Joshua is here!

Not long after being dropped off by the orphanage, Joshua fell asleep.  Such a busy day for this little man.  I spent all day trying to figure out how to post pictures from this tablet.  Now that my brain is shot, maybe Cindy will provide
some details.

We made it!

We landed in Nanchang last night.  Been working on access all morning.  Now that all is well,  We are gonna eat and pick up some supplies.  More details later.

Joshua!!!!

Here is an updated picture of Joshua!!! Isn't he cute?

And the winner is...

Thanks to everyone for donating to our adoption, and taking a chance on a HTC tablet.  God has blessed us beyond imagination to have such caring and helpful friends.  Congrats Michele.

It starting to look like 4 to 6 weeks before we head out to get our babies.  Getting close.  Praise the Lord!

The number two

The number two is significant in the Bible.  Starting in Genesis, God created two people.  Eve completed Adam. Later in the book, Noah was instructed to bring two of every animal into the ark.  Matthew 22:36-40 talks about the two greatest commandments. ³⁶ “Teacher, which command in the law is the greatest?”  ³⁷ He said to him, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. ³⁸ This is the greatest and most important command. ³⁹ The second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. ⁴⁰ All the Law and the Prophets depend on these two commands.”   The number two is used 21 times in the books of Daniel and Revelation.

Ok, so your asking yourself, "Where is this nut going with all this?"  Let me get straight to the point.  God has laid it on our hearts to adopt TWO orphans.  In addition to Joanna Chen Jones, we are tremendously blessed to introduce Joshua Hong Jones.  Please join us in rejoicing and praising our Father in heaven. 

This photo was taken when he was 6 months.  We're working on getting an updated one, as he is almost two.

Tablet Raffle

Announcing the latest fundraiser...
We are selling raffle chances to be the proud owner of a brand new HTC EVO View 4G tablet.

This is an awesome 7 inch Android tablet, but you can click on the link above for all the details...

Raffle chances are $10 each, or 5 for $40.

As you are probably aware, we are raising money to bring our babies, Joanna and Joshua home from China. Please consider helping in this effort, and maybe score a groovy tablet in the process. (I had to say GROOVY, because Cindy can't stand it)

To enter, click on the donate link in the upper right of the blog. We'll do the math for the number of entries. Another way to enter is to just see Cindy or me in person.

We greatly appreciate everyone's help in this endeavor. God has certainly blessed us with such great family and friends!

A Lesson in Patience

Patience is difficult.  It is not in our DNA.  Patience is something we strive to obtain, but struggle to achieve.  In spite of this, the Bible makes it clear that we are to practice patience. 

1 Thess. 5:14 - "And we exhort your brothers...be patient with everyone."
Rom. 12:12 - "Rejoice in hope, be patient in affliction, be persistent in prayer."

Many of you know Cindy and I have been pursuing adopting a special needs child from China.  This is a special calling that God has placed on our hearts.  He would not let us look the other way.  When we finally accepted His call, we thought we were prepared for what was to come.  We talked extensively with several friends with adopted children.  We studied all the required materials.  We prayed, and then we waited.  And waited.  Our patience was being tested.

It's funny that we just finished a study on patience in our Sunday Small Group study.  God's timing is perfect.  One scripture that really stuck out to me was James 1:2-4 "Consider it great joy, my brothers, whenever you experience trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.  But endurance must do it's complete work, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking nothing."

God must have determined that we've made progress in this area of patience. It gives me great joy to introduce to you, the newest member of Our Jones Clan, Joanna!  Praise be to God, the Creator of all things!

Please join us in praising Him for this beautiful little girl, and the privilege and honor of calling her daughter.  Continue to pray for the remaining steps of the adoption, and for God's unerring hand to guide us through.  Thank you for all your support and prayers over the past year.  As you can see, they have not been in vain.