Worship on a Sunday morning in China

It's been a couple days since I have blogged. We are now in Guangzhou and this morning we had the most wonderful opportunity to worship at Church of Christ on Shamain island. Words cannot describe the gratitude I felt and the spirit of God present as we stood as sang with brothers and sisters in The Lord. To have Peter hear the gospel message in his native language and in his country of birth. 

The cool spring breeze blew in the open and stained glass windows and I could feel the praise and good news flowing out. I will continue to pray for my brothers and sisters in Christ. I look forward to the day we will all stand together again singing Hosanna!

Another HUGE BLESSING of this day and trip even was seeing our sweet friend again YJ ( and brother) that we became friends with while she attended Texas state. She is now back in GZ. After church we all went to lunch together and ate some yummy Chinese dishes!

Afterwards YJ came back and spent some time with us at our hotel. Our time was such a joy and it was sad to see her go. I pray this is just another see you later. 

I also meet a new sister in The Lord today. She shared her testimony with me. How before God she was an angry person. She was always angry at everyone, husband, children etc. She thought she could be a Christian and believe in Buda until she really read her Bible. She said there is only one God. She said the more she reads the more she becomes better but she has a long way to go. ( Bless her! Don't we all) I encouraged that the more we talk to God, give Him thanks for daily things ( her husband, a kind act, nice weather etc) the more the anger leaves and is replaced with Joy and more thanksgiving. We talked about the old testiment and the new testiment. The old was scary to her. I said it can look that way but if you look close God shows his faithfulness. He makes a promise and he keeps it, the people are happy, the people forget. He makes a promise he keeps it, the people are happy the people forget. Lord, be an everlasting pillar in our hearts! May we never forget your great works and your never failing love. Help us to love each other well and point other to you no matter where we are. In Jesus name Amen.

Fur babies and more

Yesterday was a super fun outing, especially for the kids, we went to the Panada research base. There is about 2000 Pandas in the world today and about 80% can be found in Chengdu. That is why Panda paraphernalia is BIG around here and you better believe we bought our share :)

It blows my mind that just a couple days ago Peter had only been out of the orphanage maybe once ( for a visa photo). His whole life was those hallways, stairs, rooms and courtyard. I get no greater joy than to tell him RUN!!!! As he catches up to his sister to the exhibit and he exclaims " shuma" ( panda) and rattles off a bunch of other things I don't understand. :) 

Speaking of sister... Madelynn has been a bit of a rock star here I need to start talking pictures of people talking her picture. The excitement is palatable!

I think pandas will always have a place in our our families hearts.

We got back to the hotel after a quick lunch and shopping at carefore for some PB&J. We settled into the hotel for a quiet evening of baths and bonding time. We might have stayed like this tell bedtime ;)

Today is our last full day in Chengdu, so we will be soaking it up! We will be leaving to tomorrow to head to Guangzhou where the U.S. Consulate is. This is where Peter's visa will be issued and will be able to come home after that. We will be in Gaungzhou for about a week. 

 

It's official .... Introducing Peter Benjamin Qiulin Coriell

As of today in the eyes of China it has been made official! Peter is now a Coriell!

As we walked into the civil affairs office he was holding his sisters hand. We were seated at a long table after the family picture was taken. The pictures came back quickly and we were given a number of copies. We gave one to Peter which he was thrilled about! He kept exclaiming "Mama, Baba , Qiu Qiu" ( pronounced chew chew). The lady from the orphanage arrived and he seemed to pay her no attention. I was praying this would not set him back. After signing all the documents and giving our vows it came time for Peter to do the hand his print. He clutched the table and refused to leave his seat by us. It was the saddest thing, I just reassured him the best I could " Babba and Qiu Qiu ". So Nathan picked Peter up and sat him on his lap and he did the hand print from there.

When we left we were all seated together in the back of the van, Peter on my lap. He turned his head back to me and started to kiss my face over and over saying " Mama!" He turned to Nathan  and leaned in and kissed him saying "Babba"! I BROKE! I have had a well of emotions and they came flooding out in that moment! How God?! How can he have suffered so much injustice and still so readily accept us and with such JOY? Forgive me God... Faith like a child. This is redemption. Pure undefiled religion. A former orphan now son was the kiss from Jesus today.

Later in the day we went to " Wide Alley, Narrow Alley" a famous historic relic in Chengdu. Wide Alley is where the rich would live while the narrow alley is where the poor lived. It is now full of shops, boutiques and restaurants. I will blog about this outing when I can download my cameras pictures. It was a wonderful afternoon and the weather was just beautiful. I can't wait to for what tomorrow will bring!

We got Peter and oh boy.... Does he have us!

There is a million things floating around in my head about today but I will cut to the chase and get to the part everyone really wants.... PICTURES!!

When we first pulled up I was told to put away my camera as the babies and the nannies were all outside. I searched for my friends baby and said a prayer. We were then brought upstairs to the conference room of the orphanage. As we started some of the paperwork I heard a bit of chatter from the door behind us. Peter and his foster parents had arrived. Peter was scared and didn't want to come in and I told everyone it was ok, let him take his time. We sent Madelynn out to meet him and she gave him a sucker :) Eventually he made his way in and slowly but surely I won him over .... with m&ms :) After some paperwork was finished we got to tour his foster parents apartment. Where he lived, his bedroom etc. It was very nice and his parents seemed very genuine and kind. We got to take a picture together with them which I will treasure always.

After that we walked back to our van. Peter all the while remained quiet and rather standoffish. To be honest we were expecting a complete an utter melt down but the second we pulled away he lit up like a firework show! He kept looking at Nathan and repeating, " Babba, Babba Babba!" 

He would look at me and say, " Mama!" With a big smile, and look at Madelynn and say " Jie Jie! " Our driver stopped at the store so I could grab some diapers. When I came back. Nathan said he had been asking about "gui gui", his brother, so he pulled up some pictures to show him.

 

We are just BLOWN AWAY by this amazing child! He has the most beautiful smile and the BEST belly laugh ever!!! He is smart as a whip ( first English word was " open") and funny to boot! He has made in an instant BFF with Madelynn and I can't wait for Noah and Selah to be with their brother too.

He is now sleeping peacefully next to me as I type and I am AMAZED again at the Lord's hand in all this. I know this is only day one. There are to be many struggles ahead but I praise God that His peace was with Peter today. That we were given an amazing first day to start this foundation, built on our rock Jesus Christ! Great redeemer!Hallelujah you are a great redeemer!

Chengdu

WWe made it to Chengdu!!!  Never have I been so relieved to arrive to anywhere than when we arrived here. It feels so good after non stop traveling to finally get settled. Our hotel is perfect, Madelynn gasped as the door was opened, it's so big! This precious girl has been aching to stretch out, I can't wait to see her and Peter running around in here! Pictures are on my  camera I will add them later.

It's 3:00 am right now and we crashed last night around 6:30 pm, just could not make it anymore! I was playing a game of old maid with Madelynn and my head kept bobbing. Thankfully Madelynn  is sleeping really good, praying it will help her get her bearings. 

As I type this there is a little boy who is sleeping one last sleep at his orphanage. God give us your spirit, help him to see comfort, safety and most of all love in us. I don't know him yet but he is already my hero,to have faith like a child...

We get Peter at 9:30 this morning, 5 hours to go! 

"Great blessings belongs to those who show mercy to others, mercy will be given to them." 

Matthew 5:7

Hong Kong

We made it to Hong Kong! After a total of 24 hours total of travel it was a comforting sight to see beds and a real bathroom! We had a brief skype with mom and the kids from the lobby ( we paid a rediculous price for the luxioury of a place to sleep and shower but an hourly rate for wifi... We drew the line ;) So quick I love and miss you's from the lobby and it was off to bed. We all slept HARD.... tell about 2:30 :)

We are now at the HK airport and just had some Mcdonalds for breakfast. I can't believe in a couple of hours we will be in Peter's province! I don't think it has fully hit me yet. I'm thankfull I'm riding on a cloud of peace, it must be your prayers being felt!

Please continue to pray for Peter! Tomorrow is a big day for him! Thank you Jesus! Thank you everyone who has stood by our side and encouraged and supported us throughout this adoption! May God bless you for being open to be used!

Until tomorrow!

We got to squeeze one a skype this morning from the airport from our favorite Pizza place. Here is a pic:

A Care Pakage for Peter

The past couple weeks have been scary times. Loved ones in our family are sick and in the hospital. We have been praying as a family and have seen God work in bringing one of these precious ones home. Thank you Jesus!

What I did not see coming was what happened the other night. Nathan heard Selah crying and he went into her room, picked her up and asked what was wrong. All she could get out was that she had a bad dream about Peter. He brought her into bed with me, where I snuggled and kissed her and wipped away her tears. We prayed for Peter and she was comforted. The next morning when I got her up I asked "Why were you upset last night? What was your dream?"She said the teachers were not taking Peter to the doctor to take care of him. Now I could not speak. How could I speak to this fear of hers that was very real FOR HER. She lived this. I gave her a hug and said " Selah, Jesus is with Peter just like He was with you. He loves Peter. We will continue to pray for him and once Peter is with Mama and Baba then we can take him to a doctor." For this moment, that was enough for her. As for Nathan and I we are broken yet again.

This morning we got some cheerful news! We got pictures of the care pakage we ordered for Peter! The kids all yelled "Pleasant Goat"! This is a very popular kids cartoon in China. We got him a photo album with lots of pictures. A back pack ( he is coming HOME), a stuffed doll, candies to share and the all important flash card, so we can have pictures from when he was a baby.

Please pray for Peter as this package and photos will be introducing us to his heart. He will be finding out that he has a family! Please cover his heart in prayer!

In other adoption related news we received our LOA!!!! It has now moved on to the next step our I 800 approval. We are looking at a matter of weeks to travel now. So mid/ late March! Hopefully soon I will have an update in the FUNDS needed department. As of a week or so ago we were at $15,000-$16000 to go. But GOD.......is at work and hopefully soon I will have some BIG news to share with you!!!

Adoption UPDATE ... we have been waiting for you!

This week has been a hard one, for more reasons than I can share on hear. 

One reason that I can share and that has been on the forefront of our minds is our LOA ( Letter of Approval) for Peter. The celebration of having our dossier approved a couple of weeks ago was followed by a lot of silence. Where was our LOA? Others were coming and going and still ours remained unsent. 

Such little faith. I wavered. I let the waves of doubt and fear toss me around. Last night was my breaking point. My tears were turning bitter. There was just too much heartache and I told Nathan I needed a night out. So what did I do?

I joined the baby registry at Target :) Something about holding a device that gave some "control" and allowed me to plan and look forward to the future was comforting. 

I then met with a sweet friend for Starbucks and I was able to come home refreshed, with my heart much lighter. I am so thankful that God knows ours hearts, He knows just what we need to get us through, to hold and sustain us.

I made a promise that evening to longer hound my agency about it. I needed to let go. I knew they were looking out for us. Ultimately I needed to trust The Lord and his timing.

This morning Nathan woke me up and started reading to me an e- mail." Wait.... wah....." I was trying to focus my eyes on him and really hear what he was saying.

"Our LOA has been sent! It will be at the agency on Monday!"

The news is STILL sinking in. I am starting to get excited but I don't think it will fully hit me until it is in our hands on Tuesday.

Oh........ Thank you Jesus. Forgive my lack of patience. We sure do love this boy.