New Pictures!

Our Article 5 letter was picked up Dec. 17 and couriered to the CCCWA in Beijing!  We are now waiting for our travel approval, which typically happens 3-4 weeks from the receipt of our Article 5.  Let's pray for it to move quickly and get us to China before Chinese New Year!  We also received updated photos of our little boy!  We requested photos in the care package we sent in October.  Maybe this means he got it?  He looks healthy and happy in his little winter suit!  Please join us every day as we pray for his continued health and safety!  We're coming for you little buddy!

For those of you new to our blog, feel free to read the older posts, or scroll past these pictures to "Read More" about why we decided to adopt!

Zac, ~18 months

Within months, by God's grace, my wife, DeAnna, and I will bring home our son, Zachary, from China.  DeAnna and I have been together for 13 years.  Ever since I've known her, her heart has been on the suffering of children.  Hunger, neglect, and abuse of children have weighed heavy on her heart every day.  We've been on a long road to address that need with organizations such as Feed the Children, Smile Train, Sumaritan's Purse and Compassion International.  Along the way, I have come to some personal conclusions about fatherhood.  I think that being a dad to my children, raising them, shepherding them, is what God put me here to do.  It gives me more satisfaction than anything else I've ever done in my life.  Also, I believe that many of the things that are wrong in our society can be traced back to the father... abusive fathers, fathers who abandon their children, fathers who are never there.  So, I think that the greatest gift I could ever give a child is to be his father.  I love my children, and I'm so excited to share this love with another son.  Add to this the fact that both DeAnna and I have for some reason always pictured our family to include four children.  We are both the youngest of four, so I guess it just seems natural.  

In my opinion, adoption is a calling from God.  I believe that we are all called (or will be called) in different ways.  You know it when it happens.  I think we're pre-wired for it, and it just seems natural.  About two years ago when DeAnna reintroduced the idea, we just knew it was right.  Not everyone will adopt, nor should everyone adopt.  But I do feel that we can all help these children in some way.  Many of our friends and family have offered a hand in the process, and we consider this a wonderful blessing.  We believe that our son was wonderfully, perfectly and beautifully meant to be.  God created this child to be our son, and he created us to be his parents.  From the day he was born, Zac was meant to be a part of our family.  We would never be the same without him.  We are redeemed and adopted by God as sons through Jesus Christ.  Through this process of adoption, we pray that we may show this beautiful picture of Grace to another of God's children.

Ken