no preference

I've been painting our daughter's dresser and bookshelves. So far, I've done three coats of white primer. My vision is to recreate Sleepy Beauty's forest on that furniture, with trees, flowers, squirrels, birds, chipmunks, you get the idea. But there will be no Disney princesses decorating her room, because I don't want her to ever think that beauty means being skinny, busty, blonde or fair-skinned.

Not that I have a problem with Disney. It's magical. Our daughter will have the movies and sing the songs, and we will let her play with Disney princess toys if she likes. But that image won't be presented as the ideal, I hope. At this point in her life, I'm pretty sure she doesn't have a favorite Disney princess, or a favorite color, or a favorite animal. She hasn't been given the privilege of developing such preferences. She's never had a lot of choices. But she will.

If you've ever been outside the US for an extended period of time and freaked out when you returned to be confronted with the many choices available at any given US store, you might sort of understand how our daughter will feel when she hits the US. She's already going to be traumatized by the fact that she's just been removed from everything she's ever known, even if everything she's ever known is nothing that any of us would ever want to experience.

She probably has some understanding that her life in the orphanage, consistently having something to eat, clothes to wear and a school to attend, has made her so much more fortunate than many other children who have nowhere to sleep, nothing to eat and no chance of education.

Soon though, our daughter will be even richer! She will be among the richest people in the world, simply because she will have health insurance, a roof over her head, nutritious food at least three times a day, plenty of clothing, her own bedroom and family and friends who love her dearly and will protect her always. That is how God has chosen to love us, and by His grace, that is how we will choose to love our daughter. God wants to give us all that is good and pure and true, and that is what we want for our girl. All will be done to bring her safely home to blessing and peace. And for now, she has no choice in the matter. :)

Thank you for praying. Thank you for supporting our cause. Because of God's grace in giving us the support of friends like you, our daughter will know that she is loved.

faithful care

Under different circumstances, our daughter might not be in an orphanage right now. It could have been much worse. Had God not seen to it that she was cared for, that someone was merciful enough to leave her in capable hands, she might be on the streets fending for herself. But she's not. She's safe. Jesus rescued her.

Sure, I worry that she might be malnourished and unhappy in the orphanage, sharing her living space with so many other children, but compared to most orphans around the world, she's hit the jackpot.

These were some of my thoughts as I lay awake last night: Where was she born? In a shack? On the floor? In a crowded hospital? In an alley? Praise God for the orphanage. Praise Jesus that our daughter is being fed, clothed and educated.

God is providing for our daughter's needs, just as He has always provided for us...comforting for a mama whose baby is with strangers half a world away, and whose husband will soon be deployed in that direction.

Praise God for His faithful care.

As an update, we're waiting for US immigration to approve our application so we can go get our biometric fingerprints taken. Always waiting. Please pray for us.
Praise God for providing the funds we need, when we need them.
Please pray that the funds continue to come in. We're waiting to hear from a grant organization, and our silent art auction is next weekend! Can't wait to see how His will is accomplished!