Article in Daily Corinthian, March 18, 2012

Some people have asked me to post the article in the Daily Corinthian.  A special thank you to Angela Storey for writing the story & the Daily Corinthian for publishing.

You can also see it here:

http://www.longroadtochina.org/blog.html 

Why adoption is a commandment for us & LID

 I do not judge you for your opinions & Love you even when we disagree. I don’t hate any of you but I do hate abortion! I know some of my friends do not stand with me on my beliefs on abortion. I am not here to start an argument; I do not believe that prospers anything! However, I am a FIRM believer of anti-abortion & will forever stand my ground to defend innocent lives! I believe a child is born once it is in the mother’s womb. 

This has always been my stance but after we lost our child at 12 weeks gestational age, my beliefs were only made more resilient! I do not believe it is a mother’s right to kill their child (gestational or after birth) because they don’t want a child, the child maybe disabled, etc. I applaud those of you females that have given your child life in ‘not idea’ situations (young age, not wanting a child, out of wedlock, birth defect, rape, etc) I believe in women having rights, but there is a big double standard! If a man kills a woman that is pregnant, he faces conviction through the law for the murder of the mother AND child! So, I do not understand how the law can say it is o.k. for a woman to kill this child but not the man.? Please do not argue on my beliefs & do not read further if you do not want to hear my stance!   Our firm stance is a reason I believe we were called/commanded to be a missionary for adoption.  

Phil & I are actually pretty quiet people that often stand in the background & wait until someone needs us to act. We don’t often do public acts but charity from “behind the scene” that others do not usually see. However, we both are so bold with our belief that abortion is murder that we do take a strong stand! If you stand for nothing, what are you? This does not mean we don’t stand strong in other beliefs, but abortion strikes a strong cord with us & I believe this is why we were led to adopt! 

We were commanded to adopt & will take in a child with a disability (as GiGi) or one with no disability. We see no difference in either child; they are just different as any other 2 children. One child is no better than the other & both deserve our love & a family! I’m so thankful that GiGi’s birthmother gave bith to GiGi & did not abort her pre-birth or post-birth! 

We aren’t just saying “We don’t believe in abortion.” We are willing to give an option to mothers who decided to give her child life by adopting these children! If you are pregnant & considering abortion, please pray hard about this. Phil & I are willing to take in children as long as God calls us to & to give them a family, home & LOVE! Even if it comes a time where we cannot take in children, I will always help in an effort to give a child a family. If you are pregnant & considering abortion, we will consider adopting your child. If we are not able to take your child in (maybe we cannot because of laws/etc), I vow to find someone to adopt your child & give the child a Loving family if you will just give him/her the opportunity of life!  This is a big statement, but one we can be held to so do not take it to just be words on a page.  If you are pregnant & unwilling to keep your child for any reason, we are not here to judge you.  However, we are willing to possibly adopt your child, find another loving home, &/or help you to explore other options with you!

Are we wealthy enough to do this………do you hear my laughter??? LOL I’m a stay at home mom (because this is where God wants me to be) & Phil is a high shcool teacher in MS (2nd lowest in pay in the country last I checked). If we asked a financial advisor if it was a wise idea for us to adopt a child which is going to cost about $40,000 in fees on our income, I do think that we would be laughed out of the office! NO, we don’t have the funds, but we have faith…….BLIND FAITH!!!! If God commands us, I believe He will provide the way even when we don’t see all the answers/income/end. 

Others have been kind to help us in our adoption efforts (our MISSION). This is the hardest part for me & how God is humbling me! I HATE asking people for anything……ESPECIALLY financially! We don’t like fundraising!!!! However, by allowing others to help, we are able to adopt & we are able to let others help in a mission! They are helping give a child a life, a family, LOVE! You don’t have to adopt to give a child a home. It’s not for everyone & you must be a little crazy to do this! Lol You can support others in many ways that have been called for this lifelong mission (adoption). You can help in prayer, financially, help with a fundraiser, help get the word out about the adoption, help with babysitting if needed, & the list is endless in the ways to help others! 

Phil & I believe we are on a Mission trip as many others have gone to other countries on mission trips. Our mission trip doesn’t end; it’s a lifelong mission when you adopt! PLEASE don’t take that wrong! We are all called for different missions! EACH one is equally important! My point is just because we aren’t going somewhere for a length of time, doesn’t mean this isn’t any less a calling/a mission for us! We didn’t start this mission with the prayer of God please send us a child that has special needs to adopt because we have a longing to adopt! Phil & I thought we were finished having kids! Our children are old enough to be somewhat self-sufficient (feeding themselves, helping with chores, put on clothes, etc.). Why would we want to start over again? Yeah, we are a little nutty, but it is a lot of fun at our home! HA! Adoption was a calling/commandment from God! Are we any less excited about adopting GiGi than when I gave birth to our biological children? Absolutely NOT! We are ecstatic that God put us in this mission! We Love GiGi no differently than Colt & Macy Jade! Thank you to those of you that give children a chance at life! We all deserve this right!  

Also to catch you up.........We got an email from our adoption agency. Our official dossier log-in date

(LID) is: 3/6/2012 

{LID means China has all our tons of info/paperwork & it is logged into their system -now mainly just some waiting & paperwork. }

It seems like this is the point we have been waiting on since the start. It's like the light at the end of the tunnel! The estimated travel time is a little easier to predict from this point. I expect we will be traveling to China in about 3 months. to bring home our precious daughter!

Please continue to pray for us, for GiGi & that we will continue to follow on blind faith.  With our travel date quickly approaching, our funds need to start coming in to cover these fees.  We have paid fees all along, but the bulk of them will be due soon.  Again, we pray for God's guidance & continue to follow on blind faith!

Valentine’s Day Cards for GiGi

It’s been a crazy busy year already & time is flying by!  The adoption is moving forward & GiGi will be with us before we know it!  Things got delayed with our holidays & China’s holidays so maybe we are back on track.  It still looks as if it will be a few months before we are headed to China.  We Cannot wait to hold our daughter & to bring her home!!!!!!  With time approaching quickly, we need to get on the fundraisers for adoption fees/traveling fees/medical fees/etc.   

Today I posted on my Facebook 2 Pictures of cards.  This will be our fundraiser for Valentine’s Day.  It will be here in 13 Short days!  We have the following card types:

* Valentine's Day to wife designs
* Valentine's Day to husband designs
* General Juvenile Valentine’s Day designs 
* General Valentine's Day designs (includes sweetheart & to the one I love)
Basically, we have something for everyone; I think there are 50 designs.  The cards have a retail price printed on the back of $2.50.  These cards are thick and of nice quality.  We also mail them to the name/address you provide with a note saying that you have helped support an orphan home with this card.  The shipping stamps are Valentine stamps & they will have cute return address labels with a return address from Cupid’s Castle.

I know most of you purchase cards so please consider getting them from us to help pay fees for GiGi.  Adoption is not cheap & adoption fees are expected to cost us between $35,000-$40,000.  This does not include GiGi’s medical expenses.  This is something we were called to do & we believe it is our mission.  We know if God has called us then He will provide the way!

You can get cards on a donation basis.  You can mail your check to:

Phil or Niki Smith

P.O. Box 332

Rienzi, MS  38865

We hope to have another PayPal address set up tomorrow so you can send the donations through PayPal  Please, please help pass the word along & share this message.

Tell:

Friends

Church

Co-worker

Classmates

Neighbors

Etc. 

 Would you help this fundraiser be a success & help bring GiGi to her forever home?  Everyone LOVES getting a card in the mail to feel special -even your children & spouse(Please make sure not to forget our service men/women).  We also have religious card & will post more details on them soon.  We are very grateful to each of you for your support! 

So, NOW I WANT MY GI GI!!!!

Wow, it seems like forever ago that I sat at this desktop and wrote about what was going on with the adoption! Truth be told, there was a large block of time that the wheels of progress seemed stuck in the mud. When that happened, the craziness of life seemed to continue (as it does), and I was carried away by the thousands of things that seemed to always need doing. Somewhere along that road, I l...ost focus on what I was doing and my calling. Gi Gi was lost in the shuffle, as were other people that I love.

Luckily, my eyes have been opened. God has little reminders for us along the way. When Niki Suitor Smith told me she had found Gi Gi on a website, I thought she was reaching! LOL! I mean, there are countless orphans in China. Couple that with the number of orphanages, and what are the odds? Plus, I hadn't seen an anywhere close to recent photo. How could she even be sure? Well, to get to the point, when she showed me, I knew. I was knocked off my feet! It was a feeling like nothing else! I don't believe that us finding her was a random thing. I need my inspiration back and when I saw her, I remembered what I am doing. It is easy to get a little lost but God will bring us around if we do a little searching. Niki, never lost faith or forgot what we were doing. She was always searching, reading, praying, working. God is using her as a light for me to find my path. I forget how much I have been blessed. I wish every guy could know what it is like to find the one God made for him. I take that for granted. I got the trophy wife the first time around- so, I'm a little spoiled.

So, NOW I WANT MY GI GI!!!!

Phil