Finally....

The Orbie for Orphans website is practically DONE!! Thank you, Troy Norton, for using your amazing talent to create this tool to get help to hurting, fatherless children. Thank you to our donors who have sacrificed so that our vision and mission can be seen and understood through this website. Join us on this incredible journey! www.orbiefororphans.org

Can you see the transformation? Words are hard to come by right now because this is Collins’ first “Gotcha Day”. One year ago today we walked into a room in southern China and saw our black-haired little girl for the first time. How could I have imagined in that moment all the joy and laughter she would bring our way? How could I have imagined how deeply I would fall in love with this little child? How could I have imagined the enormous changes she would go through…from being terrified and grieving the loss of all she had ever known to bonding so well and loving us all so deeply?

In one year’s time Collins has gone from speaking no English at all to being fluent. Her appearance has changed dramatically. Her behavior has changed dramatically. At times it’s been tough. She has an iron will, and its been a huge adjustment for her to learn to obey and live within boundaries. But Collins has a sweet heart that aims to please, and so she has adapted. As mother and daughter, we have had our battles, but now it’s hard to even remember those fits from the early days. Today she’s my little tag-a-long buddy, who loves to shop, cook and clean with me. She’s a happy, confident, bubbly little girl who is also very ACTIVE! (with 2 old parents J)

One of the great benefits of adopting an older child is that they can communicate what it was like being an orphan. It’s therapeutic for them to verbalize and talk through those hurts and emotions. Collins turned 5 the day after we got home from China, and so about 8 months into the adoption, she began talking through her life “before”. Those conversations have been brief and only come on her terms. But the words have been bittersweet, both chilling and heartwarming all at the same time.

One night as we were laying in bed, she became unusually quiet. She looked up at me and said, “Mommy and Daddy together, right?” I said, “Yes, Mommy and Daddy together forever.” She said, “Then why you not come get me?” She was saying that if we were her forever family, then why was she sitting in an orphanage in southern China for 3 years? Ouch. I wanted to cry as I explained that they wouldn’t let us have her. There were loads of papers that had to be processed. But oh, how we wanted to go get her! They simply wouldn’t let us. She understood, and now she tells people that she was in China because of “papers”.

The other day I was putting on some red tennis shoes I bought in China. She wanted to know all about them and where I got them. Then she said, “Mommy, when I was in China I prayed for a mommy and a daddy. “ Choking back tears, I said, “Did the other kids pray?” She said, “a little bit.” I said, “Collins, Jesus answered your prayers.” She nodded yes with a smile on her face.

Another time she said, “Mommy, when Collins in China, Collins sad. Collins cry. Collins no mommy, no daddy, no brothers.”

That hurt behind those simple words has changed our lives forever and is the motivation for our leading Orbie for Orphans. Statements like that are devastating, especially when you consider that less than 1% of 153 million orphans are adopted each year. The sheer number of children who feel such immense sadness is hard to wrap our minds around. The vast majority will never be like Collins. They’re going to age out of the system without ever getting a family. Orbie for Orphans will focus on getting help and healing for the vast majority that will never get out.

But today…..we CELEBRATE one year of rescue for this amazing little person.

Happy Gotcha Day, Collins!

Our Biggest Leap Thus Far

So.... deciding to adopt and get involved in Orphan Ministry and going to China to get Collins were all LEAPS OF FAITH, but we've just taken the biggest one yet. Carl has resigned from 25 years of church ministry to be the Executive Director of Orbie for Orphans. This is a 501-c-3, non-profit ministry that started out of a wonderful company called Oodles World, which is in the process of making an animated movie, children's Bible Studies and Vacation Bible School curriculum. You can check it out at oodlesworld.com. Our part will be to design and lead Orbie for Orphans to have a significant impact in the battle for children who have lost just about everything, because they have lost their families. We have so many exciting things up our sleeve, but all with the goal of raising awareness and engaging churches to be a part of the rescue process. There is such a TREMENDOUS need to get the light of Christ and the truth of His Word to these hopeless children. The big leap of faith for us is not changing ministries and career paths because this is our passion. This is the most natural thing in the world for us to be doing for the rest of our lives. We can't NOT do it! The step into the deep for us is that we will be raising support for the organization and for our living expenses for the next few years. We recently went to a seminar on support raising. One of the things we looked at was a verse in Luke 8 where is says that as Jesus and His disciples were doing their ministry, they were supported by the provision of others. Jesus who had all the wealth in the world at His disposal chose to live this way. As I sat at this seminar, I wrote down, "Lord, how ludicrous that our fear of this one thing - fundraising- would keep us from the biggest call you have ever put on us. How silly that fear of this one thing would keep us from our passion and our purpose." Risky? Yes, but Carl and I don't want to live with regret. We're diving in!

Collins and Riley - Friends After 6 Months

Collins' Gymnastics Video

Ok, here's the youtube video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jIRcy7dKWOc

Our Funny Girl

Oh, so many funny moments with Collins in daily life....She went to a birthday party this week of a friend at school. I was telling her that they were going to JUMP at the party, and jumping on a trampoline is probably her favorite thing to do. When I told her, her eyes lit up, she ran over to hug me and said, "Mommy, I'm SO proud of you!" Even though she is pretty much fluent in English, she gets things a bit mixed up! Today we were at Walmart getting groceries. She loves jello and I was letting her pick out the color she wanted. When we spotted the green one, she jumped up and down, grabbed it, hugged it and said to the jello, "You're just so cute". Now how CUTE is that? Recently we were in the car and she said, "Mommy, I'm swinging my sucker in a circle." Pretty amazing considering she didn't know a word of English when we got her 6 months ago. She's going to school everyday at a Lutheran church, and learning so much. She's started gymnastics and I definitely think this may be her thing because she is built like a gymnast, is very strong and has no fear. I'll try to post her attempt at a backbend that didn't quite happen....Spencer has put it on youtube thinking it'll get so many hits we're gonna make some $. Its pretty funny. When she gets mad at any of us, she'll still say, "I'm gonna tell EVERYBODY!" as she cuts her eyes and points her finger. It's hard for me to wrap my mind around how far we've come in 6 months. We've had hard days, but her progress in learning how to behave has been amazing to me. She hasn't had one behavior problem in school and now goes to her Sunday School class or Awanas and just fits right in. We've had another little adopted girl come over for a playdate as well so life is beginning to resemble what would be normal for a 5 year old child. A friend was trying to tell Collins the other day that her brothers name was Conner not Tonna. She said, "Cowwins no like Conner. Cowwins likes Tonna!" I guess she can call him whatever she wants. The other day we were riding in the car in silence and all of a sudden I hear her little husky voice, "Mommy, you make Cowwins happy." That was a precious, precious moment for me. Being the main disciplinarian because I'm with her all the time, we've had some tough moments. She has very strong will. She can get so mad at me, and yet she rebounds quickly and turns into this sweet little buttercup. We are blessed beyond reason with this child. I had wondered if she was aware of her cleft lip scar, and just this week she told me she wanted to get her lip fixed and have a lip like mine. It saddened me that she even knew that she was "different", and I know it will be painful to have it all restored. We are going to Chapel Hill to meet with a cranio facial team very soon to begin the process. Overall, Collins is blooming and its a lot of fun to watch.

Happenings....

We are so busy doing life its hard to find time to blog. I'm down with the flu right now, so here goes....Collins continues to progress in a million ways. She keeps us laughing most of the time. Her english is phenomenal considering we got her less than 5 months ago. One of the biggest blessings for her and us right now is her school. She is going to 1/2 day kindergarten at a Lutheran church five days a week. She wouldn't let me leave her there for about the first week, but we learned a little song "Mommy Comes Back", and finally it registered with her that I would always come back for her. Yesterday was the first time she would let me leave her in Sunday School, and last Wednesday was the first time she let me leave her in Awanas. So....big, big steps forward! Tomorrow we're going to Arkansas to my mom's house. She has been packing her little pink suitcase for weeks. My cousin Beth, adopted a little girl from China years ago. Her name is Jade and she and Collins' birthdays are 2 days apart in the same year! Beth and I went on this journey together so many years ago, and here we are about to bring our girls together. Faith becoming sight.....The other day Collins wanted to sit in the very back seat in our van and I was saying "no". She said, "My cousin Jade telled me to sit in the bat (back)." Her english words are pretty much right, but one that makes me laugh that she says often is "crelly", which is "pretty". She is playing basketball, the only girl on the team. She cracks us up because she plays it just like Spencer did at that age....like it is football! Knocking people over, and yelling at them if they try and guard her. She's competitive and aggressive in sports, and then yet she's lovable and sweet and girly all at the same time. She spends alot of time changing outfits, accessorizing, doing her hair....The other day she saw my wedding picture and wondered about it. I told her that was the day Daddy and Mommy got married. She burst out with, "Where's mine?" I explained this wasn't going to happen until she grew up, to which she burst out crying that it wasn't happening now....Oh my....She's gone to such extremes in such a short time, to having nothing to having so much. Reality hasn't quite set in that she doesn't get everything that she wants. I keep telling her thats not how life works out here, and she's slowly getting it I think. That has been such a lesson for me, just relating that to my relationship with Christ. He gives me millions of things everyday, every breath that I take, and yet I dare to get upset when He doesn't give me something I want? Yikes....Being an orphan, Collins learned to be a blamer. If someone does something she doesn't like (especially Carl or me), she'll cut those beautiful eyes, lift her chin up and say, "I tell Tonna (Conner)"! Recently she has started saying, "I tell everybody!" Last night, she got really upset when we asked her to go upstairs to get her bath. The situation went south, and finally after I had her in bed she was still crying. I said, "Collins, Mommy and Daddy love you. We give you food, and toys and drive you to school....and you threw a fit just because we asked you to take a bath?" A few seconds later came the sweetest little, "I sowwy, Mommy!" We're finally able to reason with her and she understands. Those outbursts are becoming few and far between, but I like posting them in here so I can remember them. They can be pretty funny. One night she was mad at me for making her brush her teeth (geeez) and she told me she was mad at me. Then she blurted out, "I LOVE SAVANNAH!" Savannah is Spencer's girlfriend who she absolutely adores. I asked her if she loved Spencer? No. Mommy and Daddy? No. Conner? No. Just "I LOVE SAVANNAH". Another day she was mad at me for not letting her wear flip flops in the snow. She was in time out in the kitchen. I had gone upstairs, and when I started coming back down, she was standing at the bottom of the stairs. Her hand was on her hip, hip out, chin high and eyes cut. She said, "Cowwins no love Mommy, Cowwins love Daddy!" She's hilarious..... Friday was a hard day. Friends of ours, Cody and Maria Whittaker, lost their little 4 year old daughter to cancer. Carl and I had an appointment with them at noon on Friday. When we pulled up and got to their front door, we knew she had just died because we could hear them crying. Standing in Susana's bedroom, seeing her tiny body, I had such a strong sense that she was not there. And she wasn't, she was experiencing "absent from the body, present with the Lord." How any family can go through something like this without the hope of Christ is beyond me. After about 30 minutes, I had to go pick up Collins. I ended up taking their 6 year old, Isabela, with me to spend the day with us. We picked up 2 other friends. It was neat to see God use Collins' bouncy personality and these other little girls to help Isabela through a very tough day. You can check out the blog of Susana's story at howcantheyhear.org.