I’m sure our journey will seem more and more profound as time passes, but even now, it strikes me as miraculous. Some days I’m even overwhelmed with the thought of what God has done in our lives. Sometimes I can just sit and savor one or two notes of the symphony that’s before me.
Our journey of infertility, not to mention completing the crazy path toward adoption, were years we’d never trade, even though they were mingled with plenty of sorrow, pain, and waiting on the Lord. Both of us were taught life lessons by the Exalted Teacher that no one else could have designed. We had so much to learn about Him and our frailty!
Throughout the lengthy journey, countless people walked alongside us during those years and prayed with fervent hearts. And then God chose to answer their many prayers in such a surprising way! And now we all rejoice together because He answered so clearly and vividly in the kind of way that only He can.
A new chapter is about to begin, folks! Actually, any day now our son could enter the world. But before we enter parenthood full time, we wanted to say thank you!
When we were in the throes of the adoption process, our LDPBC family prayed with and for us so faithfully! They never stopped asking us how things were going and checking in on us. God used them to surround us with love in a very tangible way! When we almost lost Baby Downing at 8 weeks, they were also surrounding us with love and prayers.
Our ABEFC family walked with us through the many ups and downs over countless summers from the very beginning, as well as re-confirming that we should go to Asia Pacific when we weren’t sure that my O- blood type was too much of a risk for giving birth (remember the chaos that happened right before we left in March??). At the ladies missions luncheon, they also heaped on the blessings of a a sturdy backpack/diaper bag and a wrap to carry him in—they knew we’d mostly be on a motorbike once he was born! Plus, they collected a gift to help cover the extra expenses of the special shots I’d need when we finally got to Asia Pacific.
Our WCC family sent us an amazing package full of baby stuff, plus they also collected a gift in abundance to help get Baby Downing anything he might need! So, among other things, we bought him a crib and a changing table too. Plus, they are just a loving bunch of people who we know will never forget us! We know they continue to pray with fervent hearts and it makes our hearts strong for each new day.
Wait, there’s more!!! I know, huh, it seems overwhelming and over the top!
Payton’s family also threw Baby D his first shower before we left California and sent us off with some small and adorable memories to take along as well as blessing us with the ability to get him whatever he needed once across the ocean! And then they also sent us a care package—I am not really sure if I could have survived the rest of this pregnancy without Altoids!!! It’s like people kept hugging us all the way across the ocean.
And then, the ladies here threw us a shower. They made sure our basic necessities, like our diaper/wipes stock was adequate for the first few weeks. Plus they got him some other helpful and very cute tools and toys.
And then….(yes, the list continues!) Joanna sent us a package that just made us even more excited to meet little Downing…plus the fancy dark chocolate definitely made us feel special!!
And we have other friends who said they have packages in the mail…
And we have so many other friends who helped us out in hundreds of ways, whether it was a place to stay when we were on the road or offering their blood if I needed some on hand when the baby was born! All of these are stacked up into a ginormous pile in our minds.
Are you overwhelmed yet?????
We are!
“To Him who is able to do exceedingly, abundantly beyond all we can ask or think…”—yep, that’s the God we serve!
So, this blog post wasn’t just an exercise to list amounts or stuff, but to remind ourselves (and you guys too) both in the here and now–and later–that when God decides he’s going to do something, He can blow us away!
Right now…
>Both checkups were already covered, as well as the entire hospital bill for Baby Downing’s birth (in AP they have a price list—awesome, huh?!)
>We were able to hire an amazing doula (birth helper) who is going to make sure we can bridge the language gap and bring our son into the world.
>Both (expensive) Rogham shots are also completely covered (it’s necessary for my O- blood type)
>The nursery is stocked in abundance (well, I’m sure diapers will disappear fast, but we can restock)
> Our hearts are fully convinced that we are exactly where God wants us
> We are sure that He used hundreds of people to remind us what a mighty God He is
> We know that only He knows the plans He has for us, down to the specifics of the timing of our journey
We know that the road ahead will be rough and hard, but it’s a beautiful thing to be hit with a wave of abundant kindness of this magnitude.
Thank you for being a part of our lives!
Isn’t our God amazing!