Tuesday-

We awoke sometime around 5am even though our alarms weren’t supposed to go off until about 6:30am. Overwhelmed with excitement to see our babies we were greeted with a beautiful sunrise painted by the greatest Artist ever!!! Little did we know that a knock at our door was coming soon with one of the greatest surprises imaginable. There is nothing like the precious face of Tram standing there to bring tears to your eyes!!! She came in with open arms and embraced me first and then Rachel!!! She went with us to breakfast before we headed to the orphanage.

 After lunch we returned to the orphanage for a sad but at the same time good meeting with Sister Mai (the head nun) who runs the orphanage. She thanked us but also informed us that there is now a new priest in charge of her district who has needless to say not been kind towards her. He says that she isn’t upholding her duty to the Catholic Church b/c of her association with us (Baptist). Apparently, they have priests for each district who serve four year terms. This one is doing everything he can to make things difficult for her. In fact, my heart was broken again when she informed us that they are no longer allowed to bury the aborted babies at the cemetery where they have to this point buried over 17,000 since 2006 b/c of our visit the last time. So, they’ve had to bury them in a Buddhist cemetery but have plans to move them to a new piece land they recently purchased for this purpose. We also found out that they are not allowing them to have birth certificates for the new babies that are born/brought to the orphanage b/c of this and not wanting to encourage life. I’m just reminded of how lost and broken this world is that we live in!!! The good news is that this has just increased Sister Mai’s passion for her people!!! More good news, she was also able to purchase a big piece of land about a five minute walk from the orphanage that they have already begun building a road to and wall around for a much bigger orphanage that will also have room for a soccer field. Her plan is to make the current orphanage a school. We were able to visit the land and Rachel led us in prayer.  We headed back to the orphanage where the kids performed a wonderful and entertaining show for us.

The end of the day got even better for me when they told me that Tram could have a sleepover with me, Laura, and Rachel.  It wasn’t your average sleepover as most of it consisted of lice treatments. J  I loved being able to kiss her goodnight and put her to bed even though she chose to sleep on the tile floor.  (She tried sleeping on the bed but she couldn’t get comfortable.)  I am so thankful for that precious time that God gave me.  Nothing compares to watching your child sleep peacefully.

Wednesday-

God is Sovereign!!! I sit here amazed at how our God has continually mixed in tough stuff with good stuff on this trip!!! As I mentioned, our team was going to visit the cemetery where the nuns used to bury the aborted babies until they were told they couldn’t anymore after we left in July. As though seeing the numbers on the graves of how many precious children of God are now buried in these graves isn’t hard enough, again my heart was broken as we approached the same graves we saw being worked on only four months ago left in the same state as we saw them then. Yes, that’s right; they have literally been left unfinished as they were forced to walk away from them. The good news is that Sister Mai was able to buy a big piece of land right over the fence from the current cemetery where they have now begun burying the aborted babies again. How great that He has provided a place so close for them to continue this ministry. For the first time I also learned that they collect/give proper burial to people who have died in the street; as well as, for soldiers whose bones couldn’t be identified from the war that are in places that the government now wants to use for streets/buildings. As we were walking out, God again showed Himself to be more than I can fathom. Rachel told us later that as she was walking with John and Christine and talking about different stories and learning even more about their incredible hearts when they came up to a plaque. She asked if the Loi on the plaque was associated with us but Christine proceeded to tell her no, that it actually stands for “His Word” in Vietnamese… Christine told her that LOI began as Lost Orphans International and over time people just kept shortening it to LOI… What a perfect acronym for the work they are doing here which is completely based on obedience to His Word by caring for the lost, lonely, orphaned, disabled and the widows!!!

After the cemetery we headed back to the orphanage to see our babies!!! In His perfect timing God brought GREAT news to us. Laura, Rachel and I were walking with Cheyenne when Sister Mai approached us to tell us that she was going to do the paperwork necessary for me and Kevin to adopt Tram. She told me that I needed to get an attorney that could get our stuff in order!!! Tears flowed as we rejoiced in shock of what we were hearing once again come out of Sister Mai’s mouth again but this time with more detail, what an affirmation that God is at work with a bigger plan that any of us could imagine!!! Can’t wait for our lil Asian Weable to be permanently at home with her family!!! I think of how much we already love her and it overwhelms me try to consider how much more He love us!!! Lots to pray about hoping you all will remember us and her during this process!!! I ask that you would pray with us for God to pave the way for a smooth adoption, for walls to come down, for the Vietnamese government to allow this to happen, for the hearts of everyone involved, against the attacks that will undoubtedly come from satan, ultimately for it to be the best thing for Tram and above all that God would get the glory throughout it!!!

This afternoon we did a food distribution at the orphanage for the disabled and their families. The sight of these people is enough to break anyone but the joy/gratefulness they have leaves me wanting to do nothing more than to continue to serve Him!!! We were able to give about 100 families enough food for a month. After that the uneducated widows were brought in where Sister Mai spoke to them and we were able to give them a lil money which will go a long way for them!!! We also handed out Gospel bead bracelets that Connie Brock had her Bible Study kids make. A couple of the girls who are here with us from a church in Ho Chi Minh sat down to share with different people about what the bracelets mean and God used those little bracelets to add FIVE more children to His kingdom!!!  God is so good!

Thursday-

Happy Thanksgiving!  I have so much to be thankful for… my husband, my 3 children(yes, I am including Tram), my friends, my church, but most importantly I am thankful for Jesus and His blood that was shed for me.  He is so loving and so full of grace.  He has allowed me, a sinner, to come and work with His precious children, the poor, the disabled, and the widowed!  What a blessing and just one more reason to be thankful!

Today we got to take about 25 of the kids to the beach. After about an hour bus ride with most of the kiddos and some of the caregivers puking we arrived at this beautiful beach!!! Poor kids, they rarely get to ride in vehicles so they all get car sick pretty quick… It was so much fun watching the children play in the water and on the beach.  We couldn’t get some of them out of the water and others we couldn’t get in the water!!! God could not have given us a more perfect day or setting to love on and play with these joy filled children today!!! So thankful to have spent my Thanksgiving Day on the beach with these sweet babies!!! Thankful for all of you who are praying for all of us!!! Keep it coming!!! Love you all!!! May He get all the glory!!!

This is the day the Lord has made

This is the day that the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it.- Psalms 118:24. I woke up this morning singing This Is The Day and then I read this in Psalms. I think God really wanted me to hear those word!
We left for LaGi this morning. LaGi is about 4 hours from Ho Chi Minh. About half way there we stopped at another disabled orphanage. We visited this orphanage last summer so it was good to see the kids again. We hung out with the kids and the nuns served us lunch. The kids are so cute! I was telling one little girl, that is severely handicapped and bedridden, that Jesus loved her. She doesn't speak English but every time I told her that Jesus loved her, her face would light up and she would smile so big! Rachel,Laura, and I had the privalege of praying over a 17 year old girl with hydrocephalus, fluid on the brain. When we finished praying over her, the nun told us that the girl was very sick and could die any day. We were sad but we were reminded that she will be united with our loving Father. In Heaven she will be healed! She will no longer feel pain or suffer.
We are now in LaGi at our hotel. We were not able to go to our orphanage today but we will head there first thing in the morning. I can't wait to see our kids and to give them hugs. As you know, I can't wait to see my sweet Tram and to love on her!!! I hope that I am able to sleep tonight because I am so excited!!!

All glory to God,
Cheyenne

The Disabled Facility in Ho Chi Minh

Today was amazing! We went to the disabled facility in Ho Chi Minh. There are about 1000 residents there. 562 of those residents were children. 200 of those kids are dropped off and picked up every day by their parents. The other 362 children are orphans. So many of these kids were bedridden. I was so sad to see the kids just laying in their beds but Rachel reminded me that these children probably wouldn't be alive if they weren't in this orphanage. The nuns and the caregivers take really good csre of these kids. They also have a lot of students and people from the church that volunteer. The place was very clean and the kids were well groomed. I met a sweet little girl today that just sat on my lap and snuggled. I also met a little boy, Nam-about 3 years old, that stole my heart. He was a handful but he was so cute. He would copy what I said and what I did. He would wave bye and say bye in English, he would wag his finger and say no no ( he did it just like me. I had to tell him no no several times because he kept pulling my hair), he would also throw his hands up in the air and say yay like I did. :). The best part was that I taught him pat-a-cake. He would do the motions and say roll it up and laugh so hard when I would tickle him at the end. We had so much fun!

After we left the orphanage, we went to a coffee shop where they hold English corners. The
coffee shop was closed but the owner talked to us about what they do and showed us around. It
was really cool.

We went to the night market tonight to get some things for the kids at the orphanage in LaGi.
It was so crazy and crowded. There were people and kids everywhere. I saw my sweet friend
again tonight, the girl that sold me my bookmarks last July, and I am really worried about
her. I am hoping and praying that she along with 2 other girls aren't being trafficked. We
see these girls every time we go to the market and it seems like they are always working! Please pray for them and their safety. Pray that if they are being trafficked that we find a way to rescue them!

Please continue to pray for our team as we travel about 4 hours to LaGi tomorrow.

Blessings,
Cheyenne

God is so awesome! I am reading the One Year Bible. It has you read a little out of the old testament, something out of the new testament, Proverbs and Psalms. This morning my new testament reading came from James. LOI uses James 1:27 to remind us of our mission. My first full day in Vietnam and I read James 1:27!!! James 1:27 says this... Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you. I love this verse and I am so thankful I read it today.

Today was our resting day. We went to the market and did some shopping. We had a lot of fun and got some great deals. On our way out of the market we saw this beautiful little girl selling fans. I looked at her and realized that she was the little girl that sold me my bookmarks last summer. Rachel and I were laughing, because I paid way to much for the bookmarks, when the little girl looked at me with a big smile and said, "Oh,it's you again". We didnt have time to buy from her but I hope I get to go back and see her.

Tonight we drove for about 45 minutes with Mama Mimi. She took us to a woman's house so we could meet her twin 3 year old boys. They live in a house that is about the size of a walk-in closet. Six people live in that house for $35 dollars a month. They are very poor so the mom is thinking about giving up her boys to an orphanage. I can't even imagine having to make
a decision like that! You can tell the mom loves her boys and that she wants the best for
them. The boys are tiny from malnutrition but they are so cute. They were very shy at first but Christine gave them each a new shirt, a little car and some candy and so they started playing with us. We were rolling the cars back and forth and one of the little boys kept
saying something to me. Christine told me he was scared to play because he didn't want someone
to take his new car. Christine reassured him that we wouldn't take his car so he continued to
play. We finally got them to laugh some by crashing the cars into each other. I loved hearing
their sweet giggles. There smiles lit up the room! When we left, the boys started to cry.
When we asked what was wrong, they said the boys were scared that their mom was leaving them. My heart broke for them and what they might eventually have to go through.

Tomorrow we are going to a facility that houses kids and adults with disabilities. There are
over 1000 people living there. We are going to help feed them and love on them. I can't
wait!!

Please pray for Rachel, she is not feeling well. Prall that our team willget some much needed rest. Pray for the two little boys that we met tonight and their mom. Pray that we show God's love to the disabled people when we visit them tomorrow.

Much love,
Cheyenne

Vietnam at last!

Hi Everyone!
We finally made it to Ho Chi Minh city, Vietnam around midnight tonight. We were all hungry so we went and ate pizza. Our favorite pizza place was closed so we ate next door. It was good but John saw a rat! Yikes! I am so excited to be here but I am so ready to see our kids at the orphanage. I am about to get some much needed rest so I will be ready for a fun filled day in Ho Chi Minh. We are 13 hours ahead of you so just think when you are going to bed tonight we will just beginning our day. Please continue to pray for us as we adjust to the time and cultural differences. We also ask that you pray for the kids and any other people that God puts in our paths.I am so thankful to be here and I want everyone to see his love and grace through and in us.

Blessings,
Cheyenne

The Hands and Feet

As I sit here, back in Rockwall, reminiscing about the trip, I am continuously reminded that we serve an omnipotent, loving God who never ceases to amaze.  Although I feel like I was run over by a semi-truck, thanks to jet-lag, I am on a "high" in regards to the events of the last week and a half.

The trip to the Mai-Am-Tinh-Thuong  Academy was amazing, to say the least. The children are doing great, and are extremely well taken care of.  Even though it is very hard to leave them each time, it is comforting knowing that they are in great hands.  It is so cool to see each team member form a special bond with that one certain child.  We selfishly want to take each of them home, convinced that we could provide for them a better life, but the truth of it is, the Lord has them exactly where they should be.  The children, no doubt, do way more for us while we are there with them, then we do for them.  

What can I say for our team?  All I can say is...WOW!  What an awesome team, and I mean that!  I went into this trip unsure how well the team was going to get along (not because of anything other then my own insecurity), and I was blown away.  We had a large team this year (28, including the members of Antioch Church in Vietnam) with ages ranging from 7 to 60 something.  We ALL worked extremely well together, we all got along amazingly well, and I never once heard anyone complain about anything!  I want to extend a huge THANK YOU to each and every team member.  As a team, we will always share a special bond, because of our "remember when" moments that no one can take away from us.  You each played an important, vital role in this trip, and I hope I will have the honor of serving with each of you again in the future. 

I know that each of us would attest to the fact that we witnessed the Lord working in some amazing ways this past week.  From the love of the children, the VBS that the team put on, to the people HE connected us with: the members of Antioch, Mama Mimi and John, the pastor at the church with the land, our bus driver who was witnessed to, the pregnant birth mothers, the children and the nuns at the disabled orphanage, the people at the feedings, we were a part of things that only HE could have orchestrated.  I am just thankful that I was able to be apart of it.

There is also no doubt in my mind, that HE was there among us.  HE tells us "where two or three gather together as my followers, I am there among them" (Matthew 18:20), and when a believer is blessed with actually being able to be the "hands and feet" alongside Jesus, it, in no small way, changes us as well as others.  The Holy Spirit works in us in such a way, that we long to be the "hands and feet" in all we do, everyday.  Because of  HIM working through us, we were able to bring others closer to HIM this past week, and that was the most important thing we did.  Through the love we gave the children, to the feedings, to the witnessing, HE brought others closer to HIM.  The actions were just packaging for the true intent, to bring others into a personal relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ, because without that, it is all meaningless.

Thanks again to each of you on our team and our supporters.  I will be forever changed because of the past 10 days, and none of it would have been possible without you.

I love you all!

Kevin

"By His wounds, we are healed"  Isaiah 53:5

Headed Home

We have made it safely back to Ho Chi Minh City after a very difficult goodbye to our babies at the orphanage this morning. We leave knowing with the peace of mind that they are so well taken care of and that our great God is at work here!!!

Please pray for us as we begin the journey back to the states. We will be traveling for about 24 hours getting back around 11am on Sunday!!! Everyone is eager to see their families!!!

Thank you for your continued prayers for us and this country!!!