Dealing with the unexpected...

The unknown can be a very scary deal!  We are now on day 13 of our China Trip and we get on a plane in less than two days to head home.  We cannot wait to get back! We miss our kids, we miss our friends, and we are so ready for this part of the process to be completed... and we are almost there. But yesterday we had something happen that was very unexpected and unsettling.  We had the opportunity to go to the Chimelong Safari Park in Guangzhou which is the biggest zoo/safari park in Asia.  We didn't go the last time so this time we thought, we are here, might as well do it!  So we went with 9 other adopting families and saw some incredible animals (they have over 200 white tigers which is almost half of the white tiger population in the world, along with Pandas with triplets, Koala Bears, and a lot of other animals).  Like I said, it was incredible, but halfway through our time at the zoo our guide walks over to us and says, "we need to head back to the medical clinic before 4pm, something showed up so we have to do a further test".  We then planned to leave by taxi at 2pm to make it to the clinic on-time.  The rest of the time at the zoo was full of "what-if's"... what if it confirms she is sick, and how does this affect us leaving in 3 days? (Dan's visa expires the 19th so he has to leave).  Can this delay us days, weeks, months...? Man she is ours, we have adopted her in China and as soon as we land in the US she will be recognized as ours by the United States.  We love this kid, could something worse happen?  Could we lose her?  We arrived at the medical clinic around 2:30 and they took us right in to the X-ray room... let us just say that Kaili wasn't very excited about getting the x-ray and she let everyone know about it.  A few minutes later our guide came over and said, "I just spoke to Doctor, he says the x-rays are clear...she has no problem".  We just sat there in silence with tears streaming down our faces thanking God that she was okay.

Today we went to the consulate for our Visa appointment.  That went smooth and the guy who interviewed us was from a little place in Florida called, "Mandarin" (where I grew up).  Crazy who you can run into in the middle of China... He grew up off Scott Mill Road and graduated from Stanton in 1993.  We left the US Embassy and went back to a meeting area to wait for our bus trip back to the hotel.  While there we talked with some other parents who were adopting and listened as they talked about what God had done to move and enable them to adopt...it was very encouraging.  As we were about to leave a Chinese national walked up to Michelle and Myself, and said, "Hello, are you taking her home?"  We said, "Yes"!  And then he asked, "Do you believe in Jesus Christ?" Almost taken back we responded, " Yes, we believe in Jesus Christ."  He looked relieved and said, "Good, that is very good."  So I asked him, "Do you believe in Jesus Christ."  And with a huge smile he said, "O yes, I believe in Jesus Christ...I went to college in the U.S. of A. and at college someone told me about Jesus and I became a believer in Jesus."  We talked about him going to church which he did, and how we served on staff at a church and worked with young people.  Our bus pulled up at that point and we had to leave.  His name was Lei (pronounced Lay).  I had a Chinese National share his faith with me in a place where that is illegal.... I am still stunned by that encounter.  Because we had just come from the US Consulate building we did not have any phone or camera because I would have loved to have gotten a picture with him.  It was pretty amazing to say the least.

It's now Tuesday night in Guangzhou, and it's been a great day for Kaili.  She has really begun to blossom over the past 24-48 hours.  She is still a little shy, but now I am getting high fives, and she is beginning to make some sounds which is pretty awesome.  Even when we are out and about she is laughing with us and really seems to be attaching well.  She is an amazing little girl and we are so blessed.  Tomorrow afternoon we take a train to Hong Kong and the next morning we get on a plane to head to the United States of America.  We can't wait to be home.

Heaven on earth

When we got out of the van, we were escorted down an alley towards the Civil Affairs office.  Clothes lines hung from the rooftops, and adjacent doors led into dark staircases. It seemed like we were in a movie. We went into the building and were waiting for an elevator in a bare, sterile foyer.  Next to us stood two other Westerners looking exactly as we felt, apprehensive and excited. We all headed up to the 8th floor... it was really happening; this was where we would meet our little girl. The doors opened and we entered a room that was expansive and clean.... and all around us commotion began to unfold as they began to bring out the children in pairs.  Our sweet girl was in the first set. She toddled toward us... very timid and shy, and we immediately fell in love with her. We coaxed her slowly into our arms and just held her as she looked around wide eyed and bewildered.  As we looked around the room with her, we saw something that very few people are ever privileged to see.  In this room, 22 kids from around Guangzhou were being greeted for the first time by their parents.  Some where screaming, some were quiet, some were laughing, and some were smiling.  There were kids that looked different, teenagers that were at the cusp of being too old for adoption, kids with major deformities, kids with minor ones, but all of them were children who needed a home... and at this very moment they were being loved by their family for the very first time. And these weren't just American families coming in to love these kids... there were families from Spain, England, Norway, Sweden, and other countries as well.

I still tear up when I think about it.  When I think about the 60 year old grandparents adopting the three teenage boys who were about to age out of the orphanage or when I think about the 12 year old orphan in the wheelchair that now had a family or when I think about the lives that are being changed not just in this world but for some in the next. It was a beautiful sight. We are grateful we got to be apart of it.

Today (Day 4 with her) has been good. She has been a little more emotional and very clingy. So please pray for peace in the midst of a lot of "newness". It is fun seeing a little glimpse of her personality emerge. We feel so blessed.
Kaili is what we would term painfully shy.  She has squeaked out maybe 5-6 words and they are so soft and timid.  She is very content to stay in our arms the whole time.  She has rarely smiled, but now when we pick her up she does a huge crooked smile that just melts your heart.

Almost there...in six hours... she's ours

(Day 3 in China)- A perspective from Dan:
I am suddenly awakened by the ringing of the phone... I look over at the clock and it reads 9:47.  Everything in me panics. You see this was the day we were supposed to head to Kaili's province.   But, we were supposed to be downstairs at 9:00am bags packed checked out of our room headed to the airport to catch our flight from Beijing to Guangzhou.  I start yelling at Michelle, hurry get up, get packed, we aren't going to make it.  She looks at me confused, staring at me like I have gone insane (this wasn't the first time I had seen that face).  I realized something isn't right, and then she says to me, "Ummm, it's 9:47pm."  Man, here I think we are going to be late getting to our little girl, and then at that moment relief flooded my soul.  This jet lag is killing me!  Needless to say, we slept off and on the rest of the night and made our Air China flight with plenty of time.
Now it is Day 4 (Monday morning in China, Sunday night at home).  We are approximately 6 hours away from getting our little girl.  Now lets break this down a little bit... we started this process on August 15, 2014, that was 480 days ago, which was 11,514 hours ago, and now we are down to the final six.  Breaking it down percentage wise, we are down to the final .052% of this waiting thing we have had to do.  So many questions are flooding in.  What if she cries the whole time (like the next 10 days)?  What if she is scared, and hasn't been cared for well?  What is this going to be like this time?  When we get on the plane is she going to kick the guy next to us?  Are people going to stare at her and talk mean to her because she is different?(I'm feeling protective already!) As I think about all these things you know the only thing that matters is that God has called us to do this... even if/when it is hard... and it will be hard.  But even though we started this process 11,514 hours ago... God started the process at the beginning of time.  He is bigger than any fear, any challenge, and any situation we will face.  And when I remember that God has been planning for this meeting from the beginning, my fears fade away.  I can't wait to meet her.  She should be in our arms around 1:30am your time tonight.  So if you happen to be up or wake up around then, join us in praising God for He deserves all praise.
Michelle's perspective:
To give my man credit.....For every panic moment Dan has had, he's had five other moments that have been sure and steady. I would have wilted months ago if it were not for him. This morning as we were lying awake at wee hours in the morning, I said, "Are we were crazy for doing this?" His response? "We'd be crazy not to!"  So true. We have had a great time with our friends, the Turners, (John Turner adds humor to every situation) touring the Great Wall and the Forbidden City. We have had good guides, yummy food (well sort of) AND finally we meet our little one soon. Excited and scared. Thanks for your prayers.

Finally... headed to China

In 10 hours, our plane takes off for China.  We can't believe this day is here.  Mixed emotions fill our hearts as we leave our kids here (in great hands with grandparents) and go to bring our little Kaili home.  We can't wait to see her and hold her.

Since China blocks a lot of the regular websites that we use to communicate I have a dear friend who will be giving updates from my Facebook page and possibly this blog... our emails should work over there and we have a lot of down time as we are waiting for appointments and what-not so please feel free to email us and check in (either samson880@bellsouth.net or pastordan@bellsouth.net).

Thank you to so many of you who have expressed encouragement about our adoption over the past 15 months.  Many of you have been so gracious and committed to pray for us (and her) and that means so much.  Also thank you for those who sacrificed in order to partner with us in this endeavor. We are grateful.

God is so good and through all parts of our lives may He be given all honor, glory, and praise...

4 But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. 6 And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” 7 So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.

-Galatians 4:4-7

God bless you all,

Dan & Michelle