First Day of Touring

As one might expect, yesterday was a great day - both with highs and lows.

While I grew up in the New England and am used to below freezing weather - there is something about being on Tianenmen Square with a good stiff breeze to chill you to the bone. The day was filled with awsome sights, pictures (we will try to post some later) and experiences. I must say the highlight of the day for me was lunch at an authentic Chinese noodle house where the locals dine. Great food, casual and a busy atmosphere - my Mom would have really loved it. First, no waitresses only young men - they emphasize the traditional roles at this place. When a party enters the door the first waiter yells "party of 4 needs a table". You then walk around a partition and greeted by the 10 or so other waiters all stationed at their tables, who yell "Welcome". They then proceed to loudly coax you to their table. Now, you don't tip, so I'm not sure if there is any sort of financial motive behind the coaxing - but it sure was fun to watch. The cadence of the shouting was like "Here we go Braaahaves [pause] Hooray!"

Sam is pretty much a rock star here. They are very interested in western children and as we were walking in the Temple of Heaven (like an expansive park) about three or four upper middle aged men came up and touched him. As you would imagine it was a bit disconcerting to him and me at first, but as we soon realized that while unusual for us, it was merely a friendly gesture. It was like an older uncle coming up and patting his head and squeezing his shoulders. Now that I have scared everyone concerned back home, let me reassure you, I am watching Sam with an eagle eye and Sam has embraced his fame. Everyone wants a picture of the "little boy". What a treat for our young man.

The low point of the day was having on three occassions persons come up and ask for money. One was a man on crutches who had lost his foot, another was a mother clutching her bundled baby, and the other a man with no hands. What do you do in such situations that come upon you suddenly? We were in tourist areas, pickpockets all over, you take out money and you become a target, even attracting more of a crowd around you. Fear, apprehension and doubt come to the forefront of your thoughts. (The mom and baby will stay in my mind for a long time). Now the real hard part - your son asks, "Dad, why are you telling those people you don't have any money?" Convicted. We were not prepared for such events but hope to be so today. We did do the least of what we could for those people, which happens to be the absolutely most we could do for them - prayer. However, faithfull preparation may serve our actions better today.

We were scheduled for dinner in, yes, a Chinese restaurant, last evening, but Sam conked out, I was feeling queezy, and Michele has caught a bit of cold. So our day ended somewhat early and we will strike out again today. We will see the Great Wall and Summer Palace with a stop at the Cloisenee factory/store.

Blessings to all.

Sam's First Day in China

(From Sam) - It was very cold. We had a very good breakfast. We saw the Forbidden City and the Temple of Heaven. I liked doing the video camera. Our guide is nice.

Arrival in Beijing

We have made it safe and sound to Beijing. Despite a rather tight transfer at Dulles (Michele limping along) we made our connection and had a relatively uneventful flight. Sam handled the ordeal rather well with only a slight meltdown about 9 hours into the flight. Thank goodness for the portable DVD player!

The sights, sounds and smells of Beijing are familiar as we are staying at the Novetel Peace Hotel not far from where we stayed 2 years ago. Tomorrow we head out to Forbidden City and Temple of Heaven and we will probably venture out on the "Walking Street" in the center of Beijing. We will also go to see a side street nearby where you can see all sorts of strange barbecued items for sale! We will look but not sample. Sam is looking forward to this with much excitement.

One of the things that jumped out at me on our last visit was the number of workers working at any number of tasks. Not sure if it is driven by work ethic or an authoritative management style coupled with a huge number of people needing work. A couple of examples. First, at the airport there is a yellow safety line painted around each luggage carrosel. I saw a woman on hands and knees scrubbing one of these yellow lines. This is simply something you do not see in America - we just repaint. Second, as I was typing this post in the internet cafe in a French hotel in Beijing, an Australian guest was walking across the lobby and tripped on a raised piece of tile. Looks like she may have hurt her foot. Immediately, at least two workers went to her aid, and what looks like a floor supervisor did the same. Next, within about two minutes the French "shift supervisor" has come down to talk to the guest, offer appologies, etc. What appears to be the Chinese hotel manager has come down to inspect the floor. No less than 4 workers have looked it over. The amout of attention to such a detail is remarkable compared to our standards (not sure what the personal injury practice is like here in China). Now before you get to be too impressed, through all this attention the problem will be solved by taping down the tile with clear packaging tape. The world is an amazing place.

Our thoughts remain on Jack, and our two daughters back home. Michele and I breifly discussed the fear creeping into our thoughts as we approach zero hour. Apprehension, excitement and fear are all not far from our minds as we get ready to take on this new responsiblity. It is a joy and blessing to have this opportunity, nevertheless, we cannot help but feel anxious.

Blessings to all.

Last Post from U.S.A.

We're off in the morning for China! We're still in a state of disbelief that this is happening, even though we've been working towards this and planning for a little over a year now. Sam is excited and nervous. Our girls are safe with their MorMor (Norwegian for grandmother). Our bags are practically packed. Paperwork has been checked and double checked both by me and my husband.

Please pray for safe travel for our daughters as they stay with family and safe travel for us as we make the numerous flights throughout China and back home. Please lift up Jack to help him cope with what is about to happen to him.
See you in China!

Dan ADDS: Well as one may have predicted, I cannot sleep - so I thought I would add to this post. We are ready to head out on this new adventure. Michele has added a bit of drama to begin the trip. Monday evening, she knocked a table, which sent a mini-speaker crashing onto her 2nd toe on her right foot. It has swelled a great deal, though the pain is not so bad. Last evening she was hobbling a bit - thus, is quite prepared to dash through the airport, climb the Great Wall and tour the Forbidden City. In an attempt to ease her pain, I sprang for 1st class upgrades on the Atl to DC leg of the journey. For those who know me - and the long tradition of, shall we say, "thriftiness" of the men in my family, this is quite a big deal for me :-).

Thanks to everyone for the great support, kind words and heartfelt prayers. China 2.0 here we come!

Lane and Jenna, we will miss you and be thinking of you the entire trip.

We're Going to China!

We got the call late Thursday night - we got our requested consulate appointment of 12/22! So, we leave this week to go to China! Wednesday to be exact! We've been so busy either on the phone or the internet trying to finalize our travel plans to China and in China, that I'm only just now posting our good news on our blog. Whew. Whirlwind is an appropriate term to describe what we have just been through. We will get Jack on 12/14 and return on 12/24. What a Christmas present!

Thank you to all of our friends and family who have been praying for us - it got a little sticky there for a while. Let's just say that there was a glitch with our paperwork (imagine that?) and that our agency advocated for us. Then, there was the matter of not only finding reasonably priced tickets (we had watched them go up steadily all week), but finding tickets at all, such is the Christmas season. I was told some flights were sold out. And to top it all off, you can't just reschedule your requested Consulate appt. ... you better be there.

So, I think our eldest daughter will testify that her mom and dad were a little stressed. Not to mention that we were going on very little sleep (since China is 13 hours ahead of us, our approval was going to come in during the night). The pattern formed: search for and hold tickets for 24 hours in hopes of getting our appt. Stay up and wait for phone call so that I can buy the tickets before they expire. No appt. Search for and hold another set of tickets for 24 hours. Stay up and wait. No appt. You get the picture.

We were so anxious about all this that both Dan and I turned to God for help the same day, but at different times, realizing foolishly, that we should have done that from the beginning. Once we gave it to God, we finally relaxed that evening and left the computer. We got the call that night. :0)

We purchased tickets the next day - paying more than we budgeted, but trusting God in His plan. Later that day, God blessed us with a sweet, sweet lady from our agency (she handles our internal travel arrangements) who called me and politely informed me that we paid too much for our tickets. She helped us fix that and has since saved us quite a bit of money. To borrow some language from my 13 year old, "Betty, you rock!"

Throughout this adoption, when we have experienced some kind of delay, God has blessed us with a photo of our son, as if to remind us of His goal for us and for us to not be discouraged. During all this, our friend Andy, who had surprised us with a great photo of our son when he visited the orphanage, forwarded another photo he had received from LWB (Jack is in the orange shirt.). And, yes, we know ... Jack is a cutie pie. ;0)

Travel Approval

We got the call today!!! China is ready for us to come and get Jack - goodness knows, we've been ready for quite awhile now. We are still waiting confirmation of our Consulate appointment to finalize our travel plans, but will post that information when we hear from our agency. BTW, I've posted a Smilebox below - the last two pictures are of Jenna, then Jack - the jacket is the reason I spotted Jack on the internet. :0)

I spent some time today working on our blog and reflecting on this journey so far. Wow. We are almost there, but we surely didn't get there alone. Though the prayers of friends and family have sustained us through the ups and downs of the adoption, we certainly wouldn't be at this point today if we hadn't taken a chance on God. This has been a walk of faith for both Dan and me. When you decide to walk the path God has laid out for you, you will be afraid, but you will also feel more alive and closer to the Heavenly Father. Gosh, it would have been so easy to not go through with this second adoption, but God is faithful and keeps his promises to us. I'm overwhelmed with God's goodness and His plan for these two children and our family as a whole. The words from the hymn, "Great is Thy Faithfulness" come to mind:

Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father;
There is no shadow of turning with Thee;
Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not;
As Thou hast been, Thou forever will be.

Great is Thy faithfulness!
Great is Thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see.
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided;
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!

Summer and winter and springtime and harvest,
Sun, moon and stars in their courses above
Join with all nature in manifold witness
To Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love.

Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth
Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide;
Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,
Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside!

Make a Smilebox slideshow