I don’t know if I have ever really told Elias’ story. We don’t know much. Only what we’ve been told.

The only reason I tell it is to show how protected he was and how his exit from that place was orchestrated entirely by God and not by us.

On February 20, 2011, he was left on the steps of a hospital. As far as we know, there was nothing with him.

Many babies are left in public places: parks, bus stations. But I think the fact he was left near a hospital shows a thoughtful concern for him.

February in Qingfeng is pretty cold. The average high this week was around 35 degrees- yet when he was found he had a perfect body temperature. How long he was there we don’t know.

After he was found, the police were alerted and after searching, they could not find his parents or other relatives, he was confirmed an abandoned infant. We have a copy of the newspaper ad that was placed for him. It is in a column with pictures of other abandoned children.

The police took him to the Puyang City Social Welfare Institute (SWI). Both children and adults can live in an SWI, while a Children’s Welfare Institute is just for children.

According to his physical condition, his birth date was estimated to be February 19, 2011. Therefore he was abandoned at one day old.

He was given the name Pu Min En.“En” means grateful or grace. The rest of his name refers to ” citizen of Puyang City”- all the kids at that SWI had the same last name. His very name promised a legacy of sadness.

After his adoption, we re-named him Elias (“the Lord is my God”) Jordan (“descending, flowing down, the River Jordan”).

When my other two were one day old, they were attached to my side. Not only because they got kicked out of the hospital nursery for crying and waking the other babies, but because I wanted them with me. Elias was lying outside, alone, in the cold.

But now he’s here. Plucked from a city of millions, here with us now.

So… next week we look forward to celebrating. No, things haven’t gone perfectly. But we will celebrate the fact that he’s here with us.

And we look forward to the unraveling of God’s plan for his life.

Russia has just voted unanimously to no longer allow Americans to adopt children from Russia. A presidential signature is all that’s required to make this official and he says he will sign it.

India has just put a freeze on new applications for international adoptions in order to clear a backlog of existing cases.

Bureaucracy is involved, and the best interests of the orphan are not first and foremost, as they should be. And it is heart-wrenching.

When we were trying to decide which country to adopt from, we were excluded from several based on our age {too young} or travel requirements {some countries required 2 trips or a stay of several months} or length of process {we weren’t interested in waiting for years}. Some countries were just becoming increasingly difficult to adopt from, like Korea.

As a result, there are children who will never come home but will remain in institutions.

The number of adoptions into the US from overseas is falling every year.

Millions of orphans at the mercy of their governments.

There is an ignorant and misguided view that this is a good thing because it will encourage Americans to adopt from the US as opposed to overseas. No-one would ever say such a thing if they had ever been to a country outside of the Western world and seen real poverty and destitution. Or a real orphanage. 

A friend of mine told of a hundred babies in one room. Yet the building was eerily quiet. When she entered the room and they saw the new face, the silence was immediately broken by drowning desperate screams. Pulling on her clothing. Begging to go with her.

I know it’s overwhelming. You may be thinking, what can I do anyway?

You can support a family who’s in the process. You can find a specific child to pray for and/or sponsor. You can support an organization that’s 100% dedicated to caring for the orphan, like *Harmony Outreach* or *The International Voice of the Orphan.*

They have called for an international day of prayer this December 29th.

Will you join in pleading on behalf of the 163 million orphans overseas? Let’s not sit back and just watch this heart-wrenching situation unfold.

“The helpless put their trust in you. You defend the orphans.” (Ps 10:14)

These pictures have nothing to do with this post, I just wanted to show how much J lays around on his day off.

He is so lazy.

Anyway, we just had our 6 mo post-placement visit with our new social worker in our new state. She is SUPER nice, friendly, kind, and warm. A Christian and an adoptive mother herself. She has 2 girls from India!

India!

Guess how many were adopted from India into the US last year?

267.

That’s down 25 from 2010.

How many from China?

2587

That’s down over 1000 from 2010.

Total orphans estimated worldwide {not including abandoned children}?

210 million.

Isn’t that staggering?

Our SW said {before we asked} that sleep problems in adopted kiddos from Chin@ are SO common. She even had one family just go to a clinic because their child’s sleep problems were extreme.

That was comforting to know we weren’t alone. He probably will grow out of the continuous shouting out. But probably not anytime soon. So we go to bed expecting it and try not to let the lack of sleep paralyze us in the morning.

I’ll keep you updated. It makes me feel better to talk about it. Zzzzzzz.

I did have a funny post for today but…

it’s 4:45 in the morning and all 3 kids are awake. Forgive the reality of this post.

We have some serious sleep issues going on. AGAIN.

This is nothing new. Click here and here for a refresher.

Elias yells {at nap & bed-time}: *NO!* among other things, all night long.

This is not a whimpery *no, no.* It’s more of a violent, vigorous, *NO*.

It will blast you out of the water right into awake-land.

It is SO frustrating.

But when you go in there, he’s fully awake, sitting up in his bed, smiling.

It is SO frustrating.

I’ve shortened his nap, put him to bed later, kept him playing outside for hours, soothed him, reprimanded him, moved him, to no avail.

Maybe he’s working through stuff. I get that. But come ON. Why does *fatigue* not take over?! Jo & Elias have super human endurance.

I did say it didn’t matter what kind of sleeper he was. I lied.

I’m so stinkin’ tired I could sleep anywhere. Any time. Any place.

 Forgive this early morning crazy vent. Maybe tonight will be better.

I mean my big, mean dragon! Aargh!

The only thing missing from these pictures is his *knife* that he was running around with. Because you can’t be a dragon without a knife!

It was a little warm this particular afternoon…

but the little dragon wasn’t bothered.

By the way, does anyone know anything about sleep problems in adoptive kids? Extended night terrors? Crying out ALL night long? Has anyone experienced this with an adoptive baby?

This time last year we were in the thick of the adoption process. Not knowing who our child was. Just knee deep in paperwork.

Jo- this time last year

This time last year I sat in a Bible study where the first girl to introduce herself said her & her husband were in the process of adopting from Armenia.

This week I started a new Bible study in a new state. The first girl to introduce herself mentioned that her & her husband were in the process of adopting from Ethiopia.

This week I also met my new Bible study leader, who was adopted herself.

This week I had the opportunity to talk more with our lovely neighbor. Her kids were adopted.

Alright. It’s not that common. Not a coincidence, right?

Seb- this time last year

You just never know when there will be a purpose to certain meetings.

I don’t believe in coincidences. I’m not talking about *karma* or *serendipity*. I believe the Lord’s purpose prevails.

Elias- this time last year

When we’re rushing around, going about our daily business, consumed with our busy-ness, do we think about whose path we will cross today?

Who do we notice? Who do we acknowledge? Who do we subconsciously ignore?

Who will you come face to face with today? Even if it’s only for once, or for a brief second, or if it seems insignificant to you, it might have an eternal significance beyond what we can imagine.