Broken Pieces

First I would like to thank everyone who has prayed for Ryan and I this past Year in a half.
I can't believe it's been that long since we have been in China.  God has done many great things to slowly put the pieces back together.  I wanted to share with you God's provision, His grace, mercy and His sovereignty.
         I don't have to tell you that this has been the hardest year in a half of my life.  We have gone through all of the grieving process I think.  But it it still hurts.  The guilt is still there.  The questions never leave me if we have done the right thing.  I cannot tell you how many times we thought we were going back to get mason.
        When we got home we tried everything to get him medical help, testing, to get his file updated but China was silent. The thought of China not putting him back in the system to be adopted just killed me.  I was trying all I could do to make sure he was not lost in the system.  I was actually ready to give up.  Then September was here and it was his birthday. I thought Maybe I could send him a cake through the care package place.  I had all his information. This way I could see if he was still at the orphanage or not.  So I emailed the care package lady who sends the cakes and told her my situation. That we wanted to send him cake for his birthday.  She contacted orphanage and they said it was ok! Not only that they even sent us pictures of him!!  I couldn't believe it.  To see his little face again was bitter sweet.  I wanted to get on a plane and go get him!
       I started researching his condition again.  I started talking with Dr's that specialized with NF1 patients.  As I started to research more I started to find out the chances of Mason having Major complications with NF1 were not as big as we had thought when we were in China.  In china we had one website to look at.  We had the Dr telling us the worse cases because of course there are chances and we would have to be prepared for that.  Ryan and I started praying and talking about trying to go back and get him.  Did God want us to go back?  My agency had contacted me to look at some files of 2 little boys. She wanted to see if we would be interested to adopt one of them.  I couldn't even think about moving forward to adopt another child knowing Mason still didn't have a family.  I contacted my agency to see if there was a way to find Masons file to see if they had put him back in the system.  My agency told me it would be like a needle in a hay stack trying to find him.  So we continued to pray.
      As Chinese New Year was approaching I thought I would try to send Mason some clothes. I contacted the care package place again but this time I asked if they could see if his file was updated and put in the system.  This lady was so helpful she emailed me back and told me that they had updated it and it was just released into the system.  Right then I got on the phone with my agency to let them know they put his file in the system.  My agency said they would contact some advocates as well as check the system and hopefully they could find his file.  She did go on to tell me that once again it would be very hard to find his file because at any time an agency can take his file and hold it. When an agency does this they keep the file for months at a time and try to advocate for the child. It could be any agency from around the world.  I thought to myself there is just no use.
      Well I contacted an advocate that I knew of and just waited.  One afternoon I was on the computer and though I would search through the china waiting kids ( I do that once in a while) so as I was sitting there I was scrolling down and my heart stopped. There before my eyes was that sweet little face. It was Mason!  An agency in Tennessee had held his file and started to advocate for him.  There was a video too!  I emailed the agency to see if I could see his file. I wanted to see if they had updated it.  Unfortunately it was the same file they gave me. There were no updates.  But when I watched the video he was walking !  he was talking and that smile, those brown eyes!  I just sat and cried I could not control myself.  There was no turning back.  I showed Ryan.  We were ready to go back and get him.  I called the agency and told them our story.  The lady told me that she would be willing to fight for us but she said that China does not allow a child to be linked to the same people more than once.  She said it would have to be approved by china. It could take a while and they could say no.
       I thought to myself I can't hold his file up knowing that china doesn't allow you to be linked with the same child.  You see this agency can only hold Mason's file for 3 months then they have to put it back into the system.  Then he would be lost again.  I couldn't bear that.  So I told Ryan lets pray for the next three month to see if God brings him a family.  If by the end of April he is not adopted we will fight for him.  I told the agency that I would talk with any family that would like more information on him. Then I contacted a couple more advocates so they could post his file on their web  sites as well.
       I think I talked with 10 families that inquired about him through email. Then one day I got a phone call for a lady named Emily. This was the only person I talked to by phone.  When we finally talked after playing phone tag it was like I had known her my whole life. We talked forever.  We were sharing our life stories. Here is the kicker Emily is originally from Michigan about 45 minutes from where we live.  When I hung up the phone I was so overwhelmed I had this gut feeling that I was talking to Mason's mom.  I told Ryan and we just prayed and waited. Emily and I had talked a bit more over phone and emails.  This lady I thought was amazing.  She already had 5 kids. God had brought her through some tough medical times with a couple of her kids.  She was so high energy and positive.  She was not even scared of the NF1 label. She started doing her research she found out she was by two of the leading researching hospitals for NF1.
       Could God be doing the unimaginable again?  Would God allow me to see those brown eyes face to face again?  Would our children get to meet  the boy they thought was their baby brother.  They pray for him every night.  Would they be able to see God answer their prayers?  Would I be able to see God answer my prayers?
       Then I will never forget this day March 30th we were on our way to florida. I received a phone call.  It was Emily! She was calling because she wanted me to be the first to know they were moving forward with the adoption!.  Tears just flowed.  My heart was filled with joy! Mason had a family and God was allowing us to be apart of it.  God brought Emily and I together for some reason. When you look back at all the impossibilities God took what was broken and slowly started to put the pieces together to tell His story. To show that He is and will always be in control.  That He knows the big picture and His glory will unfold at his time.
       A year and a half ago I thought I would never see those brown eyes again.  I thought I would never know if he found a family.  I thought I would never know if he would hear about God's love for him.  But God had grace and mercy on me and prompted my heart to not give up.  He prompted me to ask the care package lady about his file.  He allowed me to see mason's little face on the computer that afternoon.  This all happened at the perfect time.  Sometimes when you feel God has forgotten you please know that He hasn't sometimes silence is good if I would have asked or looked to soon I would have missed it.
         Emily's family is in the process of adopting Mason.  They have actually named him Oliver which I think is a perfect name for him.  They are trying to raise money so they can get to China quicker.  Please pray and look into your heart and see if God wants to use you to help bring Oliver home.  Just like he used Ryan and I to get Oliver to the right family he can use you to help get him there asap.  He will be 3 years old in September the sooner we can get him home the better it will be for him as well as for the Russell family.  You can go to https://www.gofundme.com/ud8rnx4 and donate if that doesn't work you can email me rwthomaso@aol.com  subject line Oliver and I will help you.
        Once again thanks for all your prayers.  Please continue to pray for the Russell family as well as Oliver! Im hoping the next time I blog it will be about the first time our families meet and the first time the kids get to meet Oliver! Wow our God is so Amazing!