take orders in person.

Shirts are $20 a piece add $5 if you need shipping.  All adult sizes available, Youth sizes are available M and up are in classic Jade color.

Introducing....

Now that we have been granted PA (pre-approval) from China we can now share with you about our soon to be son......

                                                       Peter Benjamin Qiulin Coriell !!!

 The bottom picture is the first picture we saw of our little dumpling. How could you not fall in love!!!  I always find it amazing hearing the stories of how God puts families together. So I am going to share with you about how God brought us and Peter together.

 It was back in April when we were all sitting around the table for dinner. Nathan and I had been talking about adopting again. The nagging feeling in our hearts would not go away. We prayed if this was not God's will that he would take this feeling away, instead it only grew stronger with every day! Nathan had the brakes on and for good reason. We had just celebrated 1 year with Selah being home. Could we do this again, so soon? The major question that we and everyone else asked us, " How you  afford this?" We did not have a clue. As crazy as it sounds, we just felt that God said "Go!" So that spring evening when we sat around the dinner table and Nathan announced to our children that we would be adopting again we were filled with excitement and hope.




There were lots of talks and prayers and questions. We knew we would be adopting a little boy. While in process to bring Selah home we were shocked by the amount of little boys available for adoption. Everyone knows China for their one child policy and the preference for boys, . Unfortunately when comes to special needs chances of abandonment equal out, no matter your gender. We will probably never know the reasons why our children's birth parents could not keep them, all we can do is give educated guesses. So we will encourage them to view their past through the lens of love.
We knew love was calling us back. I placed a call to XQ our China adoption coordinator to let her know where we were at and to ask some questions. In this conversation she mentioned our agency would be developing a one-to-one program, in which she would be heading to China in the coming weeks. When I got off the phone I said to Nathan, " Wouldn't it be great if their partnership was in Chengdu." Why of all the cities in China that one came out of my mouth, I don't know... but looking back, I see God at work.

During this time we headed to Dallas for Selah's hand surgery. On the way back down I checked my e-mail and XQ was announcing their partnership with Chengdu CWI in Sichuan province. I immediately gave her a call and we talked about her trip. She asked me a few questions which left me wondering if she had a specific child in mind for us. We would have to wait though, some of the children's paperwork needed to be sent to the CCCWA and also during that time the CCCWA would switch the computers system over causing everything to be at a stand still. During this time I wavered. The thought of choosing one child out of many was a heart wrenching thought. How could we choose?  Deep down I knew we were being called to adopt a child from Chengdu, it also seemed that XQ had a child in mind but she was remaining tight lipped! To say my patience and trust was tested would be an understatement. Lots of trials hit hard in the weeks to come. I would question again, should we be doing this?

Then on July 4th after a cry/prayer session why I cried out to God to set Peter's file free I got an e-mail and then another and another! My inbox was filled with pictures and videos and most importantly the file of a precious 2 1/2 year old Qiulin (pronounced chew-lean). Nathan through a strange twist of events was coming home early and we together watched videos of a sweet, smiley little guy with a hand/limb difference, something that he and Selah will share.

We are still unsure of what exactly the name of his condition is. We just so happened to be in Dallas again when we got the PA for Peter. So we shared his file with Selah's doctor for her review. She was not willing to give a diagnosis without seeing him in person (which we understood). It really does not matter what the condition name is. What matters is this little guy will soon have a new name.  A name that means he belongs, that he is wanted and loved and he is fatherless no more! Thank you Jesus! Thank you!!!

Pearls for Peter.

I can't believe it has been over a year since we brought our little dumpling home! It has been a FULL year! Many times I thought about dusting off the ol' blog and updating it with Selah's journey since being home. The best I could do was a facebook post every now and then. In the midst of medical appointments, trips back and forth to Dallas and Fort Worth on a weekly bases, surgeries and castings. Celebrating milestones of the most simplest nature I found myself needing to just be present. 

To be honest I used to greatly enjoy blogging but half way through our adoption journey to bring Selah home that changed. As we got closer to the finish line of the adoption process, it felt as if we were limping and dragging ourselves across. While there were many external and internal factors that contributed to this feeling, the fault was my own. 

 Matthew 14:28-33

²⁸ “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.”
²⁹ “Come,” he said.
Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. ³⁰ But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”
³¹ Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”
³² And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. ³³ Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”

    Like Peter the moment I took my eyes off of Jesus and focused on the storm and ragging water, my brain took over were faith had allowed me to freely walk.

In many ways this past year has been a recovery for Selah's body and soul and in many ways it has been a recovery for our own. I am so thankful for our little love Selah, for the life lessons the Lord is teaching US through her. 

People always comment how "lucky" Selah is, but we truly are the lucky ones, we are BLESSED!

Matthew 13:44

 “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.

 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. ⁴⁶ When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.

 Jesus is our treasure or fine pearl! His word says HE is father to the fatherless (Psalm 68:5) and he draws near to the broken hearted (Psalm 34:18). Oh how we KNOW this is truth. The the road was rough and painfully stretched us but we have decided to follow Jesus, again, to China.

We would like to invite you again, to follow our families journey... to Peter Coriell.

I have one request this time, please help us with your encouragement and prayers. If I start to become silent...check on me. Point me back to the gaze of Jesus where there is freedom and water to be walked on.

Where we are at:

*Today our home study has been sent for review to our placing agency.

* Our home study can't be reviewed (and move on to the next step) until we come up with $3300 for agency fees.

How you can help:

* We are selling beautiful LARGE 9mm pearl earrings (from our last trip to China) for $25 (plus $5 shipping). I can fit multiple pairs in one box so shipping is the same for 1 or 10! There are 3 colors to choose from:

-White

-light coral

-opal/lavender

* Share with your friends!!!

* Pray!

You can use the Donate button at the top of the page to place your order. Use "Pearls for Peter" in the subject line and use the comment section to describe your order. You can also e-mail me at nathan_coriell@yahoo.com.

We love you guys! Thank you for your support!