It is funny world

I have been amazed, through the whole adoption process, by the links and friendships that are formed seemingly just by chance, or maybe, by a greater design.

Jim got involved with a group several years ago that travels to other countries to perform various surgeries on children. It was before we had started or even seriously thought about adopting and even before the birth of our oldest daughter. For those of you who don't know, Jim is a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist. Through Children's Surgery International he has travelled many times to Mexico to participate in a two day cleft lip/palate repair mission. He has helped transform the lives of so many children and there families. I had always had a feeling since we started in the China adoption program that the daughter that we would be led to would be cleft affected. I can't explain it! It was just a feeling that I had even though we were open to many different needs. I just figured that there was a reason that Jim got involved with the surgery group. He also works with many of the surgeons and has travelled on these mission trips with them. These are the same surgeons who will do the palate repair on our daughter.

There is another group that does similar work in China but on a more permanent basis. Love Without Boundaries works in several orphanages and performs many different surgeries on the kids but also has set up healing homes to help the children both before and after surgery. They are one of the agencies at work in Sofie's orphanage along with Half The Sky. These two agencies are amazing and do fantastic work. LWB currently has volunteers in China now on their yearly cleft exchange where volunteer surgeons, nurses and anesthesiologists perform repairs on many kids. The following is a link to the blog post from today:

LWB

We will be unable to find out if LWB played any part in Sofie's lip repair until after we are home. We are not permitted to ask them any specific questions until the adoption is complete. As I read their blog post I was taken aback with the story at the end of the young mother who brought her infant daughter hoping that the doctors could fix her because in two days her family was taking her daughter away to be abandoned as they didn't want a cleft affected child living with them. My heart aches for all the Mother's who whether willingly or unwillingly had to make the extremely painful and difficult choice to abandon their child. Jing Jing's china mother loved her very much! I am certain of that because of where and how she was left for others to find. I cannot imagine the pain, heartache, anguish and wondering that Sofie's china mother will have to endure for the rest of her life and I will never be able to let her know that the daughter she loved so much is well, cared for, loved and cherished.

Tomorrow night is Children's Surgery International's annual benefit. I love going to the benefit because they raise a lot of money to help more kids and they really do a great job of showing people the work they do and how it impacts the children's lives. It is the last night before we travel to China that Jim and I will be able to get a babysitter and go out as a couple, just the two of us, for a while. I am worried that I will not be able to make it through the whole night without becoming a blubbering heap of tears!!! They do a video presentation which normally makes me tear up and that was before I had a daughter waiting for me half way around the world!! Seems like a appropriate last date before China! I need to stock up on Kleenex tomorrow :)