Ian's beginning

Last week I was told about a Chinese blog from someone in Pingdingshan. I went to the blog and there are hundreds of pages of children abandoned... several posts in a day with different babies, all with special needs.  The site is in Chinese, so I used google translator and started going through it, hoping to find our son here. I found the post in April 26, 2011 when our son's estimated birthday is and just a few days later there were these pictures of him.  I knew it was Ian before I saw his name there, "Zhou TianYou"... and I bawled. The description written about him was alarming.  He was in critical condition and the hospital that they took him to could not preform the surgery he needed.  It went into more details than we were given in his file and I would not have known how sick he was... I would not have known the woman who saved his life.

I have since learned a little more about the author of this blog and why she had our son's picture posted. She is a nurse at the hospital in Pingdingshan and she specifically takes in the children that need urgent care but  are orphaned. These children are in need of life-saving surgery but there is no one to pay the bill.  This nurse is named Ms. Zhu, and she is a believer. I am crying now even writing this. God is using this woman to save the life of countless children, God's children. She is answering His calling at a great risk too.  It is not easy in China for a woman in this situation and she is going through difficult days as her husband just left her and her daughter. She has several sisters who help her in the work (they have been known as the 3 sisters). Ms. Zhu posts about these children to share with the Chinese community in order to raise funds to help these children, my son. She also works in remote villages and helps other Chinese Christians who help orphans.

So I have another piece of the puzzle to Ian's life—3 precious pictures of him as a newborn, and a person to continually keep in my prayers, Ms. Zhu.  You better believe I will be looking for her in heaven!! I am so grateful to have found this, but the weight of it about crushes me if I think about it too long. It is so difficult not knowing our children's past, not having any pictures, not knowing anything about their history, the people that loved them, the people they came from, and it is especially hard not knowing their present. I desperately want to know what Ian and Jovie are doing right now... and are they okay? It is tremendously difficult not being in our children's lives right now and missing this time. God has once again shown us HIS faithfulness in being there when we can not.

Ian was born just two week after we left China with Mae. We were home celebrating our first Easter when he was born.  At the time, I didn't even know of our son... but God has known all along, and I trust in His plan.

I just have to say, look at our baby boy's lips... those are the same lips I can't wait to kiss.