It's Official...again!

(from Jay)

This morning, we started off the day at the County Courthouse. We sat down before court began with the Judge, our attorney, the guardian ad-litem, and a couple court clerks. Camille and I and Lori all attended, and Camille and I went through a number of official questions that we had to answer under oath. It was interesting, almost surreal, going through the details of our adoption of Lori…Do you love this child? Do you plan to care for and educate this child? Will this child be an heir along with your biological children? Did you go to China an officially adopt this child of your own will? It was like we were reliving the process of the last year and a half. It was a great time. And before we were dismissed, Camille jumped on the opportunity to share our story regarding Lori to those in attendance…and honestly, I think they were completely listening and taking note of every detail of Camille’s story-telling. It was great.

But everything passed and our ‘adoption of a child from a foreign country’ was officially recognized by the county and the state of Missouri. This now allows us to get Lori a birth certificate from the State of Missouri, and the birth certificate will allow us to get her a Social Security number and card…and then…well…we’re done! She’s official! She’s a US Citizen. She’s a Missouri Resident. She will have a birth certificate and a social security card. She’s our daughter. She has the same rights as our other five (biological) children. She has had her name officially changed from Wu Hao Yu to Lori Faith Lancaster.

Wow.

That’s worth a moment of silence.

But then, as we traveled home this morning, my mind drifted to think about a young Chinese couple…living somewhere in Hebei Province…that loved their daughter enough not to abort her…that loved her enough to study when and where to leave her, and left her with a note and with clean clothes, a warm blanket, and some personal items…a couple that lie down in bed at night and wonder what happened to their daughter that they left in that cardboard box at about six weeks old…maybe because she was their 2nd child…and if found, she could have been killed…

I wish that we could send them a letter or call them and let them know that she’s doing great! That their plan worked! That she is living in the land of the free with a family that loves her and cares for her! That she has brothers and sisters that she plays and fights with. That she could be getting cochlear implants soon, and that by Christmas, she may be able to hear us sing Christmas carols about the newborn king. Oh MAN how I wish I could reassure them and put them at ease. I pray that God will let them know for us in His own sovereign way.