Fingerprinting complete!!

We had our USCIS fingerprinting appointment this morning at 9am and everything went great. We drove a total of 5 hours and it only took 10 minutes for our fingerprinting. Too bad there wasn't something closer. But to bring Josiah home, I would have flown to China and back to give my fingerprints if that was what was required. I just realized that I haven't put any new pictures of Josiah up recently, and believe me we have well over 100 pictures. So here you go:

You Shall Not Pervert Justice Due the Stranger

You shall not pervert justice due the stranger or the fatherless, nor take a widow's garment as a pledge. But you shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt, and the Lord your God redeemed you from there; therefore I command you to do this thing. (Deuteronomy 24:17-18)

Several weeks ago we began learning Chinese because we want to be able to communicate with Josiah once he becomes our son. We are learning as a family and collectively we are ready to begin lesson five, however Brian has been practicing on his own and he is somewhere around lesson 15. In order to practice the Chinese we have learned we decided to go to a Chinese restaurant and while we were there we met some very nice Chinese waitresses. For some reason after that first visit my dad kept wanting to take us there for dinner. We understand now that it was all a part of God's plan for us and for one of the waitresses that works there.

We began to form a friendship with this waitress who unfortunately speaks very little English, but somehow with our limited Chinese and her limited English we have been able to communicate fairly effectively. She told us her sons are going to be coming in February and she is hoping that we will be able to help them learn English. We told her that not only would we try to help them but that we would help her too if she wanted.

Her and her husband, who is a cook at the restaurant, have been living in America for 13 years and unfortunately have never met anyone or had enough time to learn very much English. They both work six days a week and have been trying to learn English out of a book. Not real helpful since you really have to be able to hear it. They said they have had some nice customers over the years who have helped them with a few words here and there, but they have had many more customers who have become angry with their limited English and have asked to speak to the manager to complain. What makes me even more angry is that over the years, while they have set up many different restaurants, they have been cheated out of their money and repeatedly exposed because of their lack of English. People saw their weakness and pounced. It saddens me to think that in the 13 years that they have been here they have not made any friends who were able to really take the time to help them with their English so that they would not be cheated.

We recently invited them over for dinner, although only Maggie was able to make it and she reciprocated the offer and invited us the next week to her house for dinner. They made us the most beautiful authentic Chinese Food for dinner. They had so very little in their apartment, which also happened to be in a very dangerous neighborhood, and yet they treated us like kings. Their home in China was by the sea, so our whole dinner was all seafood; crab, shrimp, two or three kinds of squid or maybe one was octopus, and it was all cooked in a soup at our table over a gas burner they set in the middle of the table. The soup had in it all kinds of vegetable I had never seen or heard of and these things called fish balls, where were about the most delicious thing I have ever tasted. They also made us chinese dumplings with pork and veggies in them which were also very delicious. They had so much food for us you would think they were feeding 12 people.

While we were there God showed us our purpose for being there. Maggie's husband asked Brian if he would be his translator as they were planning on opening a restaurant and they were afraid of being cheated. "Dishonest scales are an abomination to the Lord, but a just weight is His delight." (Proverbs 11:1) God had sent us to tip the scales in their favor and bring justice to the stranger in the land. I have to say the most amazing thing about this though is that God does not do things by halves. God could have sent anyone who knew Chinese and English to help translate, but he sent the best possible help for them. Brian has a bachelor's degree in accounting, and a master's in business. Could anyone doubt God's love for those who are oppressed; the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow?

I read an article by Kerry Hasenbalg and in it she said, "God 'does not dwell in houses made with hands;' He dwells in those who believe." God's dwells in us so His love also dwells in us and we are to be His ambassadors, His hands and feet, to love those who are oppressed on His behalf. Jesus will one day say, "'Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.' Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?' And the King will answer and say to them, 'Assuredly I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.'" (Matthew 25:34-40)

I think there are a couple of things that are significant about the verses from Matthew that I hadn't noticed before. The first thing is that the people that Jesus identifies with, calling them His brethren, are those who are hungry, thirsty, strangers, naked, sick and in prison. The second thing is that "the righteous" are serving those who are hungry, thirsty, strangers, naked, sick and in prison without even realizing that they are serving God. Now that they have the love of God poured out in their hearts, they are reaching out to others based on a real love that they have for them, and not based on an obligation to do what God says or to somehow impress God with what they have done. I say this because we didn't realize that we were serving God in this situation until the very next day after our dinner with Maggie and her husband. We formed a friendship with them, found out about their story, they asked us to help and we said yes. The next morning the Lord opened my eyes and told me, "these are strangers in your land," and "I hate unjust scales," and "you have seen Jesus in them, you are serving Him." I melted into tears thanking God and praising Him for giving us this opportunity to serve Him.

Quick Update

Just wanted to provide a quick update as to where we are at in the process. We sent off our I-800a which was received by the USCIS on 12/29/10. When I sent them an email inquiring about our fingerprint appointment, they stated that it went out in the mail yesterday 1/18/11. I can't believe how long this process is taking, and believe me I know there are people out there that have taken years longer. It is hard knowing Josiah is over there in need of a family and we are dealing with paperwork here and it is looking like it wont be until August before we are able to even have a chance to go get him. I know that all things are going to happen in God's timing and I am ready for anything, but we love Josiah very much and can't hardly wait to hold him in our arms and bring him home to his new family. We also applied for the girls passports last week, which we should receive in about 4 weeks. Please keep praying that the Lord will provide the finances necessary to complete this adoption and that the time will go by quickly for all parties involved :) On a side note, we did apply to Show Hope for adoption assistance, so please be praying about that as well.

In His Service,

Brian

For your viewing pleasure

Here is a video of Josiah going up the stairs, notice his look of accomplishment at the end.

Praise God! He is Mighty!

"Hear this, all peoples; Give ear, all inhabitants of the world, both low and high, rich and poor together." Psalm 49:1

"Come and hear, all you who fear God, and I will declare what He has done for my soul." Psalm 67:16

"Come and see the works of God; He is awesome in His doing toward the sons of men." Psalm 67:5

"All Your works shall praise You, O Lord, and Your saints shall bless You. They shall speak of the glory of Your kingdom, and talk of Your power, to make known to the sons of men His mighty acts, and the glorious majesty of His kingdom." Psalm 145:10-12

"Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness. Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart." Psalm 37:3-4

I am writing this post to thank God and to praise Him for everything He has done through this adoption and to share with everyone what He is doing in our lives. He told us, "Take nothing for the journey, neither staffs nor bag nor bread nor money; and do not have two tunics apiece." Luke 9:3 We have fully rested on the Lord to provide for our journey and He has been faithful to us in this promise. We have received large donations and widow's mites and we are grateful to God for both. "Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that abounds to your account. Indeed, I have all and abound. I am full, having received ...the things sent from you, a sweet-smelling aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, well pleasing to God. And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Now to our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen." Phillipians 4:17-20 There have been many thanksgivings to God because of your ministry to us. "Now may He who supplies seed to the sower, and bread for food, supply and multiply the seed you have sown and increase the fruits of your righteousness, while you are enriched in everything for all liberality, which causes thanksgiving through us to God. For the administration of this service not only supplies the needs of the saints, but also is abounding in many thanksgivings to God, while, through the proof of this ministry, they glorify God for the obedience of your confession to the gospel of Christ, and for your liberal sharing with them and all men, and by their prayer for you, who long for you because of the exceeding grace of God in you. Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!" 2 Corinthians 9:10-15

The Lord has helped in so many ways! Back in August we had our house appraised and our realtor brought his wife, who happened to be a mortgage officer at our bank. Our realtor remembered what interest we closed at and his wife said she could do a streamline loan to lower our interest by 1 1/2%! Not only are we able to put aside more money for the adoption because our house payment is lower but we were able to skip an entire house payment to go towards the adoption. We also happened to find that in one of our accounts we had significantly more money than we thought we had. It has been an amazing journey in faith.

God has especially been moving through the story of Jason Herring. If you don't know the story yet you can read about it here on our blog. This year Jason and his family has decided to do the first annual Josiah Lee Memorial Offering in memory of his son and they are donated the funds to us in order to help bring our Josiah home. Below is an article he wrote based on the memorial service held at Jason Herring's church:

Josiah Lee Memorial Offering

Josiah Lee Herring made an impact on every person he came in contact with. The blonde haired, blue-eyed boy charmed everyone with his unique accent and vivid imagination. When he went home to be with his Best Friend on May 20, 2009, he left a huge hole in our lives that can never be filled. But even though nothing in this world can ever replace the remarkable Josiah Lee, we will never stop thinking of ways to honor his memory. For over a year I have been impressed to take up an annual Christmas offering in honor of Josiah. This last October while visiting a small orphanage located in a small town in China, I met my reason for giving.

Yang Henghai was born without the use of his arms and was born with two club feet. In spite of his limitations, he is able to do amazing things, and his happy upbeat personality makes him an instant favorite among visitors that come to the Harmony House Orphanage. Yang Henghai's given English name is Josiah. And like Josiah Lee, he lights up the room and brings a smile to those he comes in contact with. Josiah means, "Yaweh supports him," and although crippled in body, Josiah is supported by Jesus who has a very special plan for his life.

When I came home from China in October, I wrote an article describing my encounter with Josiah entitled, "Confirmation in an Unlikely Place." Chalk it up to conicidence or the alignment of the stars I knew that it was an act of divine Providence that I would meet a four-year-old boy named Josiah on the other side of the world. My article was passed around to friends of friends of friends and this led to yet another chance encounter. I received an email from the parents who were in the process of adopting Josiah.

Brian and Rachel Beauchamp are a christian couple in Iowa with two girls Paige (10) and Paris (8). Early in 2010, God began moving in their hearts to adopt a special needs child from China. Their testimony of how God led them to Josiah is truly amazing. You can read all about this wonderful family and their adoption journey at josiahsnewhome.blogspot.com.

It all fit so perfectly together. Besides the obvious connection points, this was at the very heart of the Christmas story. Why did God send His Son to earth 2000 years ago? "When the fullness of time was come, God sent forth His Son...that we might receive the adoption of sons" (Galatians 4:4-5). Could there be a better cause for a Christmas offering or a better way to honor the memory of my son?

You can help make it possible that Josiah will spend Christmas next year at home in Iowa with his forever family. When David was established on the throne of Israel he asked, "Is there anyone that I may show the kindness of God unto?" His quest led him to a crippled boy named Mephibosheth. Have we ever asked that question? Where would it lead us if we did? This "tiny Tim" can one day walk and run with corrective orthopedic surgery. We have the opportunity to show the kindness of God to a young boy on the other side of the world. This is what it means to "do justice." This is the definition of pure religion that is undefiled before the Father. Merry Christmas to all and God bless us everyone.

Defend the poor and fatherless: do justice to the afflicted and needy. (Psalm 82:3)

Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction... (James 1:27)

USCIS Package Received

We sent off our I800-A and USCIS received it yesterday. We should be hearing about our fingerprinting appointment with them in a few weeks.

Homestudy Approved!!!

We just received notification that our homestudy has been approved! We are now just awaiting our notarized hard copies so we can apply for our I-797 through the USCIS. The I-800a application is already filled out and in an envelope waiting to be sent off when we receive the homestudy. Then we will be notified by the USCIS of when and where we have to get our fingerprints taken so we might get our I-797 approval. We are counting down each step in this process until we can bring Josiah home!!