The Tender Heart of a Child

Oh,the tender heart of a child! Meredith had been tucked in and prayers said and now it was Madeline's turn. As I go to Madeline's room Meredith is getting back in bed. As I tuck her in for a second time I notice she is hiding something under the covers. I look. It is Meredith's favorite outfit that she wore at her first birthday that she hung in her closet for Melina. She is longing for her "little sister". I tell her that she can't sleep with it and bend to kiss her when she bursts into tears crying for Melina! I am amazed at the amount of love that she already has for her little sister and the longing in her heart to have her here. We prayed together for Melina through her tears, but as I sit hear typing I can still hear Meredith talking to God and Melina, expressing her desire for her. I am thankful for how God is shaping our family through this and the love He is growing in our hearts!

Rollercoasters and Baby Detergent

Let the ride begin or should I say continue? Just as quickly as we get excited about the possibility of being in the February batch we find out that we are not. It seems as if we are going to be waiting until March for our referral. I am at peace with that and know that God is totally in control! His timing will be perfect. As time continues the longing to meet, see, hold, kiss and love Melina only grows. She is in our thoughts and prayers daily. I can sometimes imagine what she may look like and then it is gone. It will be nice to have a picture of her precious face to put with her name and our prayers. I imagine the wait will be even more difficult once the referral comes. At the same time it will pass quicker with all the preparations for travel needing to be done. At least we will be doing something to bring her home.
Speaking of doing, this past weekend Barry got a few totes of baby clothes down from the attic. I had given just about everthing away and that which I did not give away unfortunately reminded me just how much of a spit up baby Meredith was! When I put it away they were clean, but it is amazing how over 7 years spit up shows up again! YUCK! Most of them went in the trash. There were a few things that I could save and those I washed. As the girls and I walked through Target to get baby detergent I was wondering if there was such a thing as HE baby detergent. I was surprised to find the Method brand that is high efficiency compatible. It is wonderful! Let me tell you, they have come a long way in the last 7 years. I just remember the Dreft that hardly had any scent to it. The smell of those clothes is divine. There is something wonderful, peaceful and warm about the smell of baby. It has been so long and we are ready to welcome all of that. You should see the girls. Meredith was eagerly hanging up Melina's outfits in "their" closet and putting things away in her dresser while Madeline had baby blankets pressed up to her nose inhaling the wonderful smell of baby. She wants to hold her and be able to bathe her and have a "baby sister".
So we are ready and while we are waiting we will pray and enjoy the wonderful smell of baby detergent until she gets here! Then it will be stinky diapers! I can't wait to see how eager Madeline is then! :)

"Rumors" are Flying!

The rumors are flying from the Rumor Queen! The Rumor Queen has a website called ChinaAdoptTalk.com and she somehow compiles information that she gathers from different adoption agencies about referrals, dates and travel appointments. She then rates them on how "reliable" they are.....Well, "rumor" has it that there are at least 3 agencies that are saying the October 17th IS included in this next batch of referrals that will probably be out next week!! I am getting very excited...a very controlled excited. Even after the extremely long wait I am having a hard time believing that it is actually happening and that we could be going to China very soon to bring our little girl home! She is in my thoughts constantly and it is difficult to concentrate on other things.
On Feb. 3 our church is having a garage sale to help raise money for our adoption. I am so grateful to all of you for your hard work, your excitement in our excitement and your love and prayers.
This week I have been at Mom and Dad's helping. Mom had a stint removed from her kidney. The cancer is not gone so she will have to resume chemo in several weeks. We are not looking forward to it because it is a very toxic one. Please continue to pray for her. Dad is still hanging on. He has good days and bad. Susan and I have been able to help with bills and office stuff for him, but it sure causes him much anxiety. The hope of him being able to meet Melina is definitely there especially since it seems likely that we will be in the next batch.
I was telling Barry on Sunday that I am more ready than I have ever been before. I have heard others talking about "their daughter" that they needed to bring home. I don't know if I can articulate the feeling, but I had not understood that exactly. I couldn't think of her yet that way. I knew we were adopting a child, but I didn't have a connection, even though we/I had been praying for her and her birth mother for a while. For some reason, this Sunday I was overcome with an urgency of needing to get to her and realizing that "our daughter", the daughter that God had chosen for us before the foundation of the world, was waiting for us to bring her home.

New Links

I have added a new link to our church that I have grown to truly love! I also had the link for Shaohannah's Hope wrong so I think I got that fixed. Please visit our church website and follow the link to resources and download Richard Pratt's messages. I have not been able to listen to them all, but they have ministered and encouraged Barry and many others in our church. Also check out our Worship Leader's new album. It is fabulous! You will not be disappointed. I don't want to offend anyone, but it is not your typical church release...it is very professionally done.
Today, I finished staining a new dresser for Meredith and Melina's room. It is not perfect, but I like it. I told a friend today that I threw out my perfectionism a while ago. Life is more enjoyable if things don't have to be perfect! Most of you all will admit I still have some recovering to do, I know!
"My name is Shanna Ginn and I am a recovering perfectionist and Oh! so much else!" :)
I love you all and thank you for your prayers.

What to Pray For

As the time nears my emotions are so up and down. In order for us to be included in this next batch the CCAA would have to process 20 days. They have not processed that many days since September of 2005. They have processed 19 days twice since then, but all other months were below 19. So, my prayer is that by some miracle they process 20 days and we are included in this next batch that will probably come out the first week of February. My father's health is declining. I think it would be very special for him to at least get to see Melina. At the same time I know in my heart that God's timing is perfect and I am trusting Him on that!
Also, please pray that Melina's heart is being prepared for us. As I have been reading on attachment issues it makes my heart break to think of all the loss that she is going to be experiencing and has already experienced, even in receiving a family! I pray that she will be able to bond with us and that family and friends will be understanding of how we have to treat her simply because she has had so much loss. I was telling my girls how I would let them cry in their cribs if they didn't want to go to bed when Mommy and Daddy wanted them to. And it was okay. They would eventually calm down and go to sleep, but we will not be able to do that with Melina. She needs to learn that we are not going to leave her, that she can trust us and we will be there for her.
I am also reading all the lists of what to bring, what to remember.....it is overwhelming!! Please pray that we will be able to get everything together and that our trip will be a pleasant one. We will be taking Meredith with us and I pray that she will be strong and be able to persevere without whining through the long days. She is so excited and she is going to be a big help! I cannot wait to see her face when she finally gets to meet this precious sister of hers that she has been praying for for so long! For Madeline: that she will be a big help at home to Aunt Susan and she will not be anxious. She will learn to trust in Jesus.
There is so much going on...I wish I could include everything. Please remember us in your prayers and I am so thankful for all of you!

Mounting Excitement!

Ooh Boy! The excitement is mounting. I have suppressed so many emotions these past 15 months that as it gets closer the emotions are swelling up as lava in a volcano!
I just visited someones blog that received there referral today! How exciting it is to see other families finally hearing the news about their girls! This particular family's LID was September 26,2005. That is only 21 days away from our LID. There is news that the latest batch of referrals includes September 28th! If that is the case then we might be included in the next batch! Whew! What will I do?
The CCAA (Chinese Center of Adoption Affairs) has not updated their website so I do not know the official dates. Oh, I am excited! I suppose that now might be a good time to start getting ready. I am ready to do some shopping!

God's Call to "Maintain Justice"

5 Is this the kind of fast I have chosen,

only a day for a man to humble himself?

Is it only for bowing one's head like a reed

and for lying on sackcloth and ashes?

Is that what you call a fast,

a day acceptable to the LORD ?
6 "Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:

to loose the chains of injustice

and untie the cords of the yoke,

to set the oppressed free

and break every yoke?
7 Is it not to share your food with the hungry

and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—

when you see the naked, to clothe him,

and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?
8 Then your light will break forth like the dawn,

and your healing will quickly appear;

then your righteousness [a] will go before you,

and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard.
9 Then you will call, and the LORD will answer;

you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.

"If you do away with the yoke of oppression,

with the pointing finger and malicious talk,
10 and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry

and satisfy the needs of the oppressed,

then your light will rise in the darkness

and your night will become like the noonday.

Isaiah 58:5-10

The reasons for adopting are numerous and difficult to include in just one post. The reasons listed in this post go far deeper than simply wanting a larger family because I think they are more fun. It goes to the heart...my heart and also Barry's. It is a yearning to know and understand the heart and love of God and do something that doesn't come easy for me: to love another. I know God loves me and I have to continually preach that to myself throughout the day and life in general, but I certainly do not understand "how high, or deep, or long or wide His love is for me." I wish I did. If I did understand, life would definitely be different and my reaction to life would be different too!

God loved us even when we were not His own. By that I mean of the chosen Israelite heritage. He adopted us in and made us His. In Hosea, God says, "I will call them 'my people' who are not my people; and I will call her 'my loved one' who is not my loved one.."

In a sense, we are calling Melina "our own" and "our loved one" though she is not "ours".

And so, we desire to "loose the chains of injustice, to feed her, to clothe her, to shelter her, and to love her" .

I long that through this adoption of "Melina" that God would fill our family's heart with such a deep love for her, though she is not flesh of my flesh, and that we would all be nearer to God, and the understanding of His great love for us. Also, by doing so, we are bringing in one who was "outside" into our covenant family, into the wonderful covenant blessings that will also belong to her. I pray that she would grow up to know and understand also how great the Father's love is for her and desire to serve Him.

Do you hear the change in tone or see the light getting brighter as you read the above passage at verse 8. It is so hopeful and exciting and I love it. God has used this passage more than any other to encourage me in our process. When I have wondered through this long wait if I am doing the "right thing", I read this and say, "Yes! This is the heart of God and I long to know it!"

A Message From Daddy

Much of what has been written to date on this blog has been the thoughts of my wonderful wife. She has done a great job of sharing "our" reasons, thoughts, feelings, etc. However, I thought I might also write a few words as well to provide a male perspective to those who may be interested.

I can say honestly that when we started the whole adoption process I was quite content with the little family God had given me. I was not as excited about this as Shanna was because life was comfortable. There were many thoughts that kept going through my head - "God has given us two wonderful kids. Why do we need another? I work hard enough to support the ones we have. Will I have to work harder to support another? How will this affect our current family dynamics. I enjoy the relationships I have with my girls. Will this adversely affect my relationships with them."

One day Shanna showed me a video about the waiting children in China and I was moved to act. It stirred me to my soul. I had to do something about what I saw. So I told Shanna I was ready to move forward with the adoption process. We moved ahead and Shanna got all our paperwork done - I just signed where she told me to.

Almost since the time I became a believer I have believed in the doctrine of adoption - God adopting us into his family, making us his children. I saw this as an opportunity to quit thinking about the gospel and do something about it. We are to be agents in bringing God's Kingdom to the world around us. By going to China and adopting a girl we know nothing about, we believe that we are fulfilling God's command "to be fruitful and multiply." Since God has not given us more biological children, we have taken a path that we believe will produce more spiritual children. By taking in Melina, we are taking in a child that may never have heard the gospel since she is coming from China. In my own words, these are not Shanna's, I believe that we are on a "rescue" mission to bring one of God's own children home. My prayer is that we would love and nurture Melina, show her Jesus and she would produce "spiritual" children of her own and extend the Kingdom of God.