Life is Good! Thank you Lord!

Today was a very early day leaving for the airport in St. Louis by 7am. David Fincher called and said that St. Louis had a terrible storm last night and many flights were delayed. He did a quick internet search and confirmed Dezi's flight was in the air. We got there just in time to find her flight was only delayed for 10 minutes. We were able to get a couple of pictures when the boys first met Raena. She was so shy but by the time she was in the van she was laughing and teasing her big brothers just as one of the family.


We went to Chad & Alicia Edwards folks house in St Louis where we experienced the power outage that affected a half million people and had a great time swimming and introducing them to Raena too. It was great for Raena as Caitlyn & Allyson Edwards are a little older and speak wonderful Chinese. We then drove back to Moberly, stopped by my folks apartment and showed her off for a few very sleepy minutes and then came home, introduced her to Hunny and her new room and now she is sound asleep.

In Ecclesiastes 3, it says, "What does the worker gain from his toil? I have seen the burden God has laid on men. He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end. I know that there is nothing better for men than to be happy and do good while they live. That everyone may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all his toil—this is the gift of God. I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that men will revere him."

After all the toil and the seemingly unending process, only these words can express what the Lord has given us this day, everything beautiful. All is well.

A Great Day of Taiwan Reunions, the latest pictures and only 3 more days!!

Wow... today was a great day. We got up and drove to Countryside Christian Church in Kirksville. It was a special day there as Jon & Amy Ralls and Chad & Alicia Edwards families were both presenting their work among the Chinese in Taiwan. The Ralls were challenging more to pick up the mantle in their stead as they have returned to the USA for some family medical reasons and are now working at CMSU in Warrensburg at the Campus House there. The Edwards were showing how far the church in Taipei has come and what the future is holding.


It was a very emotional time for them as they had built a very strong relationship during the past two years, and an emotional time for us as well as so many memories flooded through our minds today. The boys so enjoyed playing with their friends 'from Taiwan'. Eleven kids altogether as Keevin & Stephanie McGlumphry were also there as they continue to work with the International Students at TSU in Kirksville. It was indeed a good day.



Renae Sheldon sent some new pictures of Raena now that Dezi and Raena are in Taipei staying with her (at the Edwards apartment which is right below where we used to live, so it was much like going 'home' for Dezi). Thursday morning, at 9:58am, Dezi and Raena will be arriving in St. Louis!!! Woot!

Did you hear that? A big sigh of relief....??

Dezi called and said the last document arrived in time and the AIT accepted it. She can pick up Raena's passport with the visa to enter the USA as our child on Monday morning. THE PROCESS IS FINALLY OVER!!! They made it up to Taipei before the typhoon hit and are doing well. Dezi & Raena have been bonding well even though Raena went through a time of missing her house mother, or Ai-yi, (aunt). Here is a picture of Raena with her favorite house mother being silly.

Typhoon On It's Way

There is a typhoon about to hit the island of Taiwan, the first of the season. Dezi is on the northeast corner of the isalnd and it could easily hit that area. We aren't too worried about it as it is a common event, unless it would interfere with her flight out.

Dezi & Raena

Photos from Dezi & Misti Jennings

This was taken by Dezi on the train from Taipei to Lotung where the orphanage is.



This is Raena playing with her favorite house mother at the Home of God's Love.



China Girl in a Box!



Raena with a favorite toy. Hopefully, Dezi & Misti will send us a new picture this evening with Dezi & Raena together. They have been getting along pretty well though on Tuesday, Raena was a bit moody and Dezi experienced a little of what I had back in March. Raena was a little stand offish and wanted to be taken care of by her house mother. They are helping Raena understand the transition and the house mothers are having Raena get permission from Dezi before they do anything with her though. Dezi is confident Raena will bond soon enough however.




I took this right before Dezi left on Saturday with her boys. They are doing pretty good and enjoy talking to her everyday on the phone and counting down the days until their new little sister arrives. Ironically, it will be exactly nine months from the time when Ted & Bev first contacted us about the possibility of adopting Raena.

Waiting for a Picture...

Dezi called last night with someone special on her lap. Dezi was in tears and seemed over joyed at meeting Raena for the first time. She thought Raena was everything I had said about her and more. She put the phone up to her and she said "hello, big brother" to Ian in Chinese of course, and also said hi to me and that she missed me. Dezi decided to stay with Raena for the entire time and went on down to Lotung for the week to spend time with Misti Jennings and the Skiles. They should receive the last document I FEDEXed this morning by Thursday evening so Dezi will take Raena to the AIT office on Friday and complete the process once and for all. She plans on remaining in Taipei then and staying with Renae Sheldon at Chad & Alicia Edwards apartment who are currently on furlough and going to worship at the Taipei Christian Church and seeing all of our friends.

Today was a good day with the boys... of course, 3 of them were at VBS all morning and then stayed a couple hours at the Finchers house and an hour at the grandparents while I did errands and buy groceries. But we discussed new responsibilities and who is in charge of cleaning each room, doing dishes, etc. and so far it is going pretty smoothly. Joe & Regina Green had us over last evening for fresh corn on the cobb, and Sandy Fincher made us a great Taco casserole tonite. Aaron Wright plans on bringing a lasagne dish over tomorrow so we are being spoiled. That or they all worry about the boys with just me here!

I have had a couple of requests this week to make available the electronic versions of the books we have translated into Chinese for better access in China. So, I'm checking into the viability and copyright laws for this option. It does seem a better way to get the word out, however, we do not want to infringe upon some one else's labor.

Sherry Wallis is continuing to work for our Team Expansion office here at Central and she is also taking a part time position with Central in planning their big events as Public Relations Coordinator. It is a position she is well equipped for and has held this position in the past for Central. They are working on our new office that will be located in what was once the student union and mail room. We should be relocating (for the 5th time) within the next couple of weeks! This is a good thing as so much growth at Central is causing many changes to take place on a regular basis. There is a possibility that I may be teaching a new class for freshman this semester and I hope it will work out. If so, it will give me an opportunity to meet the new students much sooner as usually I have sophomores or upper classmen in my courses.

And yet again...

Sherry Wallis who has had a lot of experience in adopting two children from the Home of God's Love clarified that according to the Taiwan courts, Raena is in fact our daughter already. The last remaining detail is getting her visa so she can enter into the country. This is what we have been working on with INS & the Dept. of Homeland Security for the past month. This evening, or this morning in Taiwan, Dezi was to go to the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) with Raena and after a short interview, would receive this visa. However, we were one document shy of being successful. Another form (the I-600 Petition to Classify Orphan as Immediate Relative) with my signature is needed and I have already downloaded it and signed and am waiting until the morning to FEDEX it to Taiwan hopefully by Friday when they made their next appointment. The I-600A is what we submitted on this side to the INS and apparently the AIT in Taiwan needs the I-600. An easy fix yet another postponement to finality.

She's Gone!

After a great week of simply relaxing and enjoying our family and friends, and one day of severe sunburn pain, we were able to get Dezi to the St Louis Airport on time. As I type this, her plane should be landing in Taipei. I had called the Skiles after she left and they said the final appointment with the American Institute in Taiwan (the equivalent to the U.S. Embassy in countries that are recognized as such, Taiwan is still recognized as a renegade province of China) is going to be at 8am on Monday morning which is 7pm Sunday evening our time. This is where they interview Dezi with Raena present. It will be the first time Dezi sees her! Misti Jennings, a student at Central on her internship with the Skiles will be bringing her up from Lo-Tung where the orphanage is located. Please pray for Dezi & Raena as they get acquainted for the first time. After this meeting, I am told, Raena will be officially adopted. We will still have to apply for her Social Security card and other stateside documents, but the waiting is over.

I do want to mention someone who has worked very hard on our behalf. Wendy Coryell of Gateway Travel in Dallas, Texas, has worked overtime on getting the best possible flight and ticket prices for Dezi's trip and Raena's return. We have had over 5 different itineraries trying to get Dezi there as soon as the process was complete. At the highest season to fly she found relatively cheap tickets and a very direct flight. In fact, it is the shortest amount of time we have ever been able to get to Taiwan and direct from St Louis, to L.A., to Taipei. If you ever need a trustworthy travel agent, contact her at 1-800-878-2828. We have used her for many years and Team Expansion & Formosa Christian Mission always check with her first on most flights. Thanks Wendy!

Family Vacation

We are now on our family vacation down in Horse Shoe Bend, Arkansas. It is at Crown Point which is a place out in the middle of no where where one can just relax. We can get wireless internet service in the Rec Center and have to walk up the hill to get cell phone service which is great for what we need as a family right now! No distractions and just quality time with our boys and our friends, David & Sandy Fincher who so graciously provided a week of their time share for us. You can read more on their blog at http://finchers.blogspot.com/. More later....

Pray for Tim & Kylene, Kyle & Tracy...

My brother Tim called today and said that his first grandson, born 4 months premature, passed away today. Kyle & Tracy Worstell, my nephew and his wife are mourning their first born son, Mason, and will be having a grave side service in Illinois on Monday. If you would take a moment to remember them before our Father's throne, we would really appreciate it.

Did we say 'roller coaster' yet?

Everything seems to be going in the right direction and Dezi is planning on flying out on July 8th now. We received an email from Ted Skiles saying, "...the court has received the signed paper back from the prison where the mother is (meaning she received the court adoption contract), but they have not received the signed paper back from the prison where the husband (step-father) is (meaning he hasn’t received the court adoption contract yet). We don’t expect a problem, but we aren’t sure of timing. The court won’t issue the final paper until they get that signed paper back from the step-father’s prison." So please keep praying that all these steps will be fulfilled one by one as our Heavenly Father wills. Ted encouraged us to pray without ceasing as laying all our cares and concerns before his throne is the surest thing. Will you continue to pray with us about our adoption of Raena? Thank you....