When I started down the Adoption Road I repeatedly refused to mark ‘preferred gender’ box on all the paperwork. I simply wasn’t going to make that decision: God would determine the gender of my child during a natural pregnancy, He could certainly do the same during a paper pregnancy. I didn’t have a real preference, but I did assume the Lord would give me a daughter. All children adopted from China are girls, right??? In fact, I went as far as to order a stunning porcelain doll of a Chinese girl to put in the nursery. My daughter would love it! (Someday. After she wasn’t allowed to touch it for many years *wink*). The day it arrived in the mail my heart KNEW I wouldn’t have a daughter. It would be several more weeks before I would matched with Isaac, but at that moment, tearing open a package in the driveway, the doll just made no sense; I was to prepare my heart for a SON.

The thought of raising a boy made me a bit nervous at the beginning. Cutesy nursery decorations declaring: “Boys are noise with dirt on them” didn’t help the cause. But let me tell you, having a son is AWESOME. You can totally get away with things that you couldn’t do if you were busy braiding hair or playing tea party! Wrestling and jumping and throwing and yelling loud in the backyard (not in the house – that’s not OK). There is eating dirt and collecting rocks and apparently, bodily noises, which I really haven’t gotten into yet, but that’s what uncles are for, right? The point is, I can’t imagine my life without my tiny little man in the house. And as he grows and we have conversations about becoming a strong man of integrity that loves the Lord, I get to be a part of my son learning to listen to the Holy Spirit’s leading, and seeking opportunities to serve others, and protecting those vulnerable around him. That is what is REALLY awesome.

Historically, the greatest number of children waiting for their families in China has been young girls. I’m sure we’ve all heard of the cultural bias toward healthy boys in a single-child family home. It is heart breaking, but also changing. (Hallelujah!) But, as the heart of China is turning towards their daughters, the statistics are rapidly shifting towards more boys than girls needing forever homes. Even the tiniest of ‘defects’ can place a little boy into the orphan category: nystagmus (crossed eyes), cleft palate, poor weight gain, hypospadius (crooked plumbing), repairable heart defects, Down syndrome. These sweet boys aren’t given the chance to collect rocks and wrestle or to hear about the Lord’s incredible love for them. God has a Son. He LOVES sons and has incredible plans for them!

There are five handsome sweet boys remaining in the Bamboo Project. Five precious hearts ready to love and to be loved by their forever family. Five perfect little guys that NEED to build towers and to kick balls and to burp really loud right in the middle prayer at church. (…it happens…)

Please continue to pray for these sweet boys:

• For their continued health & physical/emotional safety.
• For wisdom and tenderness to be given to their caregivers.
• For each of their forever families to step out in faith in bringing their SON home…forever.

Please continue to share this information. There may be a heart in your circle of friends ripe for God’s prompting through an email or post or water cooler conversation.

The first of the matched Bamboo families will be traveling soon to bring their sweet ones HOME. (Isn’t that exciting?!) I know they covet your continued prayer & financial support.

As always you can find more information or give directly to the Bamboo Project families via china@bethany.org