We Have Come a Long Way Thus Far in 2013

To catch you up on the 6 months since my last blog post, I can say that our family has come a long way... literally and figuratively. I last did my blogging in Indianapolis during a trip with just me and Amy in February for adoption classes. The week afterwards, we returned to Dallas and were part of an amazing free garage sale where people donated numerous items to be given away to the residents and refugees of Vickery Meadows (http://youtu.be/tfNsx5fDNHM?a). It felt so special to be with people who we shared life with or went to church with who were willing to donate possessions and their time for our past neighbors in Vickery. Towards the end of March, Amy and I were excited to receive a letter stating we had progressed in our adoption journey (http://instagram.com/p/XTzgnTELpc/). April 2013 was our long awaited trip to Thailand (13 years since we had been there) as chronicled at http://youtu.be/YRTwq3a2nsQ?a. It was special to have my kids meet my relatives. I was reminded of my heritage and was reminded of how different my life would be had my parents not immigrated to the United States. After those long flights across the Pacific, our trip to Chicago to see Amy's cousin (Suzanne) was much shorter. It was great to be in another world class city (http://www.flickr.com/photos/andykahn/sets/72157633459168389/). Amy and Suzanne have been very close since they were little so it was nice to finally come visit someone who had been a big part of Amy's life as well as our daughters' lives. I'll always remember May 19, 2013. I stood in front of both services at my church and spoke of an addiction I had from adolescence to my adult years. (Audio can be heard at: http://www.northwestbible.org/media/messages/pride-sanctions-sexual-immorality/120/#first_sermon) I am in no way proud of my past. It continues to haunt me, and I fight temptations daily. However, God is bigger than our mistakes so I have hope that I can maintain success in my battle against this thorn in my side. In my 34 years of life, I never would have thought that I would have the guts to talk about this in front of hundreds of people, but I did it because I believe in Jesus, and I want others to use my story to help them in their journey with God. June 11, 2013 is an evening where we received a text from a friend stating that there was a random mention of a name we were considering for the child we were pursuing through adoption. Only time will tell if this correlates with a major event in our child's life. Much thanks to those who prayed for us that night, especially those I was working with in the ER. The end of June included our yearly trip to Lake Travis to join with the relatives on Amy's mom's side of the family. It was a wonderful week of fun and relaxation with people we see once a year. Around July 4th, my youngest brother (DJ) came into town and surprised Ben (my middle brother). It was great to be able to hang out with both of them. The last week of July was a fun week in Vancouver (http://flic.kr/s/aHsjGX1Pug). July and August were full of Tuesday evenings where I helped lead praise and worship for a summer VBS in Vickery (http://youtu.be/hdBCCI2BbaQ). There is nothing better than hearing a bunch of kids singing to God. This past week has been amazing. We went to party last Friday where various families in the Dallas area gathered to meet for the first time. Even though we didn't know each other, we all bonded and interacted quite well. The reason may be that we all had in common the fact we either had adopted or were in the process of adopting a child from the same country in Africa. This common denominator seems to create a mutual bond and to attract people with similar hearts. During this weekend, Amy and I were blessed with meeting and hosting the Lind family as they stayed with us during their time back in the U.S.A. after serving as missionaries in Africa. The Linds were driving around America (Texas was state number 33) raising awareness and support for their future missions. In summary, 2013 has been a year thus far influenced by travel but much of the movement has been in our hearts. Matthew 6:21 says that "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." I have noticed that our family's heart has followed our treasure of adoption/future growth in our family. We watch YouTube videos of children being united with their new families now. We hang out with people who may be different from us in many ways, and we would have never met them had we not entered the adoption process. We desire to learn more about Africa and its people. I now memorize verses that did not mean as much to me before this year. We have come a long way in 2013. Let's see where this journey leads us next.

Blogging from Indianapolis about life leading up to our adoption process

It has been almost 2 years since I updated this blog. It is crazy seeing the last post which was when we moved out of our Lakewood home and into the apartment in Vickery to be apart of refugee ministry. Those 6 months of living in an apartment with less than half the square footage of our house were memorable and changed our lives forever. We made friends with people from Burma, Nepal, Bhutan, and Honduras. Being their neighbors helped us to chat late at night about soccer, provide a cooler with ice and milk when their electricity went out, and drive them to look for used cars and sign up for community college ESL classes. Living with people who had the challenges of being from other countries and making ends meet taught us to appreciate what we had and to love the community atmosphere of depending on one another. Fast forward to 2013. While Amy still works with her sewing ministry with the refugee women (https://www.facebook.com/VickeryThreads), we have been less involved since we moved out of Vickery. We almost took a job in Lubbock, Texas, to live close to my parents and Amy's parents in October 2011. In January 2012, we moved out of the small group we were in for 5 years at our church to start a new one with the Harveys. With these three difficult decisions, I questioned what God what planning to do with our family. I was sad to no longer be in Vickery, to pass on the Lubbock opportunity, and to move on from our wonderful small group we had grown with since 2007. I got over the sadness and began seeing how God was working in my life. Our new small group is growing together and loves the Lord. I have bonded more with my brothers because they both spent some time living with us in our new apartment this past year. This led to me and Amy getting to know Ben's girlfriend, Preaw. Now we have plane tickets for all of us (including Ruth, Lucy, and Betty) to go to Thailand in April to see our family and Preaw's family! Amy and I last went to Thailand in 2000. Thirteen years fly by once you go to med school, get married, complete residency, and have three daughters. The timing is perfect because of our other big news: we are in the process of adopting a child. Thank you for your prayers. Amy and I had our first trip out of state without kids since 2006. This trip to Indianapolis almost didn't happen because our flight was cancelled. We scrambled to get to the airport 30 minutes before the last plane was supposed to leave for Indy. I have never bought plane tickets that close to departure. Despite weather, a misspelling on our tickets, and the TSA, we made it to Indiana. It has been an awesome time here as a couple. God really blessed the time together and the people we met. We fly back home refreshed. My spirits are better now than in 2012 for I now I can see that the Lord, our God, has plans for us as stated in Jeremiah 29:11 "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." I am excited about our future.