Preparing for Goodbye

In all honesty, I don't know how I will find the desire to write this week. It's our last week together. I might have to pick up writing again after they leave on Sunday. Perhaps not.

We feel that these kids are the most magnificent thing that has happened to our family. We cannot imagine life without them.

We are still waiting for their country to let us know they are available. 

I hate waiting.

They have endured worse, so we will wait... as long as we need to. Sunshine is not doing well with this leaving. We have to tear her arms off of us, constantly. She is even doing this with my mother, now.

She is constantly writing me to let me know that she doesn't want to go back to her country and how she wants to stay with us forever. She writes how much she loves us and how she never wants to go back. She is also writing notes to me about my singing... which is interesting. I guess I never knew how much I sing during the day. Apparently it is something she loves about me. This is why Ray brought the kids out to a race to hear me sing the National Anthem. They loved it! It was also a good opportunity to see Iceman jump around and do his crazy flips and one-handed cartwheels and hand stands.
  Speaking of Iceman... can I just tell you about this awesome kid? He is so smart, quick and funny. And, his heart! Oh, his heart. Without us knowing, he brought his $2 he got from the tooth fairy to church. He put $1 in the offering plate. What a sweet and generous young man he is!

Saturday night, we watched the Jesus Film in their language. Twenty-some years ago, I remember touring the headquarters of that movie. They were translating it into more languages than any other film on the planet. Who knew how much I'd appreciate that, years later? Sunshine had NEVER heard the story of Jesus. She cringed and put a pillow over her head when he was crucified. {It's a kid film, so it wasn't very graphic} She told us that she now knows about him and prayed the prayer at the end of the film. Iceman said he had heard of Jesus, but now knows more about Him. 

Yesterday Sunshine told me that the reason Iceman goes to a different school is because he is classified as "special" and "slow". That made me sad. Anyone that has met him can attest to the fact that he is not. "Slow" is not a word to describe him. He can catch a fish with his bare hands. He can figure out electronics and memorizes numbers so well. He reads a little slowly, but his math is good. In fact, if he is classified like that, I'm very glad my own son is not over there. He would be classified as something worse than that. 

The other day, Ray and I started watching a documentary about that very thing. It's easier to classify orphans as "special" and give them no hope in life. The orphans don't realize that they cannot go to college or go into the military because they are known as "special needs'. It's horrifying. After watching it, and hearing that our precious boy is classified as a "special" orphan who goes to a "special" school, we are more determined to get him to the US and give him a hope and future!

The countdown is on. We are sad. We need prayer. We need this adoption process to start pronto. 

But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint. Isaiah 40:31