Transfer from Journey to Me! (part 1)
I am going to transfer all our posts from Journey to Me here to the blog so that all our posts will be in one spot!
03-22-12
We have our plane tickets purchased, so we are officially headed to China April 4-18. We can not wait to meet our daughter, Karis Joy Young!!
03-28-12
We are counting down the days to meet our precious daughter! It's surreal that one week from today we will be on our way to China! And in 12 days, we'll meet our daughter! We are so excited!! However, we are also very aware that this is going to be very hard. Karis does not speak English and we do not speak Chinese. Many people say that the communication barrier is the hardest part to deal with when adopting an older child. Karis is going to be ripped apart from everything she has ever known in her life and expected to function with people who are strangers who don't look like her or smell like her or talk like her or eat like her, etc., etc. It will be a very hard on her. We are praying for God to work mightily in her life to ease some of her fears and discomfort during this time. We are praying that she will bond well with us and realize that although we are "strange" to her that we love her and are seeking her best interest. I have read so many stories of those first few weeks, or months of adoption. So, we are fully aware that Karis my not like us! She may scream, cry, kick, bite, spit, etc., etc. How would you react if someone "kidnapped" you? But we are also aware that some children adjust very quickly and learn to love and trust their new family. We are praying for an easy transition, but are prepared for it to not be easy! It is definitely scary to think about what the future might hold, but we are trusting that God has lead us into this journey and He will continue to lead us throughout this journey. A few days ago I was reading Matthew 28:18-20 to the kids. I'm sure this "Great Commission" passage is very familiar to you as it is to me because we've read it or heard it so many times. I was explaining to the kids that by bringing Karis home and teaching her the Good News, we are fulfilling God's command in these verses. Then I read the end of verse 20 which says, "And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age." It just struck me that God knew this command would be difficult. He knew that we would struggle when we strive to make disciples of all nations. Therefore, He made a promise that He would be with us. He truly does meet all of our needs. I was so encouraged to think that even on those really hard days when I can't communicate with Karis or she is reacting in a negative way to us, God will be with me. He has proved faithful over these last 14 months as we have pursued this adoption, and I know He will continue to be faithful as we embark on this new journey with Karis!
04-04-12
We'll be heading to the Louisville airport this morning to begin our trip to Karis Joy! We fly from Louisville to Chicago, and then we have a very short layover there before boarding our plane to Beijing! By the time we arrive in Beijing it will be around 2 in the afternoon on Thursday, April 5th. We would definitely appreciate your prayers for our safety as we travel as well as the ability to get some sleep while we are on the plane!
04-05-12
We made it safely to Beijing! Our flight leaving Louisville was delayed about 30 minutes yesterday morning due to an electrical problem that had to be fixed earlier in the morning. We already had a short layover in Chicago, so now we had a really short layover! We walked as fast as we could and when we arrived at our gate most everyone had already boarded the plane. But, we made it! The plane ride was very long and very uncomfortable. Thankfully each seat had a monitor with access to a decent selection of movies and TV shows. We dozed a little here and there, but neither of us really slept on the plane. We were served 2 meals and 1 snack inflight which were decent. The ride was smooth most of the way until the last 30 minutes. We hit some turbulence, and it was not fun. We felt so sick. Thankfully, we didn't need to use the little bag but others weren't so lucky. Ugh.
After we got off the plane, we went through customs and retrieved our bags (yes, they made it!) and then we entered a hallway with piles of people holding up signs or papers with names on them. We were very thankful when we finally saw a sign that said FTIA! Shirley is an FTIA employee who works here in Beijing. She helped us get to our hotel and get checked in. We'll be meeting her in the morning for some touring here in Beijing.
We've been awake for 24 hours and we'll have a pretty early start tomorrow, so we are heading to bed early tonight.
The funnest news of the day is that Shirley gave us a questionnaire about Karis. They had asked the orphanage a list of questions about her for us. We found out they call her DiDi! She likes fruit, but not vegetables. She like stuffed animals and you an make her feel better by giving her hugs and kisses! There were other questions too, so it was great to find out more about our daughter! Only 4 more days!!
04-06-12
Today our guide, Shirley, took us to see Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City and the Olympic Park area. We also went to a tea house and had a tea ceremony and tried several types of tea. Todd and I managed to eat 3 meals on our own without our guide to translate (not without some confusion!), and I got to use a squatty potty! :-) We also ventured out our own to the silk market down the street. It as actually a 6 floor shopping center that sold just about everything you can imagine. The sellers here will practically accost you to get you to buy something! One street vendor kept walking with us down the street and would not leave us alone. It doesn't matter how many times you say, "no thank you!" Or as Shirley taught us to say, "bu yong, xie xie." The only purchase we made was 2 diet cokes (at least we think it is diet coke!).
Todd got to be "famous" for a few minutes today as some Chinese people wanted him to pose with them for several pictures. They told our guide they don't see people like him very often. I think they were tourists from another part of China, as I'm sure in Beijing it's not too strange to see foreigners like us.
Tonight the other family adopting with FTIA arrived and we had dinner with them at Pizza Hut. We were all tired and the Pizza Hut is right in the hotel where we're staying so it seemed like a good idea. We had some pizza that tasted pretty much like our pizza in the US, and we had some fried rice with it which was good. Thankfully they had one person on staff that spoke English as we were having a very hard time ordering. What a fun adventure we are on!
Have you heard about the driving in China? It's very true that it is nuts! The lines painted on the roads for lanes are merely a suggestion. You just honk your horn and drive wherever you want to. Pedestrians and people on bicycles and cars all pass by within inches of each other. But, somehow it works. Only once today did Todd come flying out of his seat because of a very abrupt stop! ;-)
Shirley, our guide, got a phone call today while we were out and heard news that Karis is over the chicken pox and has been moved out of the medical quarantine and back into the regular orphanage! That is great news! We get to meet her in 3 days!!
The first photo is Shirley and me at Tiananmen Square and then Todd and I at the same place. The next 3 photos are at the Forbidden City.
03-22-12
We have our plane tickets purchased, so we are officially headed to China April 4-18. We can not wait to meet our daughter, Karis Joy Young!!
03-28-12
We are counting down the days to meet our precious daughter! It's surreal that one week from today we will be on our way to China! And in 12 days, we'll meet our daughter! We are so excited!! However, we are also very aware that this is going to be very hard. Karis does not speak English and we do not speak Chinese. Many people say that the communication barrier is the hardest part to deal with when adopting an older child. Karis is going to be ripped apart from everything she has ever known in her life and expected to function with people who are strangers who don't look like her or smell like her or talk like her or eat like her, etc., etc. It will be a very hard on her. We are praying for God to work mightily in her life to ease some of her fears and discomfort during this time. We are praying that she will bond well with us and realize that although we are "strange" to her that we love her and are seeking her best interest. I have read so many stories of those first few weeks, or months of adoption. So, we are fully aware that Karis my not like us! She may scream, cry, kick, bite, spit, etc., etc. How would you react if someone "kidnapped" you? But we are also aware that some children adjust very quickly and learn to love and trust their new family. We are praying for an easy transition, but are prepared for it to not be easy! It is definitely scary to think about what the future might hold, but we are trusting that God has lead us into this journey and He will continue to lead us throughout this journey. A few days ago I was reading Matthew 28:18-20 to the kids. I'm sure this "Great Commission" passage is very familiar to you as it is to me because we've read it or heard it so many times. I was explaining to the kids that by bringing Karis home and teaching her the Good News, we are fulfilling God's command in these verses. Then I read the end of verse 20 which says, "And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age." It just struck me that God knew this command would be difficult. He knew that we would struggle when we strive to make disciples of all nations. Therefore, He made a promise that He would be with us. He truly does meet all of our needs. I was so encouraged to think that even on those really hard days when I can't communicate with Karis or she is reacting in a negative way to us, God will be with me. He has proved faithful over these last 14 months as we have pursued this adoption, and I know He will continue to be faithful as we embark on this new journey with Karis!
04-04-12
We'll be heading to the Louisville airport this morning to begin our trip to Karis Joy! We fly from Louisville to Chicago, and then we have a very short layover there before boarding our plane to Beijing! By the time we arrive in Beijing it will be around 2 in the afternoon on Thursday, April 5th. We would definitely appreciate your prayers for our safety as we travel as well as the ability to get some sleep while we are on the plane!
04-05-12
We made it safely to Beijing! Our flight leaving Louisville was delayed about 30 minutes yesterday morning due to an electrical problem that had to be fixed earlier in the morning. We already had a short layover in Chicago, so now we had a really short layover! We walked as fast as we could and when we arrived at our gate most everyone had already boarded the plane. But, we made it! The plane ride was very long and very uncomfortable. Thankfully each seat had a monitor with access to a decent selection of movies and TV shows. We dozed a little here and there, but neither of us really slept on the plane. We were served 2 meals and 1 snack inflight which were decent. The ride was smooth most of the way until the last 30 minutes. We hit some turbulence, and it was not fun. We felt so sick. Thankfully, we didn't need to use the little bag but others weren't so lucky. Ugh.
After we got off the plane, we went through customs and retrieved our bags (yes, they made it!) and then we entered a hallway with piles of people holding up signs or papers with names on them. We were very thankful when we finally saw a sign that said FTIA! Shirley is an FTIA employee who works here in Beijing. She helped us get to our hotel and get checked in. We'll be meeting her in the morning for some touring here in Beijing.
We've been awake for 24 hours and we'll have a pretty early start tomorrow, so we are heading to bed early tonight.
The funnest news of the day is that Shirley gave us a questionnaire about Karis. They had asked the orphanage a list of questions about her for us. We found out they call her DiDi! She likes fruit, but not vegetables. She like stuffed animals and you an make her feel better by giving her hugs and kisses! There were other questions too, so it was great to find out more about our daughter! Only 4 more days!!
04-06-12
Today our guide, Shirley, took us to see Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City and the Olympic Park area. We also went to a tea house and had a tea ceremony and tried several types of tea. Todd and I managed to eat 3 meals on our own without our guide to translate (not without some confusion!), and I got to use a squatty potty! :-) We also ventured out our own to the silk market down the street. It as actually a 6 floor shopping center that sold just about everything you can imagine. The sellers here will practically accost you to get you to buy something! One street vendor kept walking with us down the street and would not leave us alone. It doesn't matter how many times you say, "no thank you!" Or as Shirley taught us to say, "bu yong, xie xie." The only purchase we made was 2 diet cokes (at least we think it is diet coke!).
Todd got to be "famous" for a few minutes today as some Chinese people wanted him to pose with them for several pictures. They told our guide they don't see people like him very often. I think they were tourists from another part of China, as I'm sure in Beijing it's not too strange to see foreigners like us.
Tonight the other family adopting with FTIA arrived and we had dinner with them at Pizza Hut. We were all tired and the Pizza Hut is right in the hotel where we're staying so it seemed like a good idea. We had some pizza that tasted pretty much like our pizza in the US, and we had some fried rice with it which was good. Thankfully they had one person on staff that spoke English as we were having a very hard time ordering. What a fun adventure we are on!
Have you heard about the driving in China? It's very true that it is nuts! The lines painted on the roads for lanes are merely a suggestion. You just honk your horn and drive wherever you want to. Pedestrians and people on bicycles and cars all pass by within inches of each other. But, somehow it works. Only once today did Todd come flying out of his seat because of a very abrupt stop! ;-)
Shirley, our guide, got a phone call today while we were out and heard news that Karis is over the chicken pox and has been moved out of the medical quarantine and back into the regular orphanage! That is great news! We get to meet her in 3 days!!
The first photo is Shirley and me at Tiananmen Square and then Todd and I at the same place. The next 3 photos are at the Forbidden City.
posted by Heather @ 2:48 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home