Not Without Hope

We leave to meet Hope in about 4 hours!  So hard to believe we're here in the same city as our sweet girl, and we've never even met her!  We are so excited and surprisingly calm.  I don't remember feeling this calm the hours before meeting Priya.  I guess after you have a kiddo, you realize that you're going to survive, no matter what!  I am thankful for the peace Wes and I both feel going into this adoption.

Praise God that Priya has adjusted SO well to the schedule here.  She didn't skip a beat with her sleep schedule!  Wes, on the other hand, has not slept much and is having difficulty adjusting. Please pray he gets some rest.  It's currently 4 a.m. Delhi time, and I am wide awake!  But don't feel bad for me...I slept for 8 hours!  Feeling great!

Yesterday (Wednesday) we spent the day resting and walking around the area surrounding our hotel to get acquainted.  We had some interesting experiences!  We walked by an extremely poor neighborhood surrounded by piles of trash, and there were about 20 little boys outside playing cricket.  It was fascinating to stop and watch; it was straight out of Slumdog Millionaire scene!  Priya was amazed that none of the boys were wearing shoes!  They were having such a great time.  Once they saw they had an audience, many of them ran over and tried talking to us.  Of course, we didn't have a clue what they were saying!  The only English word they knew was "money" and they all repeated it about 500 times!  We didn't give them any as there were so many of them, but we did share some oreos and chips.  They were over the moon about that!  Priya loved seeing them so happy, and she immediately wanted to go back to our room and give away all our snacks!  I love her heart.  We told her we'd go back another day and take more goodies to them.

On our way back to the hotel room, a shaven, filthy little girl walked up to me and grabbed me.  She was literally covered in dirt from her head to toes.  Her clothes were oversized and stained all over.  She put her hand to her mouth to signal "I need to eat" and I almost lost it.  I didn't have any more snacks at that point, but I had Priya's half-full Orange Fanta.  I handed it to her, patted her head, and she smiled the most amazing smile at me.  It hit me in that moment...THIS COULD HAVE BEEN HOPE.  God only knows how many days Hope spent scavenging for food or begging on the streets before the police took her to get help.  I wonder how many people stopped to help my daughter when she was hungry.  As I walked, I prayed and thanked God for any person who had ever given our daughter food to eat when she was on the streets.  I know God has seen every one of them!  It made me think about the verse in Matthew 25 that says, For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home.  I needed clothes, and you clothed me. 

Somehow now I understand why this pleases God so much.  He loves His children!  So when we show love to them, we show love for the Father.  I, too, love and appreciate any person who ever helped Hope!  

Immediately after, 2 filthy boys ran up and were asking for help.  Before Wes and I could even do anything, a random adult man came up to the boys and pushed them off the sidewalk, yelling something at them!  I was so angry!  This man was clean-shaven and professional, and I guess it made him mad that these street boys were "bothering" us.  But I couldn't believe that happened!  What a heartless act!  Right before my eyes, I saw the scriptures come to life.  Truly the heart of our father beats for the least of these.  May He open our eyes to the needs around us and show us how He wants us to meet those needs!

I thank God for allowing us to see that yesterday as we prepare to meet Hope.  May He show us a glimpse of the life, including hurt, hunger, and rejection, that she once lived.  Only then can we understand how to better parent our sweet girl with love and compassion.

On a lighter note, here's the picture I promised of our "queen-size" bed.  HA! 

We will update later after we meet Hope!