One More Day

Yesterday, all of us (eight families) went sightseeing. Our guide says it is also "jetlag recovery" time. To keep us awake and active was the purpose of the day. We traveled to the Summer Palace of the Emperor and walked around the grounds. It was there that I was abruptly reminded that we were in China. What happened? I had to go the restroom!!

Women just cut in front of you and literally stand 1 inch in front of the door. If you were courteous, you would never pee! When you fight your way into a stall, you discover that someone had stolen the toilet. Hee! Well, not stolen. You just get the "squat urinals." When I took Faith the 2nd time, she almost fell in. The next time you go, be grateful for that "lovely" seat called the toilet.

Next, we went to the Great Wall. We managed to climb up the stairs, all the way to a tower. I was hurting, especially my gluteous maximus. You think with over 5000 years of history, China would have built an escalator or even an elevator by now.

Today, we will meet some friends here in Beijing. We fly to Jiangxi Province tonight.

Tomorrow, we meet HOPE! Words can not express all the feelings we have. I'm shaking inside. Still jetlag, we all keep waking up around 4am. Just one more day!

We're Here in Beijng, China

Woo Hoo! or maybe it should be Woo Hau!
We're here. We can't believe it. We got to SF airport at around 8am, boarded at 10:30am and arrived at 2:30pm Friday.
Boy, United Airlines has really cut amenities. There was only one meal and two other snack meals. Good thing Owen worked his "people skills" and sucked up to the flight attendants. We were able to get a few more food items. In fact, Owen started helping them and serving people in the back. He really does have the "gift of helps." There were no kids crayon kit, no "wing" pin, no nothing.

But the last 20 minutes of the flight, the pilot was descending so quickly and there was turbulence that I(Grace) became so "plane sick." I was very close to using that "barth" bag.

Faith did not sleep at all on the flight. It was Hannah Montana, Cody in the House and The Suite Life of Zach & Cody's fault. She had her own phone set and channel controls and the rest is history. I slept most of the time. You think I may have been just a little tired from my women's retreat this last weekend.

We're staying at the Best Western Premier in Beijing. We were on our own for dinner. So we ventured out and just took a risk. We had steamed fish with it's head still on, of course, wouldn't have it any other way. Sauteed wood ear fungus with Chinese yam and celery. Stewed dark chicken soup with gojiberry and red dates and pepper beef on a sizzling platter. No big "D" so that's good.



But I am having "traffic in the Jersey Turnpike," you know "General can't deploy the troops." Choo Choo train can't leave the station. Can't drop the kids off at the pool. Yeah, you get the idea.

We're all slightly jetlagged. Woke up at 10pm, 12am, 2am and 4am. But we're just grateful to be safe and here in Beijing. A culmination of over 3.5 years of waiting and we are finally here. We feel incredibly blessed and thankful we are on this journey with all of you.

One more day

One more day and it's off to a province we've never been to. I (Grace) have been so overwhelmed. How on earth will I be able to pack for a 30 degree Beijing and than a warmer climate of 60 in Hong Kong. All under 44lbs in each suitcase.
Meanwhile, we haven't received our plane tickets yet, but it is coming.
Boy, do I feel the crunch. Thank goodness a friend is helping us with our taxes. Check that off the list. We heard that the air quality can get pretty bad. We'll find out soon enough.

Our "Lovely" Chinese Consulate Experience

When I say "lovely" I'm being quite sarcastic. Owen had a terrible day today. He drove all the way to SF to the Chinese Consolate, right before it opened. There were 100 people ahead of him already.

The first time around, they required more information. They wanted to know exactly when my mother and our daughter had traveled in China. They had just renewed their passports so previous travels weren't there. To look up this information required a 2nd line in another part of the building.

The 3rd time in line, they wanted to know exactly why Owen who checked "pastor" as his occupation, was going to China. They required that he have a letter written from our church verifying his employment and that he was going as a tourist.

Poor Owen drives all the way back to San Jose to our church. Get the letter. And drives all the way back to SF to the Chinese Consulate again.

But wait there's more....it ain't over yet!
Now, it's the 4th time he's in line. And they are still not satisfied. In fact, they ask him to step aside to another line for an interview.

In this 5th line, they required a interview and ask him again, why is he going to China? They thought he was traveling alone. That's because in the 3rd line (you are tracking with me, right) they took our (Grace, Faith and Po Po's) applications already. He had to tell them about our adoption and the time frame. Praise, there was a merciful clerk and they let him through this time. If Jack Bauer can survive a Chinese prison, Owen can survive the Chinese Consulate.

Thank you everyone for paying. Keep paying please. We're not even in China yet and it's a "lovely" battle already. But we continue to persevere. As Dad is our witness, we will get Hope.

Another Item Completed, Still More to Do

We are excited that our second finger prints have been approved. PTL!!! Now, we need to confirm that these documents gets cabled to China ASAP. Some of these documents aids in getting a visa for Hope to enter into the USA. We feel like it's been non-stop jumping through logistical hoops these past few weeks. But, Dad is GOOD and we'll have everything going according to His plans.

Travel Date Pending

A minor set back today. Our agency just called and said that they can't approval our travel date until USCIS (United States Citizenship and Immigration Services) has cleared our finger prints for the second time. We are a bit confused because they say we are traveling on March 26th and now we might not be. Please pry this situation.

Travel Date Approved for March 26th.

This past Friday we got an email telling us that our travel date will be March 26th. Now the count down begins before we leave for this long awaited trip to China. There is so much to do before we leave: China visas to process, documents to update for our travel, get Faith's independent study materials and have Grace attend/serve at Westgate's Girlfriend's Getaway women's retreat. This is a big event and I am excited that she gets to be directly involved in this exciting women's retreat.
My goal is to start on the visas for China and to get our IRS taxes ready for filing (April 15 is just around the corner). If I am able to get these two things done this week, I will feel very accomplished.