For all who gave to help the orphans, take a look at the following pictures…
The formula, drum set, and tricycle for the orphanage
Big Brother Joey packing up the bottles to take the orphanage
When our friend Amanda traveled to China in November, she was able to visit with the orphanage director to find out the needs of this specific orphanage that was caring for her son as well as Samuel. She was told that they needed bottles for babies with cleft lip and palate and were unable to locate them locally. Through some confusion and lack of information, I ordered a brand of bottles whose name I was familiar with for specialty bottles. Unfortunately, they also make standard bottles and nipples for healthy babies…I didn’t know that. After realizing I had ordered the wrong supplies and only had 1 week until we left for China, I panicked. God had this whole situation covered though! I made a frantic call to an amazing friend I used to work with who is such a determined go-getter. She quickly contacted a rep that was able to provide 60+ bottles for these babies. I contacted a Dallas hospital that just happened to have 10 specialty bottle nipples that were “last season” and unable to be charged out. We took all these FREE supplies to China as well as the things we had purchased! WOW! Reps and local hospitals graciously helping babies on the other side of the world. Our suitcases were packed tight, but thankfully these bottle supplies were lightweight. That’s not it though…
Our first morning in Guangzhou, a very sweet lady walked over to us during breakfast. She shared a quick introduction of herself and her beautiful baby girl whom she had adopted a week earlier. We quickly realized a neat reason for our meeting. Her baby girl has a cleft lip/palate. Mandy had been unable to find more than disposable bottles for her daughter before she left for China. We had several donated supplies in our suitcase. Chance? I think not! We agreed to meet up later so that we could share some bottles…and begin an encouraging friendship. She and her husband have been a great encouragement to our family and entertained us with great conversation over a delicious meal while in China!
Yum! Just look at the choices!
Mandy, Lila, Samuel, Mommy
I was anxious to share with Amanda the neat meeting we had at breakfast that morning. I received a quick message back from Amanda…asking if our new friend was named Mandy. Well, YES! The story only got more interesting to find out that Amanda and Mandy are friends! What? God is amazing! So, we were able to share a few supplies with our new friend as well as take many to the orphanage too.
It’s crazy to me that we made friends while in a foreign country, but even more amazing to have mutual friends! We are still amazed that God connected us to our friends Amanda and Mandy. They have both been a great source of wisdom and faithful prayer warriors too! We also met up with a couple from our hometown who were there adopting their 2 little girls. CRAZY! And we made several other friends from various states. The adoption community is so intriguing and close-knit.
When Russ had visited with Samuel’s nanny on Gotcha Day, she mentioned that formula is a constant need. Much like the cost of formula here in the US, it can be quite expensive. So, the store requires that you pay for it at the register before actually picking up the cans to leave. Because many of our friends and family had given to help these precious orphans, we were able to purchase 12 cans of formula to take to the orphanage when we visited. That’s a lot of formula! In fact, because we purchased so much, we received a “bonus”. We were also given a drum set and a tricycle!! And even though Russ was loaded down with bags and bags of formula (we had walked to the store), he managed to carry the drum set and tricycle too! Yes, I helped a little, but I was also carrying Samuel, so my strong man carried most. And we’re pretty sure the lady at the store was laughing at the thought of all he would be carrying. In the end, God multiplied that money! We walked about with formula and toys!
The load we took the orphanage required 2 suitcases and a couple additional bags. Thank you to all those who prayed and gave. Because of your faithful support, God provided far more than we had envisioned! And to the parents of Joey’s friends, who gave at his birthday party, please show your little ones the pictures. Every single penny that was given has been passed on to provide for those children waiting for their families! No gift is too small. God listens to your prayers!
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