Tuesday, June 13, 2017

“Everyday holds the possibility of a miracle.” ~Elizabeth David

Today Held A Big Miracle…

Hi Everyone,

Today was our day to visit Jonathan’s orphanage. My prayers have been that this visit would contain healing and I had no idea what I was asking for. As Jonathan put it…sometimes I wonder what God does for me…today He made a path for me…to see my sister.

Jonathan has shared much of his story with us and it is a hard one that is his story to tell. There was one thing he chose not to share until today. He had a little sister that he was separated from when he was about 7. He had never found her again and the orphanage could not find her when they looked for her at his request. He left China with a stated wish that they would find her. They did find her this past year and today Jonathan saw his sister again for the first time in over ten years. What a day!

Our guide for the day was Veronica. She is the person responsible for the orphanage partnerships in China and she remembered Lucas. She was part of the team that traveled to his orphanage for the Journey of Hope trip that brought him initially to our attention. She had some great insights to share about his orphanage, particularly because we did not see the original one when we visited. The old orphanage was out in the country, about 15 minutes from the closest people, which is likely why Lucas is so hesitant around new people. The good news is that most of the kids who were part of that journey have been matched with families.

About half way to the orphanage, the director for Jonathan’s orphanage called our guide. She was too excited to wait to see Jonathan. He received the sad news that his special caregiver has cancer and would not be there today. It saddened him. Then he received the news that they had found his sister. There was great shock in the car as we all processed it and tried to understand what was happening, where she had been and what this all meant.

When we got to the orphanage, one of Jonathan’s caregivers came yelling with excitement and running from the building, definitely not a reserved Chinese moment. The people at the orphanage were SO happy to see him. I don’t think I have ever seen Jonathan smile as big as he did many, many times today. The reserved boy we normally see was missing. Joy was flowing out of him. They let him show us around freely and we saw many parts of the orphanage including being allowed in the kitchen. Apparently he was well liked by the cook!

After walking around the orphanage, they also allowed him to go to the house of a friend who lived not far from the orphanage. His friend (now 19) was not home, but his mom said he is working in Guangzhou now if we understood correctly. We will try to connect with him in the next few days if that is possible. The boys also have another friend, but he is in Hong Kong right now so we won’t be able to see him this time.

From there we went to lunch with the orphanage director, a number of nannies, teachers and several helpers from the orphanage. There was also a civil affairs officer who brought Jonathan’s sister from her school to the lunch to see Jonathan. And of course, Jonathan’s younger teenage sister was there. I can’t really express what this was all like. The pictures tell a lot of the story, and truly I’m still processing it all. We all are. I can say with certainty, that I am SO thankful we were able to visit the orphanage!

For Jonathan to know that his sister is okay is huge…she says she is well taken care of and the director (Mrs. Yu) told us she is a good student. We hope to be able to keep contact with her. We certainly will be trying from our side and hope she is allowed to receive what we send and respond to it. While she may not legally be my daughter, I have another daughter in my heart to leave in God’s hands…trusting Him to be with her.

After lunch it was time to say good-bye. It was a heart-shredding moment. Jonathan’s sister was wiping tears away as she got in her car and Jonathan was quiet for a bit as we left. Then he started to talk and it was good. Today lifted a big burden from his heart!

Before we headed home, Jonathan asked to make one more stop at his school. We did not see much, but the theme of the day was to see what was the same as his memories and what had changed. It brought peace to revisit all these parts of his life.

We returned to the hotel just in time for an adoption reception. We went for the free dinner and then the boys headed to the pool to swim while I stayed to visit a bit. It was a good way to decompress from this day of high emotion.

Blessed Beyond Measure,
Brandy, Jonathan & Lucas