September 11, 2001

   On September 11, 2001, we were in Wuhan, Hubei Province, People's Republic of China.  About 6am, we heard a knock on our door.  A women in our travel group informed us that we needed to immediately turn on the TV.  We did, and we  looked in horror as we watched replays of the World Trade Center coming down.  The actual event occurred after we had gone to bed, so we did not see it happen live.
   We were in China to adopt our second daughter, Sarah Mei Jei.  She had been placed in our arms on Sept. 6.  Two days later, I suffered the most extreme food poisoning episode ever in my life, and was close to going to the hospital.  I was helpless for about several days.  A very gracious Chinese doctor on call at our hotel, had come to my room and visited me, and given me some antibiotics and several Chinese remedies to help me.  When the terrorist attack occurred, I was just beginning to get my strength back.
   Our immediate thoughts were that we would never get to return to the US, to our home.  We were certain that there would be a nuclear event, probably nuclear reprisals against Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, any place that  Muslim terrorists called home.  We just knew that the US would be at war with every Muslim country in the world!  We were ordered to not leave our hotel, and the Embassy was notified of our whereabouts.  All international flights into the US were disallowed and cancelled.  We began trying to sort out our options.  We managed to talk to our family and assure them that we were safe.  It was many hours before we knew if Brad's cousin who worked in the Pentagon was okay - thankfully he was.
   We started thinking about what it would mean to us if we never were to return home.  What if we lost our home, our pets, our bank account, our cars?  What would that mean?  And what is home anyway?  We realized it is where our hearts are - and are hearts are definitely with our children, so we were home.  After many tears, and fighting off panic, and much prayer, a peace came upon us that passes all understanding, a calm in the midst of a storm.  God's Spirit, the Comforter,  visited us in a mighty way, and remained with us.  It was amazing, as we began to consider life post 9/11, and the possibility of living in China with our two Chinese daughters!  A sense of freedom and excitement came over us.  Brad was convinced he had much to offer the Chinese as an expert engineer in cold formed steel, and I thought I could teach English.  And we would end up being tentmakers in China, sharing God's love with the people who have captured our hearts.  Talk about a new beginning!!
   After a week or so, we realized that God wanted us to return home, and that things would go back to the way they were before we left for China (well, sort of....except for the A10 Warthogs that routinely circled out my kitchen window between my house and the mountains).  We settled back into our old routines, and set about the work of winning over our newest daughter, loving her, wooing her, and living life to the best of our abilities.
   The lesson God had for us was this:  Are you willing to leave everything for Me?  We found out that we could.  But just like Abraham and his son Isaac, just at the last second, God provided another way.  How about you?  Are you willing?
   By the way, this is not a one time test that we passed and don't have to repeat again, but that is another story...