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!!!
