ANOTHER BLESSING...Brandon!

We met Fengmao (Brandon) today at about 2:30. We had already done the paperwork at 1:30, so when we met him it was a quick meeting … a few pix … and we were off! He said he was nervous, but he didn’t have any hesitations. Wow! Within 24 hours we now have 2 new sons! (Well, actually, Brandon’s not officially ours till tomorrow morning.) We just got back from the hotel pool…Eric can swim. Brandon cannot. But they had fun. We’re headed out for supper with our friend, Wei! She graciously welcomed us at the airport last night! I wish there was time to say more, but we’ll share more later. In a nutshell, it’s hard to put into words anyway right now. Lot’s of feelings and emotions playing out. This is SO different than our 1st two adoptions. We feel blessed beyond measure and overwhelmed at the same time. These boys are so amazing though. They are incredibly brave. Pray that tomorrow goes smooth…with no cold feet…and that the Lord will graciously help us communicate and bond with our new sons who don’t know much English. (Eric knows a bit of English, but Brandon appears to know very little!)Thanks for following along and praying us through!!!!

Thanks for following along and praying us through!!!

Pictures!!

Here are some pictures they sent:

ANSWERED PRAYER . . . ONE DOWN, ONE TO GO

Thanks to all of you who prayed us through the last 24 hours!!!!! We felt so uplifted when we checked our email this morning and found so many emails conveying you were praying! Your prayers were heard and God answered with good news! …Dang Tianqing is now officially Eric Ethan Tianqing Hood! He was so brave and we are so proud of him. He just now looked over my shoulder to read, so I explained his new name to him for the first time. He agreed it was “good”! We are packing up and killing time in a very small hotel room at the moment. Andrew and Eric are being quite creative! It is very cold outside, but we actually just saw the sun break through and show us the sky for a few minutes. (I think that is rare here in Taiyuan, where there is a lot of pollution.) We leave in a couple of hours to fly to Shanghai. Then tomorrow afternoon (Tues. China time) we receive Fengmao (Brandon). Please pray that he will be brave also. This is so hard…for an 11 year old to say goodbye to all they have ever known and say yes to the scary unknown.

DIVINE APPOINTMENT??

Yesterday we had an impromptu breakfast guest. When we went to breakfast at the hotel’s buffet, as was our custom, we would get our juice and set it at our table before we would go get our food. When we came back with our food, someone else was sitting there eating at our table. So we went ahead and sat down and tried to converse as we ate our breakfast. His English was limited but was better than our Chinese and we learned that he is from Jaiden’s province! Like us, he has a 12 y.o. boy and a 6 y.o. girl. We ate and parted ways. Then a few hours later he saw us as we were waiting in the lobby to depart for the train station. He was so friendly and was happy to see us yet again. He gave us his business card with his number since he lives near Guangzhou (where we will be in one week). We brought several booklets with us of the Gospel of John in both English and Chinese, so I pulled one out and gave it to him. He graciously accepted it. I hope to follow up with him at some point, as I believe his card has his email. Please pray this businessman/father will someday embrace the Gospel and bless those around him as well.

Praise God!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Great News!!! Mom and Dad just called us and said Eric is now a part of our family. Thank you all so much for your prayers we. We will post again later, just wanted to let everyone know. Praise God.

Thank you Thank you

Thank you all for praying. We have received many emails saying people are praying. Haven't had time to read all of them. We are leaving in a few minutes to do the official adoption paperwork. we haven't heard anything from Eric this morning but will see him in 1/2 hour. Next 3 hours should be most important. We will attempt to email an update around our lunch time if possible (10:00 your time).

Love you all. Thanks again for praying.
Mike and Amy

URGENT PRAYER FOR ERIC...

Please pray right now and the next “24” hours! We left Beijing today in a van with Eric and Lucy (one of the China Little Flower helpers). During this “45” minute ride to the train station, Eric started to cry. I (Amy) cried with him and tried to comfort him, but he just cried harder. I got out the translator and said a few things. Then he used it to convey the saddest message ever. He says he is sorry, but he doesn’t want to be adopted. He wants to stay. I prayed and prayed. When we got to the train station he didn’t even want to get out of the van. It was so sad. We just explained that we needed to get to Taiyuan… that we could talk about it there… and that no paperwork would be done until tomorrow (Monday). By the time we got inside the train station he calmed down. Eventually he was willing to play some electronic games with Andrew on the train. Then we were able to connect on the phone (while on the train) with David, one of his friends that was adopted three months ago and who lives in Oregon now. That conversation did make him get a little emotional again, but it was helpful to hear him verbalize his concerns. 2nd Cor. 9:8 has been my verse for this trip… He is able!! At this moment, I have no idea how this chapter of our journey will unfold… but I do know who holds the future. Please pray us through this. Pray that Eric would have peace and courage. Pray for God’s provision to be evident and powerful. Pray that Eric will be brave enough to say yes to adoption (Mon. morning). At Eric’s age, they do have a say in the matter, so this is a very stretching to say the least. May the Lord’s will be done in and through us. Thanks for praying!!