Hope

Later on the same day of my last post (Friday, May 15), we received an email from the U.S. State Department informing us that the DRC government was requesting adoptive families to turn in our dossiers. This was amazing news! For 20 months, DRC had suspended exit letters for adopted children so there had been no timeline or end in sight for the children being separated from their families in the United States. Now they were asking for paperwork, and we had hope of taking our son home. During these last couple of weeks, we have enjoyed this country more because we have hope. We no longer felt trapped indefinitely. We realized there was hope of getting to return as a complete family to see our other relatives and friends in the United States. It is amazing how our outlook on the world around us changes drastically when we see a light at the end of the tunnel. Now that we saw progress in getting our exit letters, we began to see how beautiful Kinshasa, the Congo River, and the people of DRC were. Our minds can miss the beauty of life if we feel trapped. The truth is Jesus gives us hope. We have eternity in heaven with Him if we believe in what He did for us on the cross. The truth sets us free, and then we can more easily see the beauty of our current world that we live in. If only we could keep from being distracted by all of the transient things so that we could cherish what great things we are blessed with now all around us and look forward to even better things ahead. For the next few days, we are praying fervently that we would be one of the reported 71 families that will be authorized to leave Congo in the coming week. We are thankful for all of the people that have prayed for this to happen! (I'm not sure if I have ever had 286 "likes" on a Facebook post before.)

Serving a Purpose

Why did we move to Africa? Why didn't we come later? Why are we stuck in this adoption suspension? It can be easy to ask questions that voice frustrations or regrets. I guess the answer to all of these could be that "it doesn't matter because this is where God has me." The question I should be asking is "How can I serve you, Lord, now that I am here" and "How do I show Your love to others while we are in this place?" This slowly became apparent after living in Kinshasa for over one month. After we got over the initial adjustments of moving to the Congo, we were able to start somewhat of a routine once we got settled. This allowed our family to better interact with the people here. We have been able to serve by using our medical background to be a resource to missionary families living here. Many had mentioned that having us to address some health concerns over the phone or to examine them at a home, the clinic, or at church provided some reassurance. Ruth even got to help sew an existing sling so that it would better fit a little girl who broke her collarbone:

Once we had learned the ropes of living in DRC for a few weeks, we became the new "veterans" for the adopting families who were visiting for a short time or new to Kinshasa. Suddenly we could give some tips on places to shop, trustworthy drivers, and how to add minutes to our cell phones/internet modems. We have arranged clinic visits for families visiting DRC who noticed their kids needed medical tests. It has been a blessing to live so close to such a wonderful clinic/hospital! It was fun to invite 2 other Texas families over to our apartment in Kinshasa (we ate Thai food which is fitting since I am a Thai-American who grew up in Texas where I've lived all my life). To the adopting families who were the true veterans living here from 4 to 13 months already, our family enjoyed bonding with them and trying to provide fellowship by coordinating a trip to see the bonobos together

and gathering all of us for a Tex-Mex dinner. We have helped one family currently in the U.S. video chat with their adopted children while their kids were in our apartment. We have 2 more families asking for the same, and we are happy to help! I definitely didn't want to limit my experiences here to spending time with only other Americans. Thankfully, some of the missionaries have helped me interact with their Congolese friends, including the day where I got to ride in a car with these men who sang hymns in Lingala while on the way to visit a sick church member in the hospital. Amy had a great idea for us to pass out Coca-Cola in plastic cups and cookies to all of the security guards and drivers in and around our building. Ruth, Lucy, and Betty would say "bon jour" to everyone and hand out the drinks and snacks. It was great to see smiles and the reactions to this opportunity to communicate to the workers we see everyday around our apartment that we appreciate them. Sometimes there is a hierarchy or almost a caste system here. We have tried to show everyone our desire to be friendly with them and that God loves us all. We also got to share our experiences with friends back in Dallas. Perhaps God has sent us here to DRC so that those back in the U.S. can see how He is working here in Africa. It was a blessing to be on a video chat shown on the big screen during both Sunday services at our church:

We also used FaceTime to talk to our small group on another Sunday. My Wednesday night men's bible study group emailed me a video message which was so uplifting. My Friday morning men's bible study group used FaceTime to talk with me and showed me a familiar sign which I though was clever. I was reminded that these special relationships will not be separated by thousands of miles and an ocean. We can use email, social media, and web based video to share God's greatness and faithfulness. In the end, I understand that I can approach our current situation in two different ways. I can complain and be unhappy or I can be grateful for the opportunities God has given me and use it to glorify Him. I am excited to see what else we can do for Christ while living in Congo.