A Look Back: Our Travel and Beijing Experiences

What an adventure our trip was!  It started off so well... then Shanghai happened.  Our flight was already delayed due to a woman having to be convinced to leave the plane.  After an hour of encouragement, she decided it was best due to her health, but then they needed to find her suitcase among the hundreds already loaded.  This set us back in an already tight schedule.  The advice was to abandon our suitcases and run.  I never realized how out of shape I was, until I ran back and forth through the Shanghai airport for an hour straight.  We missed our flight, lost our baggage, and I had tears streaming down my face.  Catherine supported and encouraged me as she ran with her hand on my back and quoting scripture the whole way.  God sent an amazing guardian angel as an airport worker went ABOVE and beyond, in full suit and dress shoes, running with us, holding my carry-ons, and finding us another flight to Beijing within the hour. When we finally landed in Beijing, the realization that recovering our luggage was not going to be as easy as explained set in.  Hours of calling and communicating ensued amidst sight seeing in travel clothes. Mark, my true knight in shining armor, ended up having success and got us our suitcases delivered to the hotel from the US!  We were never so excited for clean clothes and deodorant!

Beijing was amazing as always to tour.  Although the first day was tough.  Not only were we running on empty in dirty clothes, but everyone seemed stressed and short tempered, not the feeling I usually get from China.  Despite the luggage fiasco... We had lots of fun (excuse my, I've traveled in the same clothes for 48 hours and hair brush and makeup are in suitcase look... Catherine looks amazing of course, though in the same suitcase-less boat). We saw Tienanmen Square, the Forbidden City, Hutong in a rickshaw, ate at a Chinese chain in the mall and shopped at a mall with a grocery store. (I bought lots of fun treats!)

In a rickshaw

In a courtyard of the Hutong

Tienanmen Square

 Our luggage showed up at the hotel that night! A huge celebration ensued!!  The outlook for the Great Wall the next day was MUCH BETTER as clean clothes and deodorant (especially with all of the climbing) make all the difference!!

I hiked more of the Great Wall than ever before! Catherine is an amazing encourager! We walked from one lift to the far end of another lift and then kept going! Climbed for over 2 hours and then came back down. Then...

Clean clothes AND a minion shirt :)

Catherine is so crazy!

We took a ski lift up (twice)... but I'll explain in a minute. We climbed lots of the wall and then it was time to go down. We took the toboggans!!!! I wasn't allowed to take pics, so I have some shots on our way up. It is LONG and goes on and on with curves and dips. The first time the lady in front of Catherine had a kid and she was so slow we had to keep stopping. So, Catherine said let's do it again. We got two more tickets and somehow convinced the admission lady to let us in since we didn't have the entrance ticket (it was with our guide). We got to the run and the operator recognized us. He asked if we were doing it again? We explained the slow lady. He felt bad, so he held the line for 5 minutes to clear the track ( lots of people waiting behind us). Then we got to fly down without any blocks! Catherine was faster than me, but so very fun!!!

It was the longest ride... even the SECOND time :)

Got to take this ride TWICE

My favorite part was the group of school kids that wanted to talk and take pics with us. They were so cute and full of giggles!! 

I caved for dinner, had to have my Spicy Chicken from McDs. Catherine insisted on authentic, so we found a dumpling place. Little tricky ordering, but finally got it... the breakdown was realizing they were giving us 12 dumplings for less than $2.50!!!!

I Saw Her Face 1 Year Ago

I’m a day early, but a snow day is the perfect time to reflect on the beginning of our journey to Emilyn!  It was a year ago tomorrow night that I saw that sweet little face on my computer. I was checking out all of the agencies for the kiddos I advocate for, since we had agreed to wait until the Spring to start the process again. I saw her need (brain damage) and realized that she was not a baby I could convince Mark to take a “risk” on.

 

The next day, I arrived at school early. All of the kiddos had a snow day, but I had to report. I set out extra early, just in case the roads made my trek slow. With the extra time, I decided to take a peek at her precious face again. That did it. I emailed Mark and said I really thought we should TRY and get her file. We had already been “too late” on a couple of files that had LONG waiting lists. He said, go ahead and request it (I think he was still sleeping). It would be 3 hours until our agency opened, so it felt like FOREVER until I got a response. They had sent me the file!! I glanced over it with lightning speed and told Mark we should try and hold her file. I think he figured she would have a long wait list, as the others did, so said go ahead. I can only imagine his surprise when I forwarded him the response that this sweet girl was on HOLD for OUR FAMILY!

It took us 3 weeks of attempting to get an update and deciding how to proceed with the pediatrician’s warning that her needs and measurements may likely indicate severe brain damage.  The needs listed in her file were: a little subependymal hemorrhage of right side, broadened bilateral ventricles; diagnosis:

premature, VLBW, neonatal intracranial hemorrhage, premature brain damage. But, once I had video (and obviously before that) this princess was MINE!  It would take another month for us to be able to submit a Letter of Intent.

Now, she’s been in my arms for 3 months already, I can’t fathom that we might have missed this!  Fear could have kept us from an unbelievable gift! Emilyn is funny and loving and so very smart!  We might have missed this puzzle loving, investigative, silly, hugging girl! Please don’t miss the gift due to fear!!

Leaving Soon!

We have been spending our days preparing for my departure.  There have been lessons to plan, subs to secure, suitcases to pack, meals to plan, groceries to buy, and technology to update.

Catherine will be flying out tomorrow and will be in Lansing on Tuesday.  We will leave from Lansing on Wednesday afternoon.  It will be a long day with 2 layovers (Detroit and Shanghai).  We should arrive in Beijing on Thursday at 11:40pm (11:40am your time).  Please pray that we make the connecting flight in Shanghai.  We will have 2 hours to get through customs and cross to the domestic side and find our flight.  We are hoping our bags go straight through.

We will spend Friday and Saturday sight seeing in Beijing.  Then, fly out Sunday to Emilyn's province.  We will shop for everything that I don't have room for in my luggage to make Emilyn comfortable. I will finally be able to hold her at about 9:30am Monday morning (9:30pm Sunday night your time). We will tour her province and wait for her passport to be prepared.  Friday, we will fly to Guangzhou to finish the process.  She will have her medical and we will do more touring.  On Tuesday, we will have her Consulate appointment.  We need to wait 48 hours and then her visa will be ready and we can fly home!

We thank you so much for your prayers!!  Here are a few specific requests:

• Health - Our family (including me) seems to be battling colds
• Mark - He will be single parenting for 2 weeks.  This includes homework, lunches, dinners, managing kiddos at Half Time at church while preparing for the Worship Service, and coming to my rescue as I communicate with him at all times of the night.
• Catherine - She has a LONG trip here and then to China.  She has to do the same thing on the way home.  She has a foster daughter that is in the care of a nanny, please pray for her while Catherine is with me.
• Emilyn - She is about to have her entire world turned upside down.  She will be leaving a nanny that has loved and cared for her since she was just a few months old. Please pray that she will allow me to comfort her and will begin the attachment process.
• April - Patience and love for Emilyn.  Comfort in missing my family and best friend (who selflessly agreed to stay home and hold down the fort)!
• Most of all, Catherine and I would ask that you pray for our testimony.  We pray that we would have the opportunity to pour Christ's love into everyone we meet: nannies, guides, other adoptive parents, locals, hotel workers, and the sweet kiddos we will meet when we tour the orphanage.

We Have TRAVEL APPROVAL!

We received TA today!!

Our CA (Consulate Appointment) was confirmed as well!  This means our entire trip is determined.  I leave in TWO WEEKS!

October 12th - Fly to China
October 13th - Arrive in Beijing
October 14th and 15th - Tour Beijing
October 16th - Fly to Emilyn's province
October 17th - MEET EMILYN!!!!
October 18th to 20th - Tour her province
October 21st - fly to Guangzhou
October 22nd to 26th - tour Guangzhou, medical visit, Consulate Appointment
October 27th - fly home

WOW!  It will go so fast only being in China for 2 weeks! It's been 5 years since we've only adopted one kiddo and had a shorter stay.

It feels like this journey took forever, because I just missed a couple of lightning fast approval rounds.  However, we still made AMAZING time!

January 11th - saw her face for the first time (requested the file on the 12th) - only 8.5 months ago
January 26th - finally received an update
February 26th - LOI finally submitted! (Lots of pre-submission paperwork) - only 7 months ago
March 2nd - Received Pre-Approval from China (officially started)!!

This is truly one of the quickest adoptions!  Only 9 short months from seeing her face for the first time to holding her in my arms!  WOW!! GOD IS GOOD!!!

ALMOST THERE!!

We are at the LAST STEP!!

Our Article 5 was picked up from the US Consulate today (actually last night).  This paper lets the Chinese government know that the US will issue a visa to Emilyn so she can come home.  She doesn't become a US citizen until she sets foot on US soil.  So, she travels home on a Chinese passport with a US visa.

This paper is overnighted across China to CCCWA in Beijing.  Now, we are officially waiting for TRAVEL APPROVAL!! :)

We have to have this important piece of paper to set our Consulate Appointment.  Once that is set, everything else is scheduled backwards from that point.  We are PRAYING that we get Travel Approval (TA) on Monday or Tuesday of next week.  This will give time for the Consulate Appointment to be made before everything in China closes down for a week due to National Holiday.  IF we can get a super quick TA, I could leave on October 12th and Emilyn could be in my arms on October 17th!!  Thank you for your prayers!! :)

 

Introducing: My Travel Buddy

 

OUR STORY

God is in the details, all of them! When we realized that there was another little one waiting for us in China, we quickly determined that I would be traveling without Mark this time. We have a large number of kiddos with very diverse needs and Mark needs to stay home and support them. I decided that the perfect travel partner would be my mom. It would be a life-altering experience and she will have 7 grandchildren from China. She has never flown in a plane and was unwavering in her absolute determination to never fly. I was devastated. I couldn’t figure out what God was doing, it seemed like the perfect plan.
I then realized that an adoptive mama that we traveled with on our last trip would be a great travel partner. Her beautiful daughter was from the same province as Emilyn! Her wonderful family agreed to let her travel with me and live without her for two weeks. It started to make sense. However, her husband’s job could require him to travel away at a moment’s notice. This would mean that we couldn’t be certain if she would be able to go or not. Once again, I couldn’t figure out what God’s plan was.
After hearing the news that this other adoptive mom wasn’t a guarantee, Mark and I both felt that we needed to explore other possible travel companions. Then, Mark and I had the same immediate thought! We knew right away who the perfect travel partner would be! This amazing woman supports us in so many ways! She has visited, prayed for, encouraged, and loved on our family ever since we met in July of last year. Every family I talk to, who has met this woman, completely falls in love with her. Her love for the Lord shines through and draws you in. We knew she was the perfect solution, but would she be able and willing?
We presented our idea to her and she asked us all to pray about it. We did and… SHE SAID YES!! My travel partner is the amazing, Catherine Theriault!!! We are so excited. Mark and I both know that she will be a wonderful blessing on this trip and a way for her to experience the international adoption process like never before. She, through the organization she works with Chosen and Dearly Loved, has impacted so many families in bringing their children home through grants and so we thought, what better way for her to experience the joy of helping by seeing a child be united with a family for the first time! We are so excited to be on the journey literally together in China!
Please pray for us! Pray for me as I work hard to attach to Emilyn and form those early bonds in China. Pray for Catherine as she has to deal with an emotional mess (me). We would also ask that you pray for our impact on China. We want to feed love into the children we meet that are still waiting, the guides that we spend time with, the Chinese people we cross paths with, and the other adoptive families that travel at the same time.

HER STORY

My journey with the amazing Anderson family began shortly after I started working with Chosen & Dearly Loved over a year ago. I had the blessed opportunity to go and visit them to do a video of their story and immediately fell in love with Mark and April and there are eight amazing children. Two of which have a very special place in my heart because we helped to bring them home with an adoption grant. April's passion for orphan advocacy is unmatched and she is one of my heroes so when I had the opportunity to go and spend the day with them again I jumped at the chance. There is something so incredible about this family and I was so blessed when they shared with me that they were adopting again and that I was one of the first people they told . I was honored beyond belief! As the months went by I looked for their adoption grant application and was so pleased to be able to make the phone call to share that we were indeed ecstatic to be walking with them on their journey to bring Emilyn home. It is with absolute elation that I share this incredible news! Because One of them needs to stay home with the kids and of course April is obsessed with all things China they have asked me to be April's traveling companion to go to China. As I prayed about this incredible opportunity to walk in the footsteps of all of our adoptive families I was overwhelmed by the reality of how this will impact me and the cause of orphan care for the rest of my life. Please join me in prayer as I embark on what I know will be a life-changing experience. Here we come Emilyn!

GOD IS ABLE!

GOD IS ABLE!!!!  When we began this journey, despite our efforts to work extra, scrimp spending, and obtain a loan, we knew we would be short of the funding we needed.  I knew the amount we needed, but it was such a large amount.  I worried about announcing the amount… What if God didn’t provide?  What if we didn’t get funded? I prayed a lot and realized that too often our doubts set limits on what God can do.  So, I decided to ask for prayers that God would provide the full $15,000 we needed.  I set to work filling out more grant applications than I can count.  You all supported us with prayers.  The grants started to come in: $1000 from Rollstone, $3500 from Gift of Adoption, and $1000 from Families Outreach.  Then, we learned that Chosen and Dearly Loved had given us a $4500 matching grant through Lifesong.  We realized that if we could raise $5000, we would have met our $15,000 goal!  We watched, prayed, celebrated, and danced with joy as that number grew and grew!!  It is through tears of utmost praise and thankfulness, we announce that WE ARE FULLY FUNDED!!!!  So many of you through donations and prayers, helped us reach $15,000!!  GOD IS ABLE!!!