She Calls Me Mommy-Mother's Day 2007

One year ago on Mother's Day, eight little orphan girls and their nannies boarded a bus and took the 3 1/2 hr. ride from Taihe SWI to Nanchang. At the same time 8 families flew from Beijing to Nanchang, boarded their own bus and made their way into Nanchang. That afternoon in the Civil Affairs office these 8 babies that had never known a mom or a dad were united with their new families. In an instant, lives were changed...families were born. That day we met our 5th child, Katherine Mei VanLue for the first time.
The room was chaos. Katie sobbed and sobbed. One of my first comments after receiving her was "Scott, she can't even sit up." (at 11 months) She was wheezing/coughing...hot...obviously sick. Our work with this little girl had just begun. She was tiny, frail, and looked at us with big eyes...and cried. I can't even imagine what she thought. Her whole world...the only one she'd ever known was being turned upside down.
Back at the hotel, the doctor [who came with the room :)] got into action. Stethoscope, otoscope, lights, poking, prodding...all part of the protocol. Katie was pretty sick with a bronchial infection, dehydration, 2 ear infections, COVERED with scabies, eczema, and an impacted colon. On top of that she had known little or no sensory stimulation in her short life. She didn't even reach/grab for toys. Developmentally she was a 4-6 month old. All of a sudden her senses were being flooded with stimuli at breakneck speed. Although we didn't realize it at the time (because we didn't know her) her defense system did what many in her situation do...she shut down. It was all too much for her.
In IA there are so many unknowns. If you could be inside your child's skin--to discern and understand what they're thinking/feeling--it would be so much easier. But then you wouldn't need faith. Faith that the God of this universe called you to another country to have THIS child from this city, this heritage, this DNA, placed into your arms. From here on out she will call you Mom and Dad. We had that kind of faith.
This year has been wonderfully challenging as we've walked through the ups and downs with all our girls. Katie spent the first 6/7 months really feeling us out...having to start at point zero in learning to trust, having never bonded with any one person. We did everything we could (even though many, many times she resisted) to assure her that we would be there constantly and not leave. She fought us hard! She had anger issues...would try control tactics...all a form of self-preservation. We prayed...we loved...we were consistent.
Then January came. Our once sulky, angry child emerged as a beautiful, happy, smiling, laughing joy. Her grieving was over--the bonding was complete. We had a different child!! God knew peeling back the layers of this little girl's heart would reveal an incredibly beautiful child. We had perservered and God was faithful.
Today Katie is developmentally ahead of schedule. She's amazingly coordinated! We may have a little athlete on our hands! She's talking in simple phrases and does anything/everything the big girls do. She loves playing dress up w/her sisters complete with high heels/make up and hair. She sings songs constantly and loves her tricycle.
All 3 adoptions have been very different. All 3 girls come from harsh, difficult backgrounds but by the care and concern of an amazing God, they no longer suffer. How kind of our savior to rescue them just as He did us.
I live in wonder everyday at the care of an all knowing/all wise God who loves these girls far more than we ever could. He gave me the privilege of being their mom for our years here on earth. There is no greater thing I could be doing with my time than seeing these girls growing up "in the shadow of His wings." It's an honor that I do not take lightly. What a delightful journey I'm on!
My goal is not to live a wasted life, marked by selfish indulgences, but to run my race with perserverence so that on that day I will hear "Well done my good and faithful servant". It makes all the sleepless nights, messes, piles of laundry, diapers, breaking up of sibling fights...so worth it.
I'm very grateful to my "bio" kids for joining with us in this mission. They both say they want to adopt their own lost children. I like to remind them that they were the first to call me mom ;)
Jesus says, "If you love me feed my sheep". We joyfully sacrifice our lives so that these little ones can have life. It's both a privilege and a pleasure. Scott , Jason, and Julie have the opportunity to go to the nations this summer bringing both practical help but most importantly the word of God to the poor and needy. God reminded me that when we adopted Katie , HE brought the nations into our home. My mission field is to these here in my house everyday. This little China girl represents far more to us than any of you could ever imagine. May God be honored with my/our lives as we seek to live out this great commission.

HAPPY MOTHERS DAY!