Flight of faith

 

There are so many aspects of adoption that require faith. Just to name a few:

• Choosing an adoption agency
• Choosing a specific program (e.g., international vs. domestic)
• Raising the necessary funds
• Accepting a referral of a child

And for me, right now, there is another one: the pending reality of being half-way around the world from my family.

Here are our travel plans:

• Todd, Savanna and I will leave together on Sunday, May 5
• We will arrive in Guangzhou on Tuesday, May 7 (that seems so crazy to me!)  
• We meet our daughter on May 8.  
• We finalize her adoption on May 9 (Yipee!!)
• Todd and Savanna leave for home on Sunday, May 12
• Todd and Savanna arrive at home on Monday, May 13
• I celebrate our daughter's birthday with her on China on that same day
• We have our Consulate Appointment on Tuesday, May 21
• We board a flight home on Wednesday, May 22 (God willing!)
• We arrive home on Thursday, May 23.

That is (for me) a long time to be away from my home and my family.  Yes, I know others have done it.  Yes, I know others have had longer and harder separations.  Yes, I know God will be with me.  But I still struggle.

When we adopted Yuly, Riza, Todd and I traveled to Colombia.  After a week in Colombia, Todd traveled home.  5 days later my parents and my oldest daughters came for a long weekend to visit.  Then they returned home and I followed them 4 days later.  With a 4 year old and a 7 year old Spanish-speaking daughter I made it through flying to the capital city (Bogota), the embassy process (including the medical appointment), flying to Miami, through immigration and then flying home.  God was with me then (and I am grateful for all of the prayers offered during that time!)

So, I have been in a foreign country before by myself with children.  And in some ways, I think the China experience will be easier because there are so many adoptive families in Guangzhou.  When I was in Colombia, I was the only English-speaking adopting mom in the hotel.

But there was one big difference.  The flight from our home to our city in Colombia was 5 hours.  I think I had comfort know that if something happened, Todd could come back.  He could help me.  He wasn't that far away.

This time, I will be a 28 hour flight away.  I will be on the other side of the world.  And that's a little overwhelming to me.

God continues to use this adoption to teach me to trust in Him.  Yes, He has given me a wonderful, Godly, supportive husband, and I am grateful.  But ultimately, my hope needs to be in Christ alone.  And so, I choose to trust in God that He will be with me in China and with my family at home and that He will be all of the help that I need.

Psalm 121
 ¹ I lift up my eyes to the mountains—
    where does my help come from?
² My help comes from the Lord,
    the Maker of heaven and earth.

Plans and planes and pictures :)

We have a plan!!

We have a plane (ticket)!!

And, we received the most beautiful pictures and LETTER from our daughter!!

I'll start with the most fun news first.

This morning I got up first.  I almost always do.  I need some quiet and coffee before the craziness and noise of the day starts.  I have a routine.  I start the water for my french press and then I check my e-mail.  I'm barely awake, but the computer is next to the kitchen, so its something to do while I wait for the water to boil.

When I opened my inbox, there was an e-mail from Karla, one of our amazing Lifeline social workers.  I had e-mailed her a couple of questions yesterday, so I wasn't surprised to see it.  So, I clicked on it and...

THERE WERE NEW PICTURES OF OUR DAUGHTER!!!

 And not only that...

THERE WAS A LETTER FROM OUR DAUGHTER!!!

So, of course I was sobbing and I ran down and awakened poor Todd who was sleepy, disoriented and confused and concerned about me.  The first thing I said was "Its o.k., these are happy tears."  Then I told him and of course he rushed to the computer to see the e-mail, too.

She told us a little about herself.  We love having this glimpse into our daughter.

She said that she loves the ocean.  We CANNOT WAIT to take her to the ocean!!

She said, "Mama (I LOVE THAT!!), I can cook chinese and I can help you cook."

What a great way to start the day!!

And, just to help the day along...today I bought our airline tickets.  Todd, Savanna, and I leave on Sunday, May 5 (which happens to be Audrey's 19th birthday, so it will be a bittersweet day).  Todd and Savanna return the following Monday.  Hope and I will return about 9 days later.

Oh, and let me tell you about our tickets.  We are flying out of Tallahassee--if you don't live here, you probably have no idea what a big deal that is.  For being a state capitol, we don't have very good air service.  But, we are flying in and out of our hometown.  Not only that, but our tickets were about $1000 less PER TICKET than we had expected!!  Thank You, GOD.

Tonight we go to Good Friday service.  Riza has recently accepted the Lord and will take her first communion.  The whole family will be in church together (that never happens because our teens usually go to church at a different time than we do).  We will be focusing on the amazing, breathtaking sacrifice that Christ made for us.  And I will try my very best to be solemn and worshipful, but all day today, I have had a hard time not breaking into a huge smile and even chuckling a little when I think about our new daughter and the wonderful way my day started.  So, if you are at church tonight and hear me giggle, just try to be understanding...and maybe even give a little cough to help cover my laugh :)

Psalm 48
⁹ O God, we meditate on your unfailing love
    as we worship in your Temple.
¹⁰ As your name deserves, O God,
    you will be praised to the ends of the earth.