Very Close!!!!

We are very, very close to traveling for Luke. And we are very excited! Luke has never lived with a foster family, like Cate and Cai did; he has only lived in the orphanage with hundreds of other children. We expect some developmental delays due to this and we are perfectly fine with that! We have been praying for him since the first time we laid eyes on him and know that this is a very special little boy. We have lots of love ready to pour onto him and we can't wait to begin. His name will be George Lucas and we will call him Luke. Luke, because we like the name, and the book of Luke in the Bible has so many great promises. We are naming him George, after "our" George, who when he married Mom, automatically married two little children. Two children who he would have to endure the teen years with and learn to love and accept when surely it wasn't easy. We definitely didn't always agree with George's strict dicipline when we were young, but he stayed by our side and on our side. And while we never called him Daddy, because at the time, we already had a daddy, George was always our father. When our first child was born, we wondered what cute name George would become, but lo and behold, he remained George. But not just any George; "my" George or "our" George. Which just seems fitting. Because it doesn't take an endearing name like daddy or GG, or watever; it just takes a lot of love and acceptance and committment. And that's what George has poured out on us from day one. Even when the times were tough. And that's what we're going to do for Luke.

"Whoever welcomes this little child in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me." Luke 9:48

And the necklace goes to.....

SHARON!!!!! Congratulation!

Thank you to every one who donated to Mama Kong. And thanks to everyone who spread the word about this family. We can all keep them in our prayers.  I can't wait to tell her how very much she is loved and prayed for.

How We Can Help

Update- I have been asked about Paypal. If you would like, you can send money by Paypal to my email address below. The funds will sit safely there until we are ready to visit Mama Kong! :)

I have been thinking about this, and this is what I would like to do to get started raising some funds for Mama Kong and her family. I have an 18 inch pearl necklace that we bought from the Pearl Market in China. For everyone who posts a comment or sends me an email saying that they would like to contribute to Mama Kong and her family, I will put your name in a box. It can be any amount that you feel you want to give. Every cent is appreciated, no matter how large or small. It is absolutely the thought and prayer that counts here! We will pick a name out of the box on Sunday, October 14, and I will be sure to announce the name that day. Please tell anyone that you know about this- the more the merrier!
Our email address is gksmith@windstream.net if you would like to send an email rather than leave a comment here.
Thank you for helping!

From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked. Luke 12:48

Let's Multiply!

If you haven't already watched the video about Mama Kong and her family, please watch it (it's in my last post). I don't have any definites yet, but I hope to fly to Shanxi before we meet Luke. I want to spend a couple of days with Mama Kong and her family. We want her to know that she is loved and being prayed for.And after watching the video, I know that they would appreciate some financial assistance. We do have to make sure that this is safe; only because of the government officials. We don't want to break any of their laws despite how unfair we may believe them to be!

It's so funny (well, not funny haha) how all of this has really sparked some interesting conversation and realization about how people are, in general. People, as in practically everyone, us, very much included! Do you know how rich everyone that lives in America is? Even the poorest here, are rich compared to most. Why is it that we only care about ourselves, our families here and our needs? We are all in a position that we never have to think about the orphans or the widows or the hurt or the hopeless if we don't really want to. And who really wants to? It's not fun to think about them. It's actually a little depressing. It takes money and time. And who wants to give away precious time and hard earned money? Especially to someone we don't know, will probably never meet; someone who we can pretend isn't even real to us as we sleep in our comfy beds, eat out at nice restaurants, and enjoy so many luxuries. I mean, who would actually choose to step out of our comfort zone to get "uncomfortable"?

But that is exactly what Jesus has asked of every single one of us. It makes me so, so sad that the "normal" to most of us is a very selfish and worldly way of life. And the "weird" is actually how Jesus calls us to live.

Go and make followers of all people in the world.. Matthew 29:19
"And God blessed them, saying, "Be fruitful and multiply..." Genesis 1:22
Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. 1 John 3:18

Tomorrow I'll post about how you can help!

Two Favors

I have two favors to ask of anyone who may be reading this. First, please go to You Tube and type in "Lost Children of the Coal- China". It is a short documentary about a tiny little woman in China who is doing amazing things. It was filmed just this past May. I know that everyone has not been called to adopt, but we are all asked to care for the orphan. There are many ways of doing this. I am going to post tomorrow how we are going to help this tiny but mighty woman. That is where the second favor comes in. I have spoken with her oldest son, and I would love your help in helping this family.

"Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men." Matthew 4:19

A special surprise

On Thursday a very special piece of paper came to us via Fedex. A piece of paper that we had been praying for daily. One huge step closer to a very special little person. About eight weeks away from holding a little guy who has only lived in an orphanage. Who has never felt the arms of a Mama or Daddy, the laughter of brothers and sisters. And we cannot wait to be the ones who show him.

I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry. Psalm 40:1

The Beach

We had such a great time at the beach this year! Our family piles into one house and spends a week eating, sunning, playing, fishing, reading, laughing and eating some more! It just doesn't get any better. I can honestly say that it is the best week of the year for us. We are so blessed with such a great family who genuinly has a ball doing everything together! It is always so hard to leave after our beach week together. Thank you, Granny and Granddaddy! We love you so much.
I am going to try to do a better job at keeping up our blog. I have said that before so we'll see how it goes, but I would like to print it one day as a little family journal.
The summer has literally flown by, and I have no idea where it went. I can't believe it's time to start thinking of school supplies, and school activities already. Ugh. We enjoy our summers.
The past year has been a hard one for our family. We have experienced a lot of transitions. We are finally at a point of healing. We need it very badly and are ready to heal together as a family of seven.