Family...

Comes in all colors, from every corner of the world. That is how it is in our family. And that is how it is in the family of God.

I LOVE my family...both of them!

Packing

Always a struggle for me. I never know what to wear or what others will be wearing so i feel like it is such an overwhelming task. When i went to Haiti, at first i was frustrated that we had to always wear skirts. Mostly because i had NO skirts...I just don't wear them. But in the end it was so easy to pack everything because the weather was always HOT and i could only choose skirts. Simple living...It was beautiful.

I have borrowed a friend's travel guide on China but it is a bit old. Does anyone have any recommendations on a good guide book? This one was Lonely Planet. It was good so i may just go get a newer version of that. I was going to just use this one but so much has changed in China, that i found the guide book showed places that are no longer there etc.

And packing for Aimee is the hardest part. I can only really guess her size at this point. And so i need to bring enough clothes for roughly 2 weeks and in multiple sizes just on case some don't fit. And it all has to fit in our bags because we are only bringing 1 each due to our in country flights... Ugh!

Well, the one thing i know i will not leave behind is my Bible. God has carried me around the world so many times for His great purpose, and he will carry me yet again to a new unknown place. He is always gracious in His patience with us. He always shows us His love in other places by the amazing people we meet who want nothing more than to serve him. And He carries us through the tough first moments as parents to a toddler who's world has just been turned upside down. I need all the help i can get with that one.

So many people can't wait as soon as they get there to meet their kids and take them to their hotels with them. And not that i don't want to...I cannot wait for Aimee to be a Koby. But the moment i have that new child in my arms and the chaos begins, i just want to get out of Dodge so to speak. Our experience with Juli first taught me this lesson. In Russia, after you go to court, you have a ten day waiting period where you stay in the hotel and go back and forth to visit your child. As new parents to this experience we were so saddened by this...every time we would go visit her we had to leave her behind. But then the day came when we would just visit her for the last time. Our lives changed forever in that moment and i am not talking changed as every new parent does. We were suddenly in possession of a child who was terrified of her surroundings, only knew us, understood nothing we said, screamed ALL night long if we weren't holding her...and at times we would put her down just for a couple of minutes and she would scream so loud that at one point we heard footsteps coming to our door of the hotel. Now being in a country like Russia where many people think Americans adopt children for their organs, we did not want any trouble. So hold her we did....for 6 more days and all the way home on the airplane as she screamed and others moved their seats in disgust.

Therefore, i now think the policy should be in every country that you get your kid as you board your plane home. LOL But it is not and so we will see what this new venture brings for the Kobys. God is good...ALL the time!

Traveling...

Well, we finally know we are heading to China! Aimee Grace is coming home on August 5, 2010 forever to be a Koby!

We are so excited to meet her, especially Juli. She said she wants to get matching Chinese outfits for them to wear. I think she is going to be surprised by how much like Elias she will be. Steeling her toys, smacking her, following her around pestering her. But she will discover that for herself. I just hope she doesn't have her expectations that high. I have been trying to prepare her for her reality check.

In the meantime, we are getting Aimee's room already. I decided to paint it red and cream with white chair rail. It is so pretty...very Asian. It will be perfect for all the little collectibles i will buy to decorate with.

I am above all amazed that i will be traveling to the Orient. It has in my mind for so long been such a place of wonder and beauty. I know i will not be going outside of any cities, and i am disappointed in this, but just to go to that part of the world will be such an amazing experience. I have had the privilege of traveling to so many countries in my lifetime, England, Israel, Jordan, Russia, Ethiopia, Dubai, Haiti... but i never did imagine i would get to China. I don't know why. Perhaps it is because as a child it was always considered the farthest place on earth. The place your parents would always joke that you should try to dig to when you were at the beach.

I love to watch Bizarre Foods with Andre Zimmern. It is a great show. You learn so much about other cultures and the truly bizarre, often gross foods they eat and consider delicacies. I one episode, he traveled to China. And i do not remember too much about it because it was quite some time ago, but one of the foods he ate was a seahorse on a stick. Weird foods like this were sold on the side of the road from carts. And there were all kinds of odd things on sticks too, not just seahorses. So, i was telling Juli about this and she insists she will eat a seahorse while we are there. And i do not doubt it either.

Lazarus...

Have you ever really looked deeply into the story of Lazarus in the Bible? It is so amazing. I was doing my devotions yesterday and they were focused on this story in the book of John.

It teaches so many things.

Patience. When Lazarus was dying, his sisters, Mary and Martha sent word to Jesus in hopes that he would come and heal him. But He didn't. I would have expected Jesus to rush on the scene, like a super hero to save the day. I mean that is how we as Americans tend to live life isn't it? Instant gratification. When i pray for something i hope desperately for God to hear me and answer...right then. But most of the time, He doesn't. In the book of John 11:6 it says "Yet when he heard that Lazarus was sick, He stayed where He was for 2 more days." I can see so much of how God works in that verse. No pressure. He just knows everything is in place and the reason behind it. He has no need to rush. But when Jesus finally gets to Mary and Martha's house, they are totally like i would have been...frustrated and filled with worry. Martha runs out to meet Jesus and says to him, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died." That would so be me. But she is still faithful, continuing, "But i know that even now God will give you whatever you ask."...And he did!

As Jesus walked to the tomb, He wept. That is one the most profound verses in the Bible to me. God, wept. He loved Lazarus his friend so much, that even though he knew he was going to heal him, his humanity caused him to actually weep with sadness over death. Reading this, we know that he feels our pain in the sadness of loss on this earth.

But i love picturing what happened next. I see him gathering himself back...straightening his shoulders with authority, then he prays the most amazing prayer. He says in verse 41, "Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me..." And with great strength in his voice i picture him calling..."Lazarus, come out!"...and he did. Can you picture the mouths of all the people standing there? Their jaws dropped to the floor in amazement? How some of them probably became faithful followers of him right there in that moment! God is sooo amazing. Why do i doubt him?

Yet in my daily life, i will often, lose faith, doubt, worry, and or fear the unknown. But, why? I know that the God of the universe that performed miracle after miracle has me in the palm of His hand. He has always cared for me and always will.

I love the verses of the new Chris Tomlin song, Our God.

Water you turned wine

Opened the eyes of the blind

There's no one like you

None like you.

Into the darkness you shine

Out of the ashes we rise

There's no one like you

None like you

Our God is greater, our God is stronger

God you are higher than any other

Our God is healer, awesome in power

Our God.

If you'd like to read the devotion that i read on Waiting Patiently, just click this link.

Johnny Stone this morning on Star 99.1 fm declared today national no fear day. He was not serious totally. But he challenged everyone to go forth into this day without fear, trusting that we are in the hands of a mighty God. How appropriate for my recent reading. So, i will go forth today, putting all fear aside. Knowing there is no reason to fear.

Psalm 27:13 & 14 say, "I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord: be strong, and take heart and wait for the Lord."

Bringing Up Girls

I recently began reading the book Bringing Up Girls, by James Dobson. What an amazing insight into the minds and hearts of girls. I never knew for example what an impact Daddy's have on their daughters. Don't get me wrong. I knew they were super crucial. I grew up without one and reaped the consequences of it for a very long time. But i never saw just how deep that need for a Daddy and his approval goes. But now that i know, when i watch Juli with Eric i see so much more. It is amazing!

This is what the book has to say about Daddy's and their influence on their daughters. This excerpt is actually taken from another book called Strong Father, Strong Daughters, by Dr. Meg Meeker.

I have watched daughters talk to father. When you come into the room, they change. Everything about them changes: their eyes, their mouths, their gestures, their body language. Daughters are never luke warm in the presence of their fathers. They might take their mothers for granted, but not you. They light up - or they cry. They watch you intensely. They hang on your words. They hope for you attention and they wait for it in frustration - or in despair. They need a gesture of approval, a nod of encouragement, or even simple eye contact to let them know you care and are willing to help.

When she's in your company, your daughter tries harder to excel. When you teach her, she learns more rapidly. When you guide her she gains confidence. If you full understood just how profoundly you could influence your daughter's life, you would be terrified, overwhelmed, or even both.

If you have a little girl, you should really pick up this book. I think it will change how you think about raising a daughter.

Pictures of Haiti

Here are just a few pictures of my amazing trip to Haiti...

My Journey to Haiti

A few weeks back i had the amazing privelege of going to Haiti to serve. It was an experience unlike any other.

I have to admit i wondered along the way if it was really what i was supposed to do. I mean i have 2 kids at home and it is far from easy to just up and leave for a whole week. But though i felt doubt along the way God took care of everything. He gave me amazing people who stepped up and took care of my children during the day while Eric was at work. And then there were people who cooked for my family while i was gone. And of course there were the people who prayed for my family and i the entire trip. Never doubt the power of prayer...I have seen it demonstrated too many times to push aside.

Haiti has a beauty to it unlike any other. The skies are almost always blue. The rains come hard in the evenings and they are warm and cool all at the same time. The people are amazingly beautiful despite their hardship and the sweltering heat on a daily basis. The children are happy and have so much love to give that at times it overwhelms you.

But then there is also the sadness. The first realization I had of the state of Haiti was when i looked out to the mountains. I did notice that they had no trees, but i just thought perhaps that was how they were. Until i was informed that they have over many years been completely deforrested. So much so that you could see the massive errosion from the hurricanes that beat them down yearly. This gave me a realization of their situation. They have almost no natural resources, they import just about everything including now wood from the Domincan Republic.

Then there was the tragedy of the earthquake. A people already struggling through their everyday now faced such intense devastation. Why must they suffer so.

The tent cities that we saw were a far cry from the state of the art tent cities we see on TV on the news channels. They are entire towns made of sticks and sheets sitting in massive pools of water, filling higher every day because it is the rainy season. In this water the people as well as sometimes their livestock live. Too sad for words really.

But in the midst of this sadness and tragedy i got to spend a week with a group of people that God has a shield of protection over. They are the people of Light and Peace Mission and My Father's House Orphanage. The people in these communities were fed, clothed, together, and praising God for how he cared for them as they worshipped under a tent in the heat of the day. Their praises were unending...literally. We attended a prayer service; one of many that last for 4 to 6 hours.

So my prayer today is with Haiti...for the people that suffer daily, living in pure desperation. But thanking God for the example of their faith. I learned so much from this trip. True faith is exemplified not through people of plenty, but through people of need. Those who live everyday completely dependent on God to carry them to the next.

I will post more pictures of my journey tomorrow.