Gracie's "Gotcha day"

Today is Gracie's gotcha day, meaning it is the day we got her four years ago. I honestly can't believe it was four years ago. She is such a blessing. I can't even imagine my life without her.

For me, Gracie and Titus's "Gotcha days" are like their birthdays. It was the day that they were "Born into" our family. So I want to dedicate this post to Gracie and sharing what a blessing she is to our family and some funny things that happened along the way...
Since we have now had Gracie as a family for four years, I want to share the four funniest stories that happened to Mom and Dad in China. Some of them are slightly unpleasant, but they're amazing to think about anyway. I will start with number four and work up to (what I think is) the funniest.

4. While Mom and Dad were on the plane, Dad gave Mom the money belt. It had ten thousand dollars in it. No, I didn't accidentally type ten instead of one. It really did. They had to bring all that money to finalize the adoption. And they had to bring it all in cash. So once they landed in China, Dad asked Mama to give him a few hundred dollars to exchange for Chinese yen. Mom reached for the money belt (which had been around her waist) and it wasn't there. You can imagine her fright! She said that she grew pale, and when Dad asked her what was wrong, she said quickly, "Nothing!" Praise the Lord, she found the money belt that had fallen past her waist. I was cracking up when Mom told me this story later, but I'm sure it wasn't so funny at the time... This brings us to number two.



3. After one of their first days in China, Mom, Dad, and everyone else in their group went to a Chinese restaurant to eat. Mom said that she has never been so tired in her life. They had gone on just about every tour imaginable, had a time change, and were ready for bed. Everyone was just kind of eating, but not really eating at the same time. Then, all of a sudden, they heard this man vomiting profusely. Mom told me later that it sounded as if he was dieing. It just wouldn't stop. It went on for a few minutes, then a few more. Everyone was so tired and (now!) disgusted that they couldn't eat. So they just started laughing. Finally, after about ten minutes of this ongoing illness, the man just walked out of the restroom like nothing was wrong! By this time, everyone in Mom and Dad's group was laughing hysterically. This poor man was so sick but then acted as if he was perfectly fine. This story rightfully earns the spot of number three in the funniest China stories countdown.

2. This next story I truly wish that I could have witnessed. Mom and Dad were sitting in the lobby of the hotel where they were staying, and a Vietnamese lady noticed that they had adopted Gracie. They started talking, and apparently this lady and her husband were Vietnamese but had moved to Los Angeles, CA. It's funny, because Mom said that these people probably weren't independantly wealthy, but they certainly had enough to go on. So anyway, they were talking to this couple and the lady mentioned that her sister had just had a baby that she couldn't afford to keep. She asked if my parents wanted to adopt the child! Mom was thinking, 'First of all, you don't know us at all, and secondly, why don't you help your own family?!' But she just said, 'Oh, it doesn't really work like that. It would take lots of time.' The lady then looked kind of embarrassed, and I feel a bit bad for her. However, this definitely deserves number two! It is so funny that a whole five minutes after she meets my parents she wants us to adopt her neice of nephew!

1. The funniest thing that happened to my parents in China. Specifically, my mom. Well, she had to use the bathroom soooooooooo badly one day when they were visiting Summer Palace. So she went to a public restroom and nearly passed out. She told me that she has never, ever, ever in her life smelt something so incredibly and pungently AWFUL. Imagine the worst smell ever. This bathroom was probably about ten times worse then that. Not only this, but there was one poor woman who had to sweep everything into the holes that are used like toilets. There is no sewyer system, just a deep, dark hole that is used in place of a normal restroom. At least what we think of as normal. Mom couldn't work up the strength that would be required to go in there without passing out. So she left, but she decided to try one more time. So she went back in, and a girl was eating her lunch in the restroom, right outside the bathroom door!!!!!!! I cannot imagine. This is about as funny as it gets, folks.

Anyway, that summarizes the funny happenings of D & M (Daddy and Mama) in China. Do you agree with my order?? Which do you think is the funniest??

Anyway, back to Gracie baby. I can't even begin to tell you, Gracie, how special you are. You have brightened my life. I pray that as you grow older, you will grow into a young lady who fears the Lord and earnestly seeks His kingdom in faith and love. You are a gem. Next only to Jesus, you are my best friend, my most loyal companion, and my most loving little sweet heart. You are so athletic, talented, beautiful, and special. I love you! We are so blessed that Gracie is in our family, not just because of her talents, but because of her heart. God bless you, Grace Hannah.

Besides being a Christian

Yesterday we had a very fun birthday party for my Grandma Liv. We had it at her new house and we invited lots of her friends. My Grandma had told lots of her friends about our mission trip to Haiti, and while we were talking about it, one genuinely sweet, kind lady turned to me and asked if I was "the one" of my Grandma's grandchildren that was involved in different missions projects and if I was interested in Mission's work. I told her that I was, and after a few minutes of talking, she asked why I wanted to be a missionary. I could have seen this question coming. Seeing this as a good witnessing opportunity, I told her that we were Christians and that I had wanted to be a missionary since I was little. I think she thought this was a somewhat strange response. She replied, "But besides being a Christian, there must have been something else that made you want to do this; some light or something that went off at a certain point. What was it?" This question caught me off guard. I tried to think. Besides being a Christian, what else had brought me to the conclusion that I wanted to be a missionary? The answer: besides being a Christian, nothing. What else could make you want to share the good news other than being commanded by your Savior? We are not requested, but demanded to "Go and make disciples of ALL nations"! We have been commissioned by the King of Kings to spread the good news!

In truth, there is no reason besides being a Christian that I would want to be a missionary. Besides being a Christian, do you need any other motivation?!? This lady told me that sometimes it would be discouraging and disheartening to do service work. But I am reminded of Paul's words to the Philippians...
"For to you it is given on behalf of Christ not only to believe on Him, but also to suffer for His sake,"
It is a priviledge to be able to serve the King of Kings, even if it is disheartening or even scary sometimes. And we should need no other reason to serve Him then knowing that it is His command.


Besides being a Christian, what other motivation do you need?

Speech Tourny morning!

Here are a couple of pictures from the morning of the last day at speech camp.

How Much Greater is God's Power Then the Power of Sin!

There was once a horribly sinful girl. She was selfish, fallen, and proud. So one day, God said to His angels, "We must break her." God molded her heart and led her to Himself. But she continued to sin. Time, after time, after time she would sin. So she ran away. Far, far away would she flee from Father's all-perfect, all-consuming, steadfast love. Then she would sin more. But the LORD brought her back. Each time she would sin, He would tenderly forgive her and bring her back to Himself. Finally, this spoiled little girl realized not only that she had been forgiven, but that she kept on being forgiven every single day. Not only that, but she also realized the enormity of her Father's love. So she tried to be better. She tried not to sin; she tried to do her best. But she still made mistakes. Seemingly she made the same mistakes, over and over. Whenever she would make these mistakes, she would once again turn away from her Father's perfect love. However, He would always come to her again and whisper ever-kindly, "My grace is sufficient for you." Never once did He abandon her. Never once did He forsake her. Whenever she would stumble, fall, or turn away, He would support her, pick her up, or pursue her. Then one day she said to Him, "I will serve you forever and ever." He replied, "I will never leave you nor forsake you."



I know this story, because I am that girl.

Jesus Christ will never leave you nor forsake you. There is no storm that He cannot calm. There is no trouble that is too big for Him. There is no situation that is too great for Him. There is no problem that intimidates Him! Never will He leave you. Although we will stumble and fall, He will pick us up. Joshua 1:9, "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage. DO NOT BE AFRAID, NEITHER BE DISMAYED. For the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go." If you have sinned, do not lose heart. God is still waiting for you with open arms. Time and time again I sin. Oft just moments later I'll make the same horrible mistake. But I know that whatever happens, God still loves me. What a glorious feeling! What an amazing God!

In an attempt to express the inexpressible, a Christian business man kept on his desk the quote, "How great must be the God we need! How much greater is our God then our greatest need!"
Isaac Newton put it another way when he said, "I have made two great discoveries. The first, that I am a very great sinner. The second, Jesus Christ is an even greater Savior."

Jesus Christ's power is soo much greater then any power of sin!

Speech Camp is Over :(

Well, yesterday was the mini speech tournament and end of speech camp and today Mrs. Kovach, Curtis, Reid, Jams, and Jack came to pick up Haley. Speech camp was soo fun!
Here are a few highlights:
~ Haley had her first speech tournament!! (It was a practice one, but great experience all the same :)
~ Getting to spend some time with friends that I haven't seen all summer.
~ Staying up late Wednesday night with Haley, practicing our speeches and trying to cut them down to the given time limit.
~ Seeing how many novices there were. It was so exciting to see how many new people the Lord brought.
~ God being glorified through the speeches. It was fun to see everyone praying together and encouraging one another before they gave their speeches on Thursday.
~ Watching Haley learn more about speech. Now she wants to join NCFCA (National Christian Forensics and Communications Associations) this year!
~ A lot of other things I'm sure too, but those were a few that were exciting.

I am so excited today and I keep jumping around. Talk about hyper!!!!!!!!
If you would like to hear about the first day of speech camp from Haley's perspective, here's the link to her blog: http://bigsisteroffour.blogspot.com/2009/08/speech-camp.html

Please VOTE!!!!!!

As you can observe by looking at my sidebar, I am trying to take a poll to see how many people think I should write a speech on a certain missionary. Please voice your opinion! Thank you very much for your participation! :)

I have the cutest brother!

This is Titus being really cute. And by the way, I did not tell him OR Gracie what to say!! They came up with it "all by themselves" as Gracie would say.