Now that I've had some good coffee & some time to process things, I wanted to update y'all a bit...
Yesterday, AJ and Wyatt took a nap {while I was blogging some} and both woke up with bites on them. We assumed bed bugs as we didn't see anything flying around that could have done it.
I reached out to our guide immediately and told her that we needed to change rooms ASAP. I began packing things up again while trying to give a newly traumatized child medication...and this girl doesn't even like a sweet tasting toothbrush near her mouth...so that was amazing for attachment. Sigh!
AJ's eyelid is completely puffy and about swollen shut. Wyatt discovered about 6 more bites on his back and arm. And the hotel just said "this happens sometimes" and brought us a mystery oil to apply {um, not putting "oil" on my daughter's eye!} and some fruit.
Finally, I insisted that we be moved to another hotel...one where we had thought we would stay all along but chose the one on the Island to save money since there's a huge Trade Fair in town right now. Anyways, Satan reared his ugly little head again and the corruption that is prevalent in anything founded in sin showed up. The bottom line is that Satan hates adoption and he will do anything he can to stop it. He hates that we have adoption as God's sons and daughters and he hates that what we are doing will ensure that she has an opportunity to claim Christ as her own.
So, our guide {which is employed not by our agency but hired by a travel company for adoptive families} picked us up & made me show her $1500 cash for the new hotel before she would even let us on the van to leave. She said she would not take us unless we could pay cash immediately.
Friends, that was ALL that I had left in USD. Down to the last penny. It was our spending money for today to buy my daughter pearls and get her somethings for the future. Thankfully, we have some RMB {Chinese money} left for meals for the next few days. But it was the only choice I had to get my children to some place else. I ended up cancelling our outing for today since they took every penny I had for that as well. I reached out to my agency and they agreed that I should leave that hotel and that we would work it out. I've yet to hear that I'll ever get a refund. And I seriously doubt it.
Between tears and yelling and praying and falling on my knees to Jesus for help, He whispered to me that what I was doing was holy and healing and redeeming and renewing and that the enemy hates every bit of it. He reminded me that He is still in control and EVEN IF it takes all that cash that I have left in hand, HE will take care of us. I've learned a new dependance all over again. This may be quite unexpected for us but it's never unknown from Him or out of His grasp.
We got settled into a new hotel late last night where some other adoptive families stay...and met a couple from Mississippi this morning at breakfast who immediately knew we must be from the South when they saw AJ's hair bow. The husband's brother lives in Lexington {not far at all from our home} and is taking a genuine interest in Wyatt and invited him to play basketball with some other adoptive families here this afternoon. My son smiled with a relief that I haven't seen this entire trip. Thank you, Jesus.
We found a park earlier today and white butterflies were everywhere. God's creation at work reminding me that He is here even when I can't see Him and especially when I feel consumed...He makes all things new and is renewing Ailee James' life little by little each step we take.
We just got all our paperwork together for our US Consulate appointment tomorrow morning and meet the guide at 7:30am to head there where we will apply for Ailee James' US Visa. She will be a US citizen the moment our plane touches down in Atlanta on Thursday night.
I'm still planning on taking a few portrait photos of her in the park tomorrow after the Consulate appointment...puffy eye and all.
Please continue covering us...one day closer...
*for the record we think it may have been some sort of mosquito or something now as we only see one bite mark on AJ's eye and Wyatt's back and arm. We didn't see any flying around but apparently they are pretty bad here. And I thought we had mosquito issues in SC! Oh my gracious! Even the manager of the other hotel said it may have been a mosquito and that the hotel has them around the baseboards??? Whatever, we were getting out.
No comments:
Post a Comment