Whoa- lots of new information! (May 24)

Since Friday night, I have been completely amazed at the order/timeline that I have received information. Everything is falling into place like a perfect puzzle- people are coming into the picture at exactly the right time and providing information that is priceless.

Sunday night our Letter of Intent was submitted in China asking for permission to adopt beautiful Liu Rongjia. Our coordinator, Betty, also requested information about Emma's cleft palate- nothing was mentioned in the report about this and there were no pictures.

This morning, Betty had received this information from China and sent it to me:

The orphanage will try to take a picture of her palate. the updates will be provided soon.

The child now is in the Philip Hayden program in Tianjin City. She was sent to the program last month.

Interesting! From following other families and their adoption stories I knew that Philip Hayden was started by an American couple and that it was Christian based. I was relieved! I have also seen picture of the "Shepherd's Field Children's Village" where the children live. It is very nice, and decorated like a home.... not an orphanage. So, being the persistent little girl that I am... I got on their website and wrote an email to them. I told them that I am the soon-to-be mother of Liu Rongjia and wanted to know if they could tell me anything about her. Within a few hours, I had this response from Tim Baker, who founded the Philip Hayden Foundation.

Dear Sarah,

Thank you for your email. I am happy to say that Liu Rongjia is with us at Shepherd’s Field Children’s Village. She joined the Shepherd’s Field family on April 23rd along with a one year-old boy named Liu Minli also from the Fuzhou Orphanage. Both Rongjia and Minli came to us via the Taida Hospital in Tianjin where they both received surgery for their heart conditions. Taida is a very good hospital in close proximity to Shepherd’s Field that is part of the Tomorrow Plan, helping orphans like Minli and Rongjia receive corrective surgery for their heart conditions. Minli received surgery for his PDA and Rongjia for her VSD. I am copying this email to the head of our medical team, Dr Bill Moody. Dr Moody can help answer any questions you may have about Rongjia’s post op recovery as well as her cleft lip and palate. Please feel free to communicate directly with him with your questions. Should you have any questions for me, please feel free to email or call me at *****. I will be heading back to China on Thursday.

Blessings,

Tim

WOW! So, when I first found out that she was moved to Philip Hayden- I knew it was because they were going to do some type of surgery. That is what they do at PHF.... they take in special needs orphans, provide surgery and recovery, and help the children to find forever families. BUT- I thought it would be her lip. To be honest, I was a bit sad when I found out she has already had heart surgery. The poor thing was only 9 months old at the time. I wish I could've been there to hold her hand and comfort her through the recovery. I was really heartbroken. However, I quickly remembered that this journey was written for her long before I ever came into the picture. She has been in God's hands since the moment she was conceived. He knew everything about her, what she would look like, what type of care she would need, that she would be abandoned, that she would find her way to the PHF.....and eventually to Kentucky and a family that will love her for the rest of her life. Then I felt better. This is God's plan for her and He is in control- not us. The hard part is being patient and trusting that she will get the care she needs until we can get to her. I sent an email to Dr. Moody about her surgery and her cl/cp. Hopefully I will get a response soon and I will continue to update information as I get it.

Oh, and I emailed Tim back and asked him to hug our baby girl on Thursday and to tell her that she has a mommy and daddy that will see her soon!