For Such a Time as This

The Bible is full of stories of men and women who could not have done the great things God called them to without going through previous training and trials. It was those things that made them perfect for what God called them to. Think of Moses being raised in Pheroah's household. Without that he wouldn't have had the education to write the Pentateuch. And Joseph having lived in Egypt for years and rising in power allowed for him to be able to save his family from starvation. Esther could only step in to save her people because she was queen and was able to win her husband's favor. Paul had a strong grasp of the Old Testament due to his training as a Pharisee. Once God opened his eyes to Jesus being Lord, this deep theological education served as his foundation for writing much of the New Testament. I am in no way comparing us to the Bible greats. But what I am saying is that God has completely paved the way and prepared us for this trip. When we started this process, one of the reasons we chose Taiwan was because it wouldn't require a long trip. We had a 6 week trip when we adopted the big boys and didn't want to spend that much time away from our kids. We also picked Taiwan because we knew that it was a well established program that had a manual with a pretty predictable guidline of what to expect. Lifeline Children's Services (our agency) has great training and social workers to help us. We knew what we were signing up for and were content with that. Uganda had so many unknowns and variables that we were looking for something with a little more predictablity. Little did we know that 2020 would be the least predictable year of our lifetimes! Our one week trip to bring Caleb home has turned into 4 weeks. The manual for travel to Taiwan was pretty much thrown out the window. I read it right before we left and more than half of it no longer applied due to new COVID-19 protocols. However, we have seen this movie before. This is adoption 2.0. Thanks to Uganda, we know what it looks like to be in another country for weeks waiting to meet government requirements so you can bring your child home. We know what it is like to be stuck in one house for weeks with foods that aren't your norm. We know what it is like to try to navigate a place while not speaking the language. So this time we were more prepared for this journey. I brought an entire suitcase of foods like peanut butter, gluten free wraps, oatmeal, protien bars, food pouches, etc and activities like marvel bears(orbees), magnatiles, tegu blocks, playdoh, imagine ink, cards, board games, etc. It has kept us busy and well fed on this trip. The hotel has given us some pretty amazing meals but there are times when you just want your comfort foods. Also, my picky eaters haven't liked everything they have provided for us. The kids have been absolutely amazing. They have been so patient and kind. They haven't really even complained about being stuck in quarantine. I fully attribute that to God, prayers, and the fact that we were quarantined this spring. It fully helps that we have a time line. Knowing how much longer you have to do something makes it so much more manageable. Honestly, I think Nathaniel could do just about anything and do it in stride without complaint. However, absolutely no one was sad to pack up our bags and break free to explore the country! God has completely blessed us with a new friend. A friend from Westchase contacted me and told me that one of her friends was currently in Taipei. She connected us and hours of conversation ensued. She has been such a great resource. She has told us which grocery stores carry more american products. Which train stations to go to for different things. Where to buy souveneirs. Where we should eat. Where to get travel cards and tickets for the train to get down to where Caleb lives. Where to take the kids to play. We are going to meet up with her and her kids on Friday at the zoo. God has also provided another friend of a friend in Taichung (where Caleb lives). Their family has graciously offered to pick us up from the high speed train station and take us around the city. I cannot explain what a blessing it is to have a local show you around and truly show you the culture. I don't mind exploring a city on my own but a local knows all the best places to go...including which grocery stores will accept interntational credit cards and have labels in english. :-) Having lived in London, I understand how big cities work. Big cities have their own culture and feel but for the most part the structure is the same. Walking to the MRT (subway) station and getting on the train felt like home. It was second nature to me even if it was a city that I have never been in before. Nathaniel and I went to the grocery store and it was exactly how I expected it to be...small and packed...but full of everything I needed. I love being able to share my love of other cultures and cities with my children. They have been sharing their own observances and of course it amazes me how much they take in and how things that I don't even blink at are noticable to them. Just like with our last adoption, we have experienced and will continue to experience trials. Adoption is HARD! And Satan does not want us to adopt! But we also know that whenever we step out in faith to what God has called us to do he also equips and provides exactly what we need. The many prayers of everyone at home are a huge part of how God works this out. We have felt your prayers moreso now than at any other time in our lives, and we take joy at the fact that God is glorified through this entire experience.

A quarantine life

It's been over a year since our last post and so much has happened. We are now in Taiwan quarantining before we get to meet our son, Caleb. We will be in quarantine for 15 days before we will be allowed to explore Taipei. We will need to get another covid test before we go to see Caleb for the first time.

In the past week, we have received 5 travel visas, took 5 covid tests that all came back negative, traveled on 2 planes for over 24 hours, and settled into our two adjoining hotel rooms in Taipei to begin our quarantine. The kids have been AMAZING! They were all so wonderful on the long travel and just went with the flow. Now that we are settled here we have been enjoying some very interesting and very yummy food. It's not my typical choice of meals but I am loving it. Isaac has decided that he is going to live on noodles, protein bars, apple sauce, and food pouches. Thankfully they have hamburgers on the menu so Elijah is happy.

The last week leading up to travel felt almost impossible. I am not prone to anxiety and stress but it felt like we were hiking up an impossible mountain and I was stressed to the max. Adoption, in general, is complicated but adoption during covid is beyond hard. There are so many new rules and things to do that my head was spinning. We had to have negative covid tests within a certain amount of hours of getting on the plane but testing facilities weren't consistent about test results return time and if we got them back too early then they didn't count, if we got them back late we couldn't get on the plane. And of course we weren't allowed to do the rapid test. Then we also had to have travel visas and they didn't come back in time for us to make our first flight so we had to reschedule to a few days later. Then we had to register on a certain website, get a Taiwanese phone number, and log in and screenshot specific pages before they would even let us get to immigration. It felt like if we missed one small piece the whole tower would crumble. But this all reminded me of the passage from 2 Corinthians 1:8-11

8 For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. 9. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. 10. He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again. 11. You also must help us by prayer, so that many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted us through the prayers of many. 

Our "affliction" was nowhere near what Paul experienced but it was a trial nonetheless. I was reminded  that we were going through the hardship to be reminded that we could only rely on God to make all the details fall into place and that we needed much prayer. I have felt so blessed by all the people praying for us. 

Our hotel has been bigger and nicer than we imagined and the food is great. We expected to lose weight on this trip...now I am thinking that we may come home with a quarantine 15. The people here have been so kind and helpful and have offered to help us every step of the way. They made sure at the airport that everything was filled out properly. The hotel staff has been so kind in making sure that we like our food and don't need anything. Caleb's social worker has called us and offered to have toys, snacks, etc delivered to us if we want it. I couldn't ask for better hospitality in the midst of a pandemic. 

We Skyped with Caleb this morning. We could see a difference in him. He was a lot more emotional and having meltdowns. His foster family said that he is having a hard time with the idea of leaving them and has been acting out more lately. Leaving the family you have lived with for years to go off with virtual strangers is very hard for anyone to process let alone a 5 year old. And I am sure that he doesn't have the words to express all that he is feeling. These next few weeks and months are going to be very hard for him. He is losing a family, culture, food, language (we hope to help him keep it), country, familiar sights and smells, and everything that he is comfortable with. This is the hard part of adoption. In order for a new family to be formed, another family has to be split. We know that this is God's plan for him and for us but it doesn't make it any less hard when going through it. 

If you could please pray for Caleb in this transition. We hope that the week we will spend with him before coming home will help him attach to us but there is still a long road ahead before he feels connected to us. Also, please pray for us in this quarantine time. We are 3 days in and completely content in the moment as we adjust to the time change. But come day 8 I imagine we will be going stir crazy. Isaac, in particular, is an extrovert and hates to sit still and stay indoors. It won't be long before the tears come over not being able to leave this room. I have lots of activities to keep him busy and distracted but they can only last for so long. 

We will post again soon with more updates on how we are all doing. For now we are waiting and praying, which seems to be a common them in adoption. We are thankful for the prayers and support of so many back home!