Dear family and friends, We are happy to announce that Yang joined our family through adoption on January 10, 2017. She is a beautiful 5-year old girl in Guangdong Province, China with an engaging smile and long piano-playing fingers. We need your prayers as we work though her medical needs. She has had 21 teeth pulled in preparation for open heart surgery on March 15, 2017. Since returning home, we've also learned that she is missing a portion of the 22Q11 chromosome, which is why her heart did not form correctly but also increases her risk of other medical issues and future learning disabilities. She will need a minimum of three heart surgeries (now, about age 8, and age 18). We are praying she beats the odds of cognitive impairment, but we won't know that for years to come. We are now considering how can we provide for this child after our functional life if she is not able to become an independent adult. What led us to adopt? It is my mission to leave this world better than I found it. This is what led me to my career choice, but I have found my greatest impact through mothering. We have two beautiful and amazing genetic children, and I have a whole lot of mothering left to give. That said, it takes a village to raise a child. Our daughter Lydia (age 11) says "all children should have an opportunity to grow up and have an impact on the world." However, cost remains a significant barrier to adoption despite the charitable efforts of JK Rowling and others to end the institutionalization of children worldwide. Frankly, adoption and tending to special needs can be a scary journey where we walk by faith and not by sight (2 Cor 5:7). If you're planning to remember us for the holidays, Yang needs it more. Your village partners, Sharon & Dave
