Visit to Prince of Peace

Today highlighted our trip to POP foster center. According to 2007 statistics, Tianjin has a population of 10.43 million people. It took us 1 1/2 hours from our hotel in the heart of Tianjin to get to the district of Wuqing where POP is located.
Here we met with caretakers and the director of POP where Benjamin spent four years growing up. Such kind and loving people administer care for 110 precious special needs children of various ages. The children were eating lunch and getting settled in for naps by the time we arrived. We tried to take in as many smiling faces of children who had been obviously cared for. Several children with Downs syndrome, many with Cerebral Palsy, some in walkers and wheelchairs and others that were blind, deaf or both. All extremely dependent, needing the specialized touch of someone who cares. It is an awe filled moment to witness helpless little ones being given a compassionate touch and in turn seeing the smiles and looks of wonder as we passed by.
According to Doug Herman in his book called FAITHQUAKE, he quotes from Jeremiah 1:5 " Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations." Jeremiah challenges God after he delivers a message of judgment and repentance.
This is found in verse 1,'You are always righteous, O Lord, when I bring a case before you. Yet i would speak with you about your justice: Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why do all the faithless live at ease?'
" Asking 'why' is completely natural. God is not offended by our wonder. If Jeremiah could ask why, I know I can too. God is not shaken when I ask why. The freedom to ask God why does not give us license to receive a complete explanation. Sometimes asking is all the satisfaction we'll get. Sometimes God gives us the answer, 'Because I am your Father.' He doesn't stop to give us details or gain our approval. He is God, after all, the greatest Father of them all. It really is enough of an answer when it comes from Him."
I can't explain all the thoughts going through my head after our visit to POP. What I can say for sure is that I am extremely grateful to God and these caring people who funded and provided for our son when his needs were so great. God is certainly aware of broken humanity. God doesn't close his eyes to the needs of His children. He does prompt people's hearts to step up and make sure that the most defenseless ones are cared for. Surely this is what we witnessed here today.

Sunday in Tianjin

We woke up around 3 AM. Art and I are still trying to adapt to the time change. By the time we get our body's time clock adjusted to China time, we will be flying back home.
Around 6 AM, Christian opened up the draperies in our room and discovered it had snowed a couple inches over night. Snow only falls in small amounts 2 or 3 times a year here in Tianjin. We walked downstairs for our "usual" breakfast in our hotel and set out with our interpreter for a visit of the downtown area. The picture to the left shows how we have to hold Benjamin back on the elevator, otherwise we will stop at every floor due to his curious button pushing. The stores and sidewalks were crowded with people enjoying their day off with a bit of a holiday spirit in the air. The nice thing about the precipitation here in China is it tends to bring down the pollutants making it easier to breath.
In our wanderings we came upon an old Catholic Church sanctioned by the Chinese government in the heart of downtown Tianjin. We decided to venture in finding a large gathering of Chinese people singing and praising God in a sanctuary ornately painted in pale blue and gold. The priest spoke the mass in Chinese. Our guide said she had never been in a church before. This was such a delightful way to spend Sunday morning.
Thereafter, the boys were treated to ice cream at the Dairy Queen and rides on some coin operated toys. They were in their glory. We all enjoyed getting out with no time constraints. Later in the day we arranged to meet with a family who lived in Grand Rapids for several years and now live and work in Tianjin. We spent a relaxing evening together in their home then shared dinner at a local "hot pot" restaurant in their neighborhood. We enjoyed such wonderful fellowship with like minded people who would have otherwise been complete strangers. We ended the evening shivering on a busy street corner trying to catch a cab with two tired little boys in tow. It appears as if the taxi drivers didn't appreciate taking riders that far across town. It would have helped if we could have understood their explanation in Chinese. Just took us three tries.
Tomorrow ( Monday,) we will venture out to visit Prince of Peace Foster Center where Benjamin called home for the past four years. Please pray for him to have healthy closer to his past and continued peaceful/ secure transition to his life in a family.


Blessings dear ones,

Wendy for Art, Christian and Benjamin

REST and WAIT

Hello all,
It has been a long time since Art and I have had a day to kick back and rest. We hardly know how to handle this forced break in the routine. While I type and Art reads to me from Gary Thomas' book, "Sacred Marriage," the boys are assembling a battery operated gear game. Benjamin (Tai Tai) sings in Chinese as Christian chatters in English. They have been batting a beach ball around all afternoon and wrestling on the beds. You would have thought they'd known each other for a lifetime. How could this be? The answered prayers for this child, his brother and humbled parents are so boldly evident.

The plan for Monday is to travel with our guide and hired driver to Prince of Peace Foster Center where Benjamin had been raised for the past four years. We have so looked forward to meeting the staff and the 100 children with severe disabilities residing there. Here we hope to hear about our little boy's past and possibly visit his school.

Today we are being served up some unsolicited hugs and kisses by Benjamin. All these extra perks are warming our hearts to the brim. He enjoys eating most anything and is offering us some of the food off his plate as well. These are all good signs that healthy bonding is beginning to take place. We continue to be amazed as he sleeps through the night and is the last one up in the AM. He seems so at peace with his new surroundings and family of complete strangers.
Please know that I can only access my email and not my blog or Facebook here in China. My precious children back home are cutting and pasting the days events for me. Thank you for following this adventure and supporting us in prayer over the next two weeks. We feel so blessed to share this sacred time with you.

- Love Art, Wendy, Christian, and Benjamin

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11

Benjamin's Gotcha Day

We just wrapped up meetings for the morning. One more this afternoon at the notary's office. After today, all business in the provincial capital will be completed and we will just sit in this fair city until the police dept. gives us our passport and then we will head to Guangzhou and wrap up business at the U.S. embassy.
Benjamin is loving the attention he is being given.
He really likes his big brother, Christian. He slept all night, stayed in his bed when placed there. He eats like a horse and tells me when he needs to go potty. He has excellent eye contact and is very loving. This is such an answer to prayer.

Art and I are still trying to adapt to the 13 hr. time change. We went to bed last night at 8pm, woke up at midnight. The cars continue to honk their horns well into the night. We sat in the our overly large bathroom until 3am hashing over the events of the day. (this happens to be our only quiet spot away from the sleeping boys)
Our biggest frustration daily is trusting God for the next step rather than giving into fears or grasping for control. I guess this will continue to be our life long struggle. Truth breeds Trust and we have been a little on the short side of truth these past few days.

Well, we are going to get some lunch. Every meal is an adventure these days!
Thank you for your continued prayers. That's the real deal.
Blessings
Wendy and Art

Benjamin

Dear friends and family,
Culture shock is alive and well. We so quickly forget what it feels like to be "foreigners" in another land. China is so diverse in its unique beauty. The real beauty is its searching people looking for Truth and purpose for their existence.
Our dependence upon God is certainly increasing. This lonely/overwhelming feeling at times is something we'd appreciate you to pray over on our behalf.
We woke up between 3 and 4 o'clock this morning hearing horns honking and a restless boy (Christian) moving around in bed. He had slept out his tiredness as he slept the last 3 hours of the flight and then again in the 2 hour van ride to Tianjin. All in all, our flights and van rides covered 17 hours of our first day of travel. We were beyond exhausted arriving at the Golden Ocean Hotel, Tianjin, China. ("Golden" only as China can describe it:)
We showered and went down for the early morning breakfast buffet that opens at 6:30 am. We enjoyed omelets, great varieties of vegetables and fruit. We needed to meet our interpreter in the lobby by 9 am. We enjoyed our leisurely breakfast and thereafter climbed into one of our many taxi rides to our first meeting at Benjamin's orphanage. We only had a 10 minute ride to get there which was so nice. Our taxi entered into a back alley as the driver dodged bicycle riders and innocent bystanders making their way to work. Your heart lodges somewhere in your throat as you watch near death experiences while making your way across town. We get out of the taxi and enter a gray/dingy building where we will meet our son for the first time. We enter the building and two doors on the left would be the first time we see the face of my four year old son in person. Today I saw his tears for the first time and within 30 minutes experienced his first smile for two complete strangers that speak, smell and look nothing like him and yet we're called to be his mama and baba.
He is at this time running around our hotel room playing with the many toys we brought from the U.S. We spent some time watching him discover the remote to the T.V. and every light switch available to his reach and short stature. After 2 hours, he is calling us mama and baba (daddy). He tells us when he's hungry and thirsty as well as what he needs to do on the potty. Some of his Chinese words are familiar to us as Christian used them four years ago when he came out of China.
We have already visited Pizza Hut for lunch where it is impossible to get a special order pizza. Just point at the seafood pizza or the pineapple/ham combo or the Thai flavored delight. No such thing as a vegetable pizza. The boys enjoyed our lunch and a taste of ice cream after wards. We shopped a 5 story Walmart for bottled water and some snacks. We greatly enjoyed holing up in the hotel room for the remainder of the afternoon where we spent some time dedicating this chosen child to his Creator. It is remarkable to us that amongst the masses of 143,000 orphans, the Sovereign God of the universe has selected us to parent this remarkable child.
As I wrap up this update for the night, I can hear Art and the boys out in the hall giggling and kicking around a beach ball. The laughter alone is worth every penny of the ransom paid for his soul. Benjamin is a child that was planned for and promised a hope and a future by his Creator. Continue to pray for us all as Christian is already saying that he is ready to go back to America and Art echoes his sentiments. We only have two more weeks to go!!
Upheld by His right hand, Wendy, Art and boys.

"Collaborate with Me" -JESUS CALLING

Be flexible. Expect change.
Yesterday we received a phone call from our agency stating that we needed to arrive into Tianjin, China two days before planned. That all seems well and good until you have to change your airline tickets. This we found out would be an added cost of $2,000. Finding flights to China on late notice is costly. Late last night, Art made contact with United Airlines and got a sympathetic ear from a "live person" on the other end of the phone. After an hour of details shared and some flight changes, United decided to waive our $1,000 cancellation fees. This is a big answer to prayer. We still have to pay the upgrade fees to purchase flights at this late date but that was to be expected.
Please join us in praise and thanksgiving to God as we persevere to keep a positive focus on a potentially trying trip. Our positive blessing is that we will see Benjamin two days earlier than planned.
Our reading on Feb. 11 in JESUS CALLING yesterday said, " My Peace stands out in sharp contrast to your circumstances. I am training you to practice Peace that overpowers darkness. Collaborate with Me in this training."

COUNTDOWN TO TRAVEL

Feb. 5, 2011
Dear praying friends and family,
Finally we are at the point in Benjamin's adoption where we can finalize travel plans to fly into Tianjin, China and meet Benjamin. One year ago this month we read Wei Cong Tai's brief biography and saw a little picture of a shy looking 3 year old holding a book. His forlorn look stole our hearts twelve months ago. We sought God's leading in taking the steps to adopt another little one into our already growing family. At the time of decision, Wendy was working through the book of Esther. In reading Esther 4:14, "And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?" We read excerpts from Beth Moore's Esther study about God's providential plan and how "we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of Him who works everything in conformity with the purpose of His will" (Eph.1:11) Beth stated that these realizations should be stunning and marvelous to us, exploding our lives with significance. She also stated that, "We can refuse to walk in obedience to God or cower in fear from our calling and He will undoubtedly still accomplish His agenda.One of the obstacles in our most important moments "for such a time as this" is the difficulty of the destiny-serving task. Every giant-size weight drops into our laps right on schedule. None of our purposes will be fulfilled easily. All of them will require the most difficult decisions we think we can make. Decisions that we may feel will practically kill us. Then God does something miraculous and we become something we're not. That's when "WHO KNOWS?" becomes "I KNOW." It didn't take long for Him to reveal to us that Wei Cong Tai was soon to become known as Benjamin David Docter.

Before I close, let me share a bit about our travel plans. We will fly out of Grand Rapids, MI on Thursday morning, Feb. 24 and arrive in Beijing, China on Friday evening at 4:30 pm. ( this would be Friday 4:30 AM Michigan time ) We will spend a week in Tianjin City located about 1 hour from Beijing. Here we will be processing his adoption in the provincial capital where his orphanage is located. For the past four years, Benjamin has lived in a Foster Center located in Tianjin, China. This center was built by a Christian Chinese business man and is operated with the help of World Vision. Most of the 100 children living in Prince of Peace Foster Center have quite severe special needs. POP foster center offers the children opportunity to have the extra necessary provisions made available to them for their type of special needs. Several children are in wheel chairs and receive OT and PT on a daily basis. We will learn more as we visit there.
It is getting rather late so I will close for now and look forward to sharing more in the near future.
Thank you again dear ones for your support of our family as we journey with Benjamin through his adoption in the next few weeks.