Testimony at BCC 2012/7/8
Let me start with an introduction of our family.
My husband and I are Japanese and I have two biological daughters named Karin and Eimi. When our family moved to Kaohsiung, Karin was two and Eimi was 3 months so our family has been here for about 8 years. My husband was assigned to work here by his company.
Japanese company’s contracts are very different from western contracts. My husband has life contract until retirement so he doesn’t need to re-contract but he doesn’t have any choice where he works and what he does. It’s totally company’s decision. I know it sounds very strange to you but it is a common thing especially in big companies in Japan. So when my husband was assigned to work here, we didn’t know how long we would be here. His company would give us a very short notice when he is assigned to work at the next place. It could be in Japan, China, Singapore, U.S. or Holland.
About one year after we came here, through a women’s group Christmas activity, I visited an orphanage in Kaohsiung country. The activity included giving a Christmas gift from one person to one child and I was put together with one girl who was 8 years old. I tried to communicate with her in Chinese but she couldn’t understand my Chinese at all. This girl had a good friend named Angel, she was 11 years old at that time. Angel understood what I was talking about and explained to that 8 year old girl. I was so amazed Angel was so smart. I asked both for their birthdates and I thought I would visit them for their birthdays. That was the beginning of my relationship with Angel.
I visited both for their birthdays and the girl 8 year old requested we go out together. I planned to do it but she left the orphanage before I had any opportunity. I didn’t know much about Angel’s background. What I’d heard was her father died and her mother had a mental disorder. Angel seemed not to have a home she could go back to.
I visited Angel occasionally for about three years. When she was 13 years old I suddenly thought, why not take care of her at our house. It is hard to explain why I had such an idea but one day when all family visited her, she asked our blood types and zodiac signs. I felt she wanted more relationship with us. It might be my misunderstanding, but I feel God was giving message to us.
We made an appointment with the orphanage director but this is not a familiar request for them so it didn’t work well. I asked a lawyer friend to help and he did a great job. Angel’s birth mother can’t take care of Angel but she has legal custody and she didn’t want Angel to be adopted. My purpose was not breaking their relationship so Angel’s birth mother and I agreed I would take care of Angel as a foster child. Angel had to face several obstacles for staying at our house and she was very brave to decide to live with us.
Angel came to my house from the orphanage on Aug. 15th in 2009. She had just graduated from elementary school. The orphanage was far from our house so her elementary school was also far from our house. She wanted to go to junior high school where her old friends would go. I thought it was too hard to commute by taxi every day, but I found the way to commute by MRT and train and she could go to the junior high school where she wanted to go. It takes about more than 1 hour.
Together we faced many trials after she came. Her birth mother started to go along with the guy who was not doing a right thing and often in jail. He used the birth mother’s money with poor judgment and she moved in with him. Angel and I expected Angel could go back to birth mother’s place during special holidays like Chinese New Year holidays but it became a very dangerous place then I couldn’t let her go back. In the other hand Angel’s birth mother didn’t want me to take Angel overseas travel with our family. She was afraid Angel would not come back to Taiwan. She is the legal guardian so I couldn’t make Angel’s passport. The first Chinese New Year holidays after Angel came we had a plan to go to travel overseas for vacation but how? Amazingly God provided the place Angel could stay when we were out of the country. Since then Angel stayed at my friend’s homes several times a year.
The first place Angel stayed was the Cooper family, MAK’s teacher’s house. The teacher’s wife Laurie is a member of the ladies bible study and she has five children including two adopted daughters. When I had a prayer request about Angel’s problem, Laurie unexpectedly offered her house for Angel while we were out of country. Angel had a good time that week, even though she had very limited English and they had very limited Chinese. She and Laurie’s five kids especially three elder ones played together very well.
At the same time she was invited to BCC Youth Group. Cooper’s two boys and another MAK teacher Wardle’s boy went there and at the beginning Mr. Cooper and Mr. Wardle picked up Angel and brought her back home. It really helped because Angel was not confident to go to Youth Group because she didn’t have any friends in the group. Angel gradually adjusted and made a lot of friends in Youth Group. She had been in Saturday Youth every Saturday for one year.
She was also supported by many families, such as Laythams, Multras, Nichols and Lin Laoshi. Angel could have a place to stay in Taiwan when we were out of country. Every experience was joyful and meaningful to Angel.
Almost at the same time when she adjusted herself to Saturday Youth, Angel started to go to BCC Sunday services and think about God. She became aware of God’s love. Now she can say with confidence that she believes in God.
Two years ago Angel decided to try to enroll the dance department in high school and started ballet and contemporary dance lessons. It was hard. She had never tried ballet lessons before. She almost quit but the dance teachers encouraged her and this April she passed the test for the dance department of the high school.
We love Angel as a daughter, but I was always concerned when we would have to leave Taiwan. What would we do? It was not under our control because it was my husband company’s decision. Normally they give us very short notice, if he is assigned to work in Japan, the notice could be only one month and we could know the place in Japan just two weeks before. Even if he is assigned to go to another country, China, US, Singapore or Holland, the notice could be three months at the longest.
On May 2nd of this year, my husband’s boss told my husband he was assigned to work in Japan from August 1st.
I realized God gave us perfect timing for everyone of our family. First the notice was for three months, not two weeks. Second, Angel already passed the high school entrance exam that has a dorm so she will be able to staying in the dorm. We were noticed the move in date for Angel’s dorm is July 30th, one day before we need leave Taiwan. Third, Karin and Eimi finished the MAK school year and we had time for preparing their new school in Japan.
I knew God picked Angel for our family and He was totally faithful to our family.
I believe God will continue taking care of Angel. God knows the plans he has for us. Plans to prosper us and not harm us. Plans for a hope and a good future.
Please pray for Angel.
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