Providence

In May of 2005 our family began the process of trying to adopt a little girl from China. We have 3 biological children and could certainly make more, but we were impressed by God in prayer that there are plenty of orphaned children in the world who need parents as well. Especially in China.China's communist government has an official "one child policy." Having multiple children is punished by heavy taxes and fines, and in some cases, forced abortion or sterilization. Since China is a highly patriarchal society, most Chinese want their one child to be a boy. 98% of the orphan population in China are little girls... girls who are going to grow up without a daddy or mommy and, if not adopted in childhood, will likely end up in prostitution or sexual slavery. God brought a strong conviction to us that this is a gospel issue. If the gospel is really at work in us, we will be at work to bring redemption (right the wrongs) in the world. We do not have the leverage to change government policy in China or to mount a global human rights campaign. But adopting a baby is a beautiful way to redeem a life and live out our conviction that every human person is an image-bearer of God. The macro picture (political action, global human rights) is important, too... but the micro level is where we take personal ownership of redemption.The time has finally come. After 2 long years of waiting, we finally received yesterday a photo of the little girl that God, in His providence, has chosen from the beginning of time to add to our family. Here she is!