Where do I even begin...

Expedited indeed. We are days from travel.

Days.

As in single digits.

Friday, just a week after consulate approval we received word that we had travel approval. Since it was a friday late afternoon in China when this news broke, there was no time to set a consulate appointment (which is what we need in order to book our flights) so hopefully tomorrow we will know for sure when we depart but we are confident that since everything else has been expedited - this will be too. So we need to get packing!

We have been working with a friend, our pediatrician, and a few other key people involved in our adoption process to secure the necessary medical equipment for Grace. You wouldn't think it would be that difficult. You would think, that since on paper in the US and China - for all reasons that matter - she's our daughter ----and that she could be covered under our insurance or at least - retroactively covered once we return home. Unfortunately that is not the case. Medical equipment is expensive to purchase and to rent and without insurance? Ouch. But *we* had a plan.

If there is one thing I could take away from this journey to Grace is that it is also a journey *of* grace. We've seen time and time again that God is sovereign. We've seen things that "never happen" happen. We've experienced His faithfulness to carry out all He has put before us as a family - because, after all, this adoption was His idea first.

"Even to your old age and gray hairs I am he, I am He who will sustain you. I have made you and       I will carry you, I will sustain you and I will rescue you." Is. 46:4

This was a verse, a phrase, a theme that followed me everywhere at the beginning of this journey, and it has resurfaced many times since. We have needed sustenance. We have been carried. We have been rescued many times over. And boy, do we have some gray hairs to prove it.

God uses people who say "I will". He used us to give Grace a family and a home. He used people in our lives to help us in times of need. Yesterday he used 40 people in one day to more than meet the financial need for all of her medical equipment and then some. 40 people responded to the request from my sneaky, techie, precious brother to help. To give. And they did. Maybe you did...

You see, I didn't even bear the burden of knowing there was a need. As far as I knew we were borrowing the equipment or being given the equipment. I didn't know and was assured it would be handled in time. So I trusted that because there are a lot of other things on my mind that need my attention and so I let that go. I let it go.

Where do I begin to make sense of people giving to a family some have never met, for a child they don't know, on the other side of the world... How do I reconcile the good that people do in a world so tarnished with evil, hopelessness, tragedy, suffering...What makes us worthy to experience such a gift...such a story...

I'm still figuring that out. I may never figure it out because it really doesn't make sense. The only answer I have is that God promised to carry us. He prepared our hearts to love a child who doesn't share our DNA. He taught me that yes, it is possible to love an adopted child as your own flesh and blood. He dared us to trust Him to provide and I believe He has delighted in showing off. I know that He has intentionally and unmistakably made Himself known to us in both the obvious and in the most intimate details of this journey. He has carried us. He is carrying us. He will carry us on.

So, to you who gave...To you who gave whether money is in short supply or in abundance: We are so grateful and we are praying that God blesses you beyond measure for your generosity.

To my brother who used all of his techie, social networking genius for good - not many people have surprised me in my life. Rest assured, there isn't a brother on earth loved more than you are - and I dare say, your uncle love tank is about to overflow...

Thank you.