Whoever receives one little child like this in My name receives Me. Matthew 18:5
It's here! it's finally here! On Tuesday morning September 1st, I get on a plane to go back to China! this time, I will be going to get my daughter! AMEN! Praise the L*rd! My mother and I leave Rochester, NY around 10:30 am and arrive in Beijing on September 2 at 8:05 pm. What a L O N G day! We will be heading to Shepherds' Field Children's Village first. I wanted to be able to start sorting through my belongings in the classroom and spend soem tiem with friends before I get Jade. We will meet the other families in Beijing on the evening of the 4th. We will do some touring in Beijing and my mother will get to see many of the things I have already experienced. When you wake up on Labor Day, Jade Mingcong Rittenhouse will officially be my daughter! Woohoo! Yes...I am FINALLY going to be a mom! :)
I joined the AWAA Adoption Support Group in our area 6 years ago. Throughout that time, I have seen many families walk through the Rochester Airport with their children that they have prayed for. I have always pictured the day I would finally get to be the parent on the other side of the glass, walking down with my duaghter toward all the people who were waiting to welcome us home. When I started looking at flights, all the flights came in at around 11 pm. I knew there would be very few people able to make it. I love how He hears the desires of our heart, even when we don't ask Him for them. As I gave into the fact that this wouldn't be a dream that would happen, my agent came bck to me and told me he had a new flight and it got into rochester at 6:05 pm. Thank you L*rd! I love how you love me and blessme beyond measure! I know many of you do not live in my area but I would like to extend an invitation to any of you who would like to come. Come witness the miracle of adoption at the Rochester Airport on Monday, September 21st at 6:05 pm (United Flight UA 7388 from Washington) when my mother and I bring my daughter, Jade, home.
Don't forget, I will be blogging in Ch*na! My father bought a video camera because he wants to see my face when I get her. Not only have I been waiting but so has my whole family. I will try and add the videos as we go as well. Things add s l o w l y in China so check Facebook too. I can always upload pics faster there.
Oh yeah...if I haven't told you lately! I AM FINALLY GOING TO BE A MOM! :)
Showing posts with label China. Show all posts
Showing posts with label China. Show all posts
Monday, August 31, 2009
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Not traveling next week
And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of G*d has been poured out in our hearts by the H*ly Spirit who was given to us. Romans 5:3-5
I got up Friday morning dreading making the call to the National Visa Center. I knew in my heart on Thursday, that unless they had received the papers from immigration that day, there would not be enough time for me to get an appointment at the Consulate, schedule a flight, unpack a house, pack for China and fly out by Tuesday am. My heart was breaking knowing that I was going to have to wait longer to get my daughter, but I made the call anyways just to be sure. I was right. They had not received the papers from immigration. I was not to get my daughter...yet.
Why does it take so little time for things to be approved yet a week for them to be mailed? I lived in China and they have so many people employed in so many places. Granted they make very little money, yet the integrity they have for their jobs is so great. So often, people don't want to take that little extra step to help someone else out. I know I had no special reason for them to push my papers through. It is amazing that if you have a reason, they can do things in one day that usually take months. Instead of being frustrated with the system though, I am holding onto the truth that G*d is in control.
I believe He is all knowing and He only wants good for me. Many don't think that having tribulations or challenges in your life as "good." I do know they are as they are what continues to shape and mold me. I am resting in knowing that His perfect plan will come together...IN HIS PERFECT TIMING. As I talked to my pastor on Friday, he reminded me that Abraham had waited 13 years before he took things into his own hands to produce the child he wanted and was promised. He warned me not to do anything of my own will. Fortunately, other than getting on a plane and heading to Ch*na, there is nothing I can do. So I wait.
A friend of me thought I was pushing it when I originally thought I could travel by August 18th. I know that He allowed me to hope for that. I tend to be a BIG procrastinator! Had I thought I had another two weeks, all that is now done would not be done. Because I am done with Ch*na stuff, I now have these next two weeks to allow me to do the mommy nesting thing. I can prepare our home.
I moved back into my home on Thursday night with the help from people at my church. What a gift that was. After they left, I walked from room to room praying over the house and for my daughter. I can't wait to have her in my arms. I can't wait to bring her home. As the men were putting things together, some things weren't perfect. All I would ask was "Is it safe for my daughter? Will it work?". That is all that matters now to me. I think that was why yesterday was so hard.
Yesterday, some friends and my mom came out to help me unpack. What an amazing blessing they have given me. My house is so big and I have so much stuff. I kept telling my best friend that I was just feeling uneasy all day and I wasn't sure why. Little things kept bothering me but I knew there was more to it than I was realizing. It hit me late last night. I don't want all this stuff that we were unpacking!
Thursday night, I walked through my home. It was simple. It was clean. It was orderly. It is no longer that way. I lived in Ch*na with so little and was so content. I didn't need all of the STUFF that I have here and I presently don't want all the stuff here. I think where I am having a problem with my stuff is that it represents money I wasted. Before I was saved, I was a shop-a-holic. I shopped to avoid feeling. I shopped to fill in the hole in my heart. I shopped to procrastinate. Many of the things that are coming out of those boxes are reminders of how I have lived my life. I no longer want them in my life because I no longer want that kind of life. I told my pastor on Thursday night that I would have more than enough stuff here to outfit a new couple that had little to nothing. Let me bless others with my abundance. I no longer need it.
Do you have things in your own home that you don't need? There may be others around you that are in need and you have something you can offer them. It may be something tangible, like the stuff in my boxes. It may be a meal. It may be encouragement. Whatever it is, you do have something you can offer to someone who has less than you. Be willing to give. You will find you are blessed when you do.
I got up Friday morning dreading making the call to the National Visa Center. I knew in my heart on Thursday, that unless they had received the papers from immigration that day, there would not be enough time for me to get an appointment at the Consulate, schedule a flight, unpack a house, pack for China and fly out by Tuesday am. My heart was breaking knowing that I was going to have to wait longer to get my daughter, but I made the call anyways just to be sure. I was right. They had not received the papers from immigration. I was not to get my daughter...yet.
Why does it take so little time for things to be approved yet a week for them to be mailed? I lived in China and they have so many people employed in so many places. Granted they make very little money, yet the integrity they have for their jobs is so great. So often, people don't want to take that little extra step to help someone else out. I know I had no special reason for them to push my papers through. It is amazing that if you have a reason, they can do things in one day that usually take months. Instead of being frustrated with the system though, I am holding onto the truth that G*d is in control.
I believe He is all knowing and He only wants good for me. Many don't think that having tribulations or challenges in your life as "good." I do know they are as they are what continues to shape and mold me. I am resting in knowing that His perfect plan will come together...IN HIS PERFECT TIMING. As I talked to my pastor on Friday, he reminded me that Abraham had waited 13 years before he took things into his own hands to produce the child he wanted and was promised. He warned me not to do anything of my own will. Fortunately, other than getting on a plane and heading to Ch*na, there is nothing I can do. So I wait.
A friend of me thought I was pushing it when I originally thought I could travel by August 18th. I know that He allowed me to hope for that. I tend to be a BIG procrastinator! Had I thought I had another two weeks, all that is now done would not be done. Because I am done with Ch*na stuff, I now have these next two weeks to allow me to do the mommy nesting thing. I can prepare our home.
I moved back into my home on Thursday night with the help from people at my church. What a gift that was. After they left, I walked from room to room praying over the house and for my daughter. I can't wait to have her in my arms. I can't wait to bring her home. As the men were putting things together, some things weren't perfect. All I would ask was "Is it safe for my daughter? Will it work?". That is all that matters now to me. I think that was why yesterday was so hard.
Yesterday, some friends and my mom came out to help me unpack. What an amazing blessing they have given me. My house is so big and I have so much stuff. I kept telling my best friend that I was just feeling uneasy all day and I wasn't sure why. Little things kept bothering me but I knew there was more to it than I was realizing. It hit me late last night. I don't want all this stuff that we were unpacking!
Thursday night, I walked through my home. It was simple. It was clean. It was orderly. It is no longer that way. I lived in Ch*na with so little and was so content. I didn't need all of the STUFF that I have here and I presently don't want all the stuff here. I think where I am having a problem with my stuff is that it represents money I wasted. Before I was saved, I was a shop-a-holic. I shopped to avoid feeling. I shopped to fill in the hole in my heart. I shopped to procrastinate. Many of the things that are coming out of those boxes are reminders of how I have lived my life. I no longer want them in my life because I no longer want that kind of life. I told my pastor on Thursday night that I would have more than enough stuff here to outfit a new couple that had little to nothing. Let me bless others with my abundance. I no longer need it.
Do you have things in your own home that you don't need? There may be others around you that are in need and you have something you can offer them. It may be something tangible, like the stuff in my boxes. It may be a meal. It may be encouragement. Whatever it is, you do have something you can offer to someone who has less than you. Be willing to give. You will find you are blessed when you do.
Saturday, August 1, 2009
Unforeseen Changes
Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him. Job 13:15
Ever have one of those days when something happens that you never thought would and it changes your entire future? That was where I was at lunch time on Tuesday.
I was checking my email at lunch time. I don't always do that at work but on that day, I had plans to go over to Newark so I could let my employer know that I wanted to request another year's leave of absence so I could return to Ch*na for the 2009-2010 school year. I was scanning through the subjects to see if there was anything I really needed to read. I can't always get Internet reception in the my friends' apartment where I am staying here in the states. I saw one that caught my eye labeled "News from Ch*na." It was from Tim Baker, the father of the two boys I teach and my employer. As I was reading it, I started feeling uneasy. As I continued on, I started having those old feelings I used to have with my anxiety attacks. I have not felt those feelings in almost 7 years. Tim was informing me that he and his family would be returning to the states in December and they were releasing me for my commitment to teach the boys.
Many of you know how much I have not only come to love those boys but the entire Baker family, the women and children of Sh*pherd's Field Children's Village as well as the country itself. I felt my world crashing around me as I read those words. I just kept saying "No! No! NO!" through all my tears. The women I am working with this summer immediately became concerned that something was happening to my adoption. They knew I was waiting for immigration to approve me to raise my daughter in Ch*na for the next year. I reassured them that it wasn't that but they also have seen how I light up when I talk about Ch*na. They have heard me repeatedly tell them that I have seen more growth in these two boys than I ever did in the past 20 years I have worked in Special Education. If you can't see the love I have for Ch*na when I speak about it, then you are blind. They knew how badly I wanted to be there.
As I left the building in tears, I just kept thinking "Did I hear you wrong L*rd? I had peace about returning to Ch*na and was faithfully stepping to fulfill that. Did I not hear you?" I know this email was a message from the Lrd as I received this email only 2 hours before I was going to request a leave of absence. Had it been any later, I wouldn't have had a job to return to this year and would be out on the job search with the rest of the country. I love that He does speak even if people think I am crazy when I say that. I love that when we wait on Him, He is faithful to direct our paths. It isn't always the door we wanted Him to open but it is always what is needed in our life.
I don't understand this. This is another thing I love about our L*rd and Savi*r. He gives us A PEACE THAT PASSES ALL UNDERSTAND through the gift of the H*ly Spir*t. I don't get it but I am doing ok. Each day is a new day and He IS restoring my soul. For some unknown reason, He needs me here in the states. It may be to keep Jade safe. If may be to keep me safe. It may be that I know have work to do here. It may just be that this where I was always meant to raise Jade yet He allowed me to hope for Ch*na until it was time for me to give it up. Maybe one day He will let me see the reason behind His plans. Maybe He won't. Either way, I am trusting in Him to lead me and guide me.
I am entering into the world of being a first time mother. Many mothers enter into this with a spouse to help them make decisions and someone to make mistakes with. He is just taking me into a place that I have to rely on Jes*s as my husband more and more.
There were so many good things I was involved in at Sh*pherd's Field Children's Village in addition to teaching two of the most amazing boys I have ever been blessed to teach. I ask the faithful ones to keep "my boys" in prayer. They will eventually be reentering the public school system and will be testing out the strategies they have learned over the past year. This will be a VERY CHALLENGING situation for them. They know that "Those who rest in the shadow of the Most High G*d will be kept safe by the Mighty One. "Psalm 91:1. Pr*y they are able to rely on the things He taught them this year. Keep Philip Baker in prayer as he will be having surgery to repair the fistula in his hard palate. Remember Esther Baker as she will start the school year in the states living with another family until her family returns in December. Pray for Tim and Pam Baker as they make decision for their family. The ladies of Sh*pherd's Field, what a gift they are to me...pray they draw close to Him and they are open to being used by G*d to share with their countrymen about the work that Jes*s has done in their lives.
I know He doesn't need me to be there to do the work I was doing for Him. He is a big G*d and can do it all without me. He is our Sh*pherd and they are His sheep. May more in Ch*na and at Sh*pherd's Field come to know Him as their Shepherd. It is so much easier when you are walking where He guides, ESPECIALLY when it is really hard to walk down a path and you DON'T want to be there. When you walk with Him, He lifts you up in ways you wouldn't get when you are choosing your own path. I don't ever want to be there again. I did that for more than 35 years of my life. I am so blessed that my daughter and I are loved by a gracious, merciful and faithful G*d and that He is watching over us.
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