We
checked out of the hotel at 5pm then checked our bags with the hotel desk since
we had to hang out until 7:30. It was too painful of a wait. The afternoon had
been spent after shopping, just packing, Michael took a short snooze. There really isn’t much of a waiting area at
the hotel. We went with our backpacks to the “tea lounge.” Tried to loiter
there, but they wanted us to order expensive tea, which I wasn’t going to do.
We left that area and went to another one, which had a piano. No one was playing,
but I was hoping they would… they never did. We did a little people watching
and there was a wedding. The piano area
was a bar, smoking and non-smoking sections…I’m not sure why they think the
smoke won’t go into the non-smoking section because it always finds me and
sticks to my hair! I really can’t handle
it and have had my fill of smoke in China…
 |
| Getting ready to board plane for Hong Kong |
 |
| Brothers on flight to Hong Kong |
7:30
finally arrived and we met Elsie in the lobby, got our bags and away we went to
the airport. It took a while to get there, about 35minutes. Once we arrived, we went to the ticket
counter to check our bags to Hong Kong and make our way through security and
immigration. It seemed our guide would get a little irritated that we were
lagging behind. I don’t think she has ever met a person like Michael. I explained several times during our trip
that it is hard for his little legs to keep up… (BUT he is just like Morgan,
determined to do things himself.) We had no problems through security and away
we went.
Finally
made it to our gate and waited about an hour and a half to board the
plane…tried to set up Skype, but couldn’t figure it out with their Wii Fi. Our flight was less than an hour and this is
where the challenges began. I asked
someone where we go to claim our bags…she pointed us down a corridor, THEN I SAW ALL THESE PEOPLE STANDING IN
DISNEY WORLD TYPE LINES!!! WINDING AND WINDING!! ARE YOU KIDDING ME??? Aren’t
we still in the same country????
Apparently not!! We had to go through immigration again!!! Had to get
arrival and departure cards filled out, and wait and wait and wait. I really
was done with the day. Poor little Michael just wanted to go to bed, thankfully
Mason was SO HELPFUL and got me straightened out!! I believe we were in that
crazy line for over an hour probably closer to an hour and a half!!!!! When I
went up to the counter I gave the officer our passports. Michael’s passport was attached to a brown
SEALED envelope which is for US immigration! I was told NOT TO SEPARATE
IT! The officer was SO RUDE and said
“Take it off, I need the passport!” I
said, “I can’t separate it, it is for the US immigration.” Finally after he
yelled at me a couple of times, another officer came over and he said, ok but
he was just as mad as the first guy. I was shaking like a leaf and trying not
to fall apart. Mason just kept saying “don’t worry, it’s going to be okay.”
WHAT A LOVE HE IS!! Got out of there FINALLY!!
More walking to get to where the stand is to catch our shuttle, it was
now 12:40am!!!! I would NEVER have down through HK at that time, if I had known
the ordeal of immigration. My agency had only said that if I go through HK I
wouldn’t have a guide. I didn’t need a guide, but would have appreciated
knowing what the procedure was…Got to the hotel, check in -they tried to give
me a room with one bed and a CRIB! I
said, nope I need 2 beds, no crib. I guess the travel agency assumed I was
adopting a baby! Asked about internet, I
should have had free wii fi...just wanted to check in with matt and let him
know we were safe! Couldn’t do it,
called and it hooked me to some far away country, and she couldn’t get it done
wither (I thought I was calling the front desk) I then called the front desk
and they said I needed to come downstairs! Knock it off, it was now 1:40 am, I
said forget it and grabbed a shower and went to bed for a really quick
sleep!
The
sun came blazing in the room at 5:45am. I was terrified again that if I went
back to sleep that I would not wake up and miss our flight…oh how I love a cold, dark hotel
room!! The view of the mountains was
incredible but could not get a good shot of them through the hotel window with
the glare of the sun on the water. Just take my word for it!!
 |
| Michael in our 2012 VBS t-shirt SKY - EVERYTHING IS POSSIBLE WITH GOD!! |
Flight
was almost full. Michael was so excited!! He does his arms like he is a plane
and then makes the swooshing noise…precious!! We got on and he asked one of the
flight attendants a question. She didn’t
speak Mandarin, so she asked one of the other attendants…He looked up at her
and asked her the same question…I asked her what he asked and she said he said ,
“Are you sure this airplane is going to the states??” How precious!! He is
trying to make sure that is where we are taking him. I have told him several times,
but he wanted to be sure! The trust this child is having in us is unbelievable!! I know he misses
his foster parents and sisters, but this is permanent. That was only temporary
until God lined up all the people He lined up to get his file to us!! I know I am
going to be hit like a ton of bricks when I get home…It may not be immediately,
but it’s coming!! I know it!! I have had
moments during this trip, but the flood gates have stayed at bay. I know I have said Mason has been incredible,
but I actually don’t have words to describe the bond that has formed during
this trip. I am not his friend, I am his mother, but what we have shared is
indescribable. I’ve always thought he
was beyond his years in many ways, this trip showed it. I think 11 sounds so young, but yet, there
were moments he acted like a man. Proud
is an understatement. Humbled beyond words that I get to be his mommy, and
Morgan’s and Maddox’s and Michael’s…and I get to be Matt’s wife. What more
could I want…nothing!
 |
| Getting ready for take off - USA BOUND!! AMEN!! |
 |
| Last look at his homeland - ready for his new life |
 |
| LAST VIEWS - BREATHTAKING |
The
flight to Chicago was beyond long! None of us slept much; Michael got more than
any of us. They watched some of the videos played on the screens. Michael can LAUGH! And he can do it loudly!!
So hilarious! All my boys can laugh very LOUD! So the lady in front us appeared
and acted very entitled. Seriously, her seat seemed to be able to go back
further than any of the other seats on the plane. I should not have been the one sitting behind
her with my "mommy long legs"!! But I
dealt with it, because Michael was in the window seat and Mason was in the
middle. Mason would have switched with me, but I didn’t want him to be cramped
either. One of the shows that was on was
a “prank” show…there were no words, just silly music and you watched a scene
and saw the people be shocked at what they just witnessed. Well, Michael
couldn’t get enough of it! He was
laughing and laughing. I was laughing because he was laughing. All the window covers were shut, it was
sometime in the afternoon, but they had the covers down to try to begin the
process of adjusting our bodies to the time change we were going to
experience. The cranky entitled lady in
front of me turned around and said “shhhhhh” to Michael. I was really wanting to say something but
didn’t of course, this was a long flight and didn’t want to make any
waves. She told him that on 3 different
occasions… I rolled my eyes in the back of my head because I couldn’t believe
it…She was hearing a child laugh and it was irritating her. Really??? Does she know what has happened in this
child’s life?? No! Does she know that has was left at an extremely young age,
found by police, lived in an orphanage, lived in foster care where he was very
loved, and then taken from there and brought to a white woman and a white boy
that he can’t communicate with and has to trust that they are going to take
care of him and not hurt him. She is going to shhhsh him??!! Jiminy Christmas!!
He could have been hysterical, crying for hours with all that he has been
through and she should have been thanking God that he was laughing!! But, there
lies another issue, it was doubtful that she knows My God! She also called the
flight attendant later to have her tell some passengers on the other side of
the plane to shut their window shades…She was trying to sleep, she slept a lot
of the flight. The funny thing is, is
that she had an eye cover for her eyes, BUT still needed the people on the
other side of the plane to accommodate her.
Really, I seriously didn’t understand why she wasn’t in business or
first class…I apologize for the rant, I had to share this. It really was comical since she clearly
thought of herself as “better” and “more
important” than every other passenger on the plane…I do have some news…she
wasn’t, and neither was I…we all had the same purpose for being on this
plane…to get to the United States for one reason or another…I honestly was
about to bust at the seams as we got closer and closer to the end of the
flight. I told Michael different
countdowns for landing. I thought we had
20 minutes left and then they made an announcement, “We are on schedule to land
at 12:50” I looked at my watch and it
was 1:20…I’m thinking, what is he talking about, we are LATE! Oops, landing in
Chicago in the CENTRAL TIME ZONE! Blond
moment and no sleep!!
Upon
our landing I couldn’t contain my tears! Finally back in America!! The land
that we love and appreciated before we left and the one we appreciate even more
now!!! Mason even told one of our traveling partners that he appreciated our
LAWS especially the traffic laws since we really didn’t see any evidence in
China that they had any!! (driving on the sidewalk and just driving in any
lanes, making your own lanes etc.) It truly is a site!!
We
couldn’t wait to get through immigration and get on the next flight (which
wasn’t leaving for SEVERAL hours.) They had told me that my bags were checked
through Jacksonville, but we had to collect them and go through the passport
area and immigration. Little did I know what we were going to deal with getting
through this phase after a 14 hour flight!! WE DID NOT GET A WARM WELCOME FROM
OUR COUNTRY!!! It was NOTHING BUT AWFUL AND LIKE A NIGHTMARE FROM HOMELAND
SECURITY!! I am still trying to figure out the problem!! We went to the passport area for citizens. I
believe I was in lane 32 or 30. (The man in lane 31 was also awful to another
family!) I walked up to the desk and the man at the desk was already disgusted.
I did not get his name, surely wish I had!
He said, "How many are there of you??" in a very nasty
tone. I told him 3. He started to separate Michael's passport
from the sealed brown envelope that I had been told could not be separated
until immigration…Mason said, please don’t separate that and I asked him as
well…He said, “It’s going to get separated down there anyway. I’m doing my
job.” I said, ‘Sir, I am just doing what
I have been told. He mumbled under his breath with pure hatred on his face,
stamping the documents! I did not understand what his problem was. I said, very calmly and quietly, “wow,
Welcome home to America. I have been gone 2 weeks to adopt my son, and have
been on a 14 hour flight and this is the warm welcome I am getting from my
country. Wow that just took the wind out of my sail, thank you.” He didn’t
acknowledge me, clearly he was an unhappy man… I finally gathered our passports
back from him and went to our next stop – Immigration. Surely these people will be nice…We went to
the counter and someone told me that the person working the desk has stepped
away, put the file on the counter and then sit and wait. Okay…so we sat and
waited and waited. We just were so ready
to get chips and salsa!! The person
finally came back and started opening the envelopes and processing the
documents…then there was a hesitation…He looked at another person working
there, he was Asian. They looked at the documents then the first person took
Michael’s passport and another sheet and left the area, without saying a word
to me…I was concerned so I asked the Asian guy, Is there a problem?” He said that Michaels' medical report in the
sealed brown envelope stated that he has TB a or b, they are not sure. Like I
said before he tested positive on the skin test but the chest x-ray was
clear. The Asian worker said "I
test positive on the skin test and I don't have it. A lot of Asians test
positive but they don't have it, they were just exposed at some time. It's NOT a problem. There is
no treatment plan on his report, he does not have it" I felt better with
him telling me this even though I already knew this…The other worker (heavy
Russian accent) came back and he also shared that his medical exam had expired
7 days prior.
He didn't let me look at the sheet long enough to see what he was talking
about with the dates. He just said it expired on 6/30/12! I told him I didn’t understand,
but he really could have cared less…He got my phone number and said the
CDC will call me this week. I’m not worried about it now, but I was
concerned then, and it was very upsetting. My BP I’m sure was up and I just
couldn’t get out of there fast enough. He finally told me to go over to lane 1
and check my bags through the machines…I got to lane 1 and another unfriendly
person was there to greet me…I was just about done! Thank God that Mason was
with me as he was very calming!!! This
worker told me, “put your bags on the belt” in yet another irritated voice…a
requirement to work there must have been, “you must be miserable and unkind and
dislike people in general.” Another
worker looked at me, and he must have seen what I had been going through and
must have also seen that I looked like I was going to crack…He said, “Did you
go to China to adopt?” In an extremely broken voice I said, “yes.” He then said, “You don’t have to do that, go
on through. Congratulations.” That is when I said through my tears, ‘thank you,
you are the first person to say that to me” He said, “I am so sorry it took so
long.” He truly felt bad, and when Mason and I discussed this yesterday, he
said, “That man was a God sighting!” (During VBS the kids are encouraged to see
God in different places!) We went to re-check our bags for the next flight and
an airport employee told me to check and see if there was an earlier flight
since my flight didn’t leave for such a long time! I was beyond excited to
think I could get home earlier. It was not meant to be...if immigration hadn’t
been such an issue we could have left…the flight was pulling out when I was at
the counter. Oh well, it was okay. We
dropped our bags on the belt and headed for Concourse B to Chili’s for some
chips, salsa and a diet coke! Made it
and hung out for a very long time! Our waiter left the ticket and said to just
give it to the waitress whenever. I had told him that we just wanted to be comfortable
while waiting all the hours we had to wait.
A couple sat down next to our table. I was talking to my sister Jane
explaining what we had just endured. The couple next to us overheard and said
how sorry they were that we had to deal with that. We talked with them for over
an hour. There were just coming back from Ireland celebrating their 29th
wedding anniversary! Even through Ireland was a great place to visit, they
still were so thankful to live in the USA! We all should be so thankful for all
the freedoms we have here!!All the opportunities! The list is too long and I’m
sure your eyes have probably shut a time or two during this blog post, maybe
you have had to break for breakfast, lunch or dinner, or a snack, or coffee…There is a lot to cover!!
We
headed for Concourse C around 5pm…maybe it was 4:30 I can’t remember…anyway we
made it to the Gate and looked at the signage and the display had a different
city listed.. I thought maybe this is
still too early and there is a flight leaving here before ours…nice thought,
but not true…they changed our gate! Really??? We walked all the way down here
for nothing. Poor Michael!! Does he
think he is on a wild goose chase?? Does he get to eat it in the end?? Oh my
goodness, I was getting delirious! To
find someone to tell me how to get to the new gate was a challenge…I went to a
United counter and there were 2 people talking to each other about someone
going on a flight. They were in the middle of trying to figure something out,
but never acknowledged that I was there or anything…they pretended they did not
see me standing at the counter. Not once did they look up and say, ‘we’ll be
with you in a minute.’ NOTHING! After
about 3 minutes of standing there, we left to try to find someone else that
could help. Found another counter, and asked the man…He said to go look on the
screens in the concourse. He finally did
tell me what gate, but really would have rather I left and looked at a
screen. He had to be there anyway, why
did he have to act like my asking a question was such an inconvenience??? I do not understand why it is so hard for
some people to be nice and happy to help…We had to take a shuttle to another
concourse because I felt awful that Michael was SO TIRED!!! He said he wasn’t but he clearly was!!!
The
shuttle ride over, I noticed a couple that looked SO FAMILIAR!! I was saying to myself, I know I know
them!! Kept thinking with my fog-ridden
brain and then knew I knew them from our old church in Ponte Vedra! I had to ask so I did, ‘do you live in Ponte
Vedra?’ She responded with yes and I asked if they went to the church and then
another yes, then asked if they knew Emory and Betty Lou (my dad and
step-mother) and they said yes. I explained that I was his daughter, they asked
what was I doing in Chicago…told them my oldest son and I just went to China
and I adopted this little boy and we are on our way home! They were precious and very excited for
us. Found out later that my husband knew
them from working on the stewardship campaign and other things from the
church. They are also good friends with
some of our good friends from our church now.
Small world!!
 |
| MASON IS SO TIRED!!! |
I
was talking to another woman while we were waiting to board. She also looked
familiar…finally asked some questions, and yes, I had met her at our church!
She is good friends with another friend from church! Goodness gracious! So fun to have nice people on this flight!!
The
flight was about 2 hours and felt like 14!
We were all tired but none of us slept for more than a few minutes!! The
anticipation of seeing Matt, Morgan and Maddox was a bit much for all of
us! We were all so excited!! Mason was
looking forward to seeing his youngest brothers, and he couldn’t wait for Matt
to give a hug. He knows how proud he made his daddy!! I texted Matt and let him
know that we landed. I had visions of
what this reunion would be like. I got my camera out to record Michael getting
off the plane…when we made it to the actual building, do you think I had some
tears???! Yep, I sure did!! Then we came
out of the concourse headed to the main part in the middle of all the
concourses. I love our airport!! It is very organized and it’s much smaller
than all the other ones I had been in over the last 2 weeks!! It was almost
11pm so everything was closed…just a few people in the airport. I saw my family, even without my glasses…they
had a couple of signs, I was recording and sniffling at the same time. Michael went straight to Morgan first. As he
was approaching him he said, “Morgan!” then he gave him a hug…then he gave a
hug to Maddox, then he gave Matt a hug…I got video and pictures and it was
priceless!!! So precious! The grand finale!! He has arrived and he is
safe!! We are here to watch over and
protect him, provide for him and love him…he was home!!! As all the boys were
starting to head towards the escalator, Morgan grabbed Michael’s right hand and
Maddox grabbed his left and Mason was carrying some bags. They walked hand in hand to retrieve our
luggage…The visions I have carried in my head for so long have been playing out
in reality over the past 2 weeks…it is truly amazing what God has done…each and
every detail could only be explained by Him, In His Way and His Time. The picture taken in the airport of the SIX
OF US was taken by the couple that attends our old church! We were so thankful
for their gift to us!!
 |
| Meeting Daddy - melting the heart! |
 |
| First family photo! Family of 6! |
 |
| ALL MY BABIES!! |
We
gathered our luggage a few minutes later, and then went to the van…It was
clean! That is a switch! We are always
in and out of it so much it rarely is! We drove through downtown and he looked
at all the buildings lit up…we explained that was downtown Jacksonville. He
said Yes…he responds yes to a lot of things…in the beginning, he was getting
yes and no interchanged, but I believe he knows which is which now…like when he
told me he could swim…he said yes and the answer was clearly no when I saw him
sink in the pool.
All
the boys fell asleep before we made it home.
Mason woke up in the middle of
some dream or thought or something and started blurting out something about, WE
HAVE TO GO BACK!!! No idea what that was
all about, but maybe he thought we had forgotten Michael!
The
house was lit up and there were yard signs everywhere!! Smiley faces, hearts, stars and “WELCOME HOME!”
My neighbors had also made some signs welcoming Michael! It was a wonderful
homecoming…
Matt had the “triage” laundry baskets set up in the garage so I
could sort and bring everything straight into the washing machine! Just in case
there were any surprise visitors coming back with us (there were not!!). So thankful I have commercial size appliances
and all the laundry was done and put away within 24 hours!! That was a good
feeling!!
I
knew we were going to have an issue with the dogs…remember he was terrified in
a store that had a couple of puppies…Maggie and Molly were in the crate but they were
barking. I picked him up and showed him they were in the crate and couldn’t get
him…they wouldn’t anyway, but they would “greet him.” He came in looked around and Morgan and
Maddox wanted to give a tour of everything. There were signs in his room, and
signs on each of the boys’ doors so he could see which room belonged to each
brother.
He would nod his head and say
yes anytime we said anything. It was hilarious.
My friend Mary had brought over some beginning board books for him. He loved
them! Watching his expressions was
amazing. So many new things can be
overwhelming, but honestly he is so easy and a “go with the flow” he seemed fine…I have said before, I
envisioned him being fine, but really this is beyond fine…I know he doesn’t
even know it yet, but he is going to have an unbelievable relationship with
Jesus!! The boys stayed up until about 1:30. We gathered in Mason’s room, said
prayers and then took each one to their rooms, sang “Love you forever” and
kissed them goodnight…Michael was asleep within 30 seconds! They were up around
8 and it was time to start our first full day of being together…they played the
Wii Guitar Hero (thank you to the Ziegler family!!) Michael had his first
peanut butter and jelly sandwich and he loved it!
We
Skyped with our friend Lauren and her daughter and I was hoping that she could
talk to him about the dogs, and also ask him if there is something he wants to know
or ask us about…he isn’t speaking Chinese to us, just hand gestures and ok,
yes, no…I have yet to be able to type with the translator in a way for him to
understand how he can type in it to communicate with us…he just isn’t getting
the concept…Betty talked to him about the dogs, and explained that they are
sweet and we wouldn’t let anything happen to him, we were here to protect him
and it is okay…Matt and I sat upstairs with him in the loft, with Maggie. He
was scared, and matt had his arm around him and we kept telling him it was
ok…he knows what that means…if Maggie moved, he would shudder…he had tears sitting
in the well…it was breaking my heart but I really knew that we were on the
verge of a breakthrough!!! He literally was trying to back himself INTO the wall! We had Maggie on her
back we were able to get him to reach out to touch her paw…it was soft and he
smiled, did it again, and again…then he petted her and she was calm. He smiled
more, and more…It was unbelievable! He
went from terrified to peace! The transformation on his face was
indescribable!!! The Holy Spirit was present and took his fear away COMPLETELY
and replaced it with peace!! He was
laughing and carrying on and we were so excited. Now that he was so excited
about the dogs and they needed to go outside for a “break” he went with us…when
we went outside in our bare feet, Michael stepped on the grass almost like he
was stepping on hot coals and lifting his knees high in the air…Interpretation
lead us to believe that he had never been on grass before certainly not St.
Augustine grass in bare feet…Actually looking back at our trip , I didn’t see
grass except at the zoo and parks…I don’t recall seeing any at the orphanage
and definitely not at his home. His feet
are very tender, and these are all new sensations but he is processing
everything so incredibly well!! If you
have been following our journey you have to get a real sense that this is ALL a
“GOD THING!” Like I have said time and
time again, there are NO coincidences!!! Only God can allow all these things to
play out…
I
need to clarify…Even if everything was NOT going well, this journey would STILL
have been led by God!! Our story of our spiritual
daughter, Micah, was God inspired. Things did not turn out as WE had planned,
BUT we were still used in her life! It
is okay. We are okay…I still pray that she is okay, happy and healthy, that is
my position now…
While
playing the Wii upstairs in the loft area, which is REALLY TIGHT now, with 4 boys and
the 2 additional boys from across the street, injuries are bound to happen
especially in this house!! I heard Maddox crying, got to love him, he is the
baby, and can just get hurt on a dime, like nobody’s business!! Heard what could
have been a bad situation, and ran upstairs (my exercise some days!!)…Michael
was giving him a hug and saying,” okay, okay.” He was trying to let him know
that he was okay!! Michael is used to helping take care of his younger foster
siblings and it shows… all the write ups that I had read about him WERE TRUE,
not false like so many people told me to assume…I knew Michael was who they
said he was…I knew that he knew how to treat people, I knew that he was smart,
I knew it all, because I had trust and faith in our God about this child.
This
journey has been, from the beginning, about faith…being on the other side of the
world without part of my family has been one of the most challenging adventures
I have ever encountered…I had many fears along the way…would the plane crash,
am I risking our lives for this child, are we going to make it out of there,
are we going to get sick, what if something happens to me, then what happens to
Mason, or Michael…the list goes on and on.
There were moments of panic, what have I done, how is our family going
to change, why didn’t I just say NO, this is too big for me, for us…
The
answer is this…
Hebrews 11:6
–“And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to
him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek
him.”
Read the
entire chapter of Hebrews 11 here, and think about all the people listed and how
their faith sustained them.
Faith in
Action
Now faith
is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. 2
This is what the ancients were commended for.
3 By faith
we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is
seen was not made out of what was visible.
4 By faith
Abel brought God a better offering than Cain did. By faith he was commended as
righteous, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith Abel still
speaks, even though he is dead.
5 By faith Enoch
was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death: “He could not be
found, because God had taken him away.”[a] For before he was taken, he was
commended as one who pleased God. 6 And without faith it is impossible to
please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and
that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
7 By faith
Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save
his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the
righteousness that is in keeping with faith.
8 By faith
Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his
inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. 9
By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign
country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of
the same promise. 10 For he was looking forward to the city with foundations,
whose architect and builder is God. 11 And by faith even Sarah, who was past
childbearing age, was enabled to bear children because she[b] considered him
faithful who had made the promise. 12 And so from this one man, and he as good
as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless
as the sand on the seashore.
13 All these
people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the
things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance,
admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth. 14 People who say
such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. 15 If they
had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity
to return. 16 Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one.
Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city
for them.
17 By faith
Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had embraced
the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, 18 even though God
had said to him, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.”[c]
19 Abraham reasoned that God could even raise the dead, and so in a manner of
speaking he did receive Isaac back from death.
20 By faith
Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau in regard to their future.
21 By faith
Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of Joseph’s sons, and worshiped as he leaned
on the top of his staff.
22 By faith
Joseph, when his end was near, spoke about the exodus of the Israelites from
Egypt and gave instructions concerning the burial of his bones.
23 By faith
Moses’ parents hid him for three months after he was born, because they saw he
was no ordinary child, and they were not afraid of the king’s edict.
24 By faith
Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s
daughter. 25 He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than
to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. 26 He regarded disgrace for the sake of
Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking
ahead to his reward. 27 By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger;
he persevered because he saw him who is invisible. 28 By faith he kept the
Passover and the application of blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn
would not touch the firstborn of Israel.
29 By faith
the people passed through the Red Sea as on dry land; but when the Egyptians
tried to do so, they were drowned.
30 By faith
the walls of Jericho fell, after the army had marched around them for seven
days.
31 By faith
the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those
who were disobedient.[d]
32 And what
more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson and
Jephthah, about David and Samuel and the prophets, 33 who through faith
conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who
shut the mouths of lions, 34 quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the
edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became
powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. 35 Women received back their
dead, raised to life again. There were others who were tortured, refusing to be
released so that they might gain an even better resurrection. 36 Some faced
jeers and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. 37 They were put to death
by stoning;[e] they were sawed in two; they were killed by the sword. They went
about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated— 38 the
world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, living in
caves and in holes in the ground.
39 These
were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been
promised, 40 since God had planned something better for us so that only
together with us would they be made perfect.
THANKS BE TO
GOD! WE ARE HOME! WE ARE HOME!!
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| THE VISION I HAD FOR OVER A YEAR HAS BECOME A REALITY!! |
