Early this morning when I woke up after not much sleep last night, the first thought I had was “If this were the day we were leaving for China, I would not be able to get on that plane.” I could barely stand up. It absolutely terrified me.

So I made it to the sunroom into the big comfy chair, and grabbed my Bible. The Lord filled my mind at that instant with Exodus 14 and the story of the Israelites leaving Egypt.

So I turned there. To Exodus 14.

In verse 2 the Lord told Moses to speak unto the children of Israel where they were supposed to go. And they went. It doesn’t say they asked any questions. But it does say that they were “tangled in the lands” and that “the wilderness had shut them in.”

In verse 4, the Lord told them that His name would be glorified! They went where the Lord told them to go, and His name would be glorified.

Even though, in verse 10 it says that the Israelites were “sore afraid.” So they “cried out unto the Lord.” And the Lord answers through Moses in verse 13 “Fear ye not, stand still.”

Yes, Lord. I see that I feel tangled right now. But you have called us, and you will finish this. I DO want your name to be glorified, always. Being this sick eight days before our trip terrifies me. But I knew what to do. The Israelites showed me the way. I cried unto the Lord. And the Lord filled me with peace…..fear not. Fear not! He also filled me with awe and praise for His doing in our lives!

Kayla drove me to the doctor this morning. Our doctor believes I have Lyme disease. The symptoms started on Saturday, but I kept blaming them on anything else. The doctor has started treating me with 40 days of antibiotics even though the blood tests won’t be back until next week, and are not very accurate anyway.

Share in our praises:

*That our doctor knows not to mess around with Lyme disease (we see a functional medicine doctor who thinks holistically)

*That even though Blake was not able to come to the doctor like he had hoped, the money wire to China that he was working on at that time finally got straightened out and went through

*That we have a pharmacy only 20 minutes away that can make medications like antibiotics for me so that they are safe for me to take

*After Kayla and my date being cut short yesterday, we got to spend more one-on-one time together today

*That we have AMAZING friends (THIS IS YOU ALL), who have sent comments, endless e-mails, and texts to keep us encouraged and who are praying for us

*That the sun is finally shining again, and the children have been outside all day redeeming the farm and having the time of their lives

*That two important packets of adoption paperwork that we will hand carry to China arrived by Fed Ex today just as they were supposed to

*That we have eight more days for me to get well

*That the Lord is blessing me into a forced state of rest…..exactly what I need before we leave for China

Thank you for your prayers. It brings me to tears to learn of so many of you being obedient to prayer. It is such an important part of life here on earth. Thank you.

I will close with a verse that came from a sweet friend on text yesterday. I have been meditating on this verse ever since:

“He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.” Psalm 91:4

Kayla and I took a break from all the work this afternoon and had a sweet date together shopping and then sipping coffee!

We have an urgent need for prayer, as I have not been feeling the best the last few days and this afternoon things got much worse. I am seeing our doctor in the morning. Please pray.

Somewhere along the way, one of the children (was it you, Grant?) did not want to count the days until we did something worth counting to, but wanted to count how many times we had to sleep instead. This tradition of “counting sleeps” has stuck….and so we are counting down the sleeps until we leave for China!

TEN SLEEPS!!!!!

What else have we been up to? We got those plane tickets purchased! Thankful to be flying in and out of La Crosse, which is only 30 minutes from the farm!

We have always celebrated every milestone in our paperwork process. Getting our Travel Approval was no exception!

We have been working hard on the farm when the weather allows and have been enjoying freshness from the gardens –

I washed all of the clothes for our new little miss –

We are loving many visits from friends (more coming over today!)….with some farm fun on the side –

Yesterday evening we enjoyed the sunshine, the sunset, and the beautiful greenery after a lot of rain and another storm –

I asked Lane if he was excited about China. He said, “In some ways, yes. In some ways, no.”

I asked, “In what way are you excited about China?” He said, “Eliza!!”

Me too, buddy, me too.

Then I asked, “In what way are you not excited about China?” He answered, “Because you won’t have very much to eat while you are gone.”

Oh, sweet boy, your heart is so big.

But the Lord we serve is bigger!!

“For we walk by faith, not by sight.” 2 Corinthians 5:7

“And he said, The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.” Luke 18:27

TEN SLEEPS!!!! Keep praying with us!!!!

Have you heard the BIG news? We got word yesterday!!

We are going to China!!

To bring home our daughter, Eliza Claire.

And we are doing that in FOURTEEN days.

Yep. You read that right!!!!

We have Travel Approval, our Consulate Appointment is confirmed, and are working on our plane tickets!!

On Monday, July 14th, Eliza will be forever in our arms.

We are so excited, anxious, thrilled, terrified, overwhelmed, and incredibly happy!!!

Those of you who know me know that the Lord has blessed me with the gift of being organized! It is serving us well right now! We feel prepared and ready to go! The lists are gone, and the piles are made! Praise the Lord!!

The suitcases are sitting out ready to be packed!

And now WE NEED YOU. Really, really, need you. Please pray for us. Please pray with us!

*For Eliza, as she will be placed back in the orphanage sometime this week, away from everything she remembers knowing and the foster family I am sure she loves

*For health and a hedge of protection around our family, including Eliza

*For the Lord to allow anymore possible broken things to hold together until we return home

*For my heart as we leave the children for so long

*For Blake and I to remain super duper connected and for our marriage to remain strong

*For the Lord to use us, despite ourselves, and show Himself strong through us

*For travel mercies on the loooonnnngggg trip to Guangzhou

*For Eliza’s transition, attachment and bonding to us, particularly me

Our plan is to post an update each day while we are in China, Lord willing! We will include prayer requests in those posts. And photos!! Lots of photos!!

PLEASE, please leave comments on the posts or send an e-mail if you feel led. It will mean SO much to us to have that bit of encouragement each day while we are gone! (No texting though, please! It will not be included in our regular cell phone package and it is pricey!)

It is almost time!!! The Lord’s perfectly appointed time!!! China, here we come!!!!!

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” Hebrews 11:1, 6