Just A Picture.....

(Click on photo to enlarge)

Not that long ago if I had seen this photo I would have thought it was just a picture of some Chinese babies and Chinese women. After this week however, this photo now serves as a reminder to me of how mighty a God we serve. How he is able to connect people who are not even aware that they need each other..... Let me explain. It's a long story so settle in. I was sent this photo by someone I "met" on the internet. I had done a google search for "Chenzhou Families" as I am trying to learn as much as possible about the area and orphanage where Lainie is from. One of the sights I visited had many pictures of the Chenzhou Orphanage, so I sent an e-mail to this mother asking if she could share any info with me since she had obviously been granted the rare privilege of actually visiting the orphanage on her trip to China to adopt her daughter. We corresponded several times and I eventually found out that she is from the Charlotte area and she just returned home with her daughter in December. Knowing that Lainie was probably there when she visited, I sent Lainie's picture and asked her if she would just check her photos to see if she had a shot of Lainie. She sent me this picture back and we believe that Lainie is the one that you can only see a portion of her face because she is behind the Nanny. She is in their video too. Wait...... there's more. 6 babies stayed together in the room where her daughter's crib was. Most likely five of them are in this picture. Her daughter is the one standing in the pink pants. Lainie, is behind the nanny. We also believe that Lilly, who also has a CWA family who will be most likely traveling with us, is the baby in the walker in the front of the picture. Wait.... there's more. I told this mother that I also recognized the child who is hugging the nanny as a CWA baby from a former Special Needs list that I had seen months ago. Turns out this family has been wondering about this little girl because these two girls were apparently best friends there. The girls hugged each other when they saw each other during the visit. The nannies had explained to this mother that the girls were very close. So, I sent the picture to my caseworker at CWA and she confirmed that this child does have a CWA family. She is sending my e-mail to the mother and I hope to soon be able to connect these families together so that they can keep their daughters who were once so close connected. So, to make a long story a little longer..... of the 5 babies in the picture, I know exactly where four of them are now, or soon will be living. Of all the orphanages in China, and as big as the USA is, these four babies all live in driving distance of each other. They shared a small room together in a Chenzhou orphanage and now their families will be able to keep them connected. It may not mean as much to just anyone reading this, but when you have no history of your child's first year to tell them about, it means something to be able to keep them connected to other babies who shared the first year with them. All this to say, God is so much bigger than I have ever imagined. He has been so faithful to us during this journey. This is only one example of the people that he has placed in our lives during the past 18 months to help us along this journey that he has called us to. If you are considering a difficult decision regarding something God is calling you to, let me assure you that he will never abandon or forsake you when you are obedient to his call on your life. He has provided for our every need - every step of the way. We are confident that He will continue to provide for us in the days ahead, and you can be confident that He will for you as well. To all of the people who have allowed Him to use you to encourage us in this journey...... Thank you. It is our prayer that God will use to to encourage others who walk this path in the future.