Life With Janaa

Happy Birthday Reese! Your birthday is almost over here in Thailand. I love and miss you!

We just got back from Phrae this evening. It was very interesting. In some aspects it was exactly as I expected in other ways it wasn’t. I don’t think Janaa expected to that she would feel shy or overwhelmed. I had a feeling she would, but didn’t want to put ideas in her head so I never said anything. We realized about half way there that the whole village was waiting on us. That I knew would really make her intimidated.

I was right. We got there and people we standing around waiting for us. (It’s rainy season so they’re not doing a lot waiting for the rice to come in.) As we got out of the car people started to approach us. It really scared Janaa at first. They all wanted to touch her, hold her or talk to her. She is very American when it comes to needing her 3 feet of personal space.

It took a good while, but she eventually would let Nipaporn hold her for a minute or so at a time. It was very difficult for in her in several other ways. Thais look at kids 6 and under as babies. They even give them bottles until they’re that old. Janaa is NOT a baby and can do things on her own. They didn’t really understand that. Also, they were very surprised that she couldn’t speak Thai. I do think that made it hard on Nipaporn. She could not communicate with Janaa at all.

We sat around Thursday evening and visited for several hours. They invited us to eat at her sister’s house. We had a room reserved up the road so we could come back today. We were glad we did. They kept asking if we wanted to stay with them. We felt it was a bit much for the kids, Janaa especially. So, we declined and returned this morning.

Before we left Rachel was able to tell Nipaporn that Janaa wanted her to know that Jesus loves her. Buddhism is such a part of their culture (maybe even more than religion) that she not going to accept Christ quickly. However, it was a huge deal that we came all the way back from America to spend time with them. I believe that they all saw Christ’s love in our lives.

Thanks to those of you who have been praying for us. I’m sure that I am feeling better as a result of it. I never escape getting the stomach virus or just a minor short version, but I have felt so much better. Even more after visiting the village I believe there is more in store for Nipaporn and her family. From all I can gather there is no Christian work in that area at this time. We are praying that will change soon.

Please forgive my sloppy writing. I'm tired and my contacts are sticking to my eyes now.  Good night!

     I just got off the phone with Rachel, who was being swarmed by mosquitos that in her words "actually carry diseases".  So today Janaa met her "tummy mommy", Nipaporn, for the first time.  In summary, by the end of the day, it seems that things went kinda like Rachel thought they would.  Janaa, and I think Rachel and Rachel were a bit overwhelmed at the same time though.  Everyone in the village came out at one point or another to see Janaa.  Janaa was very excited to meet Nipaporn, but even Janaa told me on the phone that she "got really shy."  At this point in time that I am posting, everyone is getting ready to go to bed.  Tomorrow they will be going in the morning to spend some more time with Nipaporn and I guess maybe a couple of other family members, before heading back to Chiang Mai.  I'm sure Rachel will post more detail once she has an internet connection again. 

For your info, here's a link to the Wikipedia article about the province that Janaa was born in:  Phrae Province

And for a good map of Thailand that will let you see some of the location of places that the girls have been on throughout this trip go here:  Thailand Map  Look for places like Phrae, Phuket, Bangkok, Chiang Mai. 

10 days left till they come home!

Thanks for praying for me yesterday. I feel much better today. I'm still enjoying a wonderful diet of saltines, but I'm thankful I'm feeling better.

We're leaving for Phrae in a few minutes.  I will not have internet there, but my parents and Brent may have updates.  Janaa is very excited about meeting her tummy mommy. It hardly seems real.  My mind keeps wondering to what Nipaporn must be thinking.  I'll update as soon as I can.

It's hard to get 4 kids to look at the camera and smile all at the same time.

Because the internet has been an issue I’ve been writing in Word so this is from several days.

In case it’s not obvious, I’ve found it super difficult to blog here. When we do have internet is it so slow and drops often. We’re in Bangkok as I mentioned the last time. I’m enjoying it more now than I did the last time. It’s still a busy city, but I’m more relaxed this trip.

It was such a blessing to meet Ari’s parents. She has adjusted so very well. I love to hear her call her big brother, Sam. Her parents are missionaries here in Bangkok. What a cool thing to share the love of Christ. She is adorable as ever. There is a lot processing for her. She is the youngest of the bunch so she is still trying to grasp more. I just can’t say enough about her family and the blessing it was to meet them and spend time with them. God’s divine plan for the kids is amazing!

I am enjoying myself, but I’m missing home a bit. My brother and dad called me tonight and it was great talking to them. Don’t get many calls from the States when you’re over seas.

Janaa and I stayed in Bangkok and extra night so we would have more time to visit with the Webers. What fun. It was great to hear all that’s going on in their town and ministry. BoomBoom, their adopted son is a card. In short his birth mom and sister became believers earlier in the ministry, but his birth father just received Christ not long ago. God is amazing. I can’t help but wonder sometimes if God’s plan of redemption for our children’s birth family revolves around their adoptions.

Thanks Sheets! They loved everything. Because they were without water for a year, Darlene had given all of her Bath and Body soaps away so others could enjoy them. She didn’t expect to get anymore before they come back to the States. What fun!

It’s midday and I’m not feeling worse. Please pray I will feel fine by tomorrow. The next 2 days are the most important of our trip. Rachel talked to Nipaporn this morning and she’s already home. I can only imagine what she must be thinking and feeling at them moment.

This is a rather long post, but I feel as if there’s so much to catch up on. Thank you so much for praying for us while we’re gone! We need it!

No photos again. I'm sorry. We've been traveling the past few days and haven't really stopped.  We've had some sickness as well and I think it's my turn with the stomache virus.  Please pray it isn't bad and goes away soon.  We have limited time here and it's really had to miss doing things.  Most importantly is tomorrow. We are going to Phrae to meet her birthmother.  More than anything I want to feel good for that.  I want to remember all I can and be able to think clearly.  Not to mention, help Janaa understand and be available for her. 

Please pray for my health and all hearts involved tomorrow as we visit with her birth family.