All about Hou Yan Li

Melissa has had it on her heart to adopt ever since she was a little girl. She first told Mike about her desire to adopt soon after they started dating back in 1990. Mike was only 20 at the time and was by his own admission quite indifferent about the whole thing. However, after we got married God placed the same desire into his heart as well. Admittedly we've waited quite awhile to begin this process (we've been married 14 years)but again, we believe this is all in God's timing. Many people have asked "Why China"? Melissa has always believed that we would adopt from China however over the years we did seek God and investigate other options. As the time grew closer, we both felt strongly that our daughter was there waiting for us.....

Hou Yan Li, was found on March 17th 2004 (she was approximately 6 months old) in the Xia Yang Village bus station of Yan in a town in the Hunan Province. She wore a simple coat and there were two bags of clothing left with her. The Xia Yang police station tried to find her parents but nothing was found. On the same day, she was sent to the social welfare house. They estimated her birthday as September 06, 2003.
She has been in foster care for a year and a half now and we assume she was in an orpanage before that. The pics on the right are 2 more of the very few we've received. We don't know how old she is in these pics or where she was at the time. According to some of the papers we've recieved on her, her caretakers say Yan Li is a clever girl, sweet and she is always greeting others in her neighborhood. They say she loves to get her picture taken, and likes to be taken to the supermarket and playground. It will be fun to see what kind of personality she has.

I think about her birth mom and how hard it must have been dropping her little baby off at a bus station after having her for 6months. What name did she call her? What was the last thing she spoke to her little girl....and how painful and lonely that night must have been. There is still not alot of choices in China. Families are heavily penalized if they have more than one child. Boys are prefered so that they can take care of their parents and carry on the Family name.

The name God had given me years ago for our daughter was "Lily" referring to the lily of the valley and the rose of Sharon. A Lily is one of the flowers that represents Jesus. They grow in the valleys and hillsides of Israel and their trumpet shapes represent the prophetic that sound the good news. They also bow as in worship, are filled with gold on the inside and the white shows the purity. They are found at both weddings and funerals, as He is with us in all things and at all times.

Her name is more than a name, it's who she is, a worshiper of God, to proclaim His name like a trumpet. When we first got Lili's profile it said " A little girl name "Lili". We were so excited about that and have now decided to spell it that way. We call her "Lily" spelled LiLi and will most likely pronounce it as LeeLee some as well. You may refer to her however you choose. I say God gave me her name because He gave me a passion to adopt from China when I was very young. When God births something on the inside of us He will bring it to pass. One day she will know-----we are so in love with Lili, everyday I say "She has no idea". She has no idea how much we talk about her, how much we think about her or pray for her. She has no idea all the peparations, and how long we have waited. One day she WILL know.