Our Last 48 Hours in Guangzhou

Back Home!

Hello! I landed at 6:05am this morning at Hartsfield International Airport. I have been traveling for the last day and a half and I am still up! I did nothing but sleep and eat on the way home. It feels great to be in my home now. I have missed my house, my bed especially! Now that I am back in Atlanta, I really miss the weather in China. The weather for the most part was in the low to mid 70's most of my trip; a little warmer on some days. The weather here is in the 40's and 50's---Burrrrr! I have added the pictures from the last 2 days in China in a slide show format in the next posting. I am really grateful that I was able to go. Thank you to all those who followed my journey along the way, and to those who left me comments. It meant a lot to me to be able to read the comments from those back home. Thank you to all of the families that followed my trip and asked questions along the way. I look forward to following up with you all. It is good to be home. Thank you for all your prayers for a safe return for me the the families.

Last Day In Guangzhou...

Well, the time has come for me to depart. As I sit in the Starbucks around the corner from the Victory Hotel (where we stayed) I reflect on my time in this city and the things that I have seen and experienced. This is truly a city that is on the move and is slowly advancing to accommodate more and more foreigners. I think the fact that there is a Starbucks here says a lot. The hotel in located on Shamian Island. It is an area that was given as a concession. A place where foreigners can come and experience a little bit of home. It is really pretty and a great place for the adoptive families finish their time while they are finishing the adoption process. I have done everything from shop at IKEA to having a personal shopper(http://www.redthreadchina.com/) take me around tot he different wholesale areas. As we all know, most everything says made in China. And chances are I have seen where the retailers get it from before it hits the stores stateside. I have eaten some really great food on my trip and got to experience this great culture and hospitality along the way. A brief recap on the families.... As of yesterday afternoon at about 4:30 pm, all the families have their daughters visas and are able to return to the states where they will become US citizens upon clearing customs. While at the US consulate yesterday withe the families, I was able to personally meet the Vice Consul that performed the Oath Swearing Ceremony that the adoptive parents all took part in. He was very funny and made the ceremony fun. He is also fluent in Mandarin and Cantonese, which I found very impressive. Most of the families let this morning. The last family leaves tomorrow. I know that this has been a long trip for the families. Most have been traveling since the 1st week in November. They will return home this week to discover that December is this weekend, Christmas is just 3 weeks away and they have grown by one family member. They will return to their homes forever changed. I watched yesterday as they said their oath, and their faces shined and beamed with excitement. Their children are adjusting very well after being with the new families for almost a full 2 weeks. The transformation from Gotcha Day to now is absolutely amazing! I am now able to play with them, toss them in the air, play peek-a-boo and even hold some of them. I was so excited and encouraged at how far they have come. I love kids and I was really concerned that I would not be able to interact with them other than saying hello. God has really answered that prayer for me. This has been an amazing trip for me. I am so grateful to God that I have the job that I have and to work for HOPE for Children. Being here I have truly seen hope for children. I am encouraged by our families hearts to adopt and the desire to even come back and do it again. It was great to see the children interacting with their new sisters. I think that the siblings had a great time as well. In talking with the Miller's children, they enjoyed them selves so much they wanted to stay. They absolutely adore their sister Sarah Beth. Ryan Pinson has been a trooper as well. I have called Su Su her mini me or shadow. Everywhere Ryan went so did Su Su. I literally mean everywhere too! They are a cute pair. I am sure that when Danielle Tanski returns to meet her older sisters they will have a blast together as well. Well I have to sign off now and get ready to go have dinner before boarding my plane to LA. I will try to upload pictures later. It was taking to long to do it now. I will miss this city (China in general as well), breakfast at the hotel, the Movie channel in the hotel room, a less expensive way of life and most of all spending time with the families and their beautiful children. Good-bye Guangzhou, China!

Guangzhou!

Hello Everyone, Well we all made it to Guangzhou. We said good-bye our guide Michael in Nanning, and meet up with Jophy in Guangzhou. We also met up with the Millers at the hotel. It was great to be able to finally meet them and their new daughter Sarah Beth. Our Hotel is great! The Victory is a fully renovated hotel that is over a hundred years old. I will post pictures of it later. I have found a few pieces of furniture in the sitting areas that I would love to add to my house. Yes, I know, half way around the world and I am still shopping for my house. Anyway, Saturday morning the families had their physical examines for the their children. That was an event. There is a clinic that it totally devoted to immigration purposes. They only see adopted children and people that are immigrating to or from other places. After that we had lunch Cantonese style. They actually rise our dishes for us at our table (there is a picture of it below). I have been able to meet a lot of adopted families along the way. Being here has totally helped me to have a bigger picture of the work that I am apart of. We are a big family here and we are all here to support and take care of the children. It hit me as I as racing down the concourse to baggage claim with a mother and her newly adopted 1.5 year old. She thought that her bag with all her new baby's official paper work was accidentally taken off the plane when we landed in Guangzhou. We got to baggage claim and after looking for the bag, her friends that accompanied them on their adoption journey showed up with their bag. Talk about a sigh of relief! I didn't know her and the only thing that we had in common was our love for children. I love my job and this is the best part. Here are some pictures from the last 2 days. We are off to the Jade and Pearl market in an hour. I will update you all tomorrow. Enjoy. Oh by the way...Thanksgiving dinner was great! We ate authentic Chinese food.

My Last Day In Nanning

Today, we head to Guangzhou where we will meet up 2 other HOPE for Children families. This will be the second leg of my trip in China. I am looking forward to seeing Guangzhou and the other families with their new daughters. Once we pick up Su Su and Danielle's passports, we will be off to the airport to catch our flight. See you in Guangzhou!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!

Hello All and Happy Thanksgiving! Today we went to Buddhist Temple and Pagoda. There was a nice park there as well where we took a break and enjoyed some down time. We climbed 9 stories to the top of the Pagoda, so we were a little tired after that. Thank you to all of you that have left comments on my blog. It has been very encouraging to hear from friends and family back home. As I sit here and reflect on today being Thanksgiving, I am really thankful for God's plan for Su Su and Danielle a.k.a Tao Tao. It was great to see the girls today with their families. To see the plan that God has for these two with their new families. Today is truly a day to be thankful. Enjoy the pictures and I will update you on our Chinese Thanksgiving Dinner!

A Day To Soak It All In

Dinner last night was fun. From some of the pictures you can see that kids had a good time at dinner too. Today was leisurely day. We went to a museum today about the different ethnic groups that make up the Guangxi Province; and bronze drums that the area is known for. There are 46 million people in the Guangxi Province and about 6 or so different ethnic groups. While we at the museum they put on a show of some of the ethnic dances. At the end of their dances they got volunteers from the crowd to participate in a marriage dance. Mr. Pinson was selected to participate and did a great job. Also their daughter Ryan participated as well. We enjoyed the museum.

Today, Meg (Steve's Step Sister) also had to return to Harbin China. It was great having her here and she was very helpful. Since she is an American that speaks fluent Mandarin, some one thought that we were VIP's. Apparently only VIP's have American guides! Well we will miss you Meg!

Oh, we have seen a wedding here like everyday! I asked our guide Michael if that is normal here. He said that it is and that the brides and grooms that we have seen were married at the Civil Affairs office and have the ceremony later. We saw some couples taking wedding pictures in the park area around the museum. I snapped a quick picture. Well, we have 2 more days until we get Su Su and Danielle's passports. Once we get them we will be off to Guangzhou! I will update you more on our trip later. Enjoy the pictures!

WOW!

Well folks...the girls are with their parents and they are legally theirs! Yesterday was a long and emotional day. The Civil Affairs own a hotel in Nanning that they use 2 floors to hold and facilitate the adoption process. We go up to the 4th floor and wait in a room with a few toys in it. Down the hall in other rooms I can hear the children being brought in to their new families and the crying that ensued after they were brought in. My heart broke as each cry came down the hall. It is very surreal when you think about what is taking place in each room. You have parents that are looking forward to meeting the child that they have loved since they first saw their picture (and some longer than that); and children that are leaving everything that they have know and is familiar to them. Even though I know that the children will have better lives than that of being orphans, I can't help but be sad with them. It was finally our turn. In came the Tanskis little girl Danielle. She is beautiful and had grown so much since the pictures. She cried when the nanny and caretaker gave her the Tanskis. The Tanskis took her in their arms and loved her immediately. She cried on and off for a little while. Next came the Pinsons little girl Su Su. She is absolutely adorable. She also cried when the nanny and caretaker gave her to the Millers. Both girls had a hard time with it at first; and then families handled it beautifully. They hugged the and loved the girls. With the help of our guide Michael and Meg, they were able speak to the girls and try to console them; and let them know that they love them and that they are were going to be there for them through the grieving process. Both of the girls came from faster families that they were loved and well cared for. They had foster families that loved them dearly. To watch them grieve was unbearable at times. I can only imagine how the adoptive families felt as they held their daughters and begining the grieving process with them. This morning after the first night with their new families, the girls awoke handling the transition better than the day before. Su Su was bonding with her older brothers and sister. Danielle was still adjusting but doing really well. We got an early start today and headed out after breakfast to finalize the adoption. We went back to Civil Affairs, to the same room that we waited in the day before. All the emotions of the day before came back. But today there was less sadness. There were no cries coming up the hall and the children were happier in the rooms. As I went with each family into meet with the registrars, it became real, officail and final right before my eyes. As the registrar went through the formalities, and the adoptive parents signed and answered the appropriate questions, it was final. When the registrar said that, " I approve you as this child's new parents" it was final. Amazing! All the paper work, emailing, waiting and waiting; to hear " I now approve you.."---it's all worth it. Absolutely amazing! To hear the parents talk about how the new daughter have traits of their kids, and even themselves; I know that God's plan is truly perfect. As hard as it is to watch the children grieve for the life that they are leaving, it is really encouraging to know that the life that they are going to have will far exceed their desires and expectations. They have parents and siblings that love them; and opportunity to know the God that "...puts the lonely in families".

Before Getting the Children

Hi,

Last night was fun. After I got up from my nap it was time for us to all meet downstairs to go out to dinner. The Tanskis have Steve' s step sister Meg here with them. Meg speaks fluent Mandarin and picked out our restaurant for the evening. We went and had dinner at an authentic Chinese restaurant! The Pinsons having spent a few days in a different city were already accustomed to eating the traditional food. There were no English translations or pictures on the menu. I really enjoyed the food. It was great having Meg and Michael there to order for us. We had some really amazing food. It was also cool that Meg is also a Vegetarian like me. I didn't have to worry about what was in some of the food that she ordered. I took a picture of Meg and Michael ordering our food last night.

After dinner last night the Tanskis and I went and got massages. That was an experience. We were able to receive an hour massage for about $13. It was good after riding on a plane for over 16 hours. It was a little intense at times but overall a good time. It is amazing these petite women are so strong and able to work out the kinks and knots so effortlessly. After the message, the incredible amount of food that I ate at the restaurant, combined with the long flight, I was totally ready for bed. I crashed!

This morning when I got up I knew that it would be a long day. This afternoon would be when the Pinsons and Tanskis would get their daughters. We meet downstairs at 10 o'clock or so and headed out to get some things for their new daughters in the afternoon. And where else do you go shopping for kids in Nanning, China but...you guessed it-- Super WAL-MART! Who would have thought half way around the world there would be a Super Wal-Mart. The Wal-Mart here is a little different from the Super Wal-Marts in the states. This Super Wal-Mart is not open 24 hours and doesn't have everything that we have in ours. I did find the Wal-Mart brand "Great Value" here. That did kind of surprise me. The package actually says Great Value on it.

After Wal-Mart we went to a department store called Parkson. It is a typical department store and it had all the usually things. We even found a piece of exercise equipment that simulates bull riding. It is designed to strengthen your lower abs and back. I figured out how to operate it and got on to give it a try! It was a lot of fun (check out the picture!). After the department store, we had lunch at Pizza Hut. It was a lot nicer than our Pizza Huts back home. The pizza tasted the same though.

Well It is now time to go to and pick up the girls! Here some pictures from the last 24 hours.

Enjoy!

At My Destination

I have arrived in Nanning, Guangxi! I wanted to update you all while I was in Guangzhou but I was having Internet problems. I am in my hotel right now and I want to give you a quick update on how I am doing before I take a nap.

The plane ride from LAX to Guangzhou was 15 hours but not that bad. I slept a good portion of the way. When I was not asleep I was walking around to stretch my legs; or watching one of the movie selection that they had on repeat. The food on the plane was pretty good too. I actually met up with one of the four families while in LAX, the Gees. We were on the same flight from LAX to Guangzhou. We were able to meet for the first time and that was great. They are very excited to be getting their daughter this evening (11/18). They are not here in Nanning with me; but are in another city and province. I have added pictures of us as we stood outside by our plane after we landed in Guangzhou.

Once I landed in Nanning, I met our guide Michael. He was holding a sign with my name on it. I kind of felt important! There were quite a few people there with peoples names on signs. I was really happy to see mine. He even pronounced it correctly too! He will be with the families and I while we are here for the next 5 days, and he is a native of Nanning. I was the first one to arrive today in Nanning. The other 2 families will get here in the evening. We will all meet downstairs later. I am looking forward to seeing them. I am sure that they will have great stories to tell, as they have been visiting different cities in the Guangxi Province before coming to the capital city Nanning.

That's all for now. I will update more after the families arrive!