The day after we got home we started Vacation Bible School.  We explained a little bit about it to Aiden and gave him the choice about whether or not he wanted to attend.  He was very excited about it and chose to go every night.    His daddy was the teacher for his class which he thought was way cool, especially since Daddy dressed up as a medieval peasant.  (The theme was the armor of God.)  I stayed with him and translated as we went.  He took it all in with huge wide eyes, never having heard any of this before.  He was especially intrigued with the idea of a good kingdom and a bad kingdom and the new concept of King Jesus rising from the dead!  He loved making baskets in Grammy’s craft class and was pretty adept at it too.  He liked the outside games except tag which he thought just looked like a pushing game.  He absolutely loves to sing, and is a quick learner, so got a huge kick out of singing along to the theme songs, as best as he could.  His older brothers were in the drama so he was fascinated with watching that each evening, and would giggle and gasp along with everyone else at the antics of the bumbling princes and the evil queen.

All in all, he is doing really well.  We’ve had a few bumps in the road, as he grieves for all he had known before, and tries to acclimate to a new family, a new language, a new culture.  He’s very bright, very affectionate and pretty sensitive to what is going on around him.  He blazed through over 20 pages in a math workbook I bought for him yesterday, but is not all that excited about the phonics workbooks.  He loves Legos and the cat, and is trying to get used to the dog.  He is active and all boy, but also likes to play Uno and Connect Four and put together puzzles. 

Your prayers are still much appreciated, we know that the Father has a boundless heart for setting the orphan in families and that He will enable all of us to bring glory to Him if we seek His face through this experience.  May He alone receive the praise and honor, for He is worthy.

We have confirmed flights home!  This week has been full of learning to lean on Jesus, to trust in the Father’s faithfulness and to see His hand of provision.  It’s been so hard, but I wouldn’t have traded it for anything.  God has been so gracious.  Aiden is doing so well, and is very excited to be leaving tomorrow to go to his new home.  Pray for us as we travel and then as we settle into a new normal.  I’m sure we’ll have some bumpy times ahead, but our loving Lord is leading us each step of the way and we’ll trust Him for each step as it comes.

Will make this short, as having some laptop issues…had unexpected good news today…the consulate reopened and processed over 100 families’ adoption visas today, including ours!  Thank You Father!!!  Now we’re just waiting on the paperwork to clear in DC and be given back to our agency rep so Aiden and I can get a flight back to the States!  Brad and the boys headed back very early this morning, so Aiden and I are hangin’ loose here.  Took a fun trip to a bookstore today and picked up some things that he’s excited about, then had dinner with friends to celebrate after we all had our consulates.

The group went on a boat ride on the Pearl River tonight. We had a great time.  Aiden seemed to enjoy himself and took in the sights with the rest of us.  Behind him is the tallest building in Asia.

You might have heard that we are at a standstill here in Guangzhou.  The Consolate had a white powder incident and it has taken our adoption process to a stand still.  This means that we cannot get Aiden’s visa to travel to the US. The news today was that the Consolate is going to be closed through thursday. We have tickets to travel back home on thursday morning.  This means that I may have to come to get back to work and Kirsten will stay until we get the visa. Pray for us as we decide how to manage this.  Brad

Hello All,

We are going to attempt to use this blogspot to share our trip to china with everyone back home. Please be praying for this trip and for Aiden as he connects for the first time with us, his new family.

Howdy,  Looks like we’ve been caught up in the facebook thing and have not been adding to this blog.  February was a long time ago.  I see the last thing that I had was CJs finish in salina. Incidently, he went on the win the 10 and under 85# championship for the state of Kansas which was held in Topeka. The summer was filled with baseball games, tons of summertime activities and Youth Retreat.  This fall Keegan and Corey are playing football.  The other boys are sitting out as we are homeschooling and Kansas is not a friendly state to letting homeschoolers get involved in public school athletics.  4 H is gearing up and we are going to start adding those activities.  Kirsten is busy with school.  I am trying to finish some projects inside our house and get the landscaping started.

  Last Saturday we took Matt, Blaine and Corey to Salina to wrestle in the Tournament of Champions.  It’s 1200-1500 kids in all that compete!  Matt and Blaine did well but were beat out before placing. Corey, however, took home the champion trophy.  The first time that we have won it all at a major tournament.

I’ve (Kirsten) been reading this book by Elisabeth Elliot, and have been challenged by the many nuggets of wisdom I’m finding.

“Where there is no “moral gravity”- that is, no force that draws us to the center- there is spiritual weightlessness.  We float on feelings that will carry us where we never meant to go: we bubble with emotional experiences that we often take for spiritual ones; and we are puffed up with pride.  Instead of seriousness, there is foolishness.  Instead of gravity, flippancy.  Sentimentality takes the place of theology.  Our reference point, until we answer God’s call, is merely ourselves.  We cannot possibly tell which end is up.  Paul calls them fools who “…measure themselves by themselves, to find in themselves their own standard of comparison!”

“Christian discipline means placing oneself under orders.  It is no mere business of self-improvement.”

“The disciple is not on his own, left to seek self-actualization, which is a new word for old-fashioned selfishness.  He is not “doing his thing” to find his own life or liberty or happiness.  He gives himself to a Master and in so doing leaves self behind.”

“Salvation is a gift, purely a gift, forever a gift.  It is grace and nothing else that obtains it for us.  Discipline is not my claim on Christ, but the evidence of His claim on me.  I do not “make” Him Lord, I acknowledge Him Lord.  “

“There is some thing that pretends to be Christianity which is mostly a mood.  The measure of its faith is merely the measure of its feeling.”

This is amazing.