Yes, you heard correctly, the Moore family is definitely growing by 2 more! Today, we received the official notice from China, known as the "Pre-Approval" to adopt and bring home our son, Ming!
Our journey that lead to this day is a special and unique story, just like with each of our current adoptions. God tugged our heart around the July time frame and today, October 29, we received the Pre-Approval to bring him home!!
We already have Pre-Approval to bring Elijah home and during our paper chase, back in July, God gave a special tug at my spirit and heart. See, in the very beginning of starting another adoption, which was the April time frame, I had wanted to adopt two boys at once but due to the finances involved with international adoption, we didn't see that it would be possible at this time.... but little did we know, God had other plans for us.
Earl knew my desire was to adopt 2 boys at once but we knew in the financial realm, it would be best to adopt 2 boys separately, to spread out the cost. In the background, being active on a particular yahoo advocacy email group for families wanting to adopt from China, I knew from time to time, children come available for adoption who have grants to help cover the cost of adoption. So, one time and one time only, I prayed to God, pouring out my desires and my heart, "God you know our circumstances and the desires of my heart and if you intend for us to adopt two boys at once, it must be the right circumstances which consist of a grant to cover the entire adoption and the child's medical need to be covered by a Shriners or another charitable organization that would accept our insurance without billing the out of pocket expenses." It's amazing how God used that one, single prayer!! A true testimony to praying specifics and receiving the blessings for which we pray!!
After this prayer, I went about my business, not really "thinking" it would come to past. Me of little faith but also, realizing that when praying, I ultimately left it up to God and His will be done. Which was no promise to me that we would be adopting two boys this time around. It was in God's hands. This was in the May time frame. On a couple occasions, I did revisit the conversation with Earl about any possibility of adopting two at once but again, financially on paper, it was best to wait. So, I backed off from pressuring Earl any longer about adopting 2 at once.....until July, when receiving an email that was advocating for Ming to find a family.
Okay, before going any further, allow me to preface this with, any time an email was received that strongly advocated for an older orphan with a severe medical need, I prayed for the child but always thought, "there's a family somewhere out there, but not us." Well, this time, it was different. Totally different. I opened an email-"the email," on a Sunday evening and it spoke of a little boy who had a severe medical condition, severe scoliosis and it was severe to the point that if he doesn't receive an operation to correct the growth of his spine, it could lead to his death--AND, his condition is INOPERABLE in China. (ie: he cannot receive the needed surgery in China). That definitely caught my attention, along with the mention that he was an older boy--which for the vast majority of boys in China-is a dead end. Please understand, that with China adoptions, girls are adopted many, many times over boys and older boys are definitely at the bottom of the list for being adopted. A vast number of boys wait for a family while girls come and go out of the orphanages.
God immediately alerted my spirit and I continued to read further about this special little boy.........there was extensive medical information on this child (a spinal condition--ie: typically covered by a Shriners Hospital) and his adoption came with a substantial grant to help cover his adoption.
This bible verse was brought to my spirit: "In you the orphan finds mercy" Hosea 14:3
I continued to read further and clicked on an advocacy blog that is sponsored by a beautiful Christian mom who has also adopted from China (and is currently waiting to bring home another precious child from China) Her posting went into great detail.
God had deeply touched my spirit and my heart--once your spirit and heart are touched, how can one turn away?
Here is the post:
Wanted: Forever Family for this precious boy with the HUGEST SMILE!
Ming needs a forever family FAST!
He needs vital surgery and it CAN NOT be done in China!!
He is doing well now, but if he does not get his surgery, his scoliosis can cause major permanent debilitation, pain for sweet Ming and possibly threaten his life!
****THis Post (below) was written by a fellow advocate who met, spent time and helped precious Ming. She has more info on this sweet darling, probably the most comprehensive information out there on him! Please contact me if you would like more info or to be put in touch with this special friend of Ming's!
Meet my friend Ming. He is a spunky, seven-year-old Chinese boy in need of a forever family. His estimated birthdate is September 16, 2005. Ming’s special need is severe congenital scoliosis that is inoperable in China (but not in the USA).
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I first met Ming in May 2011, when I visited the children’s welfare institution where he lives. He had a winning charm and an adorable way about him. I visited Ming’s orphanage again in May 2012, and was reminded of his wonderful personality. Given his medical conditions and the life-threatening implications I had heard could result from it, I decided to see if there was anything I could do to facilitate his adoption. With the help of many supportive people and organizations, I was able to bring Ming to Shanghai, where I have been living as an expat, for a comprehensive evaluation. My goal was to obtain a better understanding of his medical needs, so that prospective parents would be able to make an informed decision.
At the Shanghai United Family Hospital, Ming received an array of scans, which were then sent to an expert in neuro-spinal surgeries at the Regions Hospital in St. Paul, Minnesota for interpretation. The news was both good and bad.
The good news was that, in the right hands, Ming’s condition is operable. It will require very complicated operations by surgeons with the right expertise. The consulting surgeon recommended his colleagues in St. Louis, Missouri at the University of Washington Hospital or the Shriner’s Hospital, which is an affiliated, charitable hospital at which these surgeons also work.
The bad news is that without this surgery, Ming’s prognosis is not good. Ming’s curve will undoubtedly worsen as he grows, which will likely cause restrictive lung disease and severe gastrointestinal problems. Ming needs to get surgeries to avoid developing these life-threatening complications. The consulting surgeon indicated that these surgeries should get started as soon as possible, but most definitely within the next four to five years.
The good news was that, in the right hands, Ming’s condition is operable. It will require very complicated operations by surgeons with the right expertise. The consulting surgeon recommended his colleagues in St. Louis, Missouri at the University of Washington Hospital or the Shriner’s Hospital, which is an affiliated, charitable hospital at which these surgeons also work.
The bad news is that without this surgery, Ming’s prognosis is not good. Ming’s curve will undoubtedly worsen as he grows, which will likely cause restrictive lung disease and severe gastrointestinal problems. Ming needs to get surgeries to avoid developing these life-threatening complications. The consulting surgeon indicated that these surgeries should get started as soon as possible, but most definitely within the next four to five years.
Ming’s adoption file is currently with Children’s Home Society and Family Services of Minnesota, but they are willing to transfer his file to other adoption agencies if necessary. If you might seriously consider adopting Ming, please contact me.
I gathered all the information, contacted everyone involved and started conversations to learn more about this 8 year old little boy. I was blessed to speak with the lady who lived with Ming for a short time who was able to share with us a little about his personality and current state of his medical condition. There is very detailed information available thanks to the efforts, love and concern from this is lady, who we fondly refer to as Ming's angel on earth, that includes scans, x-rays and an array of other tests that have been reviewed by American Neurosurgeons, therefore the information is accurate and reliable.
From here, I approached Earl and asked if we could have dinner together, away from Arabella and Sterling to allow us to discuss in great depth and have time to ponder and pray about the information. We had dinner, I presented the information to him and asked him to simply pray for how God would lead his heart but Earl immediately responded with let's begin contacting medical facilities to inquire about medical care.
I started contacting Shriners Hospital and was confronted with many struggles and challenges along the way. One of our many struggles was with our agency, who said they did not allow out-of-birth adoptions. Ming was an out of birth order adoption. With each struggle, I would ask God if perhaps, it wasn't His will for us to be on this journey and with each prayer, God spoke loud and clear--continue the fight--continue the path for which I have for you. He sent prayer warriors to our family that were incredible warriors who encouraged us and most of all, prayed for us.
Isaiah 45:2-3
I will go before you
and will level the mountains[a];
I will break down gates of bronze
and cut through bars of iron.
3 I will give you hidden treasures,
riches stored in secret places,
so that you may know that I am the Lord,
the God of Israel, who summons you by name.
and will level the mountains[a];
I will break down gates of bronze
and cut through bars of iron.
3 I will give you hidden treasures,
riches stored in secret places,
so that you may know that I am the Lord,
the God of Israel, who summons you by name.
At this point, we had not shared with Arabella and Sterling about Ming. We wanted to wait until we were absolutely sure the adoption was taking place, before telling them. We were waiting medical confirmation before making a commitment to adopt him but our conversations surrounded Ming almost daily! We spoke about him so often, that he already felt a part of our family. By September, I shared with Earl that we had fondly spoke of Ming so often that he was now a part of my heart and asked his feelings and thoughts on Ming's adoption. He agreed and instantly said, "let's go for it." Let's commit!! This also brought with it another challenge...it was at this time, we learned that our agency doesn't allow out-of-birth-order adoptions. We had to respectfully but firmly and with a determined attitude, defend our stance on the desire to adopt Ming. Fortunately, after over a week of waiting for our agency's ruling, they agreed we could submit "Letter of Intent to Adopt" to China!
We typed our "Letter of Intent to Adopt" (LOI) and the agency submitted it on September 26. After a very long month of waiting, a month that felt an eternity, today, we received our Pre-Approval to bring Ming home!!!
We will lovingly name him: Ezekiel Ming Moore!
Please keep us in your prayers, as we are still working through the medical details. We haven't found a Shriners that can accept his case but we are not giving up and will continue to contact all the Shriners Hospitals that can handle Scoliosis BUT, regardless, we are taking a leap of faith and standing with bold obedience that God will see us through and Ming is coming home, to his forever family, hopefully and prayerfully, by next summer!
