Sing a new song!

Notes on Emma YuXiao:

She LOVES to sing and she sang a song for me when i evaluated her.  When I visited the Believe in Me classrooms, she was happily playing and singing as she played!  She seemed to be the song leader, and as she started a song, the other children would join in!!

Psalm 98

A psalm.

 ¹ Sing to the LORD a new song,
       for he has done marvelous things;
       his right hand and his holy arm
       have worked salvation for him.



We sing a song of joy to our King, our Rock and our Redeemer, for He has done marvelous things for us!  
Emma Katherine, YOU are a song in our hearts.
Emma Kate YuXiao, YOU sing a song to your King who put that song in your heart.



 ² The LORD has made his salvation known
       and revealed his righteousness to the nations.
 ³ He has remembered his love
       and his faithfulness to the house of Israel;
       all the ends of the earth have seen
       the salvation of our God.

When I evaluated YuXiao - she seemed very bright and quite functional.  She was able to use her hands quite well and has develped alot of her own ways to do things to adapt for the missing fingers.  The only thing she was having some difficulty with was holding the pencil, and I gave her a special built up grip to help hold the pencil.

We sing a song of joy for the Lord, and sing in hope that our joy rises like a sweet aroma before Him.  The aroma of Christ who saves and takes care.  The aroma of His faithfulness- stretching from one end of the earth to the other.  HIS earth.  Our joy made complete in watching Him care for YuXiao, and show us His care in such glorious, marvelous ways.  Her adapting and the beautiful ways she is growing.  Oh, Jesus, I stand in total awe of you. 




 ⁴ Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth,
       burst into jubilant song with music;
 ⁵ make music to the LORD with the harp,
       with the harp and the sound of singing,

Hi Sara,
Just wanted to let you know what a special girl your daughter is!!  My daughter and I became quite attached to her while we were in Jinjiang - I am so glad she is getting a forever home! 


The music of God's love, poured out for YuXiao.  The splendor of His graciousness, displayed in who she is...because of WHO she belongs to!  She is special, and beloved, and treasured, wanted and needed.  We, who thought we were complete, learning of a bigger, better, fuller completion with her in our family.  


⁶ with trumpets and the blast of the ram's horn—
       shout for joy before the LORD, the King.
 ⁷ Let the sea resound, and everything in it,
       the world, and all who live in it.
 ⁸ Let the rivers clap their hands,
      Let the mountains sing together for joy; ⁹ let them sing before the LORD,
       for he comes to judge the earth.
       He will judge the world in righteousness
       and the peoples with equity.

When I explained that I was taking a few pictures of your daughter and one of the other little boys (JianFeng) so that I would have them to pass along eventually to their adoptive parents, the staff were thrilled that she was getting a family (I don't think the staff usually find out that the kids are leaving until right before the go).  She seems to be a favorite!!!
 
We sing for joy at the people God has raised up to love His beloved little ones.  That the "least" of us- the most vulnerable and needy- are being tended in love and affection.  Jesus, make it so.  And draw those precious caregivers to you- to know the Hope they are called to in You, the fullness of being loved by You.  The depth, height and width of your love for them in Christ Jesus.  




I think of Emma Kate and hear a song in my heart.  And I know the God of glory is connecting our hearts from here to there with a song that is true.  He is even now tuning us to resonate and fit together in a song that is beautiful and full- because it is His song!


The picture of our little girl singing as she plays is such a treasure.  I am treasuring the picture that gives me in my heart.  Treasuring and loving to hold that picture.


We do sing a new song of joy to our Lord and King.  Great things He has done for us.  Great things indeed.

Like cold water to a weary soul is good news from a distant land - Prov. 25:24-26

Oh, the joy in my heart this day.

Emma Kate, you are SO beloved.  And SO cared for.  Your God is a mighty God.  And in His grace and mercy He is tending you with a care that takes my breath away.

"Let the beloved of the LORD rest secure in him,
       for he shields him all day long,
       and the one the LORD loves rests between his shoulders."

Our God is also tending EMma Kate's family.  The information and assurances that we keep receiving just bring peace and settle my heart.  God must know my thirsty heart is in need of this advanced level of care.  I am so humbled by what He has given us, and know it is so much more than we could or should expect.  I am so overwhelmed with how LOVED I have felt by the Lord in this adoption.  It stops me.

Following is a post that was written by a woman who just returned from volunteering in Emma Kate's orphanage and school.  I don't know that a waiting parent could read sweeter words.   The post is addressed to a Mom who is currently in China receiving her son!


 Sue,
Congratulations!  We were thinking about you.  The van that took us from Fuzhou to Jinjiang on Sunday, 2/28,for our Love Without Boundaries therapy camp, was the same one that was then used to bring your son to meet you back in Fuzhou!  The reason the director didn't accompany him was that Monday was the first day of our therapy camp at Jinjiang and she wanted to be there for that.

We are now home in the US, having returned late Tuesday.  Our time spent at Jinjiang was great, and we as Jinjiang families have so much to be thankful for.  The Jinjiang orphanage is quite a special place.  They have a beautiful building, playground and facilities.  But more importantly they have a director, assistant directors and ayis who really know and love the children.  The children are extremely well cared for.  They are clean and well dressed.  The director and asst. directors know all the children by name, and they all interact withthe children in a loving and positive way.  While we were there for our therapy camp, we had an opportunity to see the Believe in Me schools run by Love Without Boundaries.  What a wonderful opportunity for the children, to have a stimulating and enriching place to spend their days.  They always seemed to be having fun, whether in their classrooms or moving about the orphanage!  If you are looking for a good way to positively impact the life of a child at Jinjiang (or any other orphanage for that matter) - become a sponsor for the Believe in Me school!

We did have the wonderful, unforgettable experience of taking all the students of the Believe in Me classrooms on their first fieldtrip!  We took 32 children and about 20 caregivers/teachers /directors to McDonalds and then into the adjoing mall for little amusement rides.  This was definitely one of the highlights of our trip!  The children were ear to ear smiles!  They ate their hamburgers, fries and nuggets with gusto (some even requested a 2nd burger!!).  To see them riding the carousel and waving as they came around brought tears to my eyes.  They had a blast.  It was a great experience for the caregivers as well, and gave them time to spend with the chilren in a normal childhood environment.  I hope the children get to do more of this, as it was such a positive experience for everyone!

I gave Director Wang both the scrapbook of Jinjiangsters that Gayle put together and last years Jinjiang calendar by Joann.  The directors and caregivers just loved looking at the pictures - they would point at pictures and laugh and smile.  They seemed genuinely thrilled to see how well all the children were doing!
Thank you for giving me the opportunity to take them along with me.

For any waiting families - I do have pictures that I took of the field trip to McDonald's.  I would be happy to share any pictures I have of your child with you, but according to CCAA regulations, I have to wait until the adoption is finalized.  So let me know when you travel, and I will make sure to send you the pictures for when you return home!

Manna

Sara,
Hello from China!
I have had the wonderful opportunity to meet your daughter several times over the past 2 days.  What a smart and charming little girl she is.  She loves to sing, and sang a song for me when I evaluated her.  She loved the play jewelry we gave her as a gift and came back in to see me today so that I could tie the necklace she made back togther!  I was able to take some pictures of her, some of them with my daughter playing together.  She is quite an amazing little girl - you are one lucky family!!




THAT note is what I woke up to in my inbox yesterday morning.  Oh, thank you, Lord!  The woman who wrote it is an American woman who is a physical therapist.  They are doing service work at Emma Kate's orphanage.  


Updates like this, in care you are wondering, are NOT the usual.  At. all.  Jim and I have been, really, in complete shock at all the photos and information we have about Emma Kate.  It is so reassuring, so helps a waiting parents heart, and brings us such joy.  


So onward to my day which was a mad scramble of activity, and then late last night when I should have been tucked away asleep (but Jim was traveling and I tend to be up late when he is gone) THIS came in my inbox:

AND this:

and if that were not enough, THIS TOO!:

Say it with me, "God's lavish love".
Here's more!  YES, more!:

The kiddos were PILED up in my bed now (it was really only 10:10- don't be mean at me for that!).  


Jeb, to this photo says, "Mom.  This is total proof she is meant to be a Silburn. You have to love legos to be in our family and look at her!"  He's a funny boy.  But speaks truth!  There's the black olive test, too, but we won't go into that now (especially since half the family has now failed that test and are still part of the family).  And I won't even start on the cheese test.  That is how we know that while we LIKE Ian Achterkirch, he will never really truly be a part of the inner circle.  :)  


Okay, so we have sliding criteria.  


Her lego-loving ways, however, brought such an endearment to her siblings who already have plans to make sure the box is out when she arrives home.


Included in the email was the following information.  Gird yourself, this is SO fun to read!:


She is a happy girl !!

1. Yu Xiao does not have a nickname ,she is called as Yu Xiao !
2. Her personality is quite gentle ,outgoing,friendly,she loves to learn new things,does not scare strangers ,she is very kind and patient  , love to help her little friends and love to share her stuff with her little friends too.
3.Her best friend is Jiang Yu Jun (江玉君),these two girls are roommate too,jiang yu jun is a very lovely girl !
4.She loves to sing ,play outdoors ,loves to play games and dolls .
5.update measurements below :
height :105cm
weight :19.5kg
head :49cm
chest :57cm
feet :15cm
teeth:14




Luke snuggled up as I was tucking him in and looked at me with those sparkly brown eyes of his and whispered, "Mom, I can tell from those photos that Emma Kate is really kind.  I think we are going to be really good friends".  


Oh.  Manna.


So JIm and I then translated (via phone and internet since he is in Seattle) all her measurements into inches and pounds...I, of course, couldn't really decide what 42.5 pounds meant, so where do I go?  Gap Kids.  Sad and true, but BRILLIANT!  


Emma Kate is only 3 pounds lighter than Anna!  And they are close height, too.  So fun!  And yet perhaps being weighed in 5 layers of clothes influenced the weight, so I will hold that information lightly.


I went to sleep last night with a smile on my lips, a song in my heart, and a profound gratefulness.  I woke up that way, too!  


Great is His faithfulness and lovingkindness.  Look at this sweet girl He's held all these years, so far far away in China.  


I cannot wait to meet her!  And as both emails indicate: WE are the blessed ones.  Blessed to have Emma Kate as our beloved daughter.  Our treasured sister.

Lavish, abundant and MORE: the Father's love in action

The following is an excerpt from a post about the Believe in Me School that Emma Kate is attending.  It is in her orphanage, and allows her to spend her days being actively engaged in learning, growing and using her mind and body.  


I CANNOT believe she is experiencing this.  As you read, please note that this is NOT typical for the kind of life children have in most orphanages.  Additionally, while the school is an incredible blessing for her, it is worth noting that she IS living in an orphanage, and as amazing as her care is, it is still life in an orphanage.  ALL of these children deserve a home and a family of their own.  They do.  Nothing replaces that for anyone.


Here is the teacher information:
The teachers are assigned a class. There are two for each. We have a very good
teacher/student ratio. Also, we have sent all our staff to Beijing to receive
Montessori styled teaching instruction, with the exception of one teacher who
will be attending in March. Our teachers are all qualified teachers, with the
exception of one, who is a nurse. Our goal has been to have a high quality
program for the kids, not just to keep them busy. We also send our teachers to
other Believe In Me Schools on occasion to have them learn from one another.
The students are all brought together for special times and parties. There are
generally about 35 kids in the school at any one time. Luckily, some of the
children leave for their Forever Families, but sadly, many of them do not. Our
goal is to give them the best experience we can to prepare them for public
school or adoption. Some of our children will never attend public school
because of their special needs, so we are teaching them and will have them in
our program until they are much older.

I will try to post our daily class schedules from last year. Class C was
attending only morning at the time because they were so young and we were
acclimating them to going to school. They have been attending all day since the
fall, although this schedule does not reflect that.

I welcome your questions about the school. We are so happy to be able to provide
this program for these children.

Believe in Me: Emma's Preschool

Emma lives in an orphanage in Fujian, China. She is sponsored through the incredible work of Love Without Boundaries (here is their website address: https://www.lovewithoutboundaries.com/index.cfm. This organization is doing amazing things to love the children living and waiting in orphanages in China. We cannot wait to be able to give back to them for the ways they helped Emma.

Love Without Boundaries helped build a new orphanage for the children of JinJiang, and started a school called, Believe In Me Preschool. I cannot put into words how it feels to be able to glimpse our daughter in these photos and see that she is receiving care and nurture, stimulation and learning. God's grace poured out for these sweet little kids.

Here is how LWB describes the school:

Jinjiang, a city in the beautiful province of Fujian , is located on the coast bordering the Taiwan Strait of the East China Sea . The school opened in January 2008 in the old orphanage. Happily, the children moved into the beautiful new building in June 2008. They have bright, cheery classrooms with a playroom and lots of new materials and supplies. There is a wonderful playground for the children to use to develop their large motor skills and plenty of class time for their academic development.

Our school has 3 classrooms to better meet the needs of the children. There is a preschool for the 2 year olds, a pre-kindergarten class, and a classroom for children with mild special needs that prevent them from attending the public school.

Our teachers have all had Montessori style training so there is much interaction between the teachers and the children. The children love to attend school in their beautiful classrooms where they have lessons and celebrations. We have seen so much progress this past year and look forward to a brighter future for these children.

Loving friends at Believe in Me preschool