9/29 School days

It has been a while since I wrote. September is slipping away and we have had an exciting month in these parts. Jen has a month of school in America under her belt and weathered through a hurricane to boot. It has been a month of blessings. Let me a share a few of them with you...

After a semester of homeschooling Jen, we wanted to explore other options for her education. We support homeschooling and admire those who do so. But for Jen, the drawbacks were growing greater than the benefits. Her verbal skills were falling behind her Cantonese friends who were attending school. In addition, there was only so much socialization into the American culture that we could give her. It was time for a change and so we began the process of enrolling her.

We didn't realize that finding the right place would be so difficult -- just of one of the struggles that comes with adopting a school age child from a foreign culture. In retrospect, I seriously misjudged how difficult it would be and I made a number of assumptions that were incorrect. By the grace of God, Jen was shielded from the experience. Several people took an interest in her case and began to advocate for her. They advised us about what steps to take, whom to talk to and what to say and when. We had to step out of our comfort zone and be bold for her sake. Most of the details need to remain private. A lot of kind people were involved who worked hard to do their jobs and help Jen find her place. Here is what I can share with you.

In late July and early August, we were travelling and had decided that we would enroll Jen in school. Christian school would be our first choice as we wanted to give her a spiritual and moral foundation that she had missed for so many years. The "survival of the fittest" ethic of orphanage life damages the emotions and the worldview of a child. They need extra help to work through those issues. It was our heart to send her there but the costs can be quite high.

After some investigating, we soon were sitting in the office of a Christian school despairing as it became apparent that they could not enroll our daughter. A staff member told us that they knew God had a plan Jen. At the time, it rang so hollow as the door was closing in our face. I wanted to cry out, "You send people out to the world to reach others for Christ and now the 'world' has come to your door and you are turning her away." The rejection stung...as we walked away it didn't seem like the best fit for us. That helped to temper the disappointment I felt. Good people trying to do the best thing for everyone involved -- but it still stung. At that moment, I thought -- if I had the money, I would start a Christian school for foreign orphans.

Facing that closed door, we turned once again toward the public school system. There are far too many details to recount here but we can say that God worked a miracle for Jen. On a Thursday afternoon, I had resigned myself to the fact that we would have to accept a placement for Jen that was problematic. We had exhausted all of our options and the doors were closing around us. On that day, someone saw Jen in person and after one look spoke a single sentence of hope to us. Those words were like the olive branch brought by a dove to Noah after the flood. Too many details and too private to share publicly but on the following Tuesday, Jen started school in the place she needed to be with the people who she needed to help her on her way.

God made a way for Jen where there was no way. And now our little Cantonese girl is happy to go to school everyday, is exceeding the expectations of her instructors and is feeling the joy of being a normal child.

On a Friday morning, we stood by the bike rack at school and in front of the principal she reached up and grabbed my neck and said "I love you" and kissed my cheek and she was off. That kiss was worth all the pearls in the Orient. It was an affirmation that God can make all things new -- that a little girl's life could be made anew in a land very far away from her first home.

An adoption healthcare specialist told us that adopting an older child would be difficult and she was right. But watching a little girl ride down a bike path on her little bike and giggle in delight makes it all worth it.