Blog Archives

4 Weeks (from Sherri)

8/25/2014

Today represents 4 weeks that Esther was placed in our arms.

Time seems to pass so quickly yet so much has changed for her in such a short time span. She is doing amazingly well. She is beginning to branch out from rice and noodles (a staple at our house as of lately) and loves oatmeal, refried beans, mashed potatoes and lots of different kinds of fruit. She is obviously a girl after my heart with her carb loving appetite. She amazingly walks around the house with push toys and refuses to be left behind with any activity. She loves to snuggle, give kisses and be held all the time. Our youngest son has even taught her a few English words, including "no."

Many challenges face us in the future with upcoming surgeries, yet we feel so blessed that Esther is adapting. Even small things we take for granted are new to Esther, ice and air conditioning are just a few. Esther's first surgery is scheduled for September 12. Please be in prayer that the surgery will go as planned, the surgeon will have wisdom in regards to her case and there are no complications.

We know that God hears our requests. Mark 11:25 states "Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours." We tend to limit God, but God is not bound by our earthly minds and I take comfort in knowing that He ultimately is in control.

Sweet Sisters

Esther's first Sunday at church (in America)

Benjamin teaching Esther how to use a sippy

Play-Doh

Cruising around the house

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Making Adjustments (from Sherri)

8/9/2014

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Since we have been home, even though just for a few days, 4 children have kept me on the run! Rewind the past few days though and I have been so humbled and thankful for the kindness of strangers and friends alike.

As a seasoned mom you think I would be better at traveling and pack enough diapers for the ride. Somehow on the first 2 hour flight home I found myself with 2 diapers left, and 16 hours of flying. A complete stranger had a child similar to Esther's age in the Beijing airport and graciously helped our family. Again on the longest flight home (13 hours) Esther got placed 10 rows ahead of the rest of the family in the seating chart. A stranger kindly offered to move, seeing our predicament.

When we arrived late due to weather delays we had wonderful friends and family greet us at the airport. And yet more surprises in store at home with a rice cooker and all kinds of goodies and cards making our family feel so loved and supported. Seriously a must have, we have already used it tonight as Esther must not have heard the Bible verse, "man can not live off of bread alone" because all she wants to live off of is rice and noodles.

The children love Esther and even my 2 year old son can say "Baby Esther." Please pray that Esther continues to adjust at home as sleeping has been difficult. We also have a first round of doctor's appointments this week, please pray that we will have discernment and know the best route to take in Esther's care. This is a snapshot of the past few days.

Daniel was excited to ride in the largest passenger plane in the world - the Airbus A380

Everyone loves a good remote - she was fascinated with this!

The joys of traveling with a toddler - her first flight!

Esther finally caved in and crashed!

The forever flight...everyone slept amazingly well

Finally home in Georgia with the newest American citizen!

Meeting Benjamin for the first time - he's waving "Hi" to her.

Cheap Entertainment with two 2-year olds!

Big hug from her big brother (Benjamin is 5 days older than Esther)

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6 Lessons in 16 Days in China

8/6/2014

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Sherri, Daniel, Jr., Elizabeth and I have spent the past 16 days in Beijing, Guangzhou and Dongguan. We traveled to China to adopt our 26 month-old daughter, Esther Miao Ausbun. I haven't been out of the U.S. since a mission trip to Indonesia in January 2004 and Sherri hasn't been abroad since a mission trip to Belize in September 2003. We'd become "rusty" with our international travel.

Here are six lessons from sixteen days in China:

1). China is filled with orphanages. Every city here has abandoned and unwanted children housed in social welfare institutes. This country needs Christians to adopt. A believer we met in Beijing told us children raised in orphanages "at best" become construction workers. There's not much of a future for Chinese orphans. Family heritage is highly valued and being an orphan is a social stigma.

2). There's a need for churches in China. In 16 days in three massive cities, I've heard of four churches and seen three of them. No wonder there's an underground church movement in China, the believers have no other options.

3). I haven't heard or seen any signs of a Chinese revival. We haven't met ten Chinese Christians. Nearly all the believers we've met were foreigners. No Bibles, no churches, no signs of spiritual vitality. China needs Jesus. This place is an enormous mission field. Sherri and I were sharing Christ with one lady and she replied, "Chinese people don't talk about religion."

4). There are people everywhere. I've been to New York City - cities here blow away the Big Apple. 1.4 billion people - four times as many people as the U.S. Even in the rural villages - there were people all over the place. You're never alone.

5). Americans are associated with President Obama. Most Chinese don't know English, but if they do, they'll tell you how much they love Obama. One man asked me if I lived near the President.

6). The Chinese have no rights. Facebook, Twitter and Google are blocked. I read a newspaper article about how great North Korea is. No religious freedom. No elections. No land ownership (only 70 years). Guns aren't permitted. One man told me the Tiananmen Square massacre in 1989 was "Western propaganda." Yes, there's economic opportunities - but democracy and human rights are non-existent.

Chinese people are polite, kind and will go above and beyond to help you. Napoleon once described China as a "sleeping giant." One out of five people on earth are Chinese - and now one lives in Moreland, Georgia.

Guangzhou from the Canton Tower

We think this is a Buddhist Temple in Guangzhou

Chen Family Temple (a place of ancestral worship)

Our "group" at The Garden Hotel in Guangzhou

A Chinese wedding on Shamian Island

The Dongguan Social Welfare Institute

Wal-Mart in Dongguan

A Taoist Temple (and coffee shop) in Beijing

The Great Wall of China

The Forbidden City in Beijing

The Summer Palace in Beijing (Buddhist Temple behind it)

A Mongolian performance in Beijing

A Buddhist altar inside a home in Beijing (I left them a Bible next to it)

This was being sold everywhere

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Final Blog Post in China (from Sherri)

8/6/2014

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I can't believe that 16 days in China have passed so quickly! We leave to go to the airport in 6 hours. I really tried to soak up the atmosphere of China one final time tonight as we went to dinner with two wonderful adoptive families. I am tearful to leave Esther's homeland, yet excited to finally be going home.

Our final day consisted of visiting the Canton Tower, which boasts the tallest observation deck in the world. Notice that the girls are not in any of the pictures taken from the top. I made it to the 33rd floor and had to remind myself to breathe so I wouldnt pass out, seriously. The Daniels had a blast. After packing (and buying an extra suitcase for all our souvenirs) we had one final dinner with friends that will be life long at the Banana Leaf.

Thank-you everyone for all your prayers and support throughout this entire process. Without everyone's generous giving of love, time and finances we would never have been able to bring Esther home. We are so blessed by our faith family. There is now one less orphan in the world.

A stark contrast of old and new China

Little Daniel on the 107th floor

Open-air observation deck

The view from Canton Tower

Our precious Lifeline family group

Playing with new friends

Dinner at the Banana Leaf with Courtney and Lara

Dancing it up with Banana Leaf music

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Waiting on Esther's Visa (from Sherri)

8/5/2014

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Today we had our big appointment at the U.S. Consulate. In order to bring Esther home we must have an American visa in her name. There have been delays the past few weeks so we are praying that at 4:15 pm Guangzhou time we discover if her visa has been issued without delay. China has been amazing, but we miss our other baby at home also.

After our Consulate appointment we got to visit Shamian Island. It looked like Savannah, Georgia smack dab in the middle of China. It was gorgeous as we toured around the little shops. One of the shop keepers was a believer and was so generous she attempted to give us a copy of her own Bible. The kindness in her heart was such a blessing. In the U.S. we have such access to God's Word, yet this sweet person was willing to give our family the only copy she possibly owned.

Esther is starting to show us her little personality as she will fit right into the Ausbun clan with her spunk and sass. It has been hard on her as she is just a toddler and our schedules have been very full. Please be praying for a safe flight home on Thursday and easy adjustments for our entire family as life will be very different once we return to the states.

Our Consulate appointment this morning

Going into the Consulate

Esther's first American flag

Visiting Shamian Island

Our children's personalities coming out on Shamian Island's famous statutes

Remembering Lottie Moon's work in China

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A Day Full of Animal Fun (from Sherri)

8/4/2014

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The hotel we've been staying for the past 2 weeks has amazing gardens with multiple koi ponds. This morning after breakfast we headed out to let the kids feed the fish. They are certainly not underfed and could probably eat someone's big toe off for a snack.

Next we went to the Guangzhou Zoo. Let's just say we aren't in Kansas anymore. Believe it or not, it's hotter and more humid here than Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi combined. We took in a beluga show and then took a little train around the entire zoo. It was a significant size with the city encompassing the zoo. Our final exhibit had white bunnies and chickens together in a pen. We were wondering why until we saw a snake the size of our 9 year-old son in the glass case! Oh my goodness!!! Esther did really well and slept a lot of the tour, the heat and all the excitement were just too much.

For lunch we took the kids to have a special treat at McDonalds. I have resisted all American restaurants over here until today, and I have to say it was amazing. I suppose the only catch was that they were fresh out of beef! It was pretty hilarious so we all had chicken nuggets.

In the evening we got to go on a Pearl River cruise. It was beautiful to take in the whole city at dusk. The Canton Tower was amazing and boasts having the tallest observation deck in the world. Tomorrow is our Consulate Appointment, please pray that there are no delays and we can bring a new American citizen home very soon!

The koi pond at The Garden Hotel

Eat your big toe off

Torrential rain in Guangzhou today!

Riding the train at the Guangzhou zoo

Esther just couldn't make it

Appetizers

I'm glad I haven't found this in my backyard!

Ending our family expedition at the zoo

Esther eating congee at McDonald's

Our Pearl River boat cruise

Esther loves feeding her big sister

The Canton Tower in Guangzhou, China

Daniel's the globetrotter of the evening!

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The Lord's Day in China (from Sherri)

8/3/2014

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Today we had our first opportunity to attend church in China. The experience was quite awesome. According to the bulletin, over 50 nationalities were represented, all praising God, with different accents in China. Unfortunately only "foreign passport holders" were allowed in the service as it is considered a church service for expats only. Its against Chinese law to allow local citizens to attend and passports had to be shown. The service was very westernized in the English language with familiar songs such as "How Great is our God."

The experience was wonderful to see so many cultures come together to worship our Father, yet sad because of the inaccessibility of the Gospel for Chinese nationals. The service was held at the Hilton and even had children's church.

After church the younger children rested while I explored the city with a wonderful Lifeline mama. We hailed a cab and visited a 10 story wholesale Chinese market. It was quite an experience. I loved haggling over prices.

Tonight we had dinner and dessert with two families from our same adoption agency. Esther is improving everyday. She ate wonderfully today and even tried her first dessert. She has not liked sweets up until this point because she never received them in the orphanage. It doesn't take long to get a sweet tooth at the Ausbun household! Tomorrow is the zoo, and a riverboat cruise.

Esther's first church service in Guangzhou

Guangzhou International Christian Fellowship

Shopping at wholesale market with little D

Fresh juice anyone?

Esther eating her first dessert and liking it!

Dinner at Tekila's with the Fickens and Knights!

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Medical Appointment (from Sherri)

8/2/2014

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Esther eating breakfast

Today our biggest task was going to Esther Miao's medical appointment. This appointment must be completed in order to obtain clearance for her to come into the United States. The appointment went quickly and was fairly uneventful except for the blood draw.

Next on the "to do" list was preparing our consulate appointment paperwork for next week. There have been several glitches in the system the past few weeks that have delayed families traveling home for several days. Please pray that there are no computer problems and we are able to depart Thursday.

Esther is getting in a routine with us and did wonderful eating all day. She even went to bed without crying. What a difference less than 1 week can make! We are so blessed to meet up with several families while in China and spend time in fellowship. Many are Georgian families which is amazing because our daughters will be able to grow up together! Please continue to pray for health and a safe return home in the coming week.

Esther visiting the doctor

Esther riding the bus

The Knights

In Guangzhou with the Fickens

Tea in China

Flooding in Guangzhou

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Learning Traditional Chinese Culture (from Sherri)

8/1/2014

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Today our wonderful Lifeline Adoption agency friend and guide taught us about some Chinese cultural traditions. We visited the Chen Family Temple where Chinese families go and worship their ancestors once a year. The temple is also used to sell authentic crafts made by local artisans. The temple reminded us of the great need for the spread of the Gospel among this nation. There is a void in everyone's heart that can only be filled by our Father. His love must be spread, so that people can worship a living God and not false idols and deceased family members.

While at the temple we purchased a few local trades. One such item was a "chop" with Esther's English name, but also Miao Yu Shen, to remember her culture. We were able to watch a local craftsman carve her name in stone. The children enjoyed watching another local artist make amazing paintings created with only his hands, fingers and fingernails.

Next we visited the Liwan Market where literally hundreds of vendors sell stones and jewels. Imagine a large mall, minus the air conditioning in 98 degree weather! At the facility we looked at jade braclets. In Chinese culture the mother hands down her jade bangle to her daughter on the daughter's wedding day as a tradition. They explained to us that jade to them is like diamonds in American culture.

Esther Miao continues to do very well and is getting more comfortable with her family. We are anxious to arrive back to the states so that doctors can examine her as soon as possible. Emotionally she is doing better than expected as one is never sure how children will respond when completely displaced. Tomorrow we have our medical appointment as we begin gearing up to come home on Thursday.