Adopting Carrs

From the Bethany CEO

2010-12-23T08:00:00.002-06:00

I love working for Bethany Christian Services. Our CEO is an incredible man that leads Bethany very, very well. I count it a privilege to work with him.

Below is an email he sent out the other day recapping 2010.

At this time of the year, I like to reflect on the blessings that God, by His grace, has given Bethany in the past year. Although Bethany has an excellent reputation as an adoption agency, we all know Bethany is much more than that. As our mission says that we protect and enhance the lives of children through both adoption and social service programs. The following are highlights of the ways Bethany was blessed by God in 2010.

By the end of the year:

Bethany will have completed almost 200 adoptions of children from Ethiopia and protected and enhanced the lives of 2,000 Ethiopian children through sponsorship, foster care, and other humanitarian programs.
Bethany will have completed the adoption of 175 children from China. Bethany also will have served 150 children in foster care. Our plan is to serve 300 to 400 children in foster care in 2011.
Bethany will have placed more than 700 infants in the U.S. through our domestic infant adoption program and will have served more than 3,000 children in foster care.
Bethany will have placed almost 600 children who were abused and/or neglected into adoptive homes from U.S. foster care.

Other reasons for thankfulness include the following:

Eight Bethany branches have begun to offer Safe Families for Children™, a new service in which volunteer families provide a temporary alternative to foster care.
With offices already in 32 U.S. states, Bethany will be opening new offices in Alabama, Ohio, and Montana.
Now working in 17 other countries, Bethany will be opening new programs in Brazil and South Africa.

These are wonderful blessings, and we can rejoice about the fact that in 2010 Bethany will have protected and enhanced the lives of more than 50,000 children throughout the world.

While Bethany's mission does not change, the application of that mission continually needs to change. We are consistently looking for God-directed opportunities to offer more services. Our vision is to serve more than 75,000 children by 2015.

I thank each of you for being a part of Bethany's ministry and for your help in accomplishing our goals. I wish you and your families a blessed and merry Christmas.

William J. Blacquiere
President/CEO

A Brand New CARR

2010-12-14T09:12:00.007-06:00

Something has been cooking in the Carr household for almost a year now, but we have not talked about it publically… however, that is changing today!

We would like to introduce you to the newest Carr – Jarrell (also called JJ)!

We got a call earlier in the year from our local foster care workers asking if we knew anyone interested in adopting a deaf child. Beth and I had been discussing the possibility of another adoption so I told them that I “knew someone who had been discussing it”.

We would later learn that Jarrell was not only deaf but he also has several other medical issues. We walked slowly from that point. With four kids, my travel schedule, and Beth working full time, we knew we didn’t need to overload our family and get into something that would do more harm, for all involved, than good. Over the past couple of months, we have felt better and better about proceeding. We recently realized that our family would be incomplete without Jarrell. JJ was a Carr, we just had to make it legal.

Yesterday was his third birthday. He will never spend another birthday as an orphan. From now on, he will be in the same family line as all of the Carr’s that have gone on before me. Soon, he will become a Carr with all of the rights, privileges, and curses that come with that name…

We are still in the transitioning stage now and completing all the required paperwork and approvals (all technicalities at this point). He will be spending most of the holidays with us and then will move in permanently after the first of the year. It has been an incredible pleasure working with his foster parents. They will continue to be part of his life as they live very close to us and love him very much.

Be praying for him as he has many challenges to overcome including:

1. Learning sign language

2. Adjusting to his new home and family

3. Dealing with his other medical issues

China - Part 2

2010-12-06T07:33:00.019-06:00

After a great day in Kaifeng at the deaf school, we loaded up and headed to Jiaozuo which is Xiaoli's hometown. We know an American who is working with her orphanage to provide foster homes. She does not live at the orphanage and it has moved so we didn't think we would get to visit it. However, she was having a meeting at the facility so we met her there. Unfortunately, we did not know that we were going (our translators were talking with each other giving directions) so we were not able to prepare Xiaoli. We didn't want to get her hopes up if we couldn't go, but we would have liked the opportunity to prepare her if we were. We didn't get the chance.

Once we arrived we went into a room where our friend was in a meeting with some nannies from the orphanage. They immediately recognized Xiaoli and came to her with hugs and kisses. Xiaoli was a bit overwhelmed. We then saw some of her friends. She got pretty emotional but after some time to process things, she loosened up a bit (for those of you who know Xiaoli, this is very unusual for our little diva).

One of Xiaoli's fondest memories is of a wedding that she was able to attend before we adopted her. One of her nannies was getting married and the wedding was held at an outdoor area beside a lake. We saw a few pictures before and remembered that there were some huge white columns. While driving through town, we saw them. We were able to go over and let her spend some time there and took a few pics of her. There were also several couples there getting their pictures made for their weddings. We were really glad that she got to experience this.

That evening we drove back to Zhengzhou where we were able to spend some time with the Pam and Clay Williams. (To see more about them goto http://www.swallowsnestzz.org ) We wanted to spend Thanksgiving day in China with them because they are doing some incredible work. They run several foster homes where they take the babies with the most severe needs and keep them in apartments. All of the workers are like-minded people. This is not a family situation where there is a mom and dad, but it is a place where the babies get a lot of attention, love, and are prayed for regularly. The success rate of these babies getting better and getting adopted is very, very good.

A few of the 5 star hotels provide a traditional Thanksgiving meal on Thanksgiving, but they are extremely expensive. As an alternative, we went to a local place that was featuring Peking Duck and it was fabulous! There is so much that we are thankful for as a family because of what China has meant to us. It was a unique opportunity to spend Thanksgiving there.

We finally ended our trip in Shanghai. About a year ago, I met a young Chinese man in the Pensacola airport. He was here for three weeks for work. We had him over for dinner a couple of times and took him to a high school football game (the highlight of his time in America). We have stayed in touch with each other and he wanted us to visit his family. We took him up on the offer and they treated us to a great day in Shanghai. We visited the Oriental Pearl Tower, The Bund, and ended the day at one of nicest restaurants I have ever enjoyed.

Our flights back home were not only uneventful, but Beth and I got upgraded to business class! For takeoff and landing, Xiaoli sat with Beth and I sat with James in coach. After we got up in the air, I moved to the lay down seat! We were only a couple of rows ahead of the kids and some poor lady had the window seat while James was in the middle and Xiaoli was on the aisle. There were two business class seats beside us that were empty and we asked the flight attendants to move the kids up with us. I even explained that they are deaf and it would be easier on everyone to do so. She said it was against policy and that Beth or I could sit in coach with one of them. I politely told her the Beth and I would be sitting in the business class section and that they would have to "baby sit" the kids. Hopefully we will not be asked about that incident on our next homestudy...

Thanks for reading about our travels and work in China. Sorry it took so long to get some updates on here. You can see many more pictures on Beth's facebook page.

China Part 1

2010-12-01T07:47:00.010-06:00

SINCE I COULD NOT BREAK THROUGH THE "GREAT FIREWALL OF CHINA" DURING OUR RECENT TRIP, I WILL POST THE NOTES THAT I MADE IN SEQUENCE OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS

Well… an interesting couple of days… Made it Beijing Saturday night and went straight to bed. Sunday was very cold with 50 mile per hour wind gusts – nice. However we braved Tiananmen Square, The Forbidden City, The Great Wall, and (what I call) The “Great” Silk Street Market. Guess which one we spent the most money at? The best part was the opportunity to spend time with our good friend Wang Yong Bo (Bob). He has been a guide for us on every trip to China (he is the guy in both adoption video’s bringing the kids to us).
We then took the overnight train from Beijing to Kaifeng. We had no interpreter and none of the workers on the train spoke English. I had a note that asked “is Kaifeng the next stop?” and they were getting tired of telling me “no”. We finally got to the right stop and I am sure there are still jokes being told about the “da bizi” (a not-so-nice word used to reference Americans meaning “big nose”.)

I don’t even have words to describe the welcome reception given to James. The deaf school is now in their third location since we started our relationship with them. We first took a tour then they took us to a room where the party was about to begin. The video is not edited but I will put up a couple of clips and pics. It was as if a King had returned to his throne. James really does inspire the teachers and children at the school.

After all of this, we went and had a meeting with the staff where I was able to encourage them with some Words that will never fade away. The interpreter is not like minded so it was very interesting. He is an older man who is very, very smart and wise. He has traveled the world. He told us later that he owned a copy of the Good Book. That evening, he opened it and read the story again that we had talked about. He said that he was very moved. He was also very overwhelmed that people like us would adopt a child with special needs. At one point he said, “I want to ask you a very direct question, how and why do you do this?” (open door, insert foot and start talking). This began our conversation with him about how it takes faith to adopt a child. We were able to share our entire story with him. In the end, we agreed that all religions have some good teachings and that you can find good people anywhere – but that is only when we use man as the comparison. When we use God as the comparison, we are not so good. Only One could could claim to be the Good Shepherd.

He said that he was raised to believe that the government was god. For a person like this, there are many, many layers that have to be cut through to get to the heart and the truth. I would ask that you would remember our friend Leo as he is really wrestling with all of this. Even when I wanted to pay him some money for interpreting for us for the two days he said, “But remember, you will need this money for all of these children” to which I responded, “didn’t you hear me? God is faithful and he will meet every need that I have.” That really put him in a tailspin. He gave me his email address and asked that we stay in touch.

In the next couple of days, I will write about Xiaoli’s visit to her city and our Shanghai friends.

Churches and BCS

2010-11-12T11:17:00.002-06:00

I found this great testimony from the pastor at First Presbyterian Church in Hattiesburg, MS. This makes me proud to represent Bethany Christian Services.

Grace Transforms
From Dr. Sean Michael Lucas

My dear friends:

This past Monday, I had the wonderful privilege to play in the golf tournament sponsored by Bethany Christian Services. For those who are not aware, First Presbyterian Church partnered together with Woodland and Bay Street Presbyterian Churches to start our local chapter for Bethany Christian Services. This is a ministry that Sara and I support financially because of the way it serves the Gospel: Bethany is the largest Christian adoption and crisis pregnancy service in the country. If you want to find out more about Bethany, go to http://www.bethany.org/.

Not only does God use this ministry to redeem lives out of difficult or painful situations, but he also uses it to teach us something of his glorious Gospel of adoption. As our Westminster Confession of Faith puts it, all those whom God justifies, he "makes partakers of the grace of adoption, by which they are taken into the number and enjoy the liberties and privileges of the children of God" (WCF 12). Bethany Christian Services provides a conduit for children to experience adoption; in doing so, they learn a bit of the gracious Gospel. Just as is true for them by physical adoption, in Christ, we have God's name put on us; we receive God's own Spirit; we have access to God's house and throne; and we are enabled to call him "Abba, Father."

As wonderful as it was to support Bethany Christian Services the other day, I played golf poorly. Not just poorly, but really poorly. The kind of poorly when you come home and tell your wife, "I am never going to play golf again." The kind of poorly where you come home after playing eighteen holes and you go out to run three miles simply to work out your negative feelings. The kind of poorly where you feel frustrated and ashamed because you feel like you are letting everyone else down when you are playing.

But as I was running, something happened to me. As all the negative feelings-guilt, shame, frustration, anger-rolled around inside my head and gut, I began to picture myself running to Jesus. I began to hear God's Word in my ears and heart: "Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God, who has made us competent to be ministers of the new covenant" (2 Cor 3:5-6). My competence, my sufficiency is not tied to swinging a golf club, preaching a sermon, correcting my child, writing a book, listening to a church member or a hundred other things that I may do well or do poorly. My competency and sufficiency is from God through Jesus by the Spirit; God looks at me through Jesus and sings, shouts, and rejoices, "Competent, sufficient, mine!"

I needed to run to Jesus to hear that I am his adopted child, pitied, protected, provided for, sometimes chastened, but never cast off. Guilt, shame, anger, frustration are all wiped out when I hear him say, "You are mine." How about you? Do you need to run to Jesus today? Do you need him to remind you in the midst of your guilt, shame, anger, and frustration that you are not an orphan, but an adopted child? Do you need for him to say once again, "You are mine!"?

In the grip of God's grace,
Sean

Pittsburgh and Safe Families

2010-11-03T12:39:00.007-05:00

I get the same response in almost all of my travels when I tell people that I live in Pensacola, FL. They all want to know what it is like "living at the beach". Technically, we live on the very northern end of Pensacola. As a family, we went to the beach one time this year... I am probably a bad Dad. Actually, I am a mountains person. Geographically speaking, Lynchburg, VA was our favorite place to live. We loved the weather (even the snow) and especially the mountains in the fall. This week I was in Pittsburgh working with our Western PA office. While the plane was landing, I saw the colors of the trees and was so jealous.

I was introducing the Safe Families for Children model for several churches in the area. This is an incredible new program that is now functioning in ten states. This program prevents children from having to enter the foster system when other options are available. Many families have lost their jobs, savings, and homes during the recession. Could you imagine living on the streets with your children while you were trying to get back on your feet? What about a young mother with no family support who has just given birth to a child and is experiencing postpartum depression?

Before our churches got too educated and sophisticated, the church used to take care of these children. Now we rely on the government to do it. This should not be the case. True biblical hospitality says to these families, we will care for your children. Safe Families is not designed to step into recurring situations for repeat offenders. It is designed to help those who are in a crisis and need someone to care for their children on a temporary and voluntary basis.

I will share more about the specifics in the next couple of posts. For now, here is a video from CBS news where they interviewed my friend, and founder of Safe Families, Dr. Dave Anderson. VIDEO

Heading to China

2010-10-28T07:23:00.004-05:00

It has been over two years since I was last in China. In a few weeks Beth, James, Xiaoli, and I will head back over for about 8 days. This will be a special trip because it will be Xiaoli's first trip back since her adoption. She was almost six years old when we adopted her so she has a lot of memories from there. James is a little more nervous than she is. He was four when we adopted him and his experiences there were not as positive as Xiaoli's. His orphanage was in much worse conditions.

You never know what a trip like this might bring up in a child. The smells, sights, (no sounds for them since they are deaf), the feeling of being in the majority again as an Asian will be very exciting to their senses. This can either produce an overload of excitement or cause shutdown. Each child handles it differently.

Another exciting aspect about the trip includes scarves. Beth's mom battled cancer from 2008 to early 2010. During that time she began knitting scarves for the children at James' and Xiaoli's orphanages. We have over 100 scarves that we will be taking with us to hand out to the children. As you could imagine, this will be a pretty emotional time for all of us but especially Beth.

We will be there during the week of Thanksgiving while some other friends and family stay here to look after the house and our oldest two kids. I can't wait to post some pics and to be able to share more stories!

I'm Back

2010-10-19T11:17:00.003-05:00

So, I took a year off from updating the blog. Well, I am back. Hopefully with a weekly post. So here goes... This is an article that I had published in the Washington Post a couple of months ago.

Ethiopian orphans need families
By Johnny Carr
National Director of Church Partnerships
Bethany Christian Services

Americans are adopting fewer orphans from overseas, except from one country: Ethiopia. But international adoption, sending an orphan to live with a family in another country, is most frequently not the best option for many children in need.

I recently returned from Ethiopia, traveling from the outskirts of Addis Ababa to Nazret and Hawassa, several hundred miles south of the city. We were there to meet with local pastors to discuss domestic orphan care.

In Ethiopia, the orphan crisis did not receive the media scrutiny it deserved until recent years. High profile adoptions by celebrities including Angelina Jolie, and books, such as "There Is No Me Without You" by Melissa Faye Green, have helped educate many of us concerning the rapid acceleration of new orphanages in Ethiopia. I'm not talking one or two orphanages in a city, but rather five, six and seven orphanages within the span of a couple of years. But the crisis has not stemmed.

According to United Nations Human Development, United Nations International Children's Emergency and Ethiopia Demographic and Health Survey, today there are an estimated 5 million orphaned and vulnerable children in Ethiopia; 800,000 of them are AIDS orphans. The country's cities and villages are overwhelmed; Addis Ababa alone has more than 100,000 orphans. The system is overtaxed, and sadly, new orphanages are not the answer.

While most orphanages are built in good faith they are usually built in response to a crisis. In 2009, Americans adopted 2,277 Ethiopian children. It is easy to see that the numbers just do not add up even with the addition of other countries adopting from Ethiopia. We must be proactive in our approach and not just responsive. Orphanages should not be viewed as acceptable long-term solutions for children. Man has made orphanages for children, but God made the family for children. How then do we place as many children in families as possible?

Bethany Christian Services has started bringing together churches in the United States with churches in Ethiopia into long term foster care projects. These are one-on-one relationships; essentially, the U.S. church provides the necessary financing for foster care and the Ethiopian partner inspires its members to help find families and develop loving, local communities. The two churches coordinate their efforts in a symbiotic fashion, working not only on adoption issues, but also any other missions projects that they wish.

These figures I mentioned previously show that the future of Ethiopia's children is heading toward a crisis of epic proportion if measurable and immediate action is not taken. The existing structure of orphanages can only do so much and a large number of orphaned children still remain helpless. They are lost, confused, hungry and crying out for a family that will provide them with the basic human need: unconditional love.

We must continue to create other ways of putting children in families. We must continue to direct our efforts in and through the Church. It is our responsibility as believers - it is our honor and privilege to be able to serve the least of these.

BY JOHNNY CARR | MAY 28, 2010; 10:09 AM ET

Catalyst 2009

2009-10-13T09:57:00.006-05:00

Catalyst Conference 2009 was held in Atlanta, GA on October 7 - 9 with over 13,000 Christian leaders attending. Coach Tony Dungy (first African American to coach a winning Super Bowl team) was interviewed and was asked about his adoption experience. He said something like this: I really wasn't for it since we had 3 kids already but my wife wanted to do it. I went with her to meet with the social worker. At one point I leaned over and said "IF we proceed with this, how long would it take to get a child in our home?" The social worker looked at me and said, "sir, if you are willing to accept an African American child or a child of mixed race, as soon as we get you approved." That statement pierced my heart and we now have 4 adopted children.

Later, a Kenyan man (named Jimmy) who was sponsored for most of his life through Compassion International, was interviewed. It was awesome to hear him talk about how his life

changed as a young boy when he started receiving this help. Jimmy is now a student at Moody Bible College. You can only imagine the response from crowd. After things

died down a little, he was asked if he had ever met his sponsor and he said no. The interviewer then

said, "Well, I would like to introduce him to you right now." The place went CRAZY! Jimmy held his sponsor for at least 5

minutes and sobbed uncontrollably. When they finally loosened their embrace, Jimmy's knees literally buckled and he fell to the ground

sobbing.

Right after that, the crowd was asked to consider "what's next" (that was a theme

running through the conference.) Would individuals in this crowd of 13,000 Christian leaders consider moving from sponsoring a child to adopting a child. Mac Powell (lead singer of Third Day) was then introduced as the surprise guest. Mac shared his family’s adoption story. He and Amy adopted through Bethany Christian Services of Georgia. Half way through his interview, Amy brought their baby up on stage. The place was in tears. Mac then sang with the African children's choir. It was an unbelievable moment.

Catalyst released their new website www.143million.org during the conference. It has been so great to partner with this organization and to see how God has moved on their leader’s hearts for orphan care and adoption. Catalyst and Bethany Christian Services also partnered to produce a 3 minute video for churches to use to ask their members if they would consider adoption. It can be viewed in the Bethany Christian Services window of www.143million.org.

Together for Adoption

2009-09-28T11:56:00.002-05:00

This weekend in Nashville, TN over 500 people will be gathering for Together for Adoption. Dan Cruver has done an outstanding job putting this conference together. I will have the pleasure of sharing in two breakout sessions.

November 8 has been designated Orphan Sunday by the Christian Alliance for Orphans. Churches all across the country will be participating in many different ways. An official web site has been established to provide support and resources for churches. www.orphansunday.org

Bethany Christian Services has also added resources to their site as well: http://tiny.cc/sUnjZ

finally... an update

2009-08-21T07:54:00.003-05:00

It has been too long since I have updated this blog. I will do better in the future. This has been the busiest summer that I can remember. Each year we say that we are going to slow down and each year we get busier. Oh well - we had fun!

Lots of things beginning to happen in the Orphan Care and Adoption world. Even the Southern Baptist Convention passed a resolution this year (which really is just an acknowledgement and encouragement) that SB churches should set aside one Sunday each year to focus on Orphan Care and Adoption. Many churches are truly beginning to see the missional nature of adoption!

I have several speaking engagements coming up this fall. The first is in Nashville, TN at the Together for Adoption conference. I will be leading a breakout session at this conference. The dates are Oct. 2 and 3. Go to www.togetherforadoption.org for more info.

I will also be in the Milwaukee, Wisconsin area on Oct. 10 and 11. On the tenth I will be with Dr. Karyn Purvis as she does a seminar on raising adopted children who come from very difficult pasts. Then on that Sunday I will be preaching at the Cornerstone Presbyterian Church in Delafield, WI. Saturday's conference will also be held at the church. Contact Bethany Christian Services of Wisconsin for more info.

Bethany Christian Services

2009-06-01T10:22:00.002-05:00

Here is some of the work by Bethany Christian Services around the world:

Inspirational Student of the Year

2009-05-13T06:45:00.006-05:00

James was awarded this honor on Tuesday. As Mary says - most people have no idea the challenges that he faces everyday, they only know that he is deaf. He will also have the highest AR (accelerated reader) points in the entire first grade of his school this year. But there is one thing that he is most proud of recently: He learned to tie his shoes. For a kid with visual motor challenges and sensory processing disorder - that is huge! We are very proud of him.

Orphan Care and Adoption Expo in Pensacola

2009-04-17T06:43:00.003-05:00

HELP US GET THE WORD OUT!! (Click on the Graphic above to go to registration)

Saturday, May 16 | 8:30am-1:30pm | $10/person (includes lunch)

Keynote Speaker: Emily Chapman Richards

Emily Chapman Richards, eldest daughter of Christian recording artist Steven Curtis Chapman, will share her compelling story of faith that began as an eleven-year-old child with a heart for adoption and continues today as an active worker on behalf of orphans through Shaohannah’s Hope. Emily has two biological brothers and three younger sisters adopted from China. The Chapman family has been featured on various media outlets such as Good Morning America, Larry King Live, The Huckabee Show, Fox and Friends highlighting their adoption story and continued advocacy work on behalf of the 130 million orphans worldwide. Having impacted thousands of lives, Emily has experienced much joy, brokenness, and hope, and through it all has become even more passionate about seeing all people, both young and old, join together in the most important work of caring for orphans.

Breakout Choices:

Adoption 101
This track is designed for people who are interested in learning the basics about adoption. Anyone can come and go through the breakout sessions designed to give them information on domestic infant adoption, international adoption, foster care adoption, and fund raising for an adoption.

Orphan Care and Adoption Ministry
If you are interested in getting your church more involved in orphan care and promoting adoption, this track will give you tools and resources you need to make that happen. Breakouts include Developing an Orphan Care and Adoption Ministry in Your Church, Adoption Funds for Your Church, and Leading Support Groups and Information Meetings in Your Church.

Adoptive Parents
This track is intended to give support and information for those who have already adopted. Breakouts include What Every Adoptee Wishes their Adoptive Parents Knew, Raising the Hurt Child, and Bonding and Attachment.

Winning isn't Everything

2009-03-02T16:35:00.004-06:00

Football can bring out the worst in all of us. Growing up in Alabama, I was taught two things from birth - God and Football - and not necessarily in that order. As I travel the country, I try to explain to people the rivalry between Auburn and Alabama but it is really difficult to explain. I will have to admit that in the past several years I have not really paid much attention to Auburn. Ever since we adopted James, my priorities changed. I still enjoy it but I don't spend the money nor do I lose any sleep over it like I once did.

Growing up, that was a little different. For many in my home state, football is a culture more than a game. Even in Michigan where my national headquarters is located, the Michigan and Ohio State rivalry doesn't quite compare to the angst that the Alabama/Auburn rivalry brings out in people from the South.

The only other place that I know of that takes football as seriously is in the state of Texas. Not so much the professional or college levels - but the high school. Friday Night Lights (movie and TV mini-series) is based on high school football in Texas. It is truly a culture.

That makes this next story that much more important. It is about what is really important in life. It is about giving up some of your own pride to serve others. Here is the money quote from the article: "You are just as valuable as any other person on planet Earth." Click on the link to read the remarkable story about two football teams who came from very different backgrounds and one coach who dared to do the impossible to add value to the lives of these young men.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espnmag/story?section=magazine&id=3789373

Johnny

Raw Video

2009-02-18T07:58:00.002-06:00

I ran across this video the other day. This is raw footage of a couple in Africa finding a village that had no previous access. As you can see, they are actually having to cut a road into the village just to get their truck in to it.

Orphan Summit V

2009-02-12T11:57:00.003-06:00

Make Plans to Attend Summit V

Summit V is right around the corner on April 30 & May 1, 2009, at Irving Bible Church in Dallas, Texas. This year’s Summit promises to be the largest and best summit yet, with inspiring speakers and over 40 breakout sessions covering a wide range of international orphan care, adoption and foster care topics.

Whether your church or organization has been engaged in adoption or orphans ministry for many years or is considering how best to get started, Summit V is for you. For details and to register online click the picture to the right.

http://www.christian-alliance-for-orphans.org/summit/.

Heath, Ohio

2009-01-26T21:33:00.005-06:00

A couple of weeks ago I had the opportunity to travel to Heath, Ohio to preach in a Sunday Morning service. The pastor there is an old friend of mine named Noel Dear. First Baptist Heath really got a heart for orphans last year after a trip to Kenya. They have implemented a very strategic partnership with a Kenyan church that is reaching out to the local orphans.

We had a great response after I shared. Several of the families are now thinking about adoption. Did you know that there are 125,000 children right now, in the United States, that are considered "legally free for adoption." That term does not refer to how much it costs to adopt these children - rather it refers to the fact that there is nothing legally hindering them from being adopted. In other words - they have no legal parents. A judge has terminated the rights of their parents for one reason or another. Most states refer to these as foster care adoptions since the children are in the custody of the foster care system until an adoptive home is found for them.

Many of these kids are older or are in sibling groups. Therefore, it is much more difficult for them to be adopted. Ohio has the 5th highest number of children in this category (right behind my state of Florida).

I digress... I was especially glad to have my oldest son, Jared, travel with me to Heath. He really wanted to see and play in snow. When we landed on Saturday the weather was terrible with freezing rain. They then predicted very cold but clear weather on Sunday. However, it snowed all afternoon Sunday and Jared got his wish! Heath is also known as the home of Longaberger Baskets. The 'highlight' of the trip was doing a drive-by of the headquarters that looks like a big basket.

Keep praying for First Baptist Heath that God would raise up leaders to take an Orphan Care and Adoption ministry and challenge their church to be intentional in these areas. There are far to many children waiting for a home for the Church in America to be satisfied!

Thanks to Noel, Donna, their girls, and the FBC Heath family for a great visit!

Nashville

2009-01-06T07:38:00.003-06:00

We had the great opportunity to spend the first weekend of the year in Nashville, TN (Mount Juliet to be exact). I was invited by the New Hope Baptist Church to speak in their morning services as they were ready to begin their new Orphan Care and Adoption Ministry. It was a great weekend. We made many new friends and had a very memorable experience at the church service.

At the end of the second service, the pastor asked for the Miller's (the host family for the event) to come and stand at the front of the worship center with their four kids (3 adopted and 1 bio). Then he asked all adoptive families to come to the front. About 4 other families came down. It looked like the waiting room of the United Nations - it was beautiful. The one moment that really stood out to me was a couple who was joined by their adopted daughter who is a teenager. She had been sitting with the other youth during the service so she had to walk from the other side of the auditorium to get to her parents. When she got to them, she embraced her mom and dad the entire time and all were weeping. Even the pastor had a hard time trying to close out the service. It was truly a special moment for them, for us, and for the entire church.

Another highlight of the trip was getting to know the Miller and Heaton families. Kelly and Lisa Heaton have a heart for the orphan and are helping organize the ministry. Lee and Jana (as mentioned above) are adoptive parents. Lee (who goes by Lee Thomas Miller in the industry) is a country song writer. His latest number one songs are Your Gonna Miss This and Still a Guy (two of my favorites). He was able to give us a backstage look into Music Row on Saturday night. That was a great treat! I thought a lot about the song Whose Gonna Fill Their Shoes by George Jones. (yes... I am still a redneck and I still love country music!)

This weekend I will be preaching in Heath, Ohio at the church of one of my best friends in the Ministry, Noel Dear. I am really excited that Jared will be traveling with me and he and I will be getting some special time together.

Orphan Trains

2008-12-17T07:07:00.002-06:00

Between 1854 and 1929 the Children's Aid Society of New York had an interesting way of dealing with an orphan crisis. They loaded the children up on trains and pointed them towards the sunset in the West. It is interesting because as the West was expanding, there was a need for larger families to farm and work. In many cases, children were adopted or brought in and made part of families and had great experiences. However, many were treated harshly as they were overworked and treated more like slaves.

In 1929 it all came to an end as new laws dealing with foster care and out-of-state placement were passed. Some of the children are still alive today and were featured in a recent documentary and highlighted here on this CNN video:

Delilah

2008-12-11T12:44:00.002-06:00

Almost every night we are in the car, we listen to Delilah. She has the soultry voice with the romantic stories and then plays love songs. I had heard that she had adopted children but I didn't know very much about her until I read an aritcle in Guideposts. Here is a link to check it out. Delilah Article

Tragedy in Haiti

2008-12-02T09:04:00.002-06:00

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti – The 5-year-old teetered on broomstick legs — he weighed less than 20 pounds, even after days of drinking enriched milk. Nearby, a 4-year-old girl hung from a strap attached to a scale, her wide eyes lifeless, her emaciated arms dangling weakly.
In pockets of Haiti accessible only by donkey or foot, children are dying of malnutrition — their already meager food supply cut by a series of devastating storms that destroyed crops, wiped out livestock and sent food prices spiraling.

Click here to read the rest of this article.

The Perfect Christmas Gift

2008-11-19T11:46:00.004-06:00

Socks, ties, video games, or gift cards seems to standard Christmas presents in my family. However, I was reading the other day the gift card sales will be down this year due to two things: people would rather buy something on sale (since gift cards don't go on sale) for less money or they don't trust that the company they are buying the card from will even be in business next year. Both are understandable.

Here is an option for you: Check out the Bethany Christian Services Gift Catalog. Instead of buying something for someone that they don't really need - buy something in honor of someone and give it to someone who is in need. Try buying your Mother-in-law a goat for instance... Enough said on that one.

You can purchase a backpack for a child to carry their stuff to school in honor of a friend, a goat to give a family milk for many years, or many other options. Everybody wins.

Check out the details at www.bethany.org/giftcatalog

Me - Root for Georgia???

2008-10-30T10:49:00.003-05:00

After watching this video - I just might have to!

Loss and the Adoption Process

2008-10-20T12:09:00.007-05:00

Is it possible to "attach and bond" to a picture? Yes - well, sort of... I still remember the first day that we saw James' picture. While we didn't want to get our hopes up, we knew from that moment that he was our son. Seven months later, we were united with him. We first saw Xiaoli's picture on a blog. Several months later we met her in her orphanage. However, at that point, her file had not even left her orphanage and had to be sent to Beijing and then to an adoption agency. Through a miraculous series of events, almost two years after first seeing her picture, we were united with her. We had attached through the pictures of both of our children before we ever even met either one. Those who have never been through this process have a difficult time really relating to the attachment that can take place through a picture of a child somewhere on the other side of the world. It's not really the picture that we were bonding with - we were bonding to our children through the picture.

(Those are the first two pictures that we saw of James and Xiaoli.)

Unfortunatly, some good friends of ours have had to deal with losing two children after receiving their pictures and referrals but not being able to complete the adoptions. We ask you to lift Zach and Leanne up in prayer as they deal with this second loss. Click here to see more about their story.

Caleb Binh Jenkins

TaeKwonDo

2008-10-10T12:56:00.002-05:00

James and Xiaoli started TaeKwonDo last week and last night they received their first stripe. They were happy to model for this picture.

It is at times like this that I look at them and think - their lives could have been so very different. Our first wish was this - that they would have never been abandonded. However, they were. We will never know what was going through the minds of their parents. We do know that raising a deaf child in China is not easy. It is a huge sacrifice. If their parents were migrant farmers, they probably felt like they were doing something that was in the best interest of their children.

The second thought I have is this: what would my life be like without them right now. God has taught me so much over the past three years. It is truly hard to put it into words.

So for now - be careful not to sneak up on one of these two! You just might get a karate kick to the ankle!

Biltmore Baptist Church

2008-10-01T09:19:00.003-05:00

More and more, I am seeing Southern Baptist Churches begin Orphan Care and Adoption Ministries. This is an exciting move as these churches are beginning to see this type of ministry as "Missional". This past weekend I was in Asheville, NC at Biltmore Baptist Church as a part of their Global Celebration. They have a new Orphan Care and Adoption Ministry that is just really getting off of the ground. I was able to speak with several of their team members and they are certainly on the right track.

Monday morning I met with some folks from First Baptist Church of Hendersonville. They too are just getting their ministry started. Once again, they are seeing this as missional and are wanting to be intentional about their approach to this ministry.

We are continuing to create tools at Bethany for churches to use as they begin to implement their orphan care and adoption ministries. You can see more at www.bethany.org/champions.

AIDS in Haiti

2008-09-18T13:41:00.003-05:00

This video is a tribute to a little orphaned girl in Haiti.

More SCC

2008-09-10T13:26:00.000-05:00

Watch CBS Videos Online

From The Love Herald

2008-08-19T14:09:00.004-05:00

* Picture at Right: Sen. McCain, left, Dr. Rick Warren, center, and Sen. Barack Obama at the Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, California (Photo Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

Obama and McCain Supports PEPFAR idea for Orphans

Written by Dan Wooding
Monday, 18 August 2008
LAKE FOREST, CA (ANS) -- Rick Warren told both Democratic candidate Barack Obama and his Republican rival John McCain at his Civic Form at Saddleback on Saturday night (August 16) that he believed that the time had come for a US Government supported Emergency Plan to deal with the 148 million orphans that now exist in the world. He said that the world urgently needs a plan and funding like the $15 billion that President Bush has made available to fight HIV/AIDS, to help orphans throughout the world. "We need a PEPFAR (President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief) for orphans in world," Rick Warren said. "These orphans need to grow up in homes."
He first asked Barack Obama if he would support such a plan. "I think it's a great idea," he replied. "I think it's something that we should sit down and figure out working between nongovernmental organizations, international institutions, the US government, try to figure out what can we do. I think that part of our plan, though, has to be how do we prevent more orphans in the first place and that means that we're helping to build the public health infrastructure around the world, that we are you know building on the great work that you and, by the way, this president has done when it comes to AIDS funding around the world.
"I think you know I'm often a critic of President Bush but I think the PEPFAR program has saved lives and has done very good work and he deserves enormous credit for that."
When it came to his turn, Senator McCain said that he would also be willing to consider such a plan.
"We also need to make adoption a lot easier in this country," Senator McCain said. "That's why so many people now go to other countries to adopt children."
Senator McCain then explained how he and his wife Cindy had an adopted daughter. He told how his wife, Mrs. Cindy McCain had gone to Dhaka, in Bangladesh, 17 years ago to visit with Mother Theresa. He said that Mother Theresa's nuns gave her two little baby girls that were not going to live, if they stayed in that environment.
"Cindy came home. I met her at the airport and she showed me this 5 week old baby and said, meet your new daughter. Today she is 17 and our life is blessed," Senator McCain said.

Me and My BOYZ Kut this the Other Night...

2008-08-08T13:46:00.002-05:00

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Steven Curtis Chapman on Larry King Live

2008-08-07T06:51:00.003-05:00

The Chapman family will be guests for the entire hour tonight at 9:00 EST.

Also - here is the video from their interview on Good Morning America from Aug. 6.

The following was posted on CNN today.

Commentary: Our tragedy and God's love for orphans

By Steven Curtis Chapman
Special to CNN

Editor's note: Christian music star Steven Curtis Chapman's daughter, Maria Sue, was killed in an accident in May in the driveway of the family's home. Chapman, a Grammy winner, will talk about the family's grief and faith on Larry King Live on Thursday, 9pm ET.

FRANKLIN, Tennessee (CNN) -- According to UNICEF, there are 143 million children in the world who have lost one or both parents.
In America alone, there are half a million children in foster care, and approximately 120,000 of these children are waiting to be adopted. In many countries, children are too often orphaned or abandoned because of poverty, disabilities and disease; every 15 seconds, a child loses a parent because of AIDS. These are staggering facts that can seem overwhelming and discouraging, but I believe that God has a loving plan for each child, and that plan is you and me.
Caring for these children is not the job of governments or institutions; instead, it is the job of families, people and communities. As Christians, our compassion is simply a response to the love that God has already shown us. Mother Teresa would constantly remind those who worked with her that the Bible clearly teaches that whatever we do for the least of these, we do for Jesus. So in a very real sense, caring for orphans is a chance to meet the person of Jesus in "the guise of human suffering." This is an invitation from the heart of God to know him and to experience his love.
Nine years ago, my wife and my eldest daughter, Emily, traveled to Haiti on a mission trip. Having been exposed to extreme poverty for the first time, Emily returned home with a determined passion to make a difference in the lives of at-risk children.
Only 12 years old, Emily went on an all-out campaign to persuade us to adopt. She bought a book on international adoption with her Christmas money and would read it to us regularly. She began fervently praying and writing letters to Mary Beth and me, encouraging us to consider giving a waiting child a home. Emily knew God was leading us in the direction of adoption; however, Mary Beth and I were not yet convinced.
My wife and I had always supported the idea of adoption, and as Christians, we understood the importance of loving and caring for others. But what I had not yet grasped was that adoption is a physical picture of what Jesus has done for me. I did nothing to deserve God's love; in fact, I was living as an orphan, without hope. Yet God chose to pursue a relationship with me, and through the death of his son Jesus, I was adopted into God's family.
My wife and I began moving toward adoption with fear and trembling and asking all the questions people ask. I remember Mary Beth crying herself to sleep at night saying, "What are we doing? I can't do this." However, God kept reassuring us that this was the direction he was leading us. It was a huge journey of faith for us.
In May of 2000, we found ourselves in a hotel room in China's Hunan province, welcoming the newest member of our family, Shaohannah Hope. From that moment, we began our journey into the world of adoption, orphan care and Shaohannah's Hope.
We went on to adopt Stevey Joy and Maria. Recently, our youngest daughter, Maria, passed from life on this earth and is now safely in the arms of Jesus. We have been completely overwhelmed by the love and support of so many during this time of deep, deep sadness. Through all that we've experienced, one thing we still know is true: God's heart is for the orphan. Watch Chapman home movies »
In our travels to Latin America, Africa and Asia, we have visited many different orphanages. If you look past the surroundings and into the eyes of the children, they all have the same look. They seem to convey, "I don't think this is what I was made for. Where do I belong?"
These children are crying out for the hope of a family, for the hope of community, for the hope of a permanent love. Our mission, and the mission of our adoption charity, Shaohannah's Hope, is to show hope to these children and to mobilize people, families and communities to be living examples of God's love for them.
We started Shaohannah's Hope in order to connect willing families with waiting children, but the reality is that there are many orphans who cannot be adopted. Even though we may not be able to bring them into our homes, we still have the opportunity to show them the hope we have.
If only 7 percent of the 2 billion Christians in the world would care for a single orphan in distress, there would effectively be no more orphans. If everybody would be willing to simply do something to care for one of these precious treasures, I think we would be amazed by just how much we could change the world.
We can each do something, whether it is donating, adopting, fostering, mentoring, visiting orphans or supporting families that have taken in orphans. You can change the world for an orphan.

Vacation '08

2008-08-01T08:16:00.004-05:00

And a good time was had by all... Heather's friend is Hannah. On the way up here we decided to tell everyone that we had adopted her from El Salvador....

A Busy Month

2008-07-28T07:27:00.012-05:00

July has come and gone - and I've only posted one time until now. Beth and I were able to visit some friends in China for a few days at the first of the month. That was a great trip! We are so happy to see the progress at the Deaf School that our son attended while he was under the care of his orphanage. On this trip, we were able to purchase a hot water heater. Since this is a boarding school, this hot water heater is needed for hot showers for the staff and children. We consider the leader of this school to be a member of our family as she cared for James for about a year while we were in the adoption process. She is also one of the most committed teachers that we have ever known.

We were also able to visit some friends who have roots here in Pensacola. Clay and Pam are working on some English projects and have started a couple of foster homes. You

can read more about their work at Pam's Blog. I

begged them to take me to my favorite

restaurant in Henan. It is a little noodle house somewhere in the center of this city of 10,000,000 people. This is where you get the real Henan Noodles. 5 adults ate for about $4 (air conditioning NOT included).

There is so much to share - but not on a blog. We were able to have dinner with our friends who run the deaf school. Since beginning their "New Life" - the Teacher's dad has begun rewriting the entire Bible into Chinese calligraphy. Beth asked him if he would honor our family by writing out John 3:16 for James in this beautiful calligraphy. With tears, he said that it would be his honor to do so. Here are a few pics from our dinner at their home.

We ended the month with Beth taking the kids to a Baptist Deaf Camp in South Florida. They have been the past two years and they absolutely love it! Finally - here are some pics from the summer. Now, we are looking forward to vacation and then the beginning of school!

OK... One more Pic. Every time we go to another country, we are asked the same question after we return: Did you eat anything really unusual? In the past, we have - but nothing that was just too much to endure. However, on this trip, we had the opportunity to experience some pure protein. We passed. However, our friends loved them. I hope we didn't offend our friends, but would you eat these?

Interesting Reading

2008-07-14T01:12:00.003-05:00

We have been out of the country and will give you an update on that later. However, we did get our picture in the paper... Check out this link http://www.kf.cn/news/shownews.php?id=267998

I also ran across this article the other day. It is posted on www.theresurgence.com.

Orphans Vs. American Dream
By: Anthony Bradley

Why Does America Have Orphans If It Has Christian Churches?

America has nearly 115,000 orphaned kids in foster care waiting to be adopted. Some wonder how this is possible in a country with Christian families. Surely, there are 115,000 missional families in America, right? Missional families, for example, embrace the redemptive mission of God and practice "true religion" in their local communities (James 1:27). Missional Christians in America could eliminate the foster care system tomorrow if we would stop "shootin' up" with the American Dream (heroine) in order to get high on a lame life lived for the sake of comfort and ease.

"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world," writes James (1:27). As a matter of fact, the Bible has over 40 verses mandating God's people to look after orphans and the fatherless for various reasons.

According to the American Religious Identity Survey, conducted by the City University of New York, there are over 224 million Christians in the United States. So, why are there 115,000 orphans in a country that has over 224 million Christians?

Since God's people have always been called to live missionally we are not surprised to see that James is not saying anything new. "When you harvest the grapes in your vineyard, do not go over the vines again. Leave what remains for the alien, the fatherless and the widow" (Deuteronomy 24:21).

Let's break this down further. The Washington Times reports that there are about 65 million evangelicals in America. So, again, why are there 115,000 orphans in America's foster care system? Does this mean that there are 65 million people missing huge sections of their Bibles? Would someone please alert Crossway and Zondervan!

Historically, the early church was known for taking in their culture's orphans and the needy. This is such an ancient tradition of the church (except for post-1960s American evangelicals) that Pope Benedict XVI even talked about it in his first encyclical "God is Love." He writes, "the Church cannot neglect the service of charity any more than she can neglect the Sacraments and the Word. . . Justin Martyr in speaking of the Christians' celebration of Sunday also mentions their charitable activity, linked with the Eucharist as such. Those who are able make offerings in accordance with their means, each as he or she wishes; the Bishop in turn makes use of these to support orphans, widows, the sick and those who for other reasons find themselves in need, such as prisoners and foreigners. The great Christian writer Tertullian relates how the pagans were struck by the Christians' concern for the needy of every sort."

Sadly, some of you are now more concerned about the fact that I quoted a Pope than you are about his actual point. Here's the deal: pagans were introduced to Jesus because Christians were taking care of the needy in obedience to Scripture. Taking care of the needy is not done only for the sake of evangelism. Practicing "true religion" is an extension of the kinds of Kingdom-oriented, salt and light, truth-bearing, grace-filled, Jesus-loving people who live to treat other people the same way God treats them (Ephesians 2:8-10).

We were all orphans and God adopted us in his family, remember? "Those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, ‘Abba, Father.' The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children" (Rom 8:14-16). As such, the best possible home for an orphan is in a home where a family is following Jesus together as former orphans themselves.

If your church is not cultivating an ethos that practices "true religion" it may not be missional at all. It may be dying or sinking into a consumeristic, entertainment quicksand where people come to have their "felt needs" stroked. Your pastor might wear "cool" clothes, have a "cool" blog, or be in the process of trying to make God and Jesus androgynous but God seems to care that his people are being led by capable men who lead the rest of God's people in bringing the Kingdom to their local neighborhood in all its forms.

While not all Christians are gifted or equipped for taking in orphans it's pretty convicting that 65 million American evangelicals can't rescue 115,000 kids from an unstable hell. If the pagans in our neighborhoods aren't struck by how our churches are applying the Word of God to the needy it's possible that we aren't the real deal yet. May we all pray that our churches are soon as mature as James commends. The revolution continues. . .

Anthony recommends: Bethany Christian Services (a Christian adoption agency operating in the US and abroad; www.bethany.org) and Adopted by God: From Wayward Sinners to Cherished Children by Dr. Robert A. Peterson.

Heading to South Florida

2008-06-25T09:19:00.009-05:00

I have the great privilege and opportunity to preach this coming Sunday (June 29) at Calvary Baptist Church in Clearwater, Florida (http://www.calvarybaptist.org/). The Sr. Pastor is Dr. Willy Rice. He and I go back a long way...

Today he is the president of the Florida Baptist Convention. However one day, a long time ago, I was 20 years old and on a Pastor Search Committee. One of the men on our search team remembered this college kid who had come through and preached on a summer revival tour years before. That "kid" was Willy Rice. We found out where he was located and contacted him. A few months later, he and Cheryl, loaded up their truck and moved to Anniston, Al. I remind him from time to time that, as part of that search team, I gave him his "big break"... He later gave me the opportunity to serve with him at our church in Anniston which was my first full time ministry position.

A few months ago I was able to sit down with him and share our story. He has asked me to come and share with his church this Sunday and then meet with anyone who might be interested in starting an Orphan and Adoption Ministry at their church.

If you live in the Tampa area, come and join us this Sunday!

Postings...

2008-06-04T07:05:00.003-05:00

Quite frankly, it's been difficult to think about blogging for the last week or so. We are not personal friends with the Chapman family. However, I have come to know Emily (the oldest daughter) quite well. She is an outstanding young lady. We have found ourselves at several conferences together. I have also been to their offices in TN for a meeting where I met with Kathy (who is a long time worker at Shaohannah's Hope) and Emily. Wendy Cosby has also become a good friend who works with SH and is very close to the family.

With that said - this tragedy has still hit our family hard. It is almost like a "fraternity" when you adopt a child from a foreign country. If you were to put a group of adoptive parents in a room that had adopted from different countries, within minutes they would group themselves into circles according to the country of origin of their children. All of this has made us reevaluate a lot of things in our lives. Personally, we are hoping to slow down this summer and take the time to make some good memories.

SCC's latest album featured the song Cinderella. He wrote the song after giving baths to two of the youngest girls. He was getting frustrated with them because they were not cooperating. Ever been "there"? We certainly have. The inspiration behind the song is a challenge for us as parents to slow down and enjoy our children because they grow up so fast. As a matter of fact, the last words of the song are "then she'll be gone." Wow...

From Steven Curtis Chapman's Blog...

2008-05-22T06:53:00.001-05:00

Unthinkable Tragedy
All night I kept asking myself, could this really be true? There are no words I can think to type to describe the sorrow around the Chapman family tonight.
Maria Sue Chapman, adopted and youngest daughter to Mary Beth and Steven Curtis Chapman, was killed tonight in a tragic accident in the family driveway on Wednesday evening. She was LifeFlighted to Vanderbilt Children's Hospital but for only reasons God can explain she went home to Him... Not to Franklin as we all so desperately wanted.
The family eventually left the hospital and was surrounded by friends and family at their home church where many had instinctively gathered to hug and cry and pray together. There must have been 250 people or more there at this impromptu gathering after 9pm at night
Friends. Please pray for this family who has loved so generously so many.

Small Town, Big Miracle

2008-05-18T15:47:00.004-05:00

Small Town, Big Miracle is another great book to read about orphans. The difference with this books is that it talks about the orphans right here in our own back yards.

A little church in a community called Possum Trot, in Texas took seriously the command of James 1:27. The pastor and his wife took in a child through foster care and adopted the child. A few years later, this church that was averaging about 100 people each Sunday, had adopted 73 children through the foster care system of Texas.

What I love about this book is that it gives a "real life" picture of what life is like by adopting an older child. They had to use a lot of tough love with these kids - but the kids also had to use a lot of tough love with these new parents... Bishop Martin says that he did not have a lot of education about raising children with special needs - he just used the principles of Scripture and a lot of love.

I was able to meet him a few weeks ago and he is one great guy to be around. I really enjoyed his humble spirit and thunderous laughter.

Pick up this book and give it a read - it will challenge you just as it did me.

Christian Alliance for Orphans

2008-05-07T14:57:00.006-05:00

I just returned from the Christian Alliance for Orphans Summit IV. It was an incredible weekend! As you may or may not know, this Alliance was formed four years ago with the leading of Shaohannah's Hope, Family Life, Focus on the Family, Bethany Christian Services, Crown Financial Ministries, Lifesong for Ophans, and many other Christian agencies. There are adoption agencies, orphan care agencies, churches, and media working together in the name of Christ to care for orphans all across the world. You can see more information about the alliance by clicking here. The summit has really grown over the past several years. Summit I had 39 people, Summit II had 90, Summit III had 250, and Summit IV had around 600!

This year the host was Calvary Chapel Fort Lauderdale. This is an amazing church with an amazing heart for the orphan. Several years ago the pastor read a newspaper article that was explaining how foster kids were sleeping in office buildings because there was not enough homes open to them. At the same time, a lady in his church had been trying to talk to him about the need of children in their city. He calls her the "Pint Sized Prophet." Today, about 25% of the foster kids are in Christian homes! The have started a ministry called 4 Kids. Take some time to check it out. http://www.4kidsofsfl.org/

There is No Me Without You

2008-04-24T14:03:00.004-05:00

I first heard of this book from a co-worker, Janie Van Dyke (who is the greatest orphan advocate that I know). I added it to my list and moved on. I was busy and really didn't have time to read it. A few weeks later, I was looking through the Sunday newspaper. James always wants the "funny papers". He loves the Sunday edition since it is in color. Me - I like the ads. I first go through all of the electronics ads and then through the sporting goods. Since James, Jared, and I are the first ones up on Sunday mornings, I usually pull out the sections that Beth looks at first and set them aside for her. That would include the coupons, Target, and Weekend Magazine (or Parade).

On one particular week I decided to thumb through the Weekend Magazine. I came across an article about an Ethiopian adoption. It was fascinating. A lady had taken her daughter back to Ethiopia to visit. As I read through it, I realized that this was the author of the book that Janie had told me about. There is No Me Without You by Melissa Fay Greene. We later purchased it and I have read it twice since then.

If you want to see a real picture of what life is like in Africa as a result of AIDS, you must read this book. It is absolutely fascinating. It opened my eyes in so many ways.

Here is a link to the article in Parade - click here.

Orphans Bring People Together

2008-04-11T07:02:00.004-05:00

It is amazing how pain can make many of us put aside our differences. American Idol raised a lot of money this week with Idol Gives Back. It was a "star studded" event. For me though, the real stars were those that we only met during the broadcast. It was the 12 year old in Africa that is raising his brothers and sisters because his parents have died due to disease. It was the workers who have committed their lives to live in deplorable conditions to save the lives of many and make lives more comfortable for "the least of these." Yes, we did get to see real stars on Wednesday night. Stars that are brighter than Bono, Robin Williams (who was hilarious), and Miley Cyrus.

All of this made me think about these verses from Philippians 2:

14Do everything without complaining or arguing. 15Then you will be blameless and innocent. You will be God’s children without any faults among people who are crooked and corrupt. You will shine like stars among them in the world 16as you hold firmly to the word of life. Then I can brag on the day of Christ that my effort was not wasted and that my work produced results.

One other huge "cudo" for American Idol... If you haven't heard, on Wednesday night the group sang "Shout to the Lord." However, they substituted the word "Shepherd" for "Jesus". Theologically, not a bad thing -but that was not the purpose. Thursday night they did it again and used the word "Jesus." So, if you missed it, here it is:

15 Years...

2008-04-04T08:57:00.006-05:00

This week two milestones were passed in our family. On March 27th, Beth and I celebrated our 15th wedding anniversary. Actually - we didn't really get to celebrate until this week. As you can see, I am a pretty sentimental kind of guy. I took her to see the worlds largest bean! This is Chicago. This "Bean" is in a park in downtown and when you look at it, it reflects the entire skyline. We had a great time there as we we also able to spend some time with others who are adopting or have a heart for orphan care.

The second milestone was a little more troubling... Our oldest daughter turned 13 this week. We could not be more proud of her. Heather has become a great young lady. She does great in school but more than that - she has a caring heart. She was actually able to go on a cruise this week (paid for by her friends family - since I have never been on a cruise, I could not pay for her to go on one first!) She has been to China twice and she has also been in New York City. When I was her age, I had been to Six Flags in Atlanta a few times and to Gulf Shores, Alabama because we had relatives living there. Times have changed...

Rick Warren on Orphans

2008-03-28T08:31:00.002-05:00

wow.........

Creative Ways to Help Orphans

2008-03-20T11:39:00.009-05:00

I am learning about several businesses that are purposefully helping orphans around the world. Here are a few:

Saint’s Coffee is a small-batch, micro-roaster offering specialty blends and unique varietals of 100% fair trade and organic
coffees. But beyond being the freshest, finest, and fairest of them all—Saint’s Coffee is transforming the lives of orphaned
children by investing almost 1/3rd of net profits from every sale into organizations helping children. http://www.saintscoffee.com/

Toms Shoes is another organization that has a heart for those in poverty. For every pair of shoes that is sold, a pair is given away. You can see more about Toms Shoes at http://www.tomsshoes.com/.

Bethany Christian Services also has the Extra Mile Fund. This fund has been established for those kids who are caught in the middle of not receiving support from other granting organizations, but without help will have an unmet need. To see more about the Extra Mile Fund, click here. For International Sponsorship with Bethany (where you can sponsor a child on a regular basis) click here.

On the Radio Today...

2008-03-17T07:32:00.003-05:00

I received the following Email from a friend of mine today.

Dear Friends of H4O,

I wanted to let you know that our good friends Benedict & Kathleen Schwartz with All Kids Can Learn International and Children of Zion Village will be guests on FamilyLife Today both Monday and Tuesday, March 17th-18th, next week. Dennis Rainey will be interviewing them about the exciting orphan ministry opportunities for this Alliance partner in Namibia and Zambia. Please let your network know about this broadcast. You can learn more about local stations carrying FamilyLife Today or listen on line at: http://www.familylife.com/site/c.dnJHKLNnFoG/b.3204549/

Thank you for your support of Hope for Orphans and we pray that you will let us know how we can serve you.

IN HIM

--
Paul Pennington
Executive Director
FamilyLife’s Hope for Orphans

The Schwartz's are partners with Bethany. I was able to meet Benedict back at the beginning of January in Maryland. He and several of his board came to my hotel before I was leaving to fly home to share with me about their program. It is a great story that you do not want to miss!

Johnny

He was Adopted?

2008-03-14T09:52:00.005-05:00

If you are like me, there are many people in your life that you never knew were adopted. Especially if they were adopted into a family where they all look alike. It is fairly obvious that Beth and I have adopted James and Xiaoli since they are very Asian and we are very caucasian.

One such person that I was surprised about when I heard their story is Mark Schultz. Mark is a Christian Music Artist that has been one of my favorites for a long time. He recently wrote a song about adoption and it has risen to number one on some Christian music charts. The following is the music video followed by him sharing the story of song. Enjoy.

Dangerous Surrender

2008-03-09T07:23:00.004-05:00

I have learned a lot over the past couple of years about orphans. Little did I know how much I would learn about HIV/AIDS. Back in November, I was priviledged to have breakfast with Elizabeth Styffe of Saddleback Church in California. Elizabeth is many things: wife, mother, nurse, speaker, HIV/AIDS Ministry Director at Saddleback, and best friends and traveling companion with Kay Warren.

As we were discussing how we all even got to this meeting and our journey through adoption and orphan care, Elizabeth made this statement, "At Saddleback we say that you cannot talk about AIDS without talking about orphans and you cannot talk about orphans without talking about AIDS." I have learned just how true that statement is. Estimates are all over the place when it comes to orphans. However, I ran across one the other day that estimates how many double orphans (no mother and no father) will be in Africa within the next two years. The lowest estimate is 11 million and the highest estimate is 40 million.

Kay Warren's (wife of Rick Warren) newest book, Dangerous Surrender, was released last year. Speaking at a conference about her book the other day she made a statement that I could have said myself. It concerns her awareness to the issue of AIDS and orphans after being confronted by some statistics in a magazine article a few years ago: "I didn't care about AIDS in Africa. I thought it was a gay man's disease, so in the theology I had at the time, I didn't have to care. I didn't know anyone who had AIDS. I had a heart that was very hard, apathetic and very wrong." Later she says, "It was as though a blindfold had been ripped from my eyes. ... How did I miss this pandemic? Do I even know the name of one orphan? What is wrong with my faith?"

To read more about Kay's speech the other day click here: http://www.theledger.com/article/20080308/NEWS/152320967/1374

To see more about the book click here: http://www.kaywarren.com/

See it, Touch it, Smell it...

2008-03-04T07:20:00.001-06:00

A very “Dear” friend of mine and I were talking on the phone a few months ago and he was telling me about a trip that he was about to take to Kenya. My friend pastors a church in Ohio and he and I talk about once every two months or so. I was surprised to hear about this trip. My friend had never traveled internationally before. He, like me a few years ago, had spent most of his life in the South East. Travels were pretty confined to Southern Baptist Conventions and other church related activities. We had both lived very sheltered lives.

Even though I have never been to Africa, I have been to Asia. I have been in orphanages and worked with people who live in poverty. I have read a lot about Africa and the effects of HIV/AIDS on the orphan crisis. I tried to prepare my friend for what he was about to see. It is really not possible to fully prepare someone for that first experience. Just as I was not prepared for the day that I stood in an orphanage looking at babies who would be dead in just a few days. I warned him that he would never be the same again.

After his return, we talked again. I could tell by the tone of his voice that he was deeply disturbed (at Saddleback they call this emotion “Gloriously Ruined”.) He shared with me about the conditions and the ravages of HIV/AIDS on a village. One story seemed to sum up many things to me. I will retell it to the best of my memory…

I went to meet with a mother and her nine children in their hut. As I walked in, I was concerned about my Oakley Sunglasses getting scratched by one of those 9 kids running around in such a small area. The mother began to share their story. She was pregnant as well as her 13 year old daughter. To have food, they had to sell themselves as prostitutes weekly. My guide took me to see other families that were in just as bad a shape. As soon as I could get alone, I sat down cried like a baby. I just never knew.

The sad fact is this, the mother and daughter are probably both HIV+. If they are not, they will be soon if they continue these activities. When the mother dies, 11 more double orphans will be in the world (the current nine plus the two that they are pregnant with). This story is repeated over and over and over. The number of double orphans is increasing exponentially.

In America, we have our theology all packaged in a nice little box. However, we see our theology through eyes that do not really understand hopelessness, helplessness, and extreme poverty. Are we wrong about our theology – in the biggest sense, I don’t think so. However, if you were to sit down with this mother do you think you would want to compare “the crosses that we bear”?

If you are reading this and have never seen it, touched it, and smelled it, you might not really get what I am trying to say. Just like my friend. I asked him if he believed me when I tried to explain it to him before he left. He said, “How could I have understood that?” I challenge you – go. Go see it, touch it, and smell it. I promise you will never be the same again.

The "Bluejean Offering"

2008-02-24T07:50:00.003-06:00

A couple of weeks ago I received a phone call from one of my best friends, Dwayne Carson. Dwayne is a long time Campus Pastor at Liberty University. After I answered the phone he said, (in his dramatic central Virginia accent) "How much money do you think our students just raised for orphans?" I replied, "$25,000". He said, "Johnny, Johnny, Johnny... oh ye of little faith." The following article was printed in the Liberty Journal:
Friday, January 25, 2008 by Mitzi Bible | in Student Life

Liberty students were challenged during Spiritual Emphasis Week to give to a missions cause -- and now three Ethiopian children’s lives will be changed forever.

Evangelist David Nasser encouraged students at a Campus Church service Wednesday, January 23 to give a special offering. He called it the "jeans" offering because he encouraged them to give the same amount as their jeans cost.

On the following night’s gathering in the Vines Center, with about 4,000 in attendance, students raised more than $65,000. The offering will help with the adoption of three Ethiopian children from one family who have been separated and put in different orphanages. The vision was to raise enough to pay for the adoption of these children, with the overflow going to other local and international missions causes.

Following that Friday’s convocation, the total collection now stands at around $85,000.

Campus pastor Johnnie Moore called this offering “historic.”

“Honestly, this astounded us,” he said. “The Lord really burdened our students and they gave more than we ever imagined.”

Spiritual Emphasis Week is the spiritual kickoff of each semester, Moore said.

“It’s where we pause a moment in the busyness of things to ask the Lord what He has for us in the coming months. This year we felt inspired to put practical feet to our spiritual growth through acts of service,” he said. “The miracle of this is not that a few people gave a great deal, it’s that everyone gave something. It’s also evidence of the potential impact of Christian college students united under a meaningful cause.”

What a few thousand college students paid for their bluejeans will now give families to 3 Ethiopian children. Because they raised above what is needed for three adoptions, it may bring 4 or 5 children to be with their forever families.

How much did you pay for your jeans? Have you given that much to a kid who just wants a family?

Johnny

Snow and Baseball...

2008-02-15T08:42:00.010-06:00

While I was in Michigan this week - Beth had the kids at baseball practice... Grand Rapids is experiencing the most snow they have had in many years. This was actually one of the very few times that I have actually seen that much snow on the ground at one time. While standing in line to get my rental car, the clerk was talking to the insurance company about the 50 car pile up the day before... One of their customers had been in that wreck. I will have to admit that I was a little apprehensive about driving. However, everything was fine and I learned about driving on the snow.

While I was sitting in my hotel room looking outside at the snow, Beth sent me a text message saying that they were at Xiaoli's first baseball practice. We are kind of surprised that she has decided to play. She is such a prissy girl who is more worried about her hair than catching a ball. She tolerates the boys around our house, but would much rather be sitting around with girls and painting her nails or having her picture taken (as noted in this picture).

We are very excited about an event happening in Sarasota Florida on March 1. Deb Gangemi has put an Orphan Care Conference together. The speakers include Tom Davis (author of Fields of the Fatherless), Emily Chapman (Steven Curtis Chapman's daughter), and several others. I will be leading a session for pastors and how they can lead their church to establish orphan care ministeries. You can see more about the conference at http://www.orphanshope.typepad.com/.

I head to Iowa on Sunday... More snow and cold - while Beth will be enjoying sitting outside at baseball practice. Something about that is wrong at many different levels...

Johnny

3 Years Ago...

2008-02-08T10:05:00.000-06:00

It was 3 years ago this week that Beth and I looked at each other and said, "If we are going to adopt a child - we need to call someone." To say that a lot has happened since that time is an understatement. I made two phone calls the following day and then we received an email with James' picture (pic at left).

James is home and Xiaoli is home. They are living normal lives with Heather and Jared. I can't imagine life without them. People will look at James and Xiaoli and say, "they are really lucky (or blessed) kids..." We are quick to respond that we are the lucky (or blessed) ones...

I heard someone say the other day that maybe we need the orphan more than the orphan needs us. That is a deep thought that will require a lot of contemplating. I do know this - it took "visiting the orphan" to open my eyes to see what "real religion" looks like and what it feels like. We are very different people today. I hope that we are even more different tomorrow.

Colorado Springs

2008-02-01T12:11:00.000-06:00

I spent Monday and Tuesday in Colorado Springs and Denver Colorado this week. To say it is a beautiful place is an understatement. While I did not take this picture, this was pretty much the view from my hotel. It was fairly comfortable on Sunday night when I arrived. However, Monday brought in the winds ahead of a cold front. The gusts were up to 70 mph on Monday. I thought I was back in Florida for a moment waiting on Hurricane Dennis to blow through again...

I was able to meet with some folks from Focus on the Family, Project 127, and Children's Hope Chest. The first I am sure you have heard of and the others maybe not. Project 127 was begun with the hopes of getting children adopted out of the foster system in Colorado. They have made great strides over the past several years. They are already ahead of their goal for this year and they are making an incredible impact on the foster care system. www.project127.com

Children's Hope Chest is an organization that works with children who will probably never be adopted in parts of Russia, Swaziland, and South Africa. They work to get churches to sponsor numbers of orphans at one time. They offer different types of opportunities for caring for the children. They have care points (food distribution, spiritual care, etc.), orphanage partnerships, educational opportunities, and many other creative ways for caring for orphans. You can see a lot more about them at their web site, www.hopechest.org.

This was my first time to visit the campus of Focus on the Family. It is very impressive. They have a department that is now working in the area of orphan care. They too are trying to engage the church. They have some exciting things coming out that will be great tools for churches to use. Once it is ready for distribution, I will write about it again.

The Champions for Children material will be ready VERY soon! Again, I will post more next week on its progress.

Johnny

Super Bowl Commercial... Do you get it?

2008-01-28T09:23:00.000-06:00

The following is a very famous joke within the deaf community...

A New Friend

2008-01-25T10:26:00.000-06:00

I met Tom Vanderwell in Michigan a few months ago. Below is his story as it appears at the I Care About Orphans web site (www.icareaboutorphans.org)...

Boy, was I naïve…..
I remember the Sunday night in October of 2002, when my wife and I looked at each other after reading the stories of kids available for adoption in the Sunday paper. We had commented about them many times, but suddenly it was different. We were actually serious about adding one or two more children to our family! I had no idea how many ways God would change our lives as we followed His call to love and care for orphans in the world.

In the five years since, many people have asked us, “What made you pick Haiti?” The short answer is that God told us to. The long answer is that, as we started exploring different options, we found more and more connections to Haiti. By praying, sharing our “intentions” with friends and family, and asking them to pray for God’s leading, we saw God opening many doors and gently shutting others as we searched for our children. All doors pointed to God’s Littlest Angels in Petionville, Haiti (www.glahaiti.org).

We brought Abby and Isaac home from Haiti in June of 2004. Isaac was 3½ and Abby was just over 2½. Suddenly, we went from having three biological daughters (ages 17, 14 and 12) to having five children. To say that life got a bit busier would be an understatement!

Who would have thought?
Since then, our lives have become a wonderful adventure full of many “Who would have thought?” moments:
Who would have thought that we’d ever have five children in our family with a 15-year age spread between them?
Who would have thought that in the last five years, we’d make more trips to a fourth world country than we would to “resort” countries?
Who would have thought that becoming a trans-racial family would broaden our horizons and allow us to meet so many wonderful people of different races?
Who would have thought that we’d get our story in the local newspapers because our kids were caught in the middle of a government coup?
Who would have thought that our 2nd oldest would decide to devote her life to caring for the orphans in Haiti?
Who would have thought that my very blonde haired wife would learn to be an “expert” in black hair care?
Who would have thought that we’d learn so much about how adopted kids need to be “parented” differently than biological children do?
Who would have thought that this banker from a small town in Michigan would play a large part in helping Bethany Christian Services start facilitating adoptions from Haiti? And that over 70 families have started the process to adopt from Haiti because of that?
Who would have thought that we’d make friends literally all over the world with other families with Haitian children?
Who would have thought we’d have the privilege of watching Abby change from a 20 month old who weighed 12 lbs and couldn’t even stand up on her own to a 6-year-old who is on the go and talking constantly?
Who would have thought that finally having a boy in the family would be so much fun?
Who would have thought I’d be on the board of an orphanage in Haiti and be helping raise money so they can build an orphanage large enough to care for the needy children until they can go home to their forever families?
Who would have thought I’d ever be in a situation where for three months a year, I’d be able to say that I have two kids of the same age and they aren’t twins!
Who would have thought that I’d ever have Focus on the Family ask me to share our story as part of their Orphan Care Initiative?

Since we brought our children home, many people have commented that “those kids are so blessed!” They don’t really understand.

We are the ones who have been blessed even more!

We’re blessed to have them as our children, blessed by the things we’ve learned in the process, blessed by the people we’ve come to meet, blessed by the people we’ve become good friends with through our adoption connections, blessed by a greater appreciation of how God moves and works in this world, and blessed by how good we’ve got it.

Stepping Up
One of the people we’ve met and come to consider friends through our adoption adventure likes to say, “Life is never boring when you follow God’s call.” I firmly believe that now. I think it’s even more noteworthy when you realize that friend of ours has 13 kids, 7 biological and 6 adopted. Now that’s what I call an adventure!

When we responded to God’s urging that we had room for more children in our family, we really didn’t expect that He would lead us this way. It’s been a wild ride with lots of ups and downs, but it has been amazing to see the way God has led and guided us. I wouldn’t trade these last five years for anything, and we’re looking forward to seeing what else God has in store as we continue to follow the call of James 1:27: “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress….”

I’d like to urge you to be open to that “still small voice” and ask God what role you can play in caring for the orphans of the world. Then ask your family and friends to join you in prayer about what role you can all play. If you’d like to talk to me about any of this, please feel free to e-mail me at tvanderwell@sbcglobal.net or call me at (616) 292-2003.

Book Recommendation

2008-01-18T09:34:00.000-06:00

Before I left the staff of Hillcrest a few months ago, my favorite female friend (outside of my family) laid a book on my desk with a sticky note inside. The note said, "I know you probably will not read the whole book, but at least read this chapter." This is one reason that Mary (the Preschool Director) is my FFF, she knows me pretty well...

I took the book home and my wife picked it up. A day later, after completing the book, Beth said, "Forget reading the one chapter - you need to read this entire book!" Now Beth knows me much better than my FFF and she knew I would really enjoy this book. And as always - she was right.

Too Small to Ignore is written by Dr. Wess Stafford of Compassion International. Dr. Stafford grew up on the Ivory Coast of Africa in a village where his parents were missionaries. The book weaves in the tales of a young white kid growing up in a village of Africans. He lived there until he was in his early teens when his parents left the field and moved back to the states. For a man reading this book, the stories alone (killing animals with slingshots and eating monkey fingers) are enough to keep anyone interested.

The theological treaty on what the Bible has to say about children is second to none. I think that it will open your eyes as it did mine to the subtle, and not so subtle, ways that we view children. Here are a few sentences from the beginning of the book:

“Late one evening D. L. Moody, the premier American evangelists of the 1800s, arrived home from speaking at a meeting. Emma, his wife, was already asleep. As her exhausted husband climbed into bed, she rolled over and murmured, ‘So how did it go tonight?’
‘Pretty well,’ he replied. ‘Two and a half converts.’
His wife laid silently for a moment pondering this response, then finally smiled. ‘That’s sweet,’ she replied. ‘How old was the child?’
‘No, no, no,’ Moody answered. ‘It was two children and one adult! The children have their whole lives in front of them. The adult’s life is already half-gone.’

Enjoy the book.

It was a real person...

2008-01-15T08:17:00.000-06:00

I came across a blog post the other day (linked at the bottom of this post). This goes back to the day that our lives were changed in our family. As we walked through the orphanage the day after James joined our family, we knew something had to be done. We were so "green" in this world of orphan care and adoption, we did not even know where to start. Fortunately, another lady (Lori D.) was traveling with us to adopt her daughter. She was more experienced and knew a lot more than we did. She suggested that Love Without Boundaries should be contacted about the opportunity to minister to this orphanage. I don't remember the details of who called who - but LWB got involved within a few days. The link below will take to a follow-up to these events.

Those children that we met that day were real people, real names, real needs... they are real. Eventhough they are half way around the world - they are real. I came across this quote today and it sums up where we are in our lives... "Sometimes I feel like people do not want to 'see' poverty and suffering so they do not have to be accountable for it." Licia, a nurse serving in Haiti.

As I think about where our life is now, compared to where we were 3 years ago - or even 1 year ago - it has certainly been an adventure. So much has changed. I would have never guessed that we would be where we are and doing what we are doing. One of my favorite songs is by an old group called "Truth" titled "So Far, So Good." Here are the lyrics:

We have come so far, You have been so good.
When I trace the road that we have traveled, I've got to tell you Lord,
I look at where we are, and see where I could have been
I need to say again, You've been so good...
Who would have guessed that we would come so far?

http://lwbchinablog.blogspot.com/2008/01/update-on-baby-hercules.html

Christmas with the Carr's

2008-01-12T06:29:00.001-06:00

It took Xiaoli about two seconds to figure out Christmas - at least the secular side of it... She and James went with their class to our local mall on a school field trip. At the mall was a deaf Santa Clause. The kids were able to sign with him and they loved it. Our local TV station was there and Xiaoli made it on the local news. And oh yeah - we got a Wii!!
My travel schedule gets fully underway in mid January. I will be visiting Knoxville, Chattanooga, Denver, Colorado Springs, Seattle, Iowa, Wisconsin, and Chicago in the first quarter of this year. I was in Maryland last week and was able to share the vision for Champions for Children with a local board for one of our Bethany offices. They are very excited about the direction and think that it is a very workable plan. We will actually begin implementing the plan by the end of January.

More updates coming soon...

Johnny

A home for the Holidays - 9th Year

2007-12-14T14:35:00.000-06:00

On Friday, December 21 from 8:00 to 9:00 EST on CBS, you will be able to see the 9th annual "A Home for the Holidays". They will celebrate the joys of foster care adoption with heartwarming family stories and music entertainment. This year’s broadcast features musical performances by Sheryl Crow, Carol King, James Blunt, Fergie, Karmina and Reba McEntire with presenters including Rene Russo, George Lopez and David Krumholtz.

Unfortunately, I was already booked and could not be there to sing for them. :)

Help is needed...

2007-12-04T07:32:00.000-06:00

We have some friends who live in China and work with physically and emotionally challenged children. They have had RSV get into their home this past week and it has been a tough time. They have lost one baby to the virus already. They just had a surgery for a Spina Bifida child last week and now there is a baby who needs a heart surgery. If you would like to help, please contact me at pcola_johnnycarr@yahoo.com.

Moving Along...

2007-10-31T08:59:00.000-05:00

Things are moving along in our life here in Pensacola. The kids are all in school and doing very well. James and Xiaoli are in a mainstream kindergarden class together with an interpreter. They are both making great progess with each passing day.

Johnny, Jared, and James went to Talladega Superspeedway a few weeks ago. The boys loved it. They sat on the second row until the men on front row took Jared and James and made them sit with them. We are not sure how much of the day that the men will actually remember... They were partaking of "adult beverages" as quickly as they could put one down and then pick up another.

Johnny's travels with Bethany are interesting and without incident. He is meeting some great people across the country and learning a lot about things that are already happening concerning adoption and orphan ministries.

We have updated our Adoption Video (see above). It now has both adoptions on the same song and is Closed Captioned for our friends who cannot hear the words to the beautiful song by Steven Curtis Chapman.

The Carr Family

Bethany Christian Services

2007-09-26T19:44:00.000-05:00

This week I began work with Bethany. The learning curve is steep but not impossible! The people are incredible and truly love what they do. I have been welcomed with open arms and we are looking forward to the future.

We are looking at ways to be able to communicate with the Champions for Children who are all around the country - and this blog might be that vehicle of communication. If not, it will be something very similar.

As soon as we make a decision, I will post it here.

Johnny

A New Chapter...

2007-08-28T18:06:00.001-05:00

Today, I formally gave the following statement to our church:

Dear Hillcrest Family,

Two and a half years ago our family set out on a journey not having any idea where it would lead. I had called an adoption agency in California as a result of a Google search. Ten minutes after that conversation, I received an email with the information about James. Little did we know the involvement that we would discover and enjoy with China and with orphan/adoption ministry. Two mission trips and another adoption later, we find ourselves where we are today.

To say that God has been working in our family and teaching us new things is an understatement. God has given me and Beth a passion for orphan and adoption ministry like we have never known before. As a result of this, I am giving my letter of resignation to Hillcrest to accept a position with Bethany Christian Services. I will be the first National Director for the Champions for Children program. This new program is Bethany's effort to engage churches around our country in orphan and adoption ministry.

I want to thank you for following while I have tried to lead. I cannot say enough for all that you have done for me and my family. I can honestly tell you that I have done my best to serve you well. This new position does not require us to relocate and I have asked Pastor Jim's permission for our family to remain active members here at Hillcrest and he has graciously given us his blessing. Though we plan to continue as active members of our church, my final day on staff will be Sunday, September 16.

Let me say for the record, Hillcrest is as healthy as she has ever been. We are seeing numbers like we have never seen. We are seeing spiritual breakthroughs and new people in leadership. Jim Locke has brought a style of leadership that is refreshing, humble, and Godly. Jim has been nothing but gracious to me and my family since his arrival here at HBC. He has taught me many things, and I look forward to my family sitting under his teaching in the days ahead so that we can continue to grow. We are looking forward to serving with you to see Hillcrest continue to reach out to Pensacola, Northwest Florida, North America, and the world.

Johnny Carr

I begin work with Bethany on September 24.

Xiaoli's Birthday

2007-08-26T14:56:00.000-05:00

We celebrated Xiaoli's first birthday with us this past week. I did not take her long to figure out how to open presents!! She continues to do extremely well and her adjustment continues to amaze us.

Pictures of the party are on our dropshots page (www.dropshots.com/pcola_johnnycarr) but they are listed under January of 2006. We did not set the date properly on the camera so it thinks that it took those pictures way back then. If someone knows how to change the dates on the pictures, please tell me!!

The picture on this page is from our last day of vacation at Smith Mountain Lake in Virginia. It is pretty symbolic of our family. James is just being himself...

Orphan Ministries

2007-08-13T08:13:00.000-05:00

Orphan Care is beginning to take importance in many churches and with Christians. Look at some of these examples from the Voice of the Orphan website:

Bennett Chapel Baptist Church, Possum Trot, Texas – Over the past 8 years Pastor WC Martin and his congregation of less than 200 adopted over 70 children from the Texas foster care system.

First Baptist Church of Brenham, Texas – This church hosted 29 children from Kazakhstan for a month stay in Christian homes. As a result 41 children between the ages of 5 to 15 have gotten a forever family. This is in a town of less that 16,000 people.

Antioch Bible Church, Kirkland, Washington - Antioch Adoption Agency - "No Fee" adoption? Whoever heard of such a thing? It started with a twelve-year dream of Dr. Ken Hutcherson, pastor of Antioch Bible Church in Kirkland, Washington. He desired to see all children from the foster care system adopted into loving homes.

Foothills Community Church, Jefferson County, Colorado – Sponsoring local county Foster Children Events - This church has sponsored events and parties for the foster children in their county.

The Micah Fund - Minority Infant and Children Adoption Help (MICAH) Fund - The Minority Infant and Children Adoption Help (MICAH) Fund provides financial assistance for qualified Christian adoptive parents in Minnesota going through agencies that are committed to providing quality services. Since 1989, they have helped place over 225 children into loving Christian homes.

To see more information, click here www.voiceoftheorphan.org.

Johnny

Vacation

2007-07-31T07:41:00.000-05:00

We are enjoying our first vacation together as a family. We are close to Lynchburg, Virginia (where we used to live) at a lake named Smith Mountain Lake. It is know as the "What About Bob" lake. That movie, with Bill Murray and Richard Dryfus, was filmed here. This morning we will take the boat to the Bob house and then turn around and come back.

James and Xiaoli have stolen the hearts of our friends here in Lynchburg and the lake. They are real daredevils on the water. They are not scared at all. They rode with Heather in a 3 man tube and loved every second of it. They kept signing "faster" and "more bumps". Chris really took them for a ride and James got upset when he had to give us a turn to ride the thing!!

I was able to meet with the pastor and some key leaders of our former church here yesterday. They are ready to begin an orphan/adoption ministry here. I was very excited to meet with them and share what I have learned - but most of all to share what we have experienced. So many possibilities are out there for churches in this area of ministry. I pray that God will use our story and the stories of countless others to inspire churches to get involved in this most important area of ministry.

There are more pictures loaded on our dropbox site. Click the link at the top left that reads "Click here to see more pictures".

Johnny

Finally... Another Post

2007-07-22T16:26:00.000-05:00

Sorry... Someone emailed me the other day and said "Is anything wrong? You haven't posted in a long time." I told him that I had a one word answer, "lazy."

So here is the latest... Xiaoli continues to do great. Her adjustment has just been way to easy. We tell those who have watched our family and who are considering adoption that they should not use our experience as an example. Ours has just been too easy. To be honest, most are not like ours at all. We do not deserve how easy we have it!

James is also doing great. He did have some surgery on an area next to his right ear. There are technical terms that I can't spell but suffice it to say that it was probably the cause of his deafness. It was a birth defect that is now corrected. However, it will not improve his hearing. We only discovered it a few months ago when he developed a severe infection on the side of his head.

Heather is losing her best friend at the end of the year. Her family will be moving to Siberia to be Missionaries with the International Mission Board. She is sad but excited. She is such a mature young lady and we are very proud of her.

Jared is becoming a young man. He has hit a growth spurt that includes the broadening of his shoulders. He loves his brother and sisters and would be more than happy to adopt again!

Beth and I had the opportunity to speak to a college and singles group from Alabama this past weekend. We were able to share what we have learned about missions and adoption. I am looking forward to seeing what will happen with some of those young men and women in the future. As a public speaker, there are times when you know that the audience is "getting it." They were getting it. They are excited about partnering with our church in mission efforts in the near future.

The student ministry of our church just spent a few days in El Salvador on a mission trip. Three of the families on that trip are seriously considering adopting some of the kids from the orphanage that they were working with. Things are happening at Hillcrest in the area of adoption. It has taken a few years, but I really believe that we are beginning to see some momentum.

I promise to post at least once a week in the future!

Johnny

Will post again soon...

2007-06-09T23:17:00.000-05:00

Sorry for the delay in posting again. Check back by Monday for updated pics and stories. We went to the Zoo today, so we will have some interesting pictures!

Johnny

First Week at Home

2007-05-26T12:20:00.000-05:00

We have really had a great first week. This has been the last week of school for Heather and Jared so we had lots of award ceremonies and parties. This gave both of them ample opportunity to show off their new sister.

Xiaoli continues to fit right in. She enjoys having her own bedroom and seems to enjoy sleeping alone in her room. We were concerned about how she would feel being alone in her room since that may be a first for her - but it has not bothered her that we know of.

Her smile is infectious. She can light up a room in a hurry! She meets no strangers and enjoys the attention that she is receiving right now. Some how and some way, God knew exactly what He was doing by putting Xiaoli in our family! We now have 4 entertainers under the age of 13!

We did have her hearing tested this week. Just as we expected, she is considered "profoundly deaf." This means that her natural hearing does not start until sounds reach above 90 decibels. On most frequencies, her hearing starts at around 100. Comparitively, James' hearing starts around 80. He is in the severe category of hearing loss.

Her signing continues to go very well. She is really eager to learn. She has so much to say but very little vocabulary to say it with. She communicates her need most of the time but gets frustrated when we can't understand each other.

Home at last...

2007-05-20T20:22:00.000-05:00

Sorry for the delay in posting. We have been very busy and very tired since arriving home. We made all of our flights and all were on schedule. Immigration was a struggle in Atlanta because they have added an extra step. It took about one hour to get through immigration, customs, and security. We then did the "O.J. Simpson" and ran through the airport to make our flight to Pensacola.

While waiting for our ride to the airport in Guangzhou, we were sharing a sofa with a middle eastern couple. The lady offered the kids a piece of candy. The all excitedly took the candy. She then asked if we were caring for James and Xiaoli. We told her that we adopted both of them and she was very touched. Come to find out, this couple is from Behran. They were very loving and before long, the kids were climbing all over them and they were loving it! How strange - two Chinese kids broke the barrier between a Christian American family and Muslim Middle Eastern family.

We flew from Guangzhou to Seoul. We had to overnight in Seoul on Thursday before connecting from Seoul to Atlanta on Friday. We were very pleased and impressed with the service we received on Korean Airlines. They smiled when James spilled his water, they smiled when James spilled his orange juice, and they smiled when James spilled his tomato juice. For those of you looking to fly to China - we highly recommend Korean Air.

Upon our arrival to our house, we took Xiaoli up to her room. She was all smiles! James began to show her everything that is hers. He took her shoes out of the closet, opened the drawers that are full of her clothes, and showed her the toys. She was very excited. She looked and touched for hours! She tried her clothes on, played with the dolls, and sat on her bed. She was trying her best to take it all in. She didn't stop smiling for a long time - at least until "Snapper the Cat" came in the room. She is not fond of Snapper. In their first meeting she tried to pet Snapper in a way that he didn't like - so he bit her finger. No blood, not even a mark. He was just trying to say, "Hey new kid, stop that and learn the rules!"

Yesterday I took her to Walmart to purchase a Big Wheel. This was also the first thing that I did with James once we got home. As we walked down the aisle, she spotted one with Dora the Explorer on it. She began pointing and grunting very loudly. I picked it up and put it in the basket and she went crazy.

We will continue to post from time to time. We are also continuing to post all of our pictures on the Dropshots site. You can link to it on the left of this blog.

Thanks again for all of your encouragement and support while we have traveled. I will say it again - There is no place like the United States and there is no place like home!!

Johnny

Paperwork Finished

2007-05-15T17:41:00.000-05:00

Tuesday was a good and bad day. It was good in that we took our oath at the US Consulate so everything is officially finished concerning our paperwork. The minute Xiaoli's passport is stamped in the States, she will be a U.S. citizen. We have a very important envelope that was given to us by the consulate that we will give to the immigration officer that has all the official documents inside of it. We have been told at least 50 times that we can not open the envelope. If it is opened before the immigration officer receives it - it is null and void. Needless to say, James does not get to even look at that packet.

It was a bad day in that we were all very tired physically. The trip has officially caught up with us. We also may have had something to eat that didn't agree with us. We were all just a little nausious and didn't feel very well. We stayed in the room most of day except to go to the Consulate appointment. Sorry - no pictures today. It is not permissable to take a camera into the consulate.

Xiaoli has a lot to say - but with very vocabulary. She is picking up signing very fast. She already understands that everything has a "label". James was a good bit younger and it took him a little faster to catch on. Xiaoli was using signs that they had made up together at the orphanage. She is transitioning fast and now knows the most important signs: coke, bathroom, eat. Her least important signs include: bed time, NO, and clean up. The "No" and "clean up" become more important to her when she is saying them to her two brothers!

I believe that we will find that she is profoundly deaf. She may not have any hearing at all. She does not respond to the loud noises that James responds to. We do not have a copy of her hearing test, so we will get that checked upon our return to the states. She does not have any hearing aides - which may mean that her hearing is so bad that they can not help her.

Today is a free day. Tomorrow morning we will eat breakfast and then fly to Seoul. We have to overnight in Seoul and then on Friday we will fly to ATL and then to Pensacola. This may be our last post since tomorrow morning will be so hectec. After we get home, I will post again to give you an update.

Thanks for following us and sending us your messages!

The World Gets Smaller

2007-05-13T17:17:00.000-05:00

This is an interesting picture... you are about to witness "A Divine Appointment". As I walked with Xiaoli hanging on my leg, the couple straight ahead of me began to watch. As I approached them I joked, "this is bonding gone bad". We laughed and Beth walked up. They were nice enough to introduce themselves and we began to chat. They are from the Virginia Beach area. We began swapping adoption details and the topic turned to deaf culture. They have a friend at their church who has deaf children. The mom is working trying to get hearing aides donated to a deaf school outside of Beijing. This, of course, struck our hearts. They said their friend was working with a guy named "John Bentley"......

I was able to give them more information about the deaf school project. I then pointed at James and said - and here is the very first link of the chain to that deaf school in China. We were all blown away at how this divine appoinment happened. We are looking forward to working with them in the future.

We spent the rest of the day shopping. We only bought a few small items. We did want to buy Xiaoli a necklace to wear when she gets married. Beth bought it at the Pearl Market. The prices are so low it is just unbelievable.

I wanted to buy Beth something for mother's day but we didn't see anything that stuck out to us. I wanted her to have something special to remember this trip as we celebrated her being a mom yesterday.

Concerning Beth, let me take an editorial priviledge and just say that she is an incredible Mom! She has stretched me in many ways over the years and these adoptions have been the "stretchiest!" However, with the greatest risks come the greatest rewards! Beth has the gift of Faith and it drives me crazy. I love her very much and I can't imagine my life without her.

We both also want to say Happy Mother's Day to our moms back in the States. We will be home soon for you to meet your granddaughter!

Monday is the consulate appointment. Our guide takes the paperwork to the consulate office and we stay in our hotel room. If there are any questions, she will call us. If not, she will call to give us the all clear and then we are free for the rest of the day. On Tuesday, all the paperwork will be finished.

Here are some more pics... and dont' forget to click on the link to the left for all of our pics.

It's a Small World

2007-05-12T08:09:00.000-05:00

We had a nice day in GZ today. Beth and Heather took Xiaoli for her physical while the boys and I went to drop off laundry and go to the bank to exchange money. We have 3 other families from IAAP here so we will be spending some time with them tomorrow. Xiaoli's physical was fine except they found that she has an ear infection. Beth has also picked up poision ivy... They gave both of them some medicine and they should both be fine.

The bank was quite an experience. You go in and a security guard gives you a number. Ours was A3027. I shall never forget that number. You sit down until your number comes up over one of the service windows. After about 30 minutes into the deal (remember that James and Jared are with me being forced to be still and quiet) a teenaged girl came over and handed me her number. She was tired of waiting. It was A3016. In her broken English she said "this one will be faster." I just knew that if I jumped up there ahead of those other people who were there before us - and believe me, they all knew when we came in - that their might be a riot and I would not know what was being said. So I chickened out and didn't go up when A3016 was called. Given that option again, I would take it. We waited another 45 minutes to be called!! A total of 1 hour and 15 minutes of waiting!

Tonight Heather and I went to pick up our laundry. Along the way we spotted another family that was here adopting the same time that we were here getting James. They were using the same agency that we were at the time so we had our consulate appoinment together. They are some really nice people and we enjoyed catching up with them. They are from California and we have met them twice in our life time - both times half way around the world in a little place called Shamain Island in GZ, China. It is a small world!

Johnny

Here are some pics from the past few days...

Guangzhou

2007-05-11T17:16:00.000-05:00

Well, we finally made it to Guangzhou. Friday was very uneventful. We got up late, ate breakfast, packed our suitcases, and had lunch again with Patrick and Amy. Our friends at home, Anne and Chris, adopted Sawyer here a few months ago and they told us about a great restaurant just around the corner of the hotel. We took our friends there and the 9 of us ate for $10.00. That included to plates of delicious pork and 4 huge bowls of noodle soup.

We were also able to spend time in the morning with Bob. He brought us our finalized paperwork. He is more than just a guide to us - Bob has become part of our family. He is the person that has introduced us to our children. He is the person that helped me and my friends last year on our trip of love here to China. We also got to talk a long time this morning about things that are really important in life. He is very intelligent and well read. We hope that one day, he will be able to visit us in the states and let us be his guide. I would like to ask all of my friends to pray for him today. Pray for his good health, long life, and the discovery of all things that are truly important in life. He is not married but takes care of his family. He has a sister that has a daughter that he loves very much. He is very important to our family. To show his love to our family, Bob presented us with a gift as we left for the airport yesterday!

Bob - I know you read this blog, so let us say again: You are a great friend and now a member of our family. We look forward to knowing you even better!

Today we do a lot of paperwork and take Xiaoli to get a medical report. Other than that, most of the time in Guangzhou is relaxed. It just takes several days for our paperwork to be processed.

BTW: We are now experiencing the joys of the "Great Fire Wall of China"! While you can see our blog - we can't! I can get into the "backdoor" to post and i receive emails with any of your comments - but we can't see the blog itself. So if things aren't lining up or look bad - i'm sorry.

Should have more pics uploaded by 6:30 p.m. friday, May 11 CST.

The Carr's

Thursday

2007-05-10T17:37:00.000-05:00

I (Johnny) write to you this morning feeling a little "skrunched"... I am in the bed with James on one side and Xiaoli on the other. They are having a competition to see who can be closest to me. I have learned the Chinese word for "jealous" because we have had to use it several times! James has actually been very good. I know this has been a very emotional trip for him and overall has been great.

We started the day by going to the notary to finalize the adoption. The Notary here is not like in the states, he is more like a Judge with an official office. This finalized the adoption. It was the same man who did James' and he was happy to see how James had grown. As we stood in front of the Chinese flag he asked us: "Do you promise that you are adopting this child from your heart?" "Do you promise never to abandon or abuse this child?" Of course we said yes. There was something very sincere and tender about this man. You could tell that he was greatful to administer this process.

We then visited Jioazou. We visited Xiaoli's orphanage and she did great. We were also able to meet her caregivers. There is an organization from Australia named COAT that works specifically with this orphanage. Xiaoli was one of their sponsored children. They are the reason for the great transition. They have been working with her perparing her for all of this. We are forever indebted to them for how they have cared for our daughter.

We later went to her "finding spot." This was the location where she was found by the police several years ago. She had no reaction while we were there so she may have no memory of it.

After returning to Zhengzhou, Bob took us to a book store. This place made Barnes and Nobles look like a small coffee shop. It was huge and 4 stories tall! It was interesting to walk around in the store. Bob is very intelligent. He was an English Literature major in college. He and Beth were talking about Robert Frost and other poets. I just listened.

We ended the night by meeting our friends at an American Pizza buffet. Jared was probably the most excited!! He still does not take to kindley to the Chinese food. Patrick and Amy are great! It is just a real encouragement to be around them. They have Abbie, their adopted Chinese daughter, and they also brought their neighbor's son with them. He is Jared's new friend. So we were quite the spectacle at the restaurant. 4 Adults with 6 kids - 3 American born and 3 Chinese born. Once again the camera's came out and it was time for people to practice their English.

Unfortunately, in our rush to get in a Taxi, I left Patrick holding our camera. He will be bringing it to us this morning and I will be able to post some pics from today.

We fly to Guangzhou today. Zhengzhou has special memories to us and we look forward to returning here often to continue our friendships.

Johnny

More Pics

2007-05-09T15:19:00.000-05:00

Be sure to click on the link to the left that says "CLICK HERE FOR MORE PICTURES". That is where we are uploading all the pics that we are taking. The ones with the children lined up are from the deaf school. They learned a song in either Chinese Sign Language or their own made up sign language (we aren't sure which) that was a song to say "Thank You" for the help that has been brought to them. They also had a parent of one of the children who spent most of the day with us. It was great to see him and the love that he has for his deaf daughter.

May 8: That was "gotcha day". We stayed in the hotel for lunch and then to the Civil Affairs office to do paperwork. For supper, we took a taxi to McDonalds. We are brave enough to venture out this far without a guide. This time we had our first (as Bob says) "troubles". Our bell hop at the hotel tells the driver where to take us and then we have a Business card in Chinese that reads "Please take me to the Crown Plaza Hotel" to use to get us back. The driver took us to the McDonalds. I opened the front door to get out and hit a lady on her bicycle......... It knocked her off and down she went. It was quite a commotion. I did what any brave American male would do in this situation: I closed the door and looked at the cab driver. He said, "qoei fwehrn oien oen f8e ajnfuwhe jfowi!" I said "Wa jongwen shouda bo how" or "I do not speak Chinese very good". He got out and they argued for a little while. Xiaoli was sitting in my lap and everytime I would look at them she would turn my head back to her and tell me not to watch the argument. The driver got back in the car and wrote down "30". I did not have any small change so I pulled out 100 (about $12 USD). I started to give it to her and yanked it from my hands and gave me change. I gave her 30 RMB and she said in english "I am sorry, welcome to China." Then we went in and enjoyed our Mickey D's.

May 9: Our trip to James' orphanage. My second "troubles" happened there. You will see a picture of me sitting on a table holding James while the orphanage staff is standing behind me. That is the last moment in the life of that table....... As I started to stand up, it broke all into pieces... They all laughed and quickly removed the table from the room trying to make us feel as comfortable as possible.

The Carr's

UPDATE: I forgot to tell you that the swingset and playground the kids are playing on at the orhanage is the one donated by Hillcrest last year. They are very greatful!

Tuesday and Wednesday

2007-05-09T06:01:00.000-05:00

It is hard to even know where to begin. Yesterday and today could have been nightmares or great days. Thank God they were great days. As Johnny posted, Xiaoli entered with a smile and didn't stop. She had been prepared for her transition. She came with a family photo of us and she pointed out each of us in the photo and then in the room. She is so happy to have her family. She doesn't stop touching, hugging, kissing and smiling. She wanted Mama and Heather to sleep with her last night. She even touched me all night. ;0) Elbows, knees, hand, head... Mama got about 18 inches of the king size bed. And I loved every minute of it.

Those who followed us through our journey to James may remember that he is also from the Henan province. Today we carried him back to his orphanage and his deaf school for a visit. We were nervous about how he would react. He knew that we were coming back and we prepared him as well as we could, but we just didn't know what to expect. We went to the orphanage first. After a few timid moments, he came out of his shell and was very comfortable. We had a very good visit. The workers there were very happy to see how he had grown and how happy he was. They presented him with a special gift to remember his city. After our visit there we went to meet his former teacher, ZH. He was very excited to see her and spent a lot of time reconnecting with her. For those of you who don't know, she is the lady in his video that I am hugging and crying with. She loved our James before we could. She taught him for almost a year, but was much more than a teacher to him. She holds a position of honor in our home and we hope to maintain that relationship for James and for us.

James had a wonderful time playing with the kids from his school. He never questioned whether or not he would be leaving with us. He was confident and carefree just as we had prayed for.

We were very proud to see the new facilites where the deaf school in now residing. Through many connections back in the states and the work of Harmony Outreach, they now have a very nice place for the children to learn and sleep. John Bentley met us in Kaifeng today as we also presented the school with a new van. This school is very close to our heart and we are so exited about the great things that are happening for the staff and children.

Tomorrow we will visit Xiaoli's orphanage in Jiaozuo. We will write again soon!

The Carr's

Nothing But Smiles!! Praise the Lord!!

2007-05-07T22:26:00.000-05:00

What are they thinking?

2007-05-07T21:05:00.000-05:00

What is James thinking? That is a question I would love to know. They say that smell is the most sensitive sense that is associated to memory. China has a very distinct smell. I wonder what James is thinking as we ride in a taxi, walk down a street, or shop in a crowded mall. There have been times on this trip where he has gone into "his shell" and just wanted to be held. It may be the time change and the business of our days - or it could the memories of seperation that no 6 year old should have to think about or feel.

What is Xiaoli thinking? We are extremely excited about her coming. We understand what is going on. But what is she thinking? It must be so frustrating to be 5 years old and not be able to communicate your feelings with the world - to not be able to understand what is being said by those around you. What is she thinking this morning? They have placed everything that belongs to her in a bag and everyone is probably hugging her and crying. She has to wonder what is happening... She has seen other children go through this process, then they left and they have never come back again. Is this going to happen to her? What happens to these children, her friends, when they leave? Were they in trouble? Were they taken to a market and left?

There is just so much to think about for deaf child. James just came in and looked over my shoulder. He put his hand on my shoulder and just looked at me. He went and sat down beside Beth and babbled something to her. In his heart he knows what he said... In our hearts we know what we want Xiaoli to understand - but we also know that it will take time. There is no easy way to do this today. For us it will be joyous - for her it will be frightening and stressful.

Today pray for Xiaoli. Pray that God will give her the peace that passes all understanding. Pray that our actions of smiles, touches, and soft words will speak to her fears.

We sincerely thank all of you who have been so supportive of what we are doing over the past couple of years. Our families have been so supportive: in this we are blessed. Our friends have given and been excited for us. Our church has given and prayed. So as we wait these last few minutes, we want to say thank you.

We love you all!

Johnny, Beth, Heather, Jared, James, and Xiaoli

Top 10

2007-05-07T07:37:00.000-05:00

The Top Ten Things that Happened Today:

10. Spent time with our friends.

9. Went shopping close to the train station... not a good idea on the last day of May Holiday! I can not even describe the number of people that we saw today.

8. Went shopping and bargained down to $25.00 on a computer backpack. I saw the same one in the states for $80.00 the other day.

7. Ate lunch at KFC so Jared would actually eat something.

6. Had more pictures made with people on the street.

5. Had a graduate student walk down the street with us just so he could practice his english.

4. Tried to talk to a Taxi Driver with my very poor and broken Chinese. Wa shouda bo how.

3. Held James while he fell asleep at supper.

2. Jared has a new best friend and he got to spend a lot of time with him playing this afternoon.

1. NASCAR: If you have ever ridden in a taxi in Asia, you can stop reading here because you already know what I am going to say... Talk about improving your prayer life!! There was an ambulance that past us on an emergency call. Later, we passed the ambulance - while he was still on his emergency call with his siren and lights turned on!! The drivers here keep one hand on the wheel and one hand on the horn. When changing gears, they have one hand on the gear shift, one on the horn, and an elbow on the steering wheel.

We get Xiaoli at 11:00 tomorrow morning. That is 10:oo p.m. Monday night Central Time. We will post some pics ASAP.

The Carr Family

Sunday - Restful and Inspirational

2007-05-06T17:41:00.000-05:00

Sunday we didn't have anything adoption related on our schedule. We went and met with some other like-minded folks from all over the world. There were about 20 in attendance. Most from the states, one couple from South Africa and one lady from Australia. The South African couple is here on business for a few months and the rest live here where they have devoted their lives to the Chinese people. They usually have a CD or DVD for their Sunday morning gatherings, so today they asked if I would share with them. It was a priviledge to say the least. Heather took the children and shared with them. This was also a great treat for them and the kids.

There was nothing illegal about this meeting since no nationals were in attendance - and never are for these meetings. However, great care is always taken just as in my vocabulary in this post.

I can't put into words my admiration for these people. They are giving up the creature comforts of the states to devote their lives to this people. These are not people who "just couldn't make it in the real world"... Not even close. These are highly educated people who could make a lot more money and live far more comfortable lives in their own countries. No, these are people who love China and its people. Most are teaching in the university.

We went to lunch and then back to their house where the kids could play together. They had a blast. We didn't take any pictures because we just wanted to be a part of real life today and not be the outsiders. It was very refreshing.

Because Monday is the last day of May Holiday here, we will not get Xiaoli until Tuesday morning (we think - it could be in the afternoon). Today we are shopping and spending more time with our friends.

Thanks for checking up on us!!

Johnny, Beth, Heather, Jared, James, and soon... Xiaoli!

We are here...

2007-05-05T20:10:00.000-05:00

Hey everyone from Zhengzhou! We arrived here yesterday afternoon. We aren't really doing much today. Because there is a holiday going on this week, we get Xiaoli on Tuesday. We will keep you updted as we continue to wait and see what will happen. thanks again for your prayers and support!

Heather

Great Wall and Langfang

2007-05-04T15:58:00.000-05:00

We had a great but very long day today. We spent the morning at the Great Wall. Jared and James were wearing their Yao Ming jerseys. This made them stars! You would hear "Xiao Yao Ming" which means 'Little Yao Ming". Then they wanted to know if we knew Yao Ming. Jared has already been stopped for pictures more times than he cares for. He doesn't like that at all, but he is being a good sport.

Our van was over-heating so we had to wait in a hotel lobby before we could go to Langfang. That was 2 hours that I will soon forget... Jared and James can be handful when they are bored! Anyway, we finally got on the road to Langfang and began "mixing it up" with the Holiday traffic. To our great surprise, there was a wreck on the highway. The Langfang drive should have been about 45 minutes. However, the highlight of the day came when the driver said "maybe we will see your friend at around 10:00 this evening because of this wreck."

Fortunately, the wreck cleared up and we were eating supper with John Bentley and his crew (including Levi) by 6:30.

We will write again once we arrive in Zhengzhou.

Don't forget to click at the top left of this blog to be able to view all the pics we are taking. Click on "Click here to see all Pictures". The little girl in the green shirt is being adopted by a friend of ours in Mobile - hence 15 pics! She was not happy that they woke her up for the photo session.

If you don't know about Levi and his story, click on www.savinglevi.com.
Johnny

Made it...

2007-05-03T09:00:00.000-05:00

We are here... We are tired... We are going to bed...

We might not have internet connection again until Saturday night. Will post again ASAP.

Johnny, Beth, and Family

And away we go...

2007-05-01T20:10:00.000-05:00

It's going to be a LONG day...

May 2: Delta 458 PNS-ATL 7:40a.m. (central) - 9:52A (eastern)

May 2: Korean Air 36 ATL-ICN (Seoul) 1:10P - 5:10P (Thursday)

May 3: Korean Air 853 ICN (Seoul) -PEK (Beijing) 7:00P - 8:05P (7:05 a.m. Thursday Morning Central Time)

China is 13 Hours ahead of the Central Time Zone.

Hopefully we will post after we get into our hotel room in Beijing.

Johnny

Thoughts from Jared

2007-04-27T16:17:00.000-05:00

I can`t wait untill we go to china agin. The girl`s name weare going to adopt is Xiaoli. In china before we got James, we had met new friends. Only one pronnounced my name the correct way.
Her name was Dorene. James is not so mature. Other than that he is ok. We don`t have Xiaoli yet. We will leave May 2 2007. I`m excited to get Xiaol! Ilike James as a brother.

4-27-07

Thoughts from James

2007-04-27T16:09:00.000-05:00

james carr oiou ujuct5f6tr u6776thrtrguguyttfdqe888rtbggrh tgurtynvut6yytutt7tgty7yty 76t7

Thoughts from Heather

2007-04-24T20:42:00.000-05:00

One week can seem like forever but I have to admit that leaving is coming sooner than I expected. For two years now I have been praying for Xiaoli constantly. For a long time I even thought we wouldn't get her. Well last summer I was reminded that my God is bigger than a piece of paperwork- or the person behind the paperwork or the person behind the person behind the paperwork. I was reminded that He is in control of every little thing that happens. He is in control of when and what we get. He is in control of it all and has done a good job of reminding me of that. I was really glad when I was placed in a Christian school with the wonderful teacher I have. She has been a great encouragement for me during this time. I am so thankful for everything God has given me. He blesses me so much that sometimes I forget to stop and thank Him. I want to thank everyone for their prayer and encouragement through the waiting period. I might never know why the timing is the way it is but it is in His perfect plan that we go when we go. Thank you all again!!

God Bless,

Heather

A Fine Night...

2007-04-20T07:15:00.000-05:00

Well, I was going to let Jared and Heather post there thoughts here last night - but something more important came up. For those of you not in Pensacola, I need to tell you that our Krispy Kreme was closed several months ago, demolished, and then rebuilt. On Wednesday they reopened. Last night, we stood in line and bought 2 dozen doughnuts.

It is interesting that James likes them. Last year we took two of our Chinese friends there and they hated the doughnuts... I asked Patrick (Cher Ze Chow) what would happen if we opened a Krispy Kreme in the middle of the 100 million people of the Henan Province in Zhengzhou. He said that the business would close in one month. Most of our Chinese friends do not like sweet things to eat. I wonder how Xiaoli will like Krispy Kreme???

Zai Jian

Johnny

2 Weeks....

2007-04-18T09:54:00.000-05:00

As of now, we still do not have our itinerary in place. Our agency has had a few "situations" to deal with over the past several days (that are not related to us) that has captivated their time. We should have some more details in the next couple of days.

We are excited about flying Korean Air this time. This will be a first for us to fly with them. We hear that their service is incredible. We will leave PNS on Wednesday morning flying to ATL. From there, we fly directly to Seoul on a 15 hour, non-stop, flight. Then after a 2 hour lay-over we will fly into Beijing. That flight is only about an hour and a half.

Once in country we will be very busy. Now that we have so many friends and contacts there, we want to make the most of our time. These are the details that we are currently working on.

Over the next couple of days, I will ask Heather and Jared to post their thoughts about our upcoming trip.

Until then...

Zai Jian (Goodbye)

Johnny

Working out the Details...

2007-04-07T19:15:00.000-05:00

Everything is now in place for our trip. The details of our itenerary are now being planned. We will be visiting the Harmony House in Langfang while we are in Beijing. My good friend, John Bentley, and his wife operate this orphanage for special needs children. We will are also working out details about visiting James' orphange and Deaf School in Kaifeng.

You can see more information about Harmony House at www.harmonyoutreach.org or www.savinglevi.com.

Continue to check back for more details.

Happy Easter!

Johnny

LEAVING MAY 2

2007-04-03T13:49:00.000-05:00

It's official. We are leaving on May 2. I will post details later.

Johnny

TA RECEIVED!!!

2007-03-29T22:03:00.000-05:00

OK! The agency actually received the package today! They have put in for the consulate appointment and we are now waiting for the final word to order our tickets!

Continue to check back for the latest word!

Johnny

TA is in the Mail!

2007-03-28T23:56:00.000-05:00

We received word from our agency today that our TA is in the mail coming from China. The next step will be to receive our Consulate Appointment. That will be asked for by our agency as soon as they receive the TA (which should be Friday or Monday.)

This means that we could very well be leaving Pensacola on Wednesday, May 2, to head for China.

Updates will be posted as soon as they are received!!

Still no news...

2007-03-27T15:55:00.000-05:00

Patiently we wait... At this point - we would probably not leave before the last week of April. We will post as soon as we know something.

Be sure to click on the Additional Pictures link on the left side of the page. We have some great pics of Xiaoli on there.

Johnny

Welcome to our New Blog Home

2007-03-19T20:51:00.000-05:00

I hope that this blog will be easier for everyone to use. Keep checking back for updated information about our next journey to get Xiaoli!