Final thoughts before heading home

Beginning the journey home!!

It's our last night in China.  We are so excited to be coming home.  We got Molly's visa today, so everything is ready for us to head out in the morning.  The last 24 hours have been a little tougher because both Paula and Daniel have not been well.  Both of them appear to be on the mend now.  Hopefully that will be the end of our sickness. 

For those of you interested, our schedule is as follows.  We will be leaving the hotel at 5:30am local which is 4:30pm  at home.  We fly out of Guangzhou at 7:30am to Shanghai.  We have a layover there until our plane leaves for Chicago at 5:00pm which is 4:00am at home.  We land in Chicago just after 4:00pm cst.  We have only a couple of hours layover in Chicago until we fly to Knoxville with a scheduled arrival of just after 9:00pm est.  I don't care how exhausted we are, that will be one happy moment. 

Several have asked about Molly's citizenship.  She is a Chinese citizen at this time.  She has a Chinese passport.  China does not allow dual citizenship with any country.  We are carrying some documents with us that will be received and processed in O'Hare Airport in Chicago.  Molly will actually become a US citizen there in the airport.  We will receive her SSN within 45 days.  We will have to apply for a US birth certificate. 

It is so remarkable that she is a part of our family.  If we had our way, we would have come to China several years ago.  Of course that means that we wouldn't have Molly.  The long wait was incredibly frustrating at times.  There were times when it seemed like nothing was happening.  There were times when we even lost track of what was going on with the adoption process.  Now I can see some of God's plan unfolding.  Molly just fits in with us so perfectly.  There is no way anyone in either the Chinese or US government could have worked that out.  I cannot tell you how incredible it is to see Elizabeth and Daniel so easily interact with Molly and love her so genuinely.  I don't think that would have been the same if we had traveled to China a few years ago.  Furthermore, we have grown so much together as a family.  This trip has given us opportunities together that we would have never had any other way.  We are so much more invested in each other.  We have seen the necessity of working as a unit and supporting each other fully.  We have developed an increased level of gratitude for so many blessings that we often take for granted at home.  We have been humbled by the love of so many good friends. 

Our Lord is mighty.  His ways are beyond our comprehension and understanding.  His power is limitless.  His love is unending.  Whatever may happen in the world around us, we can rest assured that He is in control and His ways are best.


"For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things.  To Him be the glory forever.  Amen."  Rom.  11:36

McDonald's and pearls

First Trip to McDonald's

Seahorses anyone?

Is this a flyswatter, a fan or just a lizard on a stick?

 

On the streets of Guangzhou

Today started with the bad news that we had expected.  My uncle Frank had died.  The hemorrhage in his brain had been massive and proved fatal.  I had a hard time with it for most of the morning.  It was so sad to me that he would not be able to meet the two new little girls in our family.  I also struggled to try to remember what I had said to him when we last spoke.  I can't remember for sure.  We all need to make sure that the ones close to us, the ones we love, are constantly aware of how we feel about them and what they mean to us.

Molly's personality is coming through more and more.  She just loves to play and have fun.  When she laughs, you can't help but laugh along with her.  She was mesmerized today by Elizabeth blowing bubble gum bubbles.  You could tell that she just didn't understand what it was that was coming out of Elizabeth's mouth.  One of the last things we did today was going to a designated play room for small children here in the hotel.  She laughed and crawled and played and just had so much fun.  It put us all in a great mood as we played with each other like we hadn't in a long time.

Molly got her first taste of McDonald's today.  Elizabeth and Daniel were so excited to see a somewhat familiar menu.  Molly had some chicken nuggets, fries and part of a strawberry shake.  The shake was definitely her favorite.  Just before eating at McDonald's, we spent a few hours shopping in the pearl market.  I have never seen so many pearls in my life.  There were so many vendors with so many pearls that it was not hard to find bargains.  Strands of pearls that would cost hundreds or even in cases thousands of dollars in the US could easily be purchased 10-15% of that amount here.  A small group of families went together and looked at pearls at several stores.  When we got a pretty good idea of what we were looking at and what the general prices were, we went back to one of the stores and began bargaining with them.  That was much of the fun.  Our little group bought 11 pearl necklaces in all.  Once we had finished, you couldn't tell anything was missing from the shop's shelves.  This one little shop had literally thousands of pearl necklaces.  This one shop was only one of many stores.  It was really overwhelming to try to take it all in.

We decided to walk back to the motel from the pearl market.  Our path took us through a part of the city that exposed us to elements of the culture that we would not have seen anywhere else.  There were hundreds upon hundreds of street vendors selling everything from cats, dogs and rabbits for pets to dried seahorses, frog skeletons and lizards on sticks.  (I will include a picture to help you understand).  It was fascinating.  I wish we had had someone with us to tell us exactly what we were looking at and for what purpose it was all being sold. 

The major theme is this--we are ready to be home.  Tomorrow we will get Molly's visa.  That's all we lack at this point to get out of China and on our way home.  We are so anxious for the familiarities of home.  We are terribly excited to be back in the company of all the people that we love so much.  It just can't come soon enough

An intersection in lives

It has been very difficult for me to put this blog entry together.  This day has been a roller coaster of emotions.  I am having a hard time keeping my mind focused.  So please forgive me if this turns into an incoherent, rambling stream.

This is a day that we had been looking forward to for a very long time.  This is the day that we went to the US consulate in Guangzhou to apply for Molly's visa home.  We had anticipated a somewhat elaborate occasion with much pomp and ceremony.  But it was not that at all.  We simply took an oath to tell the truth, produced our passports and gave them one signature.  That was it.  Listen, we brought nice clothes for this specific occasion.  It seems like there should have been just a little more to it.  Even though it was a relatively quick and simple undertaking, we still end up with tears and hugs at the end.  It was the culmination of a lot of prayer, work and patience.  It was the final legal step in a very long process to bring our daughter home.  Now all that is left is picking up Molly's passport and visa on Wednesday and then heading back to the US.  It couldn't come soon enough.

This afternoon I got an email from my dad telling me that his brother, Frank, had had a stroke and was being moved to the ICU at the hospital.  Only last week Frank was diagnosed with an aggressive form of leukemia.  Early this morning he had a large hemorrhage in his brain that was a direct complication of the leukemia.  My dad got the call and headed straight for the hospital.  Frank had already been there for several days because of the leukemia.  My dad is Frank's only sibling.  Their parents both died several years ago.  Frank never got married or had any children.  So Frank has no other family except my dad.  So now my dad has to make all decisions related to his brother's care.  The doctor's have described the hemorrhage as large and expanding.  There was no way to predict that it would happen and absolutely nothing that can be done to try to treat it.  It makes me wonder when I last saw Frank and what I said to him.  What would I have said or done differently if I had known this would happen?  It makes me wish that I could be at the hospital with my dad to help him with these decisions and just to be with him.  It just makes me so sad.  AHHHHH!  Why now?  Why did it have to happen?  Why can't I be there?  I don't know and I don't like it.  But at the same time I wouldn't be anywhere else than where I am right now so that my family will be complete and we can all come home.  It makes me even more sad that Frank might never get to see his two new great nieces, Molly and Laura.  I just know that he would have fallen in love with them as we have.

Above all it gives me great comfort to know that God knew this very set of circumstances was going to take place long before time began.  For reasons that we may never know, He specifically orchestrated the events of our lives to lead us to this very intersection.  It's certainly not the way I would have done it.  But then I am not God.  So what are we to do but trust Him?  There is nothing else.

"In Him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will."  Ephesians 1:11

Elizabeth and Daniel enjoying time in China!!

                                                    Elizabeth finds her man in Guangzhou.

Mr. Incredible

It has been a good day. All of us getting a good nights sleep the previous night was the key to a good start. Everyday we have had a great breakfast. An expansive all-you-can-eat buffet has been included at each hotel. There has been a tremendous variety of choices each day none of which were pop tarts or Eggo waffles. We have all thoroughly enjoyed breakfast each day.
Today was the day that Molly decided I was an ok guy. She spent a lot of time just sitting, playing and "talking" with me that she had not done up until this point. Of course I just soaked it up. It was good for Paula that Molly didn't have to be in constant direct contact with her. We can also are Molly quickly advancing in her physical abilities. On day one with us she crawled slowly and awkwardly. Now not only does she crawl all over the place with some speed and agility but she will also pull herself up to a standing position, walk along the edge of the bed and slowly walk around the room while holding our fingers. Today also she turned to us on several occasions when we called her name.
Still the neatest thing for me to watch has been how Elizabeth and Daniel have taken to her. I just never realized how emotionally that had also become throughout this process. It has been a great affirmation that their coming on this trip was the correct decision.
"I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you." John 14:18. That verse has strategically popped up for me there different times today. The obvious parallel is that Molly and these other children being adopted will no longer be orphans. That is an awesome thing. Please don't think that was our motivation in this. We don't in any way are ourselves as saviors of a little girl. We believe that God gave us love for another child and we found her here in China. We do hope that He may use this adoption to help bring Molly into His kingdom someday. That is the greater parallel. God has promised not to leave any of His chosen as orphans. I love the firmness of that verse: "I will not. . .". There's no maybe or possibly or any condition in that promise. He said that He will not leave us. Period. End of story. This is in stark contrast to how we treat each other. We as people and even Christians are constantly breaking our commitments and leaving people behind. We were all so terribly saddened here when a prospective adoptive family decided after meeting their new child to send him back to the orphanage and go back home without him. Despite repeated pleading and reasoning with them they sent him back and left. We all asked ourselves and each other the obvious questions: how could you? Why? After considering it further the answer seems plain enough: we are all sinful, selfish people capable of any gross atrocity. That's what makes Christ all the more amazing. He didn't have to come down here. When He did come anyway He could just as easily have said, "Forget it. They're not worth it. They are the most ungrateful lot I can imagine. I believe I'll just head back home, kick my feet up and enjoy some angel music and send a giant meteor their way to put them out of thru misery and forget this whole human experiment. I just don't need the headache." But He didn't. He came, stayed, paid the ultimate price and promised to come again. "I will never leave you or forsake you." (Deut. 31:6, Jos. 1:5, I Chron. 28:20, Heb. 13:5). Once again it's "never" without condition or alternative. He won't ever leave. That's something in which to take great comfort.
There are so many orphans around the world who have seemingly been forgotten and left behind. Even if adoption is not right for you, there is still so much you could do. Give to the Lottie Moon and other offerings for missions, fill a shoe box for Samaritans Purse, support a child through World Vision or similar organization, support a family who is adopting, pray or just teach your kids about this need. Even better reach out to those around you with Gods love. One of Gus orphans may be waiting.

tired

Its really been a long couple of days. We are all so tired. Paula has been asleep for the past hour in the jeans and shoes that she wore today. Mollys sleep pattern has been very inconsistent over the past few days. We are looking forward to s more relaxed day tomorrow.
We did have a required medical exam for Molly today. All was well. She weighed over 17lbs and measured at just over 28 inches long.
Since I am having difficulty holding me eyes open Abe putting coherent sentences together, I must cut this short tonight. Please know that appreciate all the prayer and support.

Molly loving life with her family

Yum.  Mashed potatoes!

Baths are definitely nor her favorite