Grace Finds a Home

Today was a travel day. We were packed up and on the bus by 6:30 am. It was off to the airport with two other families to catch a flight to Guangzhou. Guangzhou is in Guangdong province. This is the city through which all American families who adopt Chinese children must pass before they go home. This is where the U.S. Consulate is and the immigration aspects of the adoptions are finalized here. It also happens to be the province where our daughter Grace lives--which makes it very convenient for us in terms of not having to do a lot of extra travel. We flew south from Beijing for about three hours. I believe our group were the only Americans on the plane. We landed in Guangzhou shortly after noon. It had been cold in Beijing, but it is almost tropical in Guangzhou. It's feels about like the difference in climate between Washington D. C. and Tampa, Florida.

Tomorrow (Monday) is our big day! Our appointment to meet Grace for the first time is at 2:30 pm. At this meeting we trade some documents, sign some documents, and give some gifts to her orphanage director and nanny. But, best of all, we meet her and get to keep her with us at our hotel until all of her other paperwork plays out over the next 12 days.

So, send up a prayer that all of this will go well. We're praying that she'll attach to us and not be too traumatized by leaving all that she has ever known. Also that the bureaucrats who are looking at our documents will be easy to deal with. We thank all of you for your prayers and for following along with us in this adventure.

As we walked around this city tonight we saw five or six American families with little Chinese girls. All of them seemed to be weathering the process very well. That gives us courage. It also gives us courage to know that we are in God's hands and that He has a plan for us and Grace.

We'll let you know how it goes....