that's what they said... links helpful to disability ministry {7-3-12}

Just a few gems I wanted to share before I leave for Taiwan later today...

Ooooh, You Said Sin by my dear friend and writing colleague Jennifer Bleakley
Once our children are aware of their sin they will begin to better understand the sacrifice Jesus made on their behalf. They will begin to recognize their need for a Savior. If our children are taught that they are basically good little people who occasionally make a bad choice, they may never come to see and appreciate their desperate need for the Savior.

Pleading With God in Prayer by Tim Challies
Take heart and to see that the Lord is accomplishing something through your prayers, something greater than if he were to give you what you desire apart from fervent, tear-filled prayers. He is creating within you a greater dependence on him, he is establishing greater communion with you, he is preparing you for the final answer to that prayer, and he is giving you the privilege of cooperating with him in this world. That he is forcing you to wrestle with him in prayer flows out of his goodness, not out of ambivalence or miserliness.

Dear Parents in Our Son's Class by Patrick's parents
You will not be told anything about our son by school staff. Federal law (HIPPA) prevents school personnel from divulging any diagnoses of any children that have been placed in your child’s classroom. So, because we realize you may hear your child speak about our son, or you might notice his differences yourself, in the spirit of inclusion and understanding, we want to tell you a little bit about him and his diagnosis of autism.

what I want you to know: being a Christian isn't a free pass to judge other by Mallory via Rage Against the Minivan
I want people to know that Christians aren't always nice. I, along with my family, was ostracized from my church at the age of 14 because kids in my youth group and the adults that led the group began spreading rumors about me, such as that I was faking my seizure disorder for attention. The fact that kids were cruel was expected; after all, I was in high school, but adults hurting me was something unknown.

Don't Lose the Quiet Ones by Jennelle on Lead Small
Checking into church is painfully awkward for him. When the greeter tries to give him a high-five or tease him by sticking his name tag to his forehead, I can visibly see him fighting his primal urge to run and hide in a bathroom stall or curl up in the back seat of our family van and hide.

a spark of bravery by Lisa Leonard
I remember a sunny Saturday when David was a baby. Steve and I {although we had no money} decided to splurge and go to Baja Fresh for lunch. I gathered diapers and food for David’s diaper bag while Steve strapped him into his car seat and off we went. When we arrived, Steve went up to order while I found a highchair for David and grabbed a table for us. While I was getting organized, I saw two boys, about 8 and 10 years old laughing and pointing to David. I couldn’t hear what they were saying, but I could tell they had noticed his small hand with only two fingers and they were making fun of him.

Seeing is believing by my dear friend Susan, the Carpool Queen
Where the world sees he can’t, I see He can. Where the world sees disability, I see His great ability to radiate grace and love and compassion and mercy and strength through the countenance of His children.

A New York Times columnist takes a look at our eugenic past and future by my friend John Knight
Finally, we have nothing to fear from the science behind those [genetic] tests [to diagnose disabilities in the womb], because they can also be used for a great deal of good. But in this culture until everyone understands the inherent dignity and value of unborn babies, those tests will be used to find and destroy children who would otherwise be born.

10 Ways to Reach Out to People with Disabilities in Your Community by Joni & Friends
People with disability often face a higher risk of being excluded in their churches and community, but you can make a difference! Here are 10 easy ways for you to start reaching out to people affected by disability in your community

The Archibald Project: an amazing non-profit and new friends who will be traveling with us!

Sometimes a lot of the time I try to tell God my plans instead of waiting on His.

When will I learn that God's plans are not only better but more wonderful and wild than my imagination could fathom?

Fifteen months ago, I heard about a family who was trying to adopt a young fellow with Down syndrome from Russia. I blogged about them. I prayed for them. I encouraged you to join me. And in the process, not only did I get to rejoice when Kirill came home, but I also become friends with Tesney, Kirill's momma.

As we prayed for Kirill and the Davis family, God began pulling our hearts toward the international adoption of a child with special needs. Before that, we thought we would adopt a sibling group domestically. (We still haven't ruled that out.) Before Kirill, we thought the list of special needs we would consider was short; as we prayed and as we serve in special needs ministry, that list grew.

As we posted on the blog and Facebook about these plans, a friend of mine read those posts. Georgeanna had been in Bible study with me a couple years ago, and because she had read about our desire to adopt internationally, she knew we might be open to being Zoe's family. She is the one who messaged me back in January about the three-month-old baby girl who is now our daughter and who we will meet next week.

After we started the process to be Zoe's family, Tesney - remember, she's Kirill's momma - posted on Facebook and her blog about this amazing, young non-profit called The Archibald Project. Their mission is "to save lives through adoption, primarily through the use of photographing & filming families as they meet and finalize their adoptions, domestically & internationally. The Archibald Project uses their media to promote & educate the general public on the needs of adoption and accurately portray the adoption process." 

I began emailing with Whitney to see if they could travel with us and document our adoption, but we didn't think it would work. They couldn't travel with any families until July, and we thought we would be in Taiwan by the end of June.

As you know, weather delays and other obstacles changed our schedule to July. Which means... well, how about you just read the words below that they posted this week on their Facebook page:


Yep, we're that family.

I'm in awe of this story God has weaved together in a way that I never would have imagined. 

Thankful that none of my original plans have worked out, because this is waaaaaaaay better.

our trip in Taiwan {for you detail-loving folks}


Now that you know about our travel days (see this post and this post), here are the details I can share about what happens in between.

I'll tell you a lot about the in-between in future posts - after and even during the trip - so I won't give you every tidbit here. Plus much of our schedule will be made up day by day, so I don't even know what it is yet!

We'll have three days in Taitung (pronounced tie-dong), which will include: meeting Zoe, keeping her with us at our hotel, going to the Department of Household Registry to formally change her address from the children's home to our home, possibly meeting her birth mother (most families have this opportunity, but it's iffy at this point for us; we're praying it will work out, though), attending the church pastored by the husband of the missionary family we know and love there (including a baby dedication prayer time for us and two families from Nashville who will also be there to bring home their babies), and checking out Zoe's birth city.

We'll then have three days in Taipei, which will include: picking up translated documents, being interviewed by US officials at Zoe's visa appointment, picking up Zoe's visa, and doing touristy stuff (planning to eat at neat places, visit a temple, maybe go to the zoo, go to Taipei 101 which was the tallest building in the world from 2004-2010, try not to get lost on the metro system, maybe go to a museum... we'll see!). 

And that's the trip!

our return trip to bring Zoe home {for you detail-loving folks}


Earlier today I posted about the trip we'll be taking to get to Zoe. This post gives the details for bringing her home. Then this evening I'll post the details of what I can share about what will happen between getting her in our arms and bring her home.

The THREE of us will go to Zoe's visa appointment at AIT (the US's embassy-like entity in Taiwan) at 1:00pm on July 10 (1:00am for you East Coast folks).

The THREE of us will - God willing - pick up Zoe's visa on the morning of July 11 (the evening of July 10 for the US East Coast). Pray that nothing delays the availability of those documents, because they are required for travel.

The THREE of us will enjoy the rest of the day of the 11th in Taipei.

The THREE of us will arrive at the airport in Taipei around 8:30 or 9pm. (Okay, Eastern folk. I think you have the hang of it by now. Just dial back 12 hours, and you have your time.)

The THREE of us will fly out of Taipei at 11:30pm on July 11.

The THREE of us will land about 12 hours later in San Francisco, at 8:30pm on July 11.

(Why, yes, we will feel like we traveled back in time by arriving three hours earlier than we left. It's called time zone magic.)

The THREE of us will do our best not to be the annoying family on the red-eye flight, leaving from San Francisco at 10:48pm (still earlier than we left Taipei) and arriving in Chicago at 5:00am on July 12.

The THREE of us will then take the last leg of our trip, leaving Chicago at 6:30am and arriving in Raleigh at 9:30am on July 12.

(Several friends and family members are meeting us at the airport at Terminal 2 baggage claim. I have too much to do between now and then to personally invite each family I would, so if you're reading this, consider yourself invited. :))

The FIVE of us will be together as a family for the first time.

It will be worth it, but we will have been traveling for 22 hours. (Maybe it'll seem like nothing after the 36 hours of travel to get to Zoe?) 

We will be tired.

But we will be a family. 

And we will return to our home here in Raleigh as a family.

Praise be to God.