...And you may ask yourself - What is that beautiful house? And you may ask yourself - Where does that highway go? And you may ask yourself - Am I right? ...am I wrong? And you may tell yourself - My God!...what have I done? (Talking Heads, 1980)
Nine years ago Mark and I set off on a journey. It was a journey that would embed the children of China into our hearts forever and teach us that God's plan is WAY better than our plan. It has been a journey into faith, obedience and abundant blessings. Over the past nine years we have seen God's hand at work in our lives as we traveled through the wilderness in search of His plan for our lives upon this earth. In April of this year God revealed the next chapter of the Lucas story. Join us as we embark once again on another leg in this Marvelous expedition.
Well, - I have good news and bad news. The good news is that I can still update the blog. The bad news is that my computer crashes every time I try to attach pictures. So, you will have wait until I get to a new city or go home or find a new computer or just throw this one out the window before I can post pics. However – here is the 411 of our day.
Today was a BIG day. Today we went back to DongGuan. CFGM arranged for Mikey’s foster family to be there as well as two other girls, ‘Ruby’ and ‘Maribeth’ that have been placed with families. We met at the orphanage and had some time to just spend talking with the family and the other children. Mikey was a little nervous at first – but soon realized that he was not staying so he began playing with his foster sisters. It was a great time for Mikey and we felt so blessed to be able to have this closure for him. We exchanged some gifts, ate oranges and bananas and then we took everyone out to McDonalds for lunch. The little ones had a blast.
‘Maribeth’ is sooo beautiful. She was so shy but has the most radiant smile when she finally smiles. I wish she had spoken to us a bit more but I could tell she has a very sweet disposition.
‘Ruby’ – Ruby was such an impressive little girl. You couldn’t help but to feel happy when she was in the room. She had such a big smile and engaged us in conversation. She speaks pretty good English and understood quite a bit of what I said to her. She made sure to remind me that her birthday is coming up and to tell her mom and dad! When I asked her what she wanted she said “I don’t care – maybe just a cake”. She is a delightful little girl and we felt blessed to be able to meet her.
Mikey’s foster sisters are incredible! He has 2 sisters. One is 7 and one is 5. My goal is to find homes for both of them now. Let me say that if you saw either girl in person there would be no question that they are very good kids. Neither one has paperwork ready yet – so don’t start emailing me yet - but when it is ready I hope we will be able to find their families. {The little one already someone looking and once they see these pictures it should be a no brainer – right Andrea?}
The 5 year old is an absolute hoot. She hammed it up for me and had a great time at McDonalds with us.
Well, I know all you want is pictures – so here you go. {ha ha made you look…no pictures!}
M,J & Mikey
Here are some more pics from today. Mikey is a big ham and loves to show off for everyone. I think he and Zoe are going to be best buddies for sure.
Today we went to the medical clinic and had his physical and shots done. He had 5 shots and didn't cry. He winced a little – but took them all like a champion.
I don't really know how to describe how well he is doing. He is beginning to test a couple of boundaries – but understands no and takes it all in stride. He keeps wanting to call his foster sister (whose paperwork will be ready in February {Andrea, hint hint}) so he picks up the phone and starts pushing buttons all the time. A quick redirect is all it takes and he is on to something else. The Leapster is a huge hit! He loves that thing and wants to take it with him wherever he goes. I am glad we remembered the headphones so we don't have to listen to it all the time.
We are doing great and can't wait for everyone back home to finally meet this amazing boy.
-M,J&Mikey
Well, we couldn't have asked for a smoother transition. No matter how much we prayed for this day and asked that that Mikey would have a knowing in his heart that we were Mama and Baba - we still had some anxiety. However, once again we shown that He is faithful to His word. Mikey shook hands with us and looked us right in the eyes and said Mama and Baba. Mark picked him up out of his chair and he was all smiles. The first thing he asked us was "Where are my sisters?" Let me tell you - this kid is sharp and boy can he eat! I think he ate half a chicken at dinner! He looks small, but he is solid weight. He probably weighs more than Valerie and Vanessa.
We are getting ready for bed - so let me go ahead and show you what you are waiting to see. I am very proud to introduce to all of you David Michael Lucas - AKA MIKEY.
...with a few modern improvements.
I have no idea how long the Nativity set has been like this - but apparently Zoe thought that our Lord and Saviour might be more comfortable with some furniture in the stable. Those are the wisemen catching up on some sleep on the beds in the back. I imagine the walk to Bethlehem was very tiring and they probably appreciate having a comfortable mattress to sleep on.
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
Unfortunately we can't take the space shuttle to China - that would be really cool - but we have secured dates and airline tickets. We will be leaving Dec 26 and meeting Mikey on the 28th as soon as we get off the plane. Our film entourage (Cherry) will be there to film the entire process.
Stay tuned for more exciting details!
So IF we can get a travel approval quickly and IF we can get a consulate appointment for Dec 29th, then we will be leaving on Dec 17th for Hong Kong. That means we will miss V,V &Z's Christmas karate demonstration and promotion, but hopefully they will forgive us.
Who needs Rumour Queen when you have a CFGM!
Over the past two weeks I have called many, many 'officials' and seemed to be getting nowhere. No one was making any progress and no one would return a call. My friend gave me a whole list of numbers of people who had important titles and direct lines to their desks. I talked to one of them, and she couldn't help me - but pointed me to another that should be able to help. I got lots of voicemail and no call backs. By 5:00 I was so ready to just hang it up. I was frustrated, angry and wallowing in self-pity. My CFGM encoouraged me to call the original office (Office A) one more time to see if I could get someone to help me. For whatever reason - I did. Who knew that there was a night shift and that the compassionate people work then?
I talked to a very nice lady who was very helpful and quickly directed me to my new friend Ben. Ben looked up my cable and said everything was in it including the 'missing document'. It had always been there. The missing document was towards the end - but it was there. However - he assured me he would be happy to re-cable the file within a few minutes. Sure enough - within 15 minutes CFGM told me that the A5 was signed and ready to be picked up.
Hmmm - if only Office B had used RULE #9 and looked at the whole scan!
Oh well - on to the next step.
...on our A5
TGFC (Thank God for coffee)
