They have more in common than their looks.
*They both have congenital heart defects
*They both came close to dying in China
*Their lives were both saved because of God working through Love Without Boundaries and Hope Healing Home
*They both waited a long time on waiting child lists before we found them
*They were both toddlers when we brought them home
Love Without Boundaries helps many children in China, but Hope Healing Home is a relatively small organization that helps children with special needs. Out of thousands of orphans in China, it is amazing that we would have the privilege of bringing home two children who both lived at Hope. If not for SaraGrace living there, I probably wouldn't have been offered the position of Coordinator for the LWB kids in foster care through Hope. During most of the two years that Kate lived there, I typed her monthly foster care reports. One day I got an email saying that she had been waiting a long time on an adoption list. Her file was about to be sent back, meaning that she might lose her chance of ever getting a family. Ever since she was transferred to Hope at age nine months, I have been watching her grow up and loving her from afar. I never dreamed I would be her Mama. God had been at work all along, right under my nose, but I had been unaware of it!
Through my work at LWB, I also had the privilege of watching God write another amazing story. A close friend of mine was waiting to adopt, and one day she got a call. There were two children fitting the profile of special needs they were willing to consider. My friend told me that she was really drawn to one of the girls and that they were praying about what to do. She told me the name of the one they were leaning toward choosing. After we hung up, the name began to eat away at me. Where had I heard that name? We use English names for the kids in our LWB programs, but of course, I have their Chinese names on file. Could it be possible that this little one was in my foster care program? Not likely. I only had 15 kids in the program at the time, and there were thousands of kids on waiting lists. With a pounding heart, I got the list out and sure enough...there she was! My friend's daughter was on my list...and I 'knew' her! I knew her personality. I knew her little face. I knew her foster mom. It was incredible!! A few months before my friend traveled to adopt her daughter, my husband and I went to China to adopt our son. While there, I visited all my foster care kids, and was able to give my friends' daughter an extra hug and kiss. I wasn't able to let on that I knew anything (per CCAA rules), but it was such a privilege to hug the neck of my friends' little girl! And now I get to see her every week! :) Her parents are very special and are such an inspiration to me. They have three older boys, but when they could have started thinking about traveling and retirement, they decided to adopt. They now have two little girls from China. They tell me that their daughters bring them such joy and they have no regrets about spending their retirement years working on homework, helping at preschool, going to doctor appointments, etc. They are living out their faith, being the hands and feet of Jesus when it would have been more 'comfortable' to spend their time doing something else. I am so glad to call them friends!
