I went home this weekend to visit my family and the newest member of my extended family, Dylan Lee Pierce. Dylan is the new baby boy to my cousin, Brandy and her husband Cliff Pierce. He is so cute, a little miracle from God! I would like to ask that you please keep Dylan in your prayers. When he was born he was suctioned out and it caused a fracture on his little skull. He had swelling, but it is going down some now. Pray that his little skull will heal and that all of the swelling will go down. Also, pray that he will not have any adverse effects from the fracture. He's doing really well, but please keep in him your prayers.
I also went to Chloe's place while I was home. I call it her place because I don't to call it her grave. It sounds too morbid to me and it is her little place until Christ returns and her little body meets her spirit in the air. I can't wait for that day!!! I made her an Easter floral arrangement with pinks, yellows, hot pink daisies and aqua carnations. It looked very cheerful, like her. I put some Easter picks in it too. One bunny rabbit, an Easter egg, and a lamb. I tied an Easter bunny around the vase. Someone put a stand with a hook in the ground and hung wind chimes on it, after she was placed there. We don't know who did it, but if you're reading this and you did it, thank you very much!! We hung a cross on it for Easter. It's pastel colors and looks like Easter. It says REJOICE! And you know, that's exactly what I did while I was visiting her place.
Chloe has brought Christ's resurrection into reality for me. Easter has never been more real or meant more to me than it does this year! Just the thought that she gets to spend Easter with Christ Himself makes my heart so full. And through Christ's death and resurrection, I have the promise of spending eternity with Jesus and my little angel. Even though she's in Heaven, God continues to use her to bless me and to help me to grow closer to Him.
I struggled with "faith" for as long as I can remember. I always prayed for God to give me more faith and to help me not to doubt that He is real. I'm not proud of this doubt that I had, but I think we all face it at some point in our lives. I even had a dream one night (long before Chloe was born, or even before I was married to Rick) that I was walking along the beach with Jesus and I asked Him "to help me to believe without a doubt". He took my finger and placed it in His nail scar. Then I woke up, and once I realized that I was no longer walking with Jesus, I was sad for days!! Then I realized that He lives in me! Pretty elementary stuff, but it was still hard for me to grasp. It is true that we have to come to Christ with child-like faith. I am proof of that. Even after this, I struggled with faith. I prayed and asked God to give me more faith for a very long time. Then Chloe was born and my faith journey truly began. It's when I couldn't fix it myself and I was powerless to help Chloe, that I was forced to have faith and trust in God. Having Chloe revealed to me that I had stronger faith than I was giving myself credit for. I just had never had to rely on my faith in such a powerful way. I think I was afraid to. God used Chloe to increase my faith and to show me how to release it. Through her life and death, my prayer for faith has been answered. It's not how I would have chosen for it to have been answered, but now I wake up everyday trusting in God that He has Chloe safe in Heaven. For the rest of my life, I will have faith in knowing that Chloe is waiting on me in Heaven with Jesus. There is nothing more beautiful than Christ's love for us! I could never begin to explain all that God has given me through Chloe. Love, faith, hope, joy, peace, strength, just to name a few. As I stood talking to Chloe at her place yesterday, I was flooded by these gifts that she brought me. I stood there and rejoiced in what God has done for me! I rejoiced over Christ's resurrection and in the promise of Heaven. I rejoiced and thanked God for Chloe and the growth that He has given me through her. I rejoiced and thanked God that I will see Chloe again! I am also so thankful that God has NEVER left me, no matter where I was in life, or how bad I've messed things up. I'm thankful that He is patient with me as I grow and overlooks my flaws!! He was with us the entire time with Chloe, loving us and giving us strength. He showed us the power of community and prayer through all of you. I'm still amazed by the outpouring of love and support during that difficult time. It restored my faith in people! Thank you all so much for allowing God to use you to minister to our needs. It still means a lot to us!
For those of you that may not know, we are in the process of an international adoption. We would also really appreciate your prayers during this time. After much prayer, we are in the process of trying to adopt 2 little girls with Down Syndrome from Eastern Europe. There names are Nadia (4 years old) and Zhenya (1 year old). We have a separate blog set up for our adoption, if you would like to follow our journey. There are pictures of the girls on our blog. I only have one picture each, but I hope to get more in April.
Newbold Family Adoption Blog
We reached this decision after a lot of prayer and consideration. I'd like to add that we are in no way trying to replace Chloe. Chloe can never be replaced and she will always be our little miracle! It is through having Chloe that we know that we want more of these special little children in our lives. After Chloe went to Heaven, and we began researching the purpose for her foundation, I learned how Down Syndrome orphans often suffer in other countries. Best case scenario, they do not receive the special attention and love that they deserve. Worst case scenario, they are bound, tied to beds, and often not fed, or bathed. All of the Down Syndrome Orphans will ultimately end up spending the rest of their lives in mental institutions (that is, if they actually live to adulthood) You can go to the following link to read a story that was in the NY Times that will attest to the abuse that these children often endure. I warn you that it is very disturbing and the pictures are heart wrenching! But these children endure this every day, so you should be able to endure it for the few minutes that it will take to read the article. I had no idea that this went on in the world, and we had a child with Down Syndrome. Please read it to become aware and to spread the word. These children are literally pushed away from society's view and their cries need to be heard!
NY Times Article
After all Chloe gave us, we couldn't stand idly by and not give back. We as Americans treat our pets better than a lot of these children are treated. Please pray for a quick, smooth adoption process and that the girls will be taken decent care of until we can get them home. Nadia (4) is scheduled for transfer to an older orphanage in July. Pray that we will get to her before she is transferred (if it's God's will). After the children are transferred to the older orphanages, their chance of survival greatly decreases! Some of the older orphanages in the country our girls are in (which I can not disclose) are said to bury up to 30 children a month! It's a poverty stricken country and the children do not receive good medical care, if they receive it at all. Some of the orphanages are better than others, but I'm not sure which orphanage Nadia would be transferred to. Just pray that she won't be transferred and that God will keep both of the girls in His hands and keep them safe. I also ask that you remember to keep baby Dylan in your prayers as well. Thank you so much!
