Monday AM Update

Hello from Yantai! Our flight got cancelled this morning. We are rescheduled for Monday afternoon @ 4:30. We will not arrive to our hotel until about 8 pm we think. It is likely we will get Zoey on Tuesday now. We appreciate your continued prayers. 

Sunday- we spent the morning at a famous park in this city. There were lots of historical markers and war type monuments. Mercy was most interested in all the brides in the park. We must have seen 15 bride/groom couples taking photos. :) She is still not a fan of taking pictures in public. We have so much compassion because people do gather and stare. They take their own pics of us too. We try to limit it as much as possible. Please pardon the toasty sun look. We were dealing with severe heat. Art's hair holds up a lot better than Jen! :) 

 Later, we went to the local aquarium at her request. She said she had been there once with the orphanage. Baba helped her to feed the turtles. That was a highlight for all of us. 

We are praying specifically for Mercy as we leave this province. We are praying we can all continue to adjust as we add another child to our dynamic here. We are praying Zoey would be able to accept our love and comfort. Our hearts are filled with compassion for them both. We cannot even begin to imagine how scary this must be for a sighted child let alone a blind child.

We want to respect the privacy of both of our girls and we want to protect their vulnerability right now so we are trying to be careful about all we put on blog. We also want to walk in transparency with you. It's hard to know how much to share on the blog. We don't want to scare anyone away from international adoption, but we also want to be real with you. This week has been hard. We are confident God has called us here. He is calling us to a really hard thing. He is with us. But, we also want you to know we need your prayers. Some of the realities of this journey are really hard. God has called us to this really hard thing. We are looking to Him and trusting Him with all of our hearts. Would you seek HIM for clarity in praying for us. We trust HE will lead you. 

We were talking about how we wish we could just "download programming" into Mercy's head about how much God loves her. We wish we could help her see her identity, her value and all of HIS truths. We know HE has incredible plans for her life. 

We are mindful of all the long-suffering/patience HE has had with us. We are painfully aware of our pride, selfishness and flesh. We are reminded again and again about what HE has done to reach us and care for us. We are praying we can lay down our lives and reflect HIS love to Mercy and Zoey and everyone HE has put in our paths here. Thank you for praying for us so faithfully.

Anyone read the Jesus Calling devotional? The last couple of days have ministered to us so deeply. We tried to take a photo to add here. We hope you can read it.  

Thank you for praying for the crew back home. We are about half-way through our China trip. Would you please pray specifically for Meredith? She has been an incredible blessing to us. We are praying HIS greatest blessings in her life as she serves our family. Pray for good rest, health, energy and joy for her. Pray she would be encouraged and blessed. 

We heard families are bringing meals and ministering to our kids. Thank you doesn't begin to express our hearts and our appreciation. It is so hard to be so far away. We are so grateful for your kindness to our family. 

With gratitude, 

Art, Jen & Mercy