Day 3 ... Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City, Silk Factory

This morning was a carbon copy of yesterday morning:  Up at 3:30 AM, breakfast at 6:30 AM, Skyped the kids around 8:00 AM, prayer and devotions (we decided to read through Psalm 119 while we are here in China), and then downstairs to the lobby at 8:15 AM.  We were on the bus around 8:30 AM and off we went for another day of sightseeing in Beijing.

Today was another tour day with our group of adoptive families and our tour guide Lily.  We were also joined by one new family that just arrived yesterday.  The day started with a short drive down the street to Tiananmen Square.  For those of you unfamiliar with Beijing, I am going to compare Tiananmen Square to the closest thing I can think of - the National Mall in Washington, D.C.  Simply, think of lots of grand, national monuments, security guards marching around, and throngs of tourists.

We really appreciated having our tour guide Lily with us again today.  She was very knowledgeable about the area and was able to recite key dates and dimensions of many of the landmarks.  She also somehow got us into the fast-pass lane at the security checkpoints.  Lily explained to us that Tiananmen Square is the largest public square in world.  It houses the Monument to the People’s Heroes, “Chinese white house” and Chairman Mao’s Mausoleum.  There was a lot of other information as well but to be quite honest it was a lot to take in.

Next, we travelled north into the Imperial Palace and then into the Forbidden City.  This is where the emperor of China used to live with his 1000’s of concubines.  We were told over and over again about how many rooms there were, where the concubines could and could not stay, and what the punishment was for bad behavior.  The architecture itself was breathtaking and iconic China.

Our next stop was lunch.  We ate around a circular table again.  This time we were crammed into a room with peeling wallpaper and holes in the drywall.  I’m not sure if this was a courtesy extended to us for privacy or if the restaurant wanted to keep the American tourists out of site from their local patrons.  Either way, we enjoyed being in an air conditioned building.  Matt ate his fill while Deanna was less adventurous today.

 

For lunch, we were joined by our Beijing case worker Bella.  Bella didn’t speak much, but she did deliver to us a “Red Book”.  It basically had a bunch of pages with information in it regarding Chinese culture, what to expect when we pick Micah up, and our schedule of events for Guangzhou.  Although other families also received some updated pictures in their books, we did not have a single picture of Micah.  We tried hard to be happy for the other families who were rejoicing in their updated photos while dealing with some sadness inside.  We know that within two short days we will be taking all of the photos we want.

 

Our last stop of the day was a silk factory.  We were shown how workers harvest the silk from the silk worm cocoon.   Workers also demonstrated how they stretch the silk to make silk comforters.  Next, we were taken to area and shown the finished product.  Then, we were briefed on all of the benefits of silk and how “little” it cost to bring one of these fine pieces home with us.  This place also had a large showroom of bedding and clothing to browse.  Like the jade factory yesterday, all of the merchandise seemed expensive, and we didn’t really care to pack any more in our luggage.

 We made it back to the hotel by 2 PM, took a “nap” around 3 PM, and didn’t wake up until 9 PM.  We were still tired so we got ready for bed and then continued to sleep until 3 AM the next morning.  I guess we were tired!  Our plans for Sunday include a flight to Micah’s city of Shanghai.  We are praying today for our safe travels and the details to be worked out for the upcoming week.

Day 2 ... Great Wall, Jade Gallery, and Hutong Culture

Today was filled with tourism adventure.  We started our day by visiting one of the seven wonders of the world.  We were joined by a group of 3 other adoptive families and our guide Lily.  The part of the Great Wall we visited consisted of 5 (or 6 or 7?) guard towers perched on rugged mountain terrain.  Each tower was connected by stone pathways that followed the curvature ground below.  Most of the path was up, up, up and some of it was in great need of repair.  I imagined this human domino effect that would happen if a stone came loose and someone fell backwards.

Matt made friends with one of the guys from the travel group, and they hiked up to the highest guard tower they could find.  The wives stayed together to chat at tower number two.  We were given two hours to explore and made it back just in time to enjoy some bottled water and grape flavored ice cream near the base of the wall.

Next, we had lunch at a jewelry store of all places.  The lunch was served traditional style at a large round table with a “lazy Susan” in the middle.  We were told that they were serving us “American-style” Chinese food.  It tasted OK for the most part.  Deanna found a chicken dish she like.  After lunch, an employee gave us a quick tour of their “museum” downstairs and then dumped us into the jade gallery.  Basically, imagine going to a jewelry store in the U.S. where they explain to you all of the things to look for in a “good” diamond.  Then, they show their Med-High quality pieces at a very expensive cost.  Today, we learned the same can be done for jade.

Our last stop of the day was spent soaking in the culture in the Hutong.  This preserved part of town is just outside of the Forbidden City and dates back 100’s of years.  We took pedal cart rickshaws around and made stops at a food market and a family’s house.  The house basically consisted of a small sitting room filled with antiques, a bedroom with just enough room for a bed, a small courtyard with a few tables for eating, and a separate kitchen area.  We were told many of the families that live in the Hutong have a lot of money (we saw Mercedes and other higher end cars in the alley ways), but they don’t have private showers or toilets.  Apparently it is impossible to connect these houses back to the public sewer and water lines.

Our night was spent buying bottled water at the local supermarket, washing clothes in the bathroom sink, and eating room service pizza in our hotel room.  The icing on the cake was getting to talk to Nathan and Claire on Skype just a few minutes ago.  Now, it's off to bed to get the rest our bodies probably need.  Good night to all.

 

#Matt's first post

We made it to Beijing!

We made it to Beijing!  We had a pretty low-stress travel experience.  The flight went by faster than we expected.  When we arrived in Beijing, we had no trouble finding our guide.  We were driven to our hotel in a sometimes scary car ride.  These drivers remind of cab drivers in NYC.  Sometimes it is best to not look.

After checking-in around 5pm, we decided to beat the jet lag by staying up until about 8pm.  We went for a walk to Food Street and Shopping Street.  Food Street was certainly a sight! (and smelly)  The shops were mostly high end retail stores and candy stores.  After the walk we came back to the hotel and went to sleep.  It is 4:30 am, and I can’t sleep.  Thank you, jet lag!  Oh well, today we head to the Great Wall.  We are hoping to meet some more adoptive families.  We will check in later.

On our way!

 



Not quite our idea of dinner, but interesting to look at.

Leaving on a jet plane

Today, we are leaving for China!  It has been a crazy couple of weeks.  The travel scheduling was a bit frustrating, but we made it through.  This post will be brief.  We wanted to share an outline of our travel itinerary.

Wednesday, June 11 - Fly Chicago to Beijing
Thursday, June 12 -  Arrive in Beijing
Friday and Saturday - Tour Beijing
Sunday, June 15 - Fly Beijing to Shanghai
Monday, June 16 - GOTCHA DAY!!!!  Micah meets his family :)
Friday, June 20 - Fly Shanghai to Guangzhou
Wednesday, June 25 - US Consulate appointment
Friday, June 27 - Fly home via Tokyo

As you may imagine, there are many appointments in between the dates listed above.  We also will be waiting for Micah's passport during our time in Shanghai and then his Visa while in Guangzhou.

We are asking that you continue to pray.  We know that there is power in prayer.  We know that God has every detail worked out.  We trust that our time in China will glorify Him! 

Prayer requests:
1. Pray for safety during travel.
2. Pray for Nathan and Claire while we are away.
3. Pray for Micah.  His world is about to change in a big way.  He will grieve the life he has known for the past 5 1/2 years.  Pray that God would give him peace.  Pray that he feels loved and that he knows that he is cared for. 
4. Pray our appointments go well and our paperwork is processed without any delays or problems.

We thank you for praying.  We are humbled by the support of so many people.  Thank you for being a part of this journey to Micah!

11 days...

... UNTIL WE LEAVE FOR CHINA!!!!

Our Travel Approval has arrived!

God has answered our prayers to travel in June!  We leave June 11th.  Gotcha Day is June 16th.  We return June 27th.  We will post further details of our itinerary closer to travel.

We have said it before, God is so faithful.  He continues to orchestrate a journey we could have never imagined.  We are still requesting your prayers and support.  There are many details to come together before we leave.  We also ask that you pray for Nathan and Claire when we are gone.  Please pray for our family as they care for Nathan and Claire.  Please pray for our safety and time in China.  Most importantly, please pray for Micah.  Pray that his heart is prepared to join our family.  Pray he will be comforted as he grieves the life he has known for the past 5 1/2 years  Pray he will feel loved and adjust well.

An update on our support...
The garage sales were very successful!  Thank to all who donated items and shopped.  The sales raised over $1400!!!
Our adoption fund through church has also been growing.  Once again, God provided in a BIG way!  Our original support goal was $12,500.  We have raised $12,495!  THANK YOU!!!

We will keep you posted as we get details.  Thank you for following our journey to Micah!

"For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, Move from here to there, and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you." (Matthew 17:20b)

God's call to adopt

I am so thankful for the adoption community.  I am thankful that so many adoptive families share their honesty, trials, joys, and journeys through blogging.  Their blogs give insight and encouragement.  They also give perspective and reality.  Adoption is not easy.  We know that.  The hard part has not even started.  We know that the miracle of adoption is the result of great loss.  There will be grieving and sadness.  Can you imagine losing everything you have ever known, TWICE?!  Please pray for Micah's heart as he is about to experience a great loss.  Gotcha Day is approaching and the emotions surrounding it are overwhelming.  We know that through God's grace and mercy we will see His glory. 

I have been wanting to post about God's call to adopt.  It was very clear to our family that we were to adopt Micah.  It was ALL His hands, His timing, and for His glory.  I came across a blog post yesterday from Stefanie.  She blogs at Ni Hao Y'all.  She wrote a guest post for Show Hope.  I encourage you to read it here.  She has an incredible way with words and shares how God worked in her family through adoption.  Check it out!

Update:  We have received our Article 5, which is our U.S. clearance.  We are waiting for Travel Approval (TA) from the Chinese government.  It should be any day!!  After TA, we will have our travel dates.  We should be traveling no later than early July.  SO CLOSE!!  Thank you for your prayers and support.

Support Update

Therefore do not be anxious, saying, “What shall we eat?” or “What shall we drink?” or “What shall we wear?”  For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.  But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Matthew 6:31-33

We serve a faithful God.  He continues to humble us with His provisions.  We are so thankful to those people that have been called to join our journey.  We trusted that God would provide and He continues to show His mighty hands at work.  Since our last update, our support has reached over $11,000.00!!! 

Thank you to all who donated to and shopped our garage sale.  That sale raised over $800.00.  We will be opening for our neighborhood garage sale on May 16 and 17.

 

 

 

We have not heard the outcome of the KCC Sale, but if you shopped with our flyer, “Thank You!”  We are thankful for opportunities like the KCC Sale to raise additional support.

If you are doing the math, we still need to raise $1,500.00 to meet our goal of $12,500.00.  If we raise a total of $17,500.00 this adoption will be completely debt free!  NOTHING is too big for our God! 

It is not too late to be involved! First, please continue to pray for our paperwork.  We are two pieces of paper away from travel.  We are awaiting Article 5 (U.S. approval) and Travel Approval from China.  We are anxious and excited to get to our little boy.  As school winds down, Nathan and Claire are growing in their excitement, too.

Second, donate to our adoption fund.  As written above, we still have not met our goal.  We are so close!  If you have not donated, we would be so grateful for your donation.  Every dollar brings us closer to bringing Micah home.  Thank you for praying and considering supporting our son’s adoption.