Why do we adopt?

We adopt for Christ. We choose to love these precious children that God holds so dear. We want to pour into their lives all that God has so richly blessed us with...unconditional love, kindness, compassion, hope for the future. There are many different types of outreach and ministry. This is one that we can do from within our home. It is such a privilege to parent these special kids. We don't believe we are called to a life of comfort and ease, but rather to a life of service, and we are confident that God will continue to guide us and sustain us on this journey.

We are happy to share with you that we are flying out in just under a week, July 23rd, to adopt our new daughter in China! Joanna WenYan, born April 28, 2007, currently lives in an orphanage in Jiangsu Province...but not for long. She has cerebral palsy which mildly affects the right side of her body and some issues with her left eye. The orphanage kindly sent us several short video clips in which we saw her jumping around and doing hand motions along with a children's song, playing with toys, interacting with a caregiver, and walking across the room while reciting a popular Chinese poem. I had requested video footage of Joanna walking and talking, but I didn't mean AT THE SAME TIME.  Too funny!

 Some questions you might have:

 Does she know English? Probably not.

 How are you going to communicate with her? We will use a combination of Google Translate, sign-language, picture boards, and Mandarin-speaking friends and doctors as needed.

How do your other children feel about this adoption? Initially, the greatest concern was having to sit 3-across in the back seat. Seriously? Currently, we're all feeling a combination of excitement and nervousness. Except for Aliyah...she's just happy about it all. The more, the merrier!

How long will you be in China? 19 days

Are you taking the kids with you? Only the older 3 children are coming with us. Aliyah will be staying with one of her wonderful nurses. Mommy is very sad about this, but knows she will be in good hands.

 How can we get updates? We'll have someone posting updates on this blog.

 How can we contact you? Pressingonto7@yahoo.com