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.

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.

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!

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..... :)

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! :)

Baby Sinh's Trip to Singapore

Baby Sinh was assessed in Singapore and the news was not good. They had a surgical team standing by to take her into surgery immediately, but after assessing her, felt it would be too risky. Her heart is very enlarged and she has a huge VSD (hole). The Singapore hospital will only do free surgery for children who have a good prognosis. Sinh did not fit that criteria. They had no choice but to send her back to Vietnam.

When told of this news, a friend offered to call an organization she formerly worked for, called Healing the Children. This organization brings needy children to the US for surgery and pays for the majority of it. They have agreed to take baby Sinh's Echocardiogram to several of their surgeons to see if anyone is willing to operate on her. We are praying for at least one of them to have compassion on her and take the risk.

The trip to Singapore had one very good outcome--it enabled the orphanage director to see how serious her condition was. Prior to that, he was saying that he would not allow her to come to the US unless she was accompanied by her nanny and would not give guardianship to a charity to care for her. It is customary for charities bringing children for surgery to need to do a Power of Attorney for temporary custody. Thankfully, the director signed the POA, and I was able to forward it to Healing the Children. We are just waiting now for the Echo to get here from Singapore.

Getting settled in!

Hola, Everybody!!

I am happy to report that we are all getting settled in and Jacob is doing very well getting to know his big, crazy family. We are madly in love with him! He is a smiley, adorable little guy and is handling the girls' contant attention with good humor. (If you saw how they maul him and get in his face, you would understand why I say he needs humor-ha.) They carry him around as if he is a doll, but they are doing very well making bottles, feeding him, changing him, etc. They are great helpers! I almost have to ask permission to hold him! His stinky diapers are still mine, though. He has completed his training in the "Karin school of sleeping through the night" and thankfully, he is sleeping well. I think God is just showing me mercy!



Grandma and Grandpa came home from Africa and came over the next day to see him. They fell under his spell very quickly as he flashed them a big grin and let them each hold him.


Jordan is adjusting to the intruder...a bit jealous, but overall doing pretty well. He is starting to play 'cars' with baby Jake, and has 'held' him a few times while sitting on the couch. I posed them on the porch swing for this picture. :)


We had a family picture taken for our church directory about a week before we left for Guatemala. I thought I would post it since some of you haven't seen the kids for awhile. I couldn't figure out how to photo shop baby Jake in, so I guess we will still need to get another picture taken. (The boys will be thrilled beyond belief. You would have thought I was torturing them to get them to wear something decent for the picture.)

Thank you all, so very much, for your prayers. They sustain us. You truly have no idea how we depend on them and we are very grateful.

pictures, pictures :)

Enjoy the pictures!

Vietnam heart baby needs more prayers

The little baby in Vietnam that I told you about awhile back, is in need of more prayers.

After a series of bumps, baby Sinh is finally on her way to Singapore as I write this. We were hoping to have her seen by the doctor who did SaraGrace's surgery, but after the little entourage was already enroute, we learned that Dr. Shankar was going to be on vacation.

Things are a bit up in the air at the moment, and we do not know if there will be a doctor available to assess her until Monday. I was given the names of two cardiac surgeons, but was not told if they would be willing to do a surgery free of charge.

Baby Sinh needs to be assessed at any rate, so that is the first step. We tried to have her assessed in Vietnam, but that proved a bit fruitless as the 'video' they sent of her echocardiogram was not actually downloaded from the computer. They took a video camera into the exam room and tried to tape what was playing on the computer! Needless to say, it wasn't very helpful to SaraGrace's doctor in Singapore who attempted to review it. The frustrations of medical care in a third world country....

We have been told that baby Sinh's health is deteriorating, so we are hoping and praying that we are not too late to try to save her life. If her heart has been too damaged by the high blood pressure caused by her heart defect, there will likely be nothing the doctors can do. If the damage has not been too great, her heart defect is one that can be surgically corrected.

Recent photo of baby Sinh

If you would like to pray for her, these are the specific requests:
**That she will be taken to a doctor who has a heart of compassion and is willing to do the surgery free of charge
**That if she is operable, the hospital would QUICKLY approve the funding
**That all the logistics for the group from Vietnam would be taken care of in Singapore--and that the funding for their airfare, hotel, etc., would be donated.
**That if God wants her life to be saved, He would intervene in a miraculous way (He already has, but more miracles need to happen!)

If you are interested in donating to help her, donations can be sent to:
Faith International Adoptions
RE: Vu Thi Sinh surgery
535 E Dock St. # 103
Tacoma WA 98402
253-383-1928

I believe in the power of prayer...and I believe that my God is able to intervene to do the miraculous in this little girl's life. Our SaraGrace is living, bouncing proof of that!

We're home! :)

I was hoping to post some pictures of all the kids greeting their new baby brother, but alas...Jeff had to leave for Italy 12 hours after we got home and I think the cable that I need to transfer pictures from the camera to the computer, is in Italy with him. He will be back late Saturday, so maybe on Sunday we can post some pictures.

Jacob did well on the trip home--thank you for praying! The day was quite long, since we got up at 4AM and got home at 1AM--so were traveling for about 21 hours (they are 2 hours behind us). He really was a trouper through it all.

The girls are madly in love with him--he is going to have a lot of Mama's. :) They are all taking turns feeding him, playing with him, and exclaiming over how small he is.

I managed to come home with an unwelcome friend in the form of Montezuma's Revenge, so we are not moving too fast around here, but we are thankful to have Jacob home. Pictures coming soon.... :)

4 HOUR FLIGHT DELAY

Just in case any of you were planning to come to the airport to see Jacob, I wanted to let you know that we have a 4 hour flight delay out of Guatemala City. That means we will miss our connecting flight out of Ft. Lauderdale. The next flight gets us into Detroit at 11PM--and I'm guessing that none of you will want to be up that late! :)

Too bad we didn't know about the 4 hour delay when we got up at 4AM. Oh well....

Adios, Antigua

We said adios to Antigua today. I am so glad we were able to spend the weekend there. It was relaxing and pleasant-and I think we would have been bored out of our minds in Guatemala City. Antigua is a ‘happenin place’ on the weekends—with many tourists and local families out in the city square, bands playing and people just enjoying some time off work. It was a very festive atmosphere which we enjoyed experiencing. One thing we have never seen before…the horses wear diapers! No kidding!! I think the folks at Mackinac Island should take note. Whenever we have been at Mackinac, we spend the day dodging large horsie pies, which not only look gross but emit a very offensive odor. ha

Ever wonder where all those old school buses go?

We will be getting up at 4AM tomorrow (Tue) to catch our flight home. If anyone would like to meet Jacob, we would love to see you! We are flying Spirit airlines into Detroit from Ft.Lauderdale and our flight arrives at 7PM. Jacob will not become an American citizen upon arrival because Jeff and I did not see him prior to his adoption being final in Guatemala. Don't get me started on the logic of that USCIS rule......


We were able to visit the special needs orphanage today, that is run by Steve and Shyral Olson. Next to getting Jacob and meeting Melissa, it was a highlight of the trip! The kids are absolutely precious and get such wonderful care and nurturing. The home is called Amor del Nino and the Olsons have been running it for 10 years. What a stark contrast between this happy, clean, place filled with love and the hospital of utter despair that we visited the other day. The children are all bright eyed and full of hope of a future. AND….they are ALL available for adoption!!



I absolutely fell in love with little Hannah. She is eight years old and has OI—better known as brittle bone disease. Kids with this condition break bones VERY easily and consequently some of them end up with very twisted limbs. Hannah also has a younger brother named, Jose, who lives there with her. They are both in wheelchairs. Hannah was very shy when I met her and didn’t want to speak—although she speaks perfect English. After I joked around with her a little, she started to warm up. We went off to see the babies and when I came back, I stood next to Hannah. All of a sudden a warm little hand slipped into mine! Hannah looked up at me and when I kneeled down to talk to her, she said, ‘Do you remember me?” My heart stopped. I knew she meant, “Do you remember my name?” I was stricken because I didn’t remember…so instead, I asked her to tell me all her names. She had about 6!! Thankfully, it saved the moment and I told her that I would never forget her, or her name.



Soon the courtyard filled up with children who had been told a visitor was there. They came in with looks of curiosity on their faces. Shyrel introduced us and I opened the suitcase and pulled out the first bags. I wish you could have heard their, “ohhh’s and ahhh’s” as they saw what they were about to receive. It was so adorable! They all waited patiently—albiet a bit anxiously—to get their bags. Each child said ‘thank you’ very politely. They carefully and excitedly examined each item. Some of the children ate the candy first. Some played with the bubbles. Some put their Salvation bracelets on and began to adjust them to the correct size. No matter what they chose to play with first…one thing was the same…their SHINING EYES. I feel incredibly blessed to have been able to be there and hopefully the video will reward our small group as they see the kids getting the things they donated.






Chloe….honey….Hannah loves the color pink. When she saw the pink poodle that you donated out of your stuffed animal collection, she wanted it soooo bad. I was able to pull her aside and give it to her. I took her picture with it and I told her you would pray for her. Taylor…the little cars you bought for the boys were a huge hit! When the boys saw those cars come out of the suitcase, they squealed, “CARS, CARS!!” (In Spanish—but I knew what they were saying!) They were nudging each other and pointing to the cars. There were only 7 or 8 boys, so they each got two cars. They were soooo happy!



It was pure joy for us to spend those precious few minutes with the children---and humbling that such a small gift could bring so much excitement. We have it within our power to do something to ease misery and spread joy. There are so many children in this world who do not have a Mama or a Daddy to care…to remember their birthday’s or care enough to know that they like their sandwiches cut in triangles instead of squares. .


“Will you remember me?” It is the cry of a child’s heart. Does anyone care? Will you remember me when you are gone?

“The Lord said, ‘I have indeed seen the misery of my people….I have heard them crying…and I am concerned about their suffering….So now, go. I am sending you…’
Exodus 3:7, 10

Hola!

Mother’s Day is nearing it’s close and we have a few more pictures to share of our day today. Jacob is doing well—is very active and starting to get bored. He likes to get out of the hotel room and see things. Haha He had his first taste of whipped cream today on top of Daddy’s banana split. He LOVED it! He did not sleep well last night and was up a lot between 2AM and 5AM. Needless to say, we are tired. ha.

We didn’t do much today except wander around Antigua. We were not able to visit the special needs orphanage, so we hope to do that tomorrow. We are anxious to pass out those gift bags!

Jacob said, ‘Mama,” today!! He probably wasn’t trying to say Mommy, but it was still neat to hear him say it.




Cool Dad and Baby….


A family of street musicians...



City bus in Antiqua



Corridor at our hotel--it's much more beautiful than our room--smile


A beautiful flower in the gardens at our hotel

Ryan, Taylor, Jillian, Molly, Chloe, SaraGrace and Jordan--we MISS you and LOVE you! We'll be home soon.

Happy Mother's Day!

Hola and Happy Mother’s Day!

Yesterday afternoon we went with our adoption agency facilitator, Melissa, to visit a local children’s hospital. It is actually a place of residence for the children that we saw, most of whom had cerebral palsy. There were some other American volunteers visiting at the time, so some of the children were already out of their beds and in wheelchairs. We headed inside to meet some of the other kids. The smell of urine hit us in the face as we entered the dimly lit room lined with cribs covered with mosquito netting. Children were lying silently, staring at nothing. The hopelessness and loneliness were palpable. I spotted a baby girl lying silent and unmoving and headed toward her crib. On the way, I overheard Melissa and another Christian man discussing a little boy named, Alex, who was nine years old. They said he needed a feeding tube and was going downhill fast. I had no real intentions of heading toward Alex’s bed, but I felt compelled. When the man picked him up, I could not believe Alex was 9 years old. He was the size of a three year old and incredibly thin. One thing was immediately noticeable about Alex. He had an AMAZING smile. It lit up the room. Each time he was kissed or stroked, he rewarded us with a big smile. He could not speak, but his smile said a thousand words. The man put him back in his bed, put his crib rail up and went to check on the next child. Something in my heart turned over. I do not cry easily, but tears sprang to my eyes and I knew that God wanted me to pick up Alex. I put his crib rail down and pulled back the netting and said, “Hola, Alex.’ Ohhh..he is so precious. He looked at me and gave me a big smile that lit up his eyes. I picked him up—I don’t think he weighed more than 25 pounds. He was soaking wet. A feeling of intense anger swept over me as I realized that not only are these precious ones languishing in their beds, but they are lying there in urine soaked clothing. Could any existence be more miserable? I sought out Melissa, who took me to one of the staff and asked them in Spanish to change Alex so that he would be more comfortable. After that, I was able to take him out into the courtyard. When he realized he was going outside for some fresh air, his whole body squirmed with excitement! He was so happy to be going outside. This might sound odd, but when I looked into his face and saw his smile and joyful eyes, I kept thinking of the song, “The Face of Christ” by Chris Rice.

See you had no choice which day you would be born
Or the color of your skin, or what planet you'd be on
Would your mind be strong, would your eyes be blue or brown
Whether daddy would be rich, or if momma stuck around...at all

So if you find yourself in a better place
Can't look down on the frown on the other guy's face
You gotta stoop down low, look him square in the eye
And risk a funny feeling, cause you might be dealing...
With the Face of Christ

Looking into Alex’s eyes, I truly felt like I was looking into the face of Christ. Each time I did anything for Alex, he would look at me with eyes full of appreciation and flash me a big smile. I had a bottle and was trying to feed him, but most of what went into his mouth, came back up or dribbled out of the side of his mouth. He tried so hard to swallow—but he just could not make the liquid go down, even when I just gave him a few drops at a time. I hope and pray he gets a feeding tube soon. The joy went out of his face as I placed him back in his bed. He looked so sad and fragile. It is heartbreaking that he doesn’t have a Mama or a Daddy to rock him and let him know that he is a precious little boy.



There were so many other children—all needing to be held and loved. They lie there day after day, staring at their mosquito netting and waiting for a volunteer to come and hold them. I came away wondering if there is something more that can be done for them? Melissa tells me that any donations would not stay at the hospital, but would be sold by the nurses. It is a helpless feeling to see the misery—to know that God calls us to care for ‘the least of these’ and then to walk away. Is it enough to hold them for a few minutes, pass out some stickers, blow bubbles and then leave? It sure doesn’t seem like it. Their eyes begged to be remembered, to not forget their suffering.



I had some sticker sheets left over from the gift bags we made (that we will take to the orphanage tomorrow). I gave one sheet of stickers to one of the boys and it was so cute to see how excited he was! Melissa blew some bubbles for him and he was swatting at them with his sticker sheet. He was so full of personality. Unfortunately, I do not remember his name. Before long, some of the other children who were able to operate their own wheelchairs, came rushing over to get some stickers. It was so cute.


Here is Roberto…he has a few stickers on his shirt…and he liked hanging around Melissa. One other little guy came over for some stickers but when I tried to give them to him, he could not grasp the sheet. I was able to tuck them into his lap, though, so he got his stickers.