Friday, June 29, 2007

Sinh's tiny broken heart


Yesterday, we got the devastating news from a Seattle heart surgeon that sweet baby Sinh's heart is too badly damaged to be repaired. Since this is not the first heart surgeon to give us this news, we know in our hearts that it is the final answer for this precious baby. It is unspeakably sad to know that some children, born into poverty and without a family, will not have the opportunity to live a full life on earth.

We are hoping to be able to find a family in Vietnam who would be willing to foster her in her final days. I cannot bear the thought of her dying alone in an orphanage, having never known the love of a mother's arms. She has suffered much in her short young life.

It is comforting to know that when she was taken to Singapore, she was held and loved for several days. The woman who took her there, emailed me and said that Sinh had never had the strength to smile at anyone, but on their last day together, Sinh looked into this woman's eyes and smiled for the first time. I know that someday soon, Jesus will welcome her home and she will smile every day. Until then, I pray that He will hold her tight and that our prayers will make a difference in her time here on this earth.

SaraGrace prayed diligently for baby Sinh to 'have heart surgery just like me,' and is very sad that little Sinh will not be given this opportunity. Last night I hugged her extra tight and offered another prayer of thanksgiving for Love Without Boundaries and Hope Healing Home, who arranged her surgery. I am so thankful that they are being used by God in China to give the gift of life to those who have no Mama or Daddy to advocate for them. Sadly, Vietnam does not yet have these resources.

SaraGrace loves to sing, "Jesus Loves Me," and after our visit with Alex and the other children in Guatemala, I have wondered if they have special angels dispatched by God to sit and hold them, to ease their suffering. Last night, SaraGrace and I sang together:
"Jesus loves me, loves me still
When I'm very weak and ill
From His shining home on high
Comes to watch me where I lie."

Sweet dreams, baby Sinh. Though you do not know us, you are loved from afar and we hold you in our prayers, sweet baby girl.

Friday, June 22, 2007

The latest on Baby Sinh

Here is a picture of baby Sinh during her recent visit to Singapore.
We have had a frustrating setback in Baby Sinh's case. She could really use some prayers.

After two weeks of waiting, I was notified yesterday that the heart surgeon had been able to review the medicals for Sinh, but the most crucial part--the video--was blank! Asian countries use a different format, and it is not compatible with our video equipment. I had requested a copy of her Echocardiogram on a CD, but it was never sent. The U.S. doctor cannot make a decision about doing surgery without seeing an Echo of sinh's heart.

I called Singapore last night but the office assistant could not understand me, so asked me to send an email. I did--requesting the CD to be sent. I did not get a reply, so I emailed again today asking for confirmation on whether or not a CD was located and sent.

If they do not find one, we will have no choice but to take her for ANOTHER ONE!! ARGH! At one point, the VN facilitator had mentioned taking her to Ho Chi Min City (south Vietnam--still a plane ride) for an evaluation. Perhaps they would have the technology to put an Echo on CD. If not, we have to take her back to Singapore!!! argh....

I am praying that they are able to put the echo that was already done onto a CD.

God kindly gave me some encouragement today about how HE gave the Isrealites victory despite all the battles that they faced to conquer the promised land. So....I believe He will eventually get her where she needs to go, but not without a lot of battles needing to be fought by those of us trying to help her. I know that God is in control of the timing of all of this--and that He can use these delays for His purposes, but I would still like to request prayer that He will open some doors for Sinh very soon. Thankfully, she is still alive, although I know that every day she waits potentially causes more damage to her heart.

Tuesday, June 12, 2007

Baby Sinh update

I don't have much news on Baby Sinh except that Healing the Children has all of her medical information and they are having their surgeons review it. We are rooting for her and praying that someone would be willing to take the risk to do her surgery.

Exciting news!


I know that some of you were touched by the plight of the precious kids at Hermano Pedro Hospital in Guatemala. If you are interested in meeting any of the children in person, here is your big chance!



There will be a mission trip from June 25, to July 2. I know this is late notice, but I still wanted to let you know. If you would like more information, you can contact Melissa@theshepherdscrook.org and she can fill you in. The cost of the trip would be your plane ticket, plus about $30 per day for food and lodging. They have a hotel reserved for those who will be coming to help.



They will be working with the children at Hermano Pedro (where Alex is), a few other orphnages, and also with Amor del Nino, where Hannah and Jose are.

If any of you go, please give all the kids a hug for me and bring me some pictures!

Tuesday, June 05, 2007

Jacob--a footnote to his story

When we were in Guatemala, I learned a bit more about Jacob's story that I want to share with you.

You may remember that last year, God laid the name Jacob on my heart and then indicated through Scripture and other methods, that the child I was 'looking' for would have some type of hand deformity. I contacted Melissa at The Shepherds Crook and told her that it might sound crazy, but if she ever had a baby boy available with that type of special need, to please contact me.

A few months later, she was contacted by an adoption attorney. He had been trying to find a family for a baby boy for three months, but no families were interested in him. The baby boy was a three month old with six fingers on each hand. He asked Melissa to please try to find a family, since she often found homes for children with special needs. Melissa got very excited and said she thought she had a family who would want him--and contacted us!

We never knew that the attorney had been trying to place our precious Jake for 3 months! We are so glad that God put him on our hearts and that another family could not be found for him. :)

He had surgery in Guatemala on his hands, and the sixth fingers were removed. He has a slight little nub there, but his hands look great! When we adopted Chloe, our doctor had told me not to worry about any syndromes or cognitive difficulties with her due to her missing toes. He made the comment, "We don't get concerned about missing fingers or toes. It's the extra fingers or toes that we get worried about." I asked why, and he said they are often associated with syndromes. This was running through my mind at times while we were waiting for Jake, but God gave me such peace that Jake was just fine. And he is, as far as we know. :)

Daily Life "Snapshot"

I thought it might amuse you to get a glimpse into our lives during the past two weeks.

I was mostly concerned about Jordan being displaced and jealous, but didn't think the girls would be. Ha.

Last week, SaraGrace cut her hair--coached by Chloe, who thought that if she didn't actually touch the scissors, she wouldn't be considered guilty. Apparently, she is unaware of the word, "Accomplice."

SaraGrace has recently become enamoured with playing in toilet water. She is also facinated by vaseline. She then thought it would be a good idea to sneak upstairs and coat the toilet seats with vaseline. I still don't have it all off. I'm thinking she has a future as a really good prankster for coming up with this at the age of 3.

The same day as the toilet-greasing-episode, she and Chloe decided to give a family heirloom Mickey Mouse, a swirly (aka: dunking him in the toilet and leaving him to swim alone). They were supposed to have been in bed sleeping when this incident took place. They actually had the gall to deny doing it.

They have just recently become buddies and play together a lot--but I think they have discovered that they both have a penchant for petty crime and are enjoying their partnership a bit too much. I, on the other hand, am not enjoying this new develpment.

Jordan has, for the most part, accepted the intrusion into his life and has been holding, rocking and singing to his new baby brother. Jillian, also has been a big help. Molly is totally in love with Jacob and has done a lot of baby duty--however, she is also very emtionally fragile lately. We are not quite sure what has set this off, but it is a revisit from her past. She has had a lot of hysterical meltdowns, during which we have a hard time getting her calmed down. We have not seen this behavor for quite awhile and we are sad that our sweet Molly is struggling so much. We are praying for wisdom in how to handle it. Ryan and Taylor are pretty amused by baby Jake, so at the moment, they are doing well. However, it is 'firework season' and Taylor saved up his money to buy a ridiculous amount, so I will be praying that no one blows an eye out. (My boys say this is an unfounded worry, put out there by mom's who just don't want their boys to have fun.)

I better stop writing and go check to see what Chloe and SaraGrace are up to..... :)

Friday, June 01, 2007

Alex



I asked about Alex yesterday--the little boy with CP that won my heart in Guatemala. Apparently the hospital put a feeding tube in for him briefly (or promised to), but now he is without it again. Our agency rep, Melissa, is trying to have him moved to the malnutition section of the hospital for better care. I am so sad for the children who 'live' there--trapped in their beds, soaked in their own urine and staring day after day at their mosquito netting. I can only imagine how their misery will grow as summer brings hotter weather. I am fairly sure the hospital isn't air conditioned. Please do not forget them in your prayers....


On a happier note...a friend finally helped me to find the website of the orphanage we visited--the one run by a Christian couple, Steve and Sheryl, from America. When we were there, Sheryl shared with me that they have purchased some land and are saving the money to build an orphanage that is large enough for all of them to live together. Currently, the children live in two locations, a block apart, because they outgrew their original place. If you are interested in donating to this project, or praying for them, please visit their website. It is: http://lovethechild.org/Home/Welcome.html . There are individual pictures of the children--how fun! There is very little help available for children with special needs in Guatemala. All of the children at Amor del Nino have some type of special need (with the exception of one baby who was thought to have medical problems, but does not).

From time to time people tell me that they wish they could have adopted, but it just didn't work out. I want to encourage you that if you have a heart for orphans, it is never too late to make a difference in a child's life. There are many ways to be involved, and the need is truly overwhelming. A friend of mine sent me a quote the other day that really made me think.
"Have you ever faced this kind of moment? A moment filled with opportunity
yet you let it slip away? Has it ever been in your power to do good, but
you chose instead to do nothing? You didn't choose to do evil..you just
chose not to get involved."

He then ends the section by saying "I am convinced that the greatest tragedy
is not the sins that we commit, but the life we fail to live. Wake up
tomorrow morning asking the dangerous question, "what can I do today to make
a difference in the world?"


I have so often been guilty of doing nothing. Sometimes I think we just don't really know WHAT to do, so we do nothing.

In view of that, I thought I would pass on the opportunity to help the children at Amor del Nino. It will not go unnoticed by our heavenly Father whose heart is so very close to the orphan. When Steve and Sheryl's dream is realized, I can just picture the children running through the grass, playing on swings and slides...enjoying the fun of eating together in the same room, having everything wheelchair accessible for Hannah and Jose. Let's help make this a reality...let's DREAM BIG and make a difference for the children of Amor del Nino! :)