Long ago and far far away...

Seven years ago last Friday, March 15, 2007, a tiny little girl was born to whom, we don't know. Can we guess? Sure, I have. Should we guess? I don't know, is it impolite? Probably? When a perfect little girl is birthed and abandoned in a market on the same day in China, guesses abound. I have my guesses, I'm probably right, I hope I am. A perfect little girl was found at a food market in Haikou, Hainan Province, China.  A little girl that authorities thought was abandoned. They thought her mama didn't want her. They thought perhaps her baba didn't want  her either, or that no one even knew who her baba was. None-the-less, they took her to the orphanage. That is where abandoned children go in China. To the orphanage. The Social Welfare Institute of Haikou City.

What they didn't know is that she had a mama and baba. 

The orphanage director, or head nanny, or whomever is in charge of naming abandoned little girls, named Elli Fu Rui Si. Fu, because that is the street the SWI is on. Rui Si... well, we think because she was tiny. Her first name means small. Very unimaginative. There were so many other choices but maybe God put that thought in their heads. After all, her big sister's middle name is Raye and that is how Rui is pronounced in Chinese. Maybe God didn't really even care what they named her. After all, He knew that Rui Si wasn't her name at all. He just hadn't told anyone yet. 

For almost 6 years Rui Si lived at the SWI in Haikou City. 

Then one day God whispered into the ear of a little 8 year old girl on the other side of the world. "Kate, what do you think about being a big sister? Why don't you tell your mommy that you'd like to be a big sister?" That is exactly what that little 8 year old girl named Kate did. 

And her mommy and daddy bought her a DOG!

Is it possible for two grown people to be more stupid?

Is it possible for two grown people to be more deaf to the whispers of God?

Is it possible for two grown people to be more oblivious to exactly what He was saying to the whole family through the precious little voice of their 8 year old daughter? 

Possibly not. 

But God is gracious and kind and very, very patient. 

One day at the end of the 11th year in the 2000th century He had spoken to the hearts of a few of His people and made a way for the Farharts to begin the search for their daughter. The daughter that they knew lived on the other side of the world. The daughter that they knew had been missing from their lives for so many years. The daughter that they've never seen but knew that God knew her and that He, as only He could, would bring them together in a way that He would be glorified.

After money gifts lovingly and sacrificially given, interviews and paperwork as we'd never seen before. After creating fun little projects to sell and the biggest yard sale in the history of the world (certainly no one could have had one larger), and more paperwork, more interviews and more checks written to organizations I'd never before heard of...

The Phone Call Came...

This is the little girl God had  hidden away for us on the other side of the world
 until such a time as this.

That phone call came in August. On January 3rd 2013 we would begin the adventure only God knew was going to happen all along. On January 7th 2013, God blessed us with our 3rd daughter, one only He knew about for so long.

Elizabeth Hope Farhart. Long awaited and loved from a distance. There was so much we didn't know and so much we were hoping to realize. 

We had only just laid eyes on each other the minute before.

The paperwork was almost finished

Our new addition.

It's hard to believe that before she was even conceived in her mother's womb, God knew she would be our daughter. I cannot imagine, after only 2 months together, my life without her. We have all been changed. I  particularly in ways that I cannot still articulate but the change is there. Why that is, I am not sure. It's something for another blog post, someday.

Let me just say this. If you are reading this and you had some part in bringing Elli home whether it be large or small, financial or spiritual, you have participated in a supernatural event. One that none of us can truly understand this side of heaven - of that I am convinced and may be exactly why I cannot explain what has changed inside my being. There are not enough words in our language to say Thank You adequately. I pray that the remarkable power of the Holy Spirit can warm your heart to it's core and you can know the depths of our gratitude for enabling us to be united with the daughter that only God knew we had for so very long.

Happy 6th Birthday Elli Hope

"I'll love you forever,

I'll like you for always,

As long as I'm living,

My baby you'll be...."