Silent Auction... SUCCESS!!

Our silent auction just closed today. It was quite an exciting event! When we first started putting together this auction, we only had 55 items to sell. Later on, though, when we started telling others about our silent auction idea, people donated many items to us to put onto the website. By the end, we had over 200 items to sell! The bidding was pretty active throughout the whole week, but the last day was the craziest. There were a few items that multiple people were eying, so there were lots of outbidding involved. Some of the hot items were CD's, DVD's, dinners, Lego sets, dressers, and a bubble machine. By the end of the auction, we had a total of 442 bids, with 14 bids that occurred within the last five minutes! We only anticipated raising $1000 tops from the auction. However, we raised a total of $3900 at the end! Praise God! We completely underestimated what God and His people can do when we all rally together. Thank you everyone for your support!

Before we did this silent auction, we were actually quite timid about asking for support. We are fairly comfortable giving, but receiving is another thing, and asking others for things is very uncomfortable indeed. We almost didn't send out that support letter, but a few people encouraged us to make our needs known and then see what God will do with it. We did, and so God did! We had to humble ourselves before God could bless. We indeed serve a mighty God who can do exceeding more than what we could hope or imagine! I guess there ARE no mountains too big for God!

Let the auction begin!

Thank you to everyone who have contributed cash and donated items.  Hebron and I struggled with asking for financial help because we always felt that the expense is our responsibility.  The more we pray that God would meet our financial needs, the more we felt that God is pointing us to the body of Christ.  We are so blessed that we have never been in need.  Being on the receiving side is new for us and also a very humbling experience.  We've learned that we cannot do it on our own, but only possible in Christ and through the kindness of His people.  Thank you for your love and obedience to our Lord.  Each of you set to us a good example of Christ like love, kindness, and generosity.  You are truly living like the disciples in Acts, sharing your possession.  Thank you for sharing with us and investing in our family.  Our lives are forever changed because of you.  I will certainly share with Mui-Mui the story of how God used you to bring her to us. 

 

Our online auction is LIVE today.  Anyone we view it.  There are many NEW and used items up for auction thanks to our friends. Items up for auction include gift cards, stamping supplies, scrapbooking supplies, swiss watches, toys, baby items, christian books, DVDs, music CDs, and services (like babysitting, piano lessons, and Ribeye dinner).  Depending on which item you want, if no one bid against you, you can potentially walk away with a great deal (between 50 - 75% off of retail prices).

 

Please feel free to forward this to your friends who may be interested in those items.

 

Thank you for your support and happy bidding!

 

http://tinyurl.com/makauction

It's a girl!

In August, we received another call from that adoption agency with a match.  This time for sure we’re having a girl!  We’re scheduled to pick her up sometime in December or January of 2011! Here is a beautiful picture of our future daughter. Our boys are very excited to bring home their baby sister. They have actually been sharing about it during Sunday school! Of course we are completely thrilled as well, as we have been waiting for this moment for two years already.

We started the adoption paperwork in July 2008 and our application finally got submitted to China in March 2009. By early 2010, we realized that China had drastically slowed down the adoption process, so instead of taking the anticipated two years to receive a match, it would be closer to 10 years! Our desire to adopt was strong, but waiting 10 years is just not feasible. It was then that we explored another option that greatly sped up our process. We hesitantly opted in to consider a child with a minor correctable condition, such as a club foot or cleft lip. We were definitely hesitant in opening ourselves to that, because as parents, we have the most difficult time seeing our children in pain. When Caleb had his oral surgery a couple years back to remove four teeth, we were worried and anxious for a month. We cannot imagine how it would be if our daughter had to undergo serious surgery.

Well, a few months after we had joined this special list, we received “the call.” They had matched us with a baby girl (born in Feb 2010)! She was found abandoned on the streets of Yunnan by a police officer and her condition is called Atrial Septal Defect (ASD), which is a heart defect where there is a hole between the two upper chambers of the heart. After consultation with a physician friend and mentor and also an adoption specialist at Oakland Children’s Hospital, we saw that this medical condition is actual a huge blessing in disguise. Apparently, out of all the medical conditions that we could have picked from, this particular type of heart condition is possibly the “best” conditions we could get! A pediatric cardiologist estimated that there is an 80% chance that the hole would close by up itself without any intervention! If she would need surgery, it would be a simple procedure, and she would most likely not even need to spend a night at the hospital. God knew exactly what we could and could not handle, so this was the perfect child! How awesome is that??

Why Adopt?

One question we often get from people is why we would want to adopt, especially since we obviously can have our own biological kids. Ever since high school, God placed in Kitty’s heart the desire to adopt because she saw that neglected children can thrive given a little love and attention. She also sees that children hold a special place in the heart of Christ. Mark 9:35 says, “Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name, welcomes me.” She wants to provide a loving home for a child who would otherwise not be loved or know love. Throughout the years, Kitty had many passions and desires; most came and gone. However, the desire to adopt stayed and lingered in her heart. She always thought that when she could, she would.  It is not a coincident that Hebron also developed the same desire. After learning of Kitty’s heart for adoption, Hebron began his own journey of searching for God’s will. Through God’s Word and radio programs such as Focus on the Family, Hebron developed the same passion. Looking back at our journey, we are convinced that God put all the pieces together and led us to this decision. We even saw how He directed our steps to adopt a child with a minor physical condition. We now have such a passion to not only adopt ourselves, but to help others through their journey and struggle with adoption, because we believe that God desires all orphans to be loved by caring parents.

Silent Auction Fundraiser

Our adoption process is not over yet. We are still waiting for some more paperwork to give us the authorization to travel. In the meanwhile, we are faced with huge financial responsibilities. The adoption cost totaled to about $35,000, which includes traveling expenses for two weeks. $10k was paid toward the beginning of the process. Another $12k was paid after we accepted the match. Those two large expenses already wiped out our savings. Unfortunately, we still have $13k that is due prior to traveling to China. We are hoping to raise some support from our friends and family to cover this last remaining chunk. If you believe in our cause and also have a heart for orphans, we would humbly ask for you to prayerfully consider supporting us financially. There are two ways you can support us:

1) Write a check payable to us and mail it to our home.  If you need our address, please email us. 
2) Participate in our silent auction by either bidding or donating to it, or both.


What is a silent auction?

A silent auction is like eBay. We will put many items for sale on a website. You can help us by bidding on an item (e.g. espresso machine, DVD player) or a service (e.g. oil change, housecleaning). All proceeds will go toward our last remaining adoption expense.

We have some items to sell from our own inventory. However, we would be eternally grateful if you have any items or service that you would like to donate to our silent auction. Examples of items (new or gently used) that we can use for the auction are:
• Books
• Electronics
• Toys
• Tickets to a game
• Oil change service
• Babysitting service
• Home cooked meals
• Computer assistance
• Gift cards
• Timeshare
• Air flight mileage

Those donated items would greatly increase the effectiveness of our fundraiser, so please let us know by Wed, 10/20 if you can help us in that area. If your donated items remain unsold by the end of the auction, we will return them back to you. Here are the details of the online auction:

WHERE: Go to http://tinyurl.com/makadoption
WHEN: Auction opens on 10/24 and will end the following Saturday, 10/30, at 3pm.
HOW: You can bid on an item by putting in your name, email address, and the price you are willing to pay for the item. If no one outbids you by the end of the auction (Saturday, 10/30, at 3pm), then the item is yours!

We will also host a pancake & porridge brunch on the last day of the auction, Saturday, 10/30. Come by anytime between 10-3pm, and bring your kids. It would be great to fellowship with friends and family. You will also have the opportunity to check out any of the posted items in person and you can bid on any item that interests you. Just send us a quick email to let us know if you are coming, so we can make enough pancakes and porridge for everyone. Thank you so much for your support!

Crazy August 2010

I don't know how it happened, but my August schedule are filled with stuff.  We are out of town three out of four weekends.  On top of it all, I am taking two classes this semester instead of one.  To add to the stress, my group in the marketing class didn't do much work.  Therefore, I had to put together the marketing plan in the mist of issues at work and my crazy August schedule.  To show how crazy it is, I have to document all the things that was on my schedule.

July 30 - Final draft of Marketing plan due
Aug 5 - 8 - in SD for Caleb and Annie's wedding in which the boys were ring bearers
               - prepare power point & study while on vacation
Aug 9 - Marketing plan presentation
Aug 13 - 15 - First family camping trip to Point Reyes
Aug 15 - Marketing final exam
Aug 17 - The referral of mui-mui
Aug 19 - Finance final exam
Aug 20 - 26 - MEXICO VACATION

In between the trips, I had to unpack, pack, and study.  It's CRAZY!!!!!!!!  But I am almost done with it.  I really appreciate prayers from my prayer group and Hebron, who did most of the packing and unpacking.  I can really see God's guidance and protection this month.  I can't see how I can possibly survive August 2010, it's only by God's strength and grace that I made it this far.  Only one exam left to go and I can be swimming in Mexico.

"The Call"

Ever since we submitted our adoption application in March 2009, we have been waiting for "the call" from the adoption agency to refer to us our 3rd child.  From email updates we know not to expect that call any time soon.  But yesterday, we got "the call."  We indicated that we would consider a child with minor medical condition, so the refer was a 2 yr old with Syphillis, a sexually transmitted disease she was born with.  We were excited, but was not sure whether or not Syphillis is serious.  After conversing with a doctor friend, we made a very hard decision to decline.  Our friend said that if caught early, Syphillis can't do much damage.  But in her case, it was caught later.  He thinks that it may have caused developmental problems and since she still have traces of it that it may be contagious. 

I know we made the right decision for our family.  Knowing my limitations and my tendendy to worry, this is wise.  But emotionally, it was hard to turn away a child.  I pray that God will lead her to a loving home.   I can totally see myself loving her too.  I was so close to having a child, but yet it's so far away.  I wish to have our 3rd child soon, the wait is so hard.  Trusting in God's promises and following His lead is not easy, especially when there are other ways to get what I want.  Of course, I can easily have my own baby, but if I did that I would not be obedient to what He has called me and I would not be trusting in His provision.  It's so hard to continue down the path He is leading us when I don't know what the future holds and when I feel like we are alone (I mean beside God, no one is walking that path).  Like all the things He has called me to, I just have push on and hold tight to His calling.  I love chinese praise song.  A song from Stream of Praise says something like, "I lay down my life before you and follow your lead."  I feel like God wants me to do just that. 

Kindergarten Graduation

 can't believe the school year is over already.  Caleb went from just ready Bob Books to reading level 2 books.  He can even write a paragraph to summarize books that he read.  It's amazing how much he can learn.  I am not ready for him to finish Kindergarten.  We are just getting used to and enjoy school and homework.  I am thankful that Caleb was able to attend CCS in his first year of school.  He not only learned to read, but he learned Christ like character and God's word.  He recited one verse a week and can recite all of Psalm 23.  I am so proud of him.
 

Celebrations this week

This week Hebron and I celebrated our 9th anniversary and his xxth birthday.  He and I are the same age so I guess I don't want to admit how old I really am.  I still think I am 29.  I guess that was a good year.  Anyways, Hebron took me to dinner at Stone Korean at 4th Embarcadero center in SF and then we went to see the musical Wicked at the Orpheum theater with orchestra seats.  I have not seen a musical in soooo long, I think the last one was Mama Mia, which had to be before Joshie (he is already 4).  We don't usually go because it is expensive.  When we do go, we always get the cheap balcony seats where I can't see the facial expression of the actors.  This time we were really close.  I can see their faces.  Wow, what a treat!  Just don't think about the cost.

Yesterday, for Hebron's birthday, we went to Marina in SL for picnic and kite flying.  We brought a tent there and picnic inside the tent.  The boys loved it.  Now, they can't wait to go camping.  Maybe we should start by camping out in our backyard first. 

Caleb's T-ball game

Caleb started T-ball in April. At the beginning, he didn't like using the glove, now he actually likes it.