There's not much exciting to tell about other than this is what your child may look like after taking a 4 hour nap and waking up at 8:00 pm to eat supper. Apparently, chicken is near impossible to chew at this time of night. She went to bed 2 hours later, slept through the night and didn't wake up until 8:00 the next morning. I'm still crashing every evening, and getting up early. Not, me if you know me...I much prefer the night hours to the morning and all of it's glory.
We left Thailand on Saturday and something about it felt even more final than the last. It was so fun seeing Janaa with her foster brother and sister and her best friend, Emma. From the moment we arrived it was as if no time passed between them at all. There were other people that Janaa was excited to meet, but then seemed too overwhelmed. Not with them.
Janaa's brother has a family on the way. While we are so excited it's a bit sad. We will miss him very much. There is a very real chance that we may not see him again. Janaa kept telling me to bring him to America with me. As we were leaving it was obvious that they were both, in their own way, dreading the goodbye. However, it was good for Janaa so see his family album and share the news with him. I think it helped her feel like she was part of saying goodbye, something she had been worried about before we left. She was concerned she wouldn't get to tell him goodbye. God is faithful and his new home seems just right for him.
Please pray about her foster sister's situation. There is a very good chance that she has an amazing family waiting for her as well, but it all is hanging on one form that must be fill out. Pray that God would guide those who must complete the forms to work in her best interest.
Knowing that her sibblings are leaving, Janaa is ready for Mommy Rachel to come back home. She kept asking when she would get a plane. Soon...we're praying.
Continue to keep Emma in your prayers as well. She is in the process of being adopted. Since she is special needs she will be able to be adopted by her foster family, which are good friends as well. However, they are still waiting on some details as well. We're ready for Kosharah and Emma to come to America as well.
Our flights went well even though our flight plan was terrible. We had a lot of layovers. We ended up traveling almost exactly 36 hours. How fun to be home with Brent. Janaa missed him so much. She ran up behind him screamind "Daddy, Daddy" at the airport. We are glad to be home. Janaa goes back and forth between wanting to be home or in Thailand. She hasn't slept much tonight. I've been up since about 2:00 am. I finally let Janaa get up for awhile as well. She is finally back to sleep so we'll see how it goes.
Thank you so much for praying for us as we traveled. We had a great time. I'm so thankful the Lord allowed us the opportunity. There was a lot of good closure for Janaa as well as answers to many of her pressing questions concerning Nipaporn.
I learned several things in my month alone.
Anyway, September is at and end, Fall is here, and my girls are coming home.
]]>
So, another quick update. We just got back from a visa run, and are headed to the dentist any moment so I may have to finish this later.
Anyway, yesterday we headed up to the Golden Triangle where you can see Burma (Myanmar), Laos and Thailand. We took a cool boat ride over to Laos then they took us by Burma. We rode in a classic "low boat". We headed on up to the border last night and stayed at a really cool place. This morning we got up early and headed over the border of Burma. I was a bit concerned taking Janaa, but it actually really helped. Everyone loved that she was Thai and had lots of questions for her about being adopted. They were so very kind. We only had about 15 minutes after we crossed the border because we had to get back to Chiang Mai, but it was still fun and eye opening.
So before Janaa turns 5 years old she will have been in Thailand, America, Laos and Burma. How fun!
I probably will not be updating much more on our trip. Our time is fading quickly and we're trying to make the most of every moment. Please pray for us as we travel back. We are hoping to check our bags through to Raleigh's customs instead of going through in San Fransisco. If we have to go through in San Fransisco I'll probably get stuck with all our luggage over night, which concerns me. Anyway, we'll see everyone soon if we don't get to talk or update sooner.
]]>
The past few days have been so crazy. We only have a few days here in Chiang Mai so we are cramming each day with things to do. We get up early and go to bed late. We've been to the Night Safari, where we had our picture taken with the puma; we've been to Tiger Kingdom, where you eat around a tiger cage and watch them while you eat; We've been to pre-school. Monday was a day for the moms. We dropped them off at preschool and headed over for a Thai massage, picked them up and put them down for naps then went to get our hair washed and dried. The last few nights we've spent at the night market and night bazaar, which is always fun to walk around.
I'm headed upstairs to try to start packing some things for the trip home. We're headed up to Burma today for a visa run. It will probably be a couple of days before I'm back on. You never know if you can get the internet when traveling. Please keep Rachel's kids in your prayers. She's at the orphanage now working on a solution for one of them. The other is waiting for his parents to come get him. God is good and His timing is perfect, but it's hard to sit and wait for them to come. Thanks for praying for us as we've been traveling. We'll see most of you soon.
]]>
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!
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!
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!
Please pray for my health and all hearts involved tomorrow as we visit with her birth family.
]]>