God Provides in Mysterious Ways

About a week ago we were returning home late from a wedding on a Saturday night. It was about 11:45 pm and we had stopped at a traffic signal at a busy intersection. Just as the light turned green we noticed a taxi coming toward our car from the gas station beside us. Donald honked the horn, but the taxi did not stop. It went right across the front of our car, taking off the bumper and damaging the grill. It was at that point that we noticed that there was no driver!

To appreciate the significance of this story, I need to share something. There was already damage to the front bumper and grill of the car. Also, even though we really could not afford it, we had planned on taking it into the shop that Monday to be repaired. Since Cora is still on summer vacation, it would have been easier to do without our vehicle for a week. Still, we were praying about how the repair would affect our finances and if it was okay to spend the money.

When the taxi hit our car it only damaged the parts that we were originally going to pay to have repaired. The taxi driver ran into the street and jumped into his car, but he did not try to leave the scene. Two police officers witnessed the accident and were very helpful. The taxi was also insured! All of these things we consider to be miracles, especially here in Paraguay.

So now, the repair of our car has been paid for by the insurance company. Coincidence or God's provision? You decide.

Daniel

Naming children is both a great privilege and responsibility that is given to parents. After all, your name is a great part of what identifies you and is something that you keep for a lifetime. When we chose Cora's name, we wanted to honor our grandmothers with a namesake as well as give Cora a sense of permanence within our family. Her third name was added because it is Spanish and Donald had always liked it. Thus she became Cora Irene Pilar Paige.

With our new baby, we had decided to continue with the use of family names. Then, I had a brilliant idea. Of course it was brilliant, because it was really God's idea. "Why don't we ask God what He wants to name the child?"

At that suggestion we both closed our eyes and prayed, asking God for a name. After a few minutes, Donald asked me if I had been given a name. I told him that I had heard the name "Daniel." Surprised at my answer, he told me that he had received the same name. We both knew that it came from God because neither one of us had considered that name previously. In fact, Donald confessed to me later that he had not particularly liked the name and had asked God for a confirmation to make sure he had heard right. He wasn't expecting the confirmation to come so soon. He has since repented of his initial reaction and actually likes it now.

Daniel is Hebrew and means "God is my judge." When we were given the name, we knew that our child was a boy. Two weeks later an ultrasound confirmed that fact. It is also interesting that when I found out that I was pregnant, both Donald and I were doing a Daniel fast.

So, around May 20th we will be welcoming into the world our new son, Daniel Neil Edward Paige. The other 2 names are for our maternal grandfathers.

Please join us in thanking and praising God in the miracle of our son.

Paige Missions Request

Remember how it feels in June as the weather is warming and thoughts are turning from school and routine to the lazy days of summer? That is the feeling we have now in November. Cora has 2 weeks of school left before graduating from kindergarten and another school year is wrapping up at the New Horizon School. Donald’s filigree class will be taking a break for the summer as well.

As Americans, however, we are also looking forward to celebrating Thanksgiving with our fellow missionaries. On the 25^th of this month we will be enjoying traditional Thanksgiving food “picnic” style by a local outdoor pool. We will also be taking the time to thank God for His provision and blessings over this past year.

We thank God for you; our friends and family. Through your prayers and financial support the Kingdom of God is being advanced in Paraguay in many ways. With one more year left before going on furlough, we are excited to see what else God has in store.

In our last newsletter we mentioned that our support account at The Mission Society has been declining. Part of this is due to increased expenses we had applying for our permanent residency (over $1000), but we have also had a noticeable decrease in people giving. Right now if things continue as they are, we will be in the red by January. Our mission will not allow us to go into the red and will ask us to go home.

Our goal is to raise the additional support needed to keep us here another year before going home in December of 2011. On average, we are about $1,000 short per month. That is $12,000 for the entire year.

In the midst of writing this letter we have already been blessed by a donation of $3,000! That means we need to raise about $9,000 more in pledges and one-time gifts to sustain us until next December.

With that said, we are standing on God's promise to provide for us. We know that where He leads, He provides. We feel strongly that He wants us to be in Paraguay for at least another year for several reasons:

• The ministries He has placed us in will be more established by that time
• Carol will have a new Paraguayan social worker working with her next school year (February to November) that she will be training to take over the job by the time we go on furlough.
• Our residency process is still not complete, and leaving the country for a few months could jeopardize that, thus losing the over $1000 we paid.
• God has led us to register Cora in a new school for next year. Leaving in December would allow her to complete a full year of 1st grade.
• God has provided us with a miracle pregnancy. Giving birth here will be a lot less expensive than in the States. The baby will also have Paraguayan residency once born, alleviating the need to go through the cost and hassle of getting residency for him if born in the States.

If you are already supporting us, we would love to hear any ideas you might have. We are looking for other sources such as churches, Sunday school groups and new individuals that would be willing to partner with us for at least a year. If you could help advocate for us during this time by being our feet and our voice, it would be a huge blessing.

If you are not already supporting us financially, we ask that you prayerfully consider making a pledge or one-time gift.

Donations can be made by credit card or an electronic funds transfer at The Mission Society website: https://www.themissionsociety.org/go/give

In order for the donation to be directed to us, include our names (Donald and Carol Paige) and account #480 in the box indicated for specific missionaries.

Thank you again for your prayers and support. Our prayer is that God will continue to use us for His will and His glory and will continue to touch the hearts of others to join us in this journey.

Have a blessed Thanksgiving!

Donald, Carol and Cora

Adoption is not 2nd Best!

I was just reading a blog written by another adoptive mom and was brought to tears by a statement she made about her 2 adopted and biological sons:

"I love that when looking at our sons I see two miracles, two children I thought my aching arms would never hold, two boys I never knew I could love so much."

The tears came because these words speak the feelings in my heart. As we celebrate the miracle of a new life forming in my womb and the fulfillment of our hearts' desire, I am flooded by the memories of our other miracle that came to us almost 6 years ago. Cora loves to hear the story of how we prayed and prayed for a baby and God brought us her. Her favorite part is when we tell her about the first time we brought her to church. It was communion Sunday and we were sitting on the front row. The church was full of tears of joy as everyone passed by us to see the long awaited answer to our prayers.

About a week ago during my alone time with God, He gave me a revelation on how the stories of our 2 children are so similar, and how both were clearly a part of His plan. Before Cora was born, God had closed all the doors for us to conceive. Before we conceived, God had closed all the doors for adoption. Both times, after recognizing that the doors had been closed and giving our will over to His perfect will, the blessings came.

It is my desire that Cora never sees herself as less or second best because she was adopted; that she will always feel secure and loved. After all, as someone recently told me, only adopted children go to heaven! (think about that one)

First Ultrasound

Here are the pictures from the first ultrasound done on 10/20. We were overjoyed to have the first glimpse of our little miracle and to hear the heart beating. The doctor allowed Cora to see as well. She is a proud big sister and already protective. The doctor was pushing on my stomach some to get the baby to move around a bit. After we left the room, we asked Cora what she thought. She said that she was happy, but was wondering why THAT doctor was pushing her little brother!

On the 20th I was 9 weeks 5 days pregnant with a projected due date of May 20th, 2011. That just happens to be the day of our 16th anniversary.