J's First Visit to Her New Home

On Saturday, June 2nd, we picked up J------ and brought her to our home for the first time. We were concerned about how well she would get along with our dog, Suzie, but they got along fine. She tried Duk-Sun's cooking for the first time--a soup she made, and she liked it. It was a good visit. To see a short video clip of J------, click here. This Wednesday, Duk-Sun will have some one on one time with her, and she will stay at our house until after her nap time, and this coming Saturday, we'll have her overnight for the first time. Please pray for us during this time. For the new parents-to-be--that we'll trust in God through this. It's increasingly harder for us to take J------ back to her foster home. And for the foster mom, it is painful to her to be losing J------, even though she knows it is for a good reason, it is still difficult. The only way for her, too, to get through this time is by trusting God to make things work out.

First Outing with J------

Today we took our first trip to Stone Mountain Park together. Here are a few pictures.

First Visit with J------

Here she is! We made our first visit to see J------ today! Wow! She's quite a girl! Our first impressions of her are that she's outgoing, independent, curious, and happy. During our visit, she laughed a lot, played with a flashlight and enjoyed the videos of her I took on my little camera. She didn't hesitate to push all the buttons on my camera. Her foster mom said she is such a button pusher that she even called the police on the phone one time! She ran and played well with Kaya, an 18 month-old girl that was there, and we didn't get to meet her siblings because they were at school. We'll go again on Saturday (in two days) and take her for a couple of hours. Duk-Sun says she'd like to go to a park and have a picnic.

Does God Exist?

Does God exist? That's the topic of the debate between The Rational Response Squad founders Brian Sapient and his girlfriend Kelly (who are atheists) and evangelical Christians Kirk Cameron and Ray Comfort, of The Way of the Master ministry that aired on May 5, 2007. The debate was on ABC and was moderated by Nightline correspondent Martin Bashir. I found an interesting page on MySpace produced by Todd Friel, who is also on "The Way of the Master" team, entitled "I Deny Brian Sapient".

These videos are thought-provoking to say the least. If you are a Christian I hope they help you "to be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have." (1 Peter 3:15) If your faith needs a boost, I hope you this helps. If you doubt God's existence, I hope the gentle and respectful way in which Ray and Kirk present the gospel, as well as the case they present for a Creator will serve to help you change your mind and heart about the God of the Bible.

Meeting about J------

Well Folks, here she is. This is a picture of a picture of J------ at roughly 6 months of age. We haven't seen her yet, but we are scheduled to go and visit with her for the first time next Thursday the 24th.

Friday morning, we went to the DFACS office, and had a "staffing". In other words, we met with our case worker, her supervisor, and 2 ladies who will help with the adoption process. They told us all they knew about J------'s history, her mom's history, how they came to have J------, and so on. They kindly answered all of our questions. We felt they really cared for everyone involved.

What can I say to comment on what we learned? Well, I'll say this. It made our hearts heavy to hear the story of J------'s mom and all her troubles. For example, she had been raised in a foster home herself for some of her life. Later, an Uncle adopted her. We are so happy about getting J------. But at the same time, we can't help but feel agony as we think of how her mom must have felt as she signed the parental rights termination papers. J------'s birth mom is in prison for breaking and entering. She may be there for several years. Please pray for J------'s mom, and for so many people like her who make bad choices and have to go through so much pain. I can't imagine what it's like to lose a child in this way.

On the brighter side, we will meet our future daughter next Thursday at her foster home. It has to be during working hours because DFACS staff members will be there. But I think future visits can be on weekends or early evenings and will be scheduled by the foster mom and us. We will get used to J------, she will get used to us, and fairly soon, she will come home with us to stay.

Baptism Day!

On Saturday, April 28th, Kwon-Moon Lee and Young-Ju Jung were baptized at Stone Mountain Park in the lake! These boys have both recognized that a life without Jesus is simply no life at all. Please pray for them as they return to South Korea on May 19th.

If anyone would like to contact them, here is their contact information in Korea.

Kwon-Moon Lee Chung-Gu Apt 108-802 Jecheon City, Choong Buk 390-772 REPUBLIC OF KOREA Phone number: 82-43642-5993

Young-Ju Jung Chung-Gu Apt 108-102 Jecheon City, Choong Buk 390-772 REPUBLIC OF KOREA Phone number: 82-43644-2823

Adoption News

Two years ago, Duk-Sun and I took the DFACS (Dekalb County Family and Children Services) course to become adoptive / foster parents. We opted to wait for a child that was under two years old. Well, at long last an e-mail came about a child who would possibly be available for adoption. Her name is J------. She is14 months old. She is currently placed temporarily in a good foster home, so she is being well taken care of. We had to update some records for DFACS, and that took a couple of weeks because we had to get new physical exams.

Last Friday, there was a hearing on behalf of J------, and during the hearing the judge terminated the mother's rights. Next, there will be a period of 60 days in which the county will place an advertisement in the newspaper, allowing her biological father to come forth and claim her if he wishes. We were told that it is highly unlikely that he will, but that it is a legal step we must go through.

Next week, we will meet with our case worker, and schedule visits with J------. As time goes on, we will take her to our home for day visits, and later for overnight visits. And this will lead to the final hand-over, perhaps in July after the 60-day advertising period is over. It is best to do it this way for all who are concerned, but especially for the baby. A gradual transition will be much better for her. It must be very traumatic to change families.

We are excited to see Lord answering our prayers and are eager to welcome this child into our home. We welcome your prayers as we go through this process.