Journey to Sienna Grace

Sienna Grace’s story is a picture of how God teaches us, loves us, calls us, equips us, and sends us out. It is a story of how God uses ordinary people, even tiny little girls, to do extra-ordinary things. It is a story that reminds us that God is involved in the details of our lives in miraculous ways. Ultimately, it is a story of faith and trust. I write this here so that you may know, and that Sienna will know without a doubt, that she was hand picked by God to be our daughter. It all began September 26th, 2008 when I received an email from another Adoption Website Mom, Denise (Maggie Mae) to join her in sponsoring a Pearl River Baby. When I went to the link she provided I was drawn to a little girl who also needed sponsorship, “Lindsey.” There was something special about this child. So special, I couldn’t stop thinking about her. I wanted to sponsor her too… No, what I really wanted was to bring her home! Fast forward, three months, and I was reading a book about adoption, called “The Strength of Mercy” by Jan Beazely. The author shared her personal story of a devastating loss of a child they were waiting to bring home. When they cried out to God for answers, they clearly heard him say, “I showed you one to give you another. Trust me.” I was overwhelmed when I read this. Later to find out, this would be our story too. Jeff and I did go forward in January 2009 with our four month dossier process to try to adopt “Lindsey.” Through connections in China, we were able to find out her Chinese name, and the news that she was being put up for adoption. Although the China Center of Adoption Affairs frowns upon designated adoptions we truly believed God was calling us back to China for this specific little girl. We moved forward with the help of an agency staff that cared about making this happen, and with a team of prayer warriors that believed God could do it! We knew God would answer our prayers, but we had no idea to what extent! You see, we had prayed specifically that we wanted God’s will for our family regarding this adoption. September 9, 2009 I got a call that I was not prepared for. It was the Waiting Child Coordinator from our agency. She had called to tell me that “Lindsey” was gone. It was a very hard call to make, and a difficult one to receive. Quite honestly, one we never expected to get. We found out later that “Lindsey” had been on the CCAA shared list in August, and she had been locked quickly by another agency. We were so disappointed. But, God did not disappoint us. This was just the beginning of one of the most amazing stories I have ever been a part of. You see if I had never seen Lindsey’s photo, I would never have felt the urge to go back to China. I would not have opened up to Jeff about my heart’s desire. We would not have done our dossier. We would not have been logged in to the system for another child. Had God show us one, to give us another? God orchestrated a story that only He could. He quickly put people in our path that revealed His plan for our family. He connected me with the Mother that did receive “Lindsey’s” file. He gave me a job at Pearl River Outreach where I could work on growing their sponsorship program to provide love and hope to orphans in China. He used my adoption network to show me the file of a beautiful little girl that had been on the same waiting child shared list as “Lindsey,” named Xia Chang. On September 30th, less than one month after we found out Lindsey was “gone” another adoption Mom shared with me the file of Xia. Her beautiful face took my breath away. Her special need of Alpha Thalassemia (Mediterranean Anemia) scared me. But, an email to my agency that day about her, would change our lives forever. I had reached out to find out where this beautiful child was from… One week later, on October 6th the answer came. She was from Hengshan, Hunan. The exact same village where “Lindsey” lived! Did you know there are 1.3 billion people in China? And, an estimated 143 million orphans worldwide… What are the odds of this miracle? I confirmed with “Lindsey’s” new Mom that our girls were together for their pre-adoption physicals, and referral photos! Amazing! This was a very clear sign to us that this was our daughter! God had used tiny “Lindsey” to help us find her! On October 9th we locked her file with our agency! We were officially paper pregnant! On November 7th we were blessed with the most amazing email from China. It was from “Lindsey’s” new family. They were in China to bring my Goddaughter home! (Yes, you read that correctly. The day before they left for China they asked me to play this very important role in her lif! You see, God never intended for me to be her mother! But, He did intend for me to be a part of her life forever. A very special part!) Back to November 7th, the email read… “There was an audible gasp in the room when we received an update on Lindsey. The first question was, who is Lindsey closest to? The answer, “she is close to the members of her foster family, and her very good friend and neighbor, She Xia Chang!!!!! Her best friend! In writing! For all of us to see God’s perfect plan! God’s plans are always bigger and better than ours! He did show us one to give us another! Jeff and I are humbled to be a part of this story. We look forward to the day when “Lindsey” and Sienna Grace will be together again! God has used these two little girls from a tiny village in rural southern China in a mighty way! May He be glorified through it! “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” ~Jeremiah 29:11 Blessings, Diana

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