Two Big events

Sorry I have not posted in a very long time!!!!!!
Life is so busy with 5 kids and God has been doing so many things but I will just share two for now.

Winston had hip reconstruction surgery in November and he is now ready to start strengthening his legs so he is in rehab hospital receiving hours of therapy a day. Please Pray for strength and endurance for Winston and the rest of us.

While I sit at the hospital God has been doing huge things in my Sarah's life. After graduating from high school  a year and a half early she then went on a week trip to Haiti in December where God began working His plan for her return. Here is what she has to say.

I am going back to Haiti! I am so excited to share that God has been doing some amazing things, and during the second week of February I will be headed back to Haiti until the beginning of April, and after returning home then for a short break, Lord willing I will be going back for a few more months. On this past trip God made it so very clear that serving the kids and staff at the GVCM orphanage was what I was supposed to be doing these next few months. I am so excited to be able to work alongside the missionaries there to be able to accomplish projects to help the kids and the organization as a whole that wouldn't be able to be done without an extra set of hands, as well as love on the kids who desperately crave love and attention. I am so thankful for all of the support I received from so many of you on past trips, it has meant so much. Here are a few ways you can help with this soon approaching trip: #1 Pray! Prayer is so powerful and I will need lots of it. I have prayer postcards, if you would like one please message me your address. #2 financial support, doing a long term trip is definitely not cheap, but I am trusting that God will provide a way for me to get there. The cost of my living expenses is $30 a day while in Haiti. Would you consider donating a days worth of support towards my trip? There is a place on the right hand side of my blog to donate online. #3 follow along! I will be posting updates, prayer requests and more on my blog, make sure to enter your email so you will be updated when I post: www.thiscrazybeautifulbrokenlife.blogspot.com
Thank you so much for all of your love and support, it means the world to me!
-Sarah

Please take a moment to go to her BLOG ( https://thiscrazybeautifulbrokenlife.blogspot.com/ ) and sign up to get updates on what God is doing through Sarah and how you can be praying for her. We covet your prayers. The first half of her trip will be 50 days and it costs $30 a day for her to be there. We would love if just 50 people would each sponsor a day to help her serve the orphans in Haiti. Thank you all for the blessing and encouragement you have been to our family but most of all for being the hands and feet of Christ.

Broken hearted

Broken hearted! Today was really hard, all I could do was cry. 

Precious Philip  aged out today and will never have the opportunity to be adopted. This picture is hard to look at because Philip didn't want to see us or say good bye to Winston because he longed for a family of his own. I was out in the hall crying. And today the tears flow again.

There is only one more foster brother of Winston's that can be adopted and Winston asked about him today. He wants his foster brother to have a family like he does.We told him we will share his picture and pray for him to get a family. 

 Sarah and I have had very heavy hearts since coming home and it is hard to put into words. Here is what she was able to capture;

"This is something that has been on my (Sarah's)heart for a long time, and I still don’t feel that I have the adequate words to say want I want, but I am going to try because its better than not saying anything. I don’t understand how we as Christians can move through our daily lives without a second thought as to what is happening in our world. We as a culture have become so numb to everything that we don’t see what’s going on around us. The are 153 million orphans in the world. I as type that I cant help but start crying. Just let that number sink in 153. Million. Orphans. How can we just sit here and not do anything? There is something you can do, I promise you. This is not me telling you that your family has to adopt this is me telling you that as Christians we are commanded to help the widows and the orphans. I don’t understand how we can just sit here and do nothing. It breaks my heart. See, we get to make the choice to look at the statistics, pictures, the opportunities and move on. But the children don’t have that choice. They are orphans whether they want to be or not. When you walk into in orphanage it breaks something in you, something that can never be fixed. Something that I never want to be fixed. When God opens your eyes to see more then just the little bubble you live in you never want to go back to the way it was before. But yet you do, because no one gets it. Constantly your thoughts are filled with the ones you left behind, what you can do, when you can go, and no one else understands. You sit in church and look around to see people nodding their heads when the preacher says go and do. But what are we doing? Just coming to church is not actively living out the gospel. Jesus’s ministry here on earth was not spent sitting with people who already knew about him. He spent his time with the least of these. How can we as Christians not stand up and do something when the word of God clearly commands us to do so. God will show you clearly if you’re not supposed to be doing something, so instead of sitting and waiting for him to show you want he wants you to do, start doing something. You might miss what he is trying to show you if you’re just sitting in a pew. Find something that God has given you a passion for and chase after it whole heartedly. God gives us passions for a reason! Please don’t read this and just move on. Read God’s word and let it change you. If you don’t know where to start, look around I bet there is something that you can do if you just start actively looking. You see, I have learned in my own life that I am not waiting for God to show up and do something big, I am expecting him to do so because I know that he is a big God who will do big things. I was not called to a life of sitting on a pew. I was called to a spirit lead life, in which following after Gods heart is my desire. And I’m not saying I am perfect, in fact I’m far from it. But God uses the most unworthy, broken people too do the most amazing thing for his kingdom if they just listen, and go.
Thanks for listening,
The broken hearted, Jesus crazy girl, who is ready to change the world for even just one."

HOME!!!

Precious moments!!! This is the first time they met. Winston could not wait to get to America to meet his Daddy. His dreams and prayers of having a family have come true. That smile says it all!! God is so good. We had a great trip and could feel the prayer coverage!! So far Winston is doing well. Tomorrow Peter goes back to work and I expect some hard days as this boy loves his "baba" daddy! We did not have very good internet connections and still need to transfer pictures to the computer so I hope to have more soon but I wanted to thank all of you for being a part of this amazing journey God has taken us on. All  I keep thinking is we could have missed this. There are no words to express how thankful I am that God allowed us to have a part of this amazing young mans life. There is so much on my heart and I have not had time to even process all this trip held but I look forward to writing more soon when I get a moment to sit and am not falling sleep. (Jet lag be gone!) Please keep praying!!

Getting ready to GO!!

Sorry we have been quiet. We have been busy getting everything ready. I can't believe we will be on a plane soon!!!

Please keep praying that the Lord will prepare the way and all of our hearts. Pray for safety and good health for those going and at home. Please especially pray for Moriah as she still has severe anxiety especially anytime I walk out of a room and pray for C as he is excited but really going to miss us. Pray for Peter, Pierson and my Mom as they hold down the fort at home! People ask how they can help and honestly prayer is HUGE. There are so many little things to get ready and so many emotions flying around. We will really need prayer coverage at home and over in China. Below is a brief itinerary of what is happening.

China is 12 hours ahead so I will put this in US time.

1/25 leave Newark 3:00pm

1/26 arrive in Hong Kong at 8am

1/26 fly to Changsha, Hunan 8:40pm arrive 10;20pm

1/27 adjust to time change

1/28 late that night get Winston!!!!

1/29 finalize adoption

1/30 visit orphanage

2/1 adjusting

2/2 fly to southern China

2/3 medical appontments

2/4 sight see

2/5 US consulate appointment apply for Visa your pm

2/6 pick up Visa Lord willing and drive to HongKong

2/7 Leave for home arrive in Newark

2/8 arrive in Newark 1:45 pm

HOME!!!

Keep praying!!!!

We are so thankful for all of you. Your prayers covering us during this journey are so important and we can feel them there in the darkness of the country.

We are going to CHINA!!!!

Our flights are booked.!!!! Sarah and I will Lord willing  be leaving on January 25th and meet Winston on January 29th. We will return home on Feb 9th. We are so thankful and praising the Lord for all he is doing. We have in-country details to work out and to get everything ready here for family and for traveling. Sarah and I have our packing lists ready. We still need items listed below for the orphanage so let me know if you would like to pick up anything.

Today we were blessed with a picture of Winston in the shirt we sent him for Christmas. So here is a little late Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from our family!!

Got It!!

We just got our Travel Approval today and tonight we got our second choice of appointments, so we will Lord willing be traveling on January 25th and meet Winston on January 29th !!!! Please pray for all the final plans to come together and that our estimated financial goals will meet all the needs!  We are so excited and praising the Lord for all he has done. Thank you for all your prayers and support we could not do this without all of you. Please keep praying!!!

Anytime!!

We are just waiting for the word that we have our travel approval and appointment in China and then we will be booking flights!!!! We just heard tonight that our Christmas package finally arrived!! We can not wait to hug this boy!!! Please pray for God's perfect timing and for God to prepare all our hearts for this huge change. While we wait we are making our packing lists. We did get word that the orphanage could use some things. If you would like to pick up anything listed below to donate please let me know which items and the quantity right away. We will need them by Jan10th. Please keep in mind our space and weight is limited. 

liquid iron
vitamin drops
miralax
diaper cream
sippy cups
youth plastic paint smocks
pool floats/rings
small push button toys or sorting
( for cause and effect)no soft toys
good quality lightly used kids shoes any size
(Stride Rite, Keen etc)

Thank you!!!

Overjoyed!!

It is amazing how one letter can bring such joy! We received the letter from China called the LOA. It approves us to adopt Winston and asks if we will adopt him. We checked a big YES!!! and then sent it back to China. 

We now are waiting for approval here to bring Winton into the country and then we have one more step in China. After that step we wait for travel approval and then book our flights!!!! We are as close with our funds as we can count at the moment. We hopefully just need to pull together spending money for traveling there for meals, tips etc. We will not know the exact amount total that is needed until we book the flights and hotels. We are so thankful for all of you that have been a part of bringing Winston home. It is so exciting to see all the names on his frame!!!! There is still time if you would like to add your name. 

We hope you all have a wonderful Christmas celebrating our Savior's birth!! Merry Christmas!!

Closer!!!

We have gotten word that our papers are finished in China and on there way back already!!! Huge praise our expedite was granted!!! So we have a few more hopefully short paper steps yet. Here and in China. So we are talking Lord willing possibly 6-8 weeks until travel!!! We are getting CLOSER!!! Closer to travel and closer to totally funded. I will have new numbers soon. We are under the 1,000 mark!!!  We are pushing to wrap up all our fundraisers this week if possible. So Monday night our last round of super soft T-shirts will be closing. You can click   HERE if you would like to order. 

We also have some beautiful ornaments and bracelets that were made in Haiti. We partnered with Apparent project to help raise money for families to stay together in Haiti and to help bring Winston home. We have been selling these hand crafted bracelets and ornaments for $10 each at craft sales and we have a few more left. We would love to sell out so we don't have to return any and can help families in Haiti. I love how this project helps children stay in families and out of the orphanages and also helps those in orphanages come  home to their families. Pictured and listed below are what we have at the moment. Please email me lang4@hometownu.com with anything you would like and I can check if we still have it. (sorry pictures are not the best)

sold out

bottom left striped is available

bottom 4 are available

6 beautiful rainbow available

3 yellow available

If you do not need to shop but would still like to help we also still have the Put Your Name on the Frame happening. We have a special frame that we are adding names to when anyone donates any amount. We would love to fill the frame so Winston can see all the people who have helped him come home!!! 

We are so thankful for all of you and appreciate all your support encouragement and prayers!! They mean the world to us. God Bless!!!

HE KNOWS!!!!

He Knows he has a family!!!!   We had sent a picture album and letter in September to tell Winston he had a family but they had held it until it was closer to time for us to come. It is just too long and hard to wait from the beginning. He just found out that he has a family and got our pictures!!!  They said he is trying to learn how to say Winston the name we have given him and he just beams every time he says it. I can't wait to hug my boy!!! Please pray for his foster brothers. They are happy for him but sad to see him go and I can't imagine how much it hurts to not have families of their own. Pray for God to prepare all of our hearts for the huge changes that will be coming soon!!

PAPERS are on there way!!!

Our papers (dossier) are on there way to China!!!! Please pray they arrive safely and are processed quickly!!! We have been told if things are expedited and continue to move smoothly (there are always bumps) we could possibly travel in late January or February!!!!  We are also so thankful  because gracious gifts keep arriving!!! We are only $1,225 away from being fully funded and we have 2 crafts sales this weekend. Please pray for papers to keep moving, we can get our next documents ready and for hearts to be prepared for all the changes that are coming soon!!! Blessings!!

Excited!!!

We are excited!!! Our papers are on their way back from NY and then we will get them to our agency and Lord willing our papers will be off to China by the end of the week.
Please pray our papers will be expedited there!!!


We are also excited because of some special donations and new calculations we are closer to being fully funded. We only need $6,000 more to be fully funded!!!! 

We would love to Fill Winston's frame with lots of names!!! For any donation amount (every little bit helps) we will put your name on the frame. Donations can be made 4 ways. 2 online and 2 by check/cash

ONLINE
(note a %  is taken out of the gift for fees when done online)
1. You can donate here on our blog on the right side
2. You can donate tax deductible gift at http://reecesrainbow.org/120637/sponsorlang2
OR (100% gift received)
3. checks can be sent to us directly
4. checks can be made out to Reece's Rainbow for a tax deductible gift (attach a note for Winston Lang) We can mail the check in for you or you can mail directly to them at 
Reece's Rainbow
PO Box 146
Combined Locks, WI 54113

We are praying we can be fully funded by the end of December!!!

Please make sure to let me know what name you want written on the frame at lang4@hometownu.com We can not see who makes donations when they first come in.

Praise!!

PRAISE! PRAISE! PRAISE!!  We got a call this morning that our paper was finally approved and in the mail to us!!!! That means things are moving again. Once the paper is in my hand I will zooooooom off to Harrisburg and pay to have each paper stamped with a seal then pay to overnight it to a carrier in New York City who will take them to the Chinese Consulate to be approved.  We will  then get them to our agency asap!!. Our papers (dossier) will then be ready to send to China!!!! YAY!!! Then we PRAY PRAY PRAY that China will grant us an expedite. Which means things could move very quickly and funds will be needed quickly.  We are soooo thankful for those of you who have donated for the Put Your Name on the Frame fundraiser. It is still going (details below) and some new fundraisers will be coming very soon. We have some beautiful Christmas gift ideas coming!!! Thank you for all your support and prayers!!!

Put Your Name on the Frame

It has been crazy here in the Lang home. I will share more another day but it has been so quiet on the adoption front. We really could use your prayers!!! I still have not gotten my birth certificate but we might have another way to do it if it doesn't come in time for step 2 to be finished. We NEED to finish step 2 and get our papers to China!! We requested an expedite from our government and we were denied but we are trusting in the Lords perfect timing. Everyone in the adoption community has been waiting on Homeland to move their papers through this step and it is taking an exceptionally long time!!! Something that should only take a few weeks is taking over 2 months!  Please pray our papers will come soon so we can finish step 2 and get our papers to China.  Once our papers arrive in China we will request an expedite on that side which does happen more often than here. If we are granted the expedite then things will move very quickly and funds will also be needed quickly. We have been so blessed to have half our funds at this point but we still need to raise $17,000. This is where the Put Your Name on the Frame Fundraiser comes in place. We have always wanted to help our kids see the amazing way God has worked through others to help bring them home. We have a special picture for Winston that is hanging over where he will sleep. It says Adventure Awaits. We can not wait to see all the Lord will do in his life. 

We would love for you to be a part of his story. When you donate any amount we will add your name to the frame. We would love to fill the frame so Winston can see how loved he is by so many. Donations can be made directly to our Reeces Rainbow Account for tax deductible gifts click HERE   or directly to our paypal account on the right. Please remember all online donations will have fees. Checks can be made out to Reeces Rainbow or directly to us. Please email me at  lang4@hometownu.com with any questions and PLEASE let me know what name you would like written on the frame!!!!

This SMILE is what keeps me going. Please keep PRAYING!!

Please Keep Praying

We are so thankful for those of you who continue to pray for us on this hard journey. We could use your prayers that the Lord will continue to move papers. Please pray my birth certificate will arrive very soon. I requested it over a month ago and it still has not arrived. We need it very soon to be able to complete this second phase. Please also continue to pray for papers to be expedited here and in China. We are in the process of going through Home Land Security and we are praying things will move quickly here in the states so that we can send our papers of to China for step three! Thank you to everyone who ordered a shirt we were able to raise $970 and that should help with all the fees for step 2 here in the states. We just finished the second run of shirts but if others would still like to order you can. The link HERE is still active there just has to be 5 shirts ordered for another run of them. It has been so exciting to go different places and see people wearing the shirts. It is such a good reminder to continue to have Faith over Fear. At times is is easy to look ahead and start to let fear set in as to how this is all going to be done. But then we have to stop and remember this is God's work and he will work it all out to his glory!. We are excited to be having a bake sale on Sept 30th at Renningers Market in Kutztown from 8-3. If you are in the area please stop by to see us!! If you enjoy baking we could still use several donations. Click HERE if you would like to sign up to help. Thank you!!!

So Amazing!!

 God is so amazing!! We had a garage sale last weekend and God did amazing things! We could see his hand in all of it from the donations, to sending someone to help when we had no more energy, to special covers to protect from the weather. Thursday we got things set up and covered and then it poured in the night. I just listened to the down pour in the middle of the night and prayed that the covers were not being blown away. In the morning everything was dry!!! The weather looked questionable all day and we had put this sale together so quickly that we were not even able to advertise. So when the early birds did not show we were not so sure how the day would go but God knew. He held the rain away and sent a steady flow of people. We were suppose to end at 3 on Friday so when the dark clouds started coming at 2:30 we began to cover everything up. As we walked into the house at 3 the rains began again. God is so good. When we tallied everything we were amazed at all God had provided. This was our best sale ever and by Sat he provided all we needed for our next big step in the process. It is such an amazing journey to watch God work. 

The next fundraiser that is currently happening is a T-shirt fundraiser. God usually gives us a theme for our adoption and this one is Faith over Fear. We are venturing into a whole new game with an older child in a wheelchair but God has given me such a peace about it all. I have no doubt this is His plan and we are walking in faith. This will be a quick sale it ends on Sept 6th. So make sure to place your orders soon.  shirt order click here. It comes in 3 colors and other styles and as a sweatshirt. 

There have also been some questions about how to donate. You can donate to our paypal account. A % is taken for processing or if you want to donate for a tax deductible donation you can donate to the Reece's Rainbow tax deductible account for Winston. If you do it online a % is taken for fees or you can mail a check to Reese's and the full amount will go to that account.

Reece's Rainbow Tax deductable Donations Click HERE.

or Checks should be made payable to and mailed to:

Reece’s Rainbow

PO Box 146

Combined Locks, WI 54113

***Please include a note for Winston Lang

PRAYERS NEEDED!!! Please pray that we would be approved for an expedite so we are able to get there quickly and not cut it to close to his ageing out date. 

We are excited to see all the Lord will do next. We appreciate all your prayers and support!!

God is on the Move!!

God has been doing amazing things!! He has called us to bring home this precious boy. We have named him Winston. . Every picture and video we have he is always smiling and all the boys are named after Peter which means rock. So when the Lord led us to the name Winston which means joyful rock we knew it was just for him. 

Winston is a tiny 13 year old boy who has cerebral palsy. We have to get to him before his 14th birthday which is in May or he will no longer be able to have a chance of being adopted. This puts us in a time crunch to get papers done and to raise funds so we are already moving full steam ahead. 

I just launched our first fundraiser in a video online so we will see if it works here. 

https://www.facebook.com/daphne.lang.56/videos/823173094516775/

Also save the date we are having a huge yard sale on

 August 18 and 19th. 

Come shop and help bring Winston home!!

If you have items you would like to donate they can be dropped off on 15th and 16th at our house. 

We hope you will join us on this incredible journey and we thank you for your prayers!!!

Merry Christmas!!!

We want to wish you all a Merry Christmas!!! We pray this will be a wonderful time celebrating our Saviors birth. We are so excited to be celebrating our first Christmas with Moriah home. 

I had hope to make cards and send them out, but life with a three year old has been very busy!!!  

We have been busy this year trying to keep up with homeschooling, running to therapies and going to our new homeschool coop. It has been much harder this year having to keep an eye on Moriah every minute. (She loves to explore.) Peter has been working hard teaching over 600 kids in a very tight full schedule. Here are a few updates on the kids.

Moriah has now been home 5 months!!! I can't believe it. She has gained 7 pounds and almost 4 inches in that short time. Moriah was not walking on her own when she came home but she is now running and jumping. She has been going for Aqua, Physical and Speech therapies once a week. She loves music and dancing. She loves to explore and discover new things. She is such a joy and has blossomed so much since coming home.

Sarah is now in highschool and doing some classes online and others on her own at home. She has such a heart for others and is planning on going to Honduras in June with her youth group. She continues to love baking so much so she did a fundraiser baking rolls and made 60 dozen! She is enjoying being a big sister. 

Cargan  is 10 and has been home 4 years now and has grown  in many ways. He is now reading and doing so much on his own.He is enjoying our new coop and he is the one that keeps us on schedule. He brings so much joy to our family. He loves Christmas!!

Pierson is 12.  He loves to be outside and has really been a big help since Moriah has come home. He has been learning the value of working and saving money. It has been exciting to watch how God has been working in him this year. He is growing into such a fine young man.

We pray you all take time to treasure each moment together. Please pray for the children still waiting for families. We are so thankful for all of you. Merry Christmas and God Bless!!!

What a MONTH!!

I can not believe Moriah has been home over 1 MONTH already. The days are flying by here with this bundle of joy. Moriah has been doing so well. She has been eating like crazy and she is now WALKING on her own!! It has been amazing. We will be doing some physical therapy for a while to help her catch up but she learns so quickly I don't think it will be too long. She is on the go now and life is very busy but we are enjoying every moment.  Please keep praying as we transition into starting school with a 2 year old and Peter going back to work. It will be a big change for us all. I am all ears for ideas on homeschooling with a little one. 

I also wanted to give an update on Cargan. It was a big month for him. He graduated out of physical, occupational, and speech therapies!! He got to put his hand print on the wall. 

After working so hard for 3 years to learn how to ride a bike we were able to go to Lancaster everyday last week for a special bike camp and he learned how to ride his bike in 3 days!!! The program I Can Bike is amazing!!

We are so thankful for you all!!

HOME with our miracle!!

We are HOME!!! Here she is the first night in her bed. She woke up several times in the night in her new room with Big Sister but they are still snuggled in sleeping together now so overall I think think the first night home went well!!Thank you for your prayers our trip went very well. 

I am full of so many emotions it is hard to know were to start. I am completely amazed by our mighty Moriah. She has been so brave through so many changes. Every time I look at her I am amazed by our God. She is such a perfect match for our family that it reassures me that she was hand picked from the millions of children waiting just for our family. It blows my mind how God does that. I don't know why because he knows all but it was just so clear how he chose her from all her hard she experienced in her tiny life and brought her to us. I am so overwhelmed and honored to be able to be her mother. She is so precious and such a gift from God! She is our miracle Moriah. Please continue to pray as we transition to all being home together. 

PS. Please know we are working hard on helping Moriah know who her direct family is so for attachment reasons please just look and to not touch or ask to hold her. We don't want to seem rude but it is essential for her bonding. Thank you for understanding!!