Travel Meeting

Thursday was a big day. Things become more real every day.

Our agency holds a conference call that includes all the families who will be traveling in a group prior to departure. That call revealed to us that our group consists of 9 families and 30 people. The information shared during this process included our guides, hotels, some specifics about itinerary, and what to expect in the process. We will receive our official itinerary by FedEx today sometime, but they shared with us the general pattern.

Due to pricing and flight availability we will arrive in Beijing a day before most of the remainder of the group. We do know that there is at least one other family who will be arriving early as well. During that day we will be free to do what we would like. Once everyone arrives there is a packed schedule. First day will include visits to Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City, and the Summer Palace. It will be interesting to see all these things again without scaffolding since the last time we were there they were in the process of preparing for he olympics. Day 2 will include an international church service (passport required for entrance), the Great Well, and a Beijing Duck Dinner.

Then comes the big day. Early on Day 3 we will fly from Beijing to Guangzhou since Jadon is in an orphanage in Guangdong province. That day the orphanage director will bring Jadon to us and in the eyes of both the US and Chinese governments the adoption is finalized. Many have asked recently why we need to stay in China for so long. Once this occurs the process becomes a preparation for traveling home. We will need to get Jadon a Chinese passport and visa (along with the completion of many other paperwork steps for the adoption materials). Jadon will become officially a US citizen when he first steps foot on US soil. Until then he must travel by his Chinese passport and visa with his Chinese name.

We will post more about the itinerary when that arrives. Please continue to pray for all of us as we make preparations to leave. This weekend is a big one since it is really our only time to pack. In typical fashion, Alan is not sleeping well now since he is thinking about this pretty constantly. Ruth is still fighting some respiratory things--doing much better, but still not out of the woods. Kirsten's leg has good days and bad days. Andrew is very excited and a little nervous about the whole process. I can't even begin to think or know what Jadon is experiencing in this time. In all of it God is good. Pray that we would remain confident in that goodness and trust Him in all the details.