Amongst the chaos of the new life this tornado brings to our family, neighborhood, and community, we did find out Monday that we will be traveling to Beijing on December 11th and return on December 27th. Thank you God for this "pearl" in the rather bleak day.
We haven't scheduled our flight yet, as we have been helping others sort through rubble, salvage what they can of their lives and homes and pack up their lives.
We are overjoyed to know that in 26 days, we will meet Jesse for the first time! Praise God for Him seeing us through and not even letting a tornado stop us from bringing Jesse home.
I hate that Jesse will have to see this devastation and his first drive through his new neighborhood will be what is left after an F4 tornado struck. But, I love that the story of survival and courage and love will shine brighter and He will see that first hand. He will see neighbor helping neighbor and the ability to rebuild after losing so much .. which he will understand, but in an entirely different perspective. So, in a sense the rebuilding from a tornado in Washington gives us a semblance of Jesse rebuilding his life from the tornadic activity of leaving all he has ever known, the grief of what once was, and starting over with unfamiliar people in an unfamiliar place, but with LOVE being the center of it all.
God uses ALL things for good...even the unspeakable loss these families have endured...even when all we see is heartache and trauma. Thanking God for His protection and mercy.
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