The Daniel Family Adoption Blog

It’s 3AM China time and we are all awake.  Jet lag combined with the excitement of all the things coming in a few hours make it nearly impossible to sleep.

Yesterday, we flew from BeiJing to ZhengZhou (pronounced JungJoe).  It was an uneventful flight, with the exception of the early morning departure.  When we arrived here in ZhengZhou we met our guides Yisha and her assistant, Rita.  They both seem very nice and very knowledgeable.

After settling into our rooms, we made a trip to Pizza Hut followed by the local WalMart.  Although they sound very western, they aren’t quite the same as our versions.  Pizza Hut features local favorites such as “Seafood Crown” and “Sausage Bite” pizzas..we chose the American Supreme.  WalMart also held a few surprises, such as their enviable selection of animal organs and duck jerkey (whole dessicated duck).

Well, our flight crew finally made it to Little Rock, and we departed about 2 hours late.  Unfortunately, we didn’t make it to Newark in time to catch our connecting flight.  Continental only has one flight a day going to BeiJing from Newark, so we have seats on tomorrow’s flight.

God bless you all,
John & Robin

P.S.  Despite our delay, we are pleased with Continental and feel that they are due a compliment.  They provided us with several meal vouchers along with a hotel voucher for the night.

We were excited Tuesday when we checked out the weather for traveling:  the Weather Channel told us that it would be blue skies all the way to BeiJing.  Nothing to cause us any difficulties, right?  Wrong!  Unfortunately, the pilot for our flight from Little Rock to Newark called in sick today .  The people from Continental tell us that we will probably not be able to make our connecting flight, which would put us getting in to China a day later than anticipated.

We are asking our friends to pray that the flight to BeiJing is delayed leaving Newark and we make it there in time to make the flight.

More news soon…

Love,
John & Robin

We continue to make final preparations for the last leg of our journey, the physical one, to bring Josiah home.  Since receiving the good news about our travel approval we have spent time researching and purchasing airline tickets, shopping for cold weather clothes (Yes, it’s colder in Beijing than it is in Texas right now, and they are experiencing temporary blackouts to conserve power!), packing the kids for their Arkansas adventure, packing our luggage, and about 6321 other things.

Our official itenerary looks like this

• January 13th–depart LIT for Beijing
• January 14th–arrive and acclimate
• January 15th–tour Beijing (Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City, HuTong tour, & acrobat show) with other families in our adoption group
• January 16th–tour Great Wall and Ming Tombs
• January 17th–depart Beijing for ZhengZhou
• January 18th–GOTCHA DAY!
• January 19th–Adoption Registration
• January 20th and 21st–Free Time
• January 22nd–receive passport for Josiah and depart for GuangZhou
• January 23rd–physical, immunizations, and visa photo (great for bonding)
• January 24th, 25th, and 26th–Free Time
• January 27th–U.S. Consulate Appointment
• January 28th–take oath at U.S. Consulate
• January 29th–receive Josiah’s visa packet
• January 30th–the others in our group will be heading home
• January 31st–depart GuangZhou, for BeiJing, and LIT

We were excited to find out that 7 other families would be traveling with us, and that 7 more orphans would only be so for a few more days!

Please continue to remember us and the other families in your prayers.

God bless you all,
John & Robin

Early this morning we received an email from our adoption agency notifying us that we had an appointment with the US consulate in Guangzhou on January 27th. That allowed them to set our official travel dates. We will be flying out on January 13th and returning on January 31st. We think that gotcha day will be January 17th or 18th.

We were able to purchase our airline tickets today, and received a somewhat unexpected blessing. We had enough frequent flier miles to cover most of the cost of two round-trip tickets!

Today Robin celebrates her birthday, and she received one of the best gifts imaginable: travel approval for Josiah’s adoption.  We aren’t sure exactly what dates we will be traveling, but we believe that we will be leaving between January 13th and January 15th and return around February 1st.

Please pray:

• for us as we make final preparations for our travel,
• for John David, Joshua, and Rebekah as they prepare to spend time at their grandparents,
• for grandparents as they prepare to take care of the kids,
• for Josiah as he prepares for some big changes in his life.

On Wednesday, December 16th, we received a small update on Josiah from CCAI:

“XuMingXuan now is in a foster home. He is very strong and goes outside to play with his friends all the time. He says hi to people and knows a lot of names of his friends or neighbors. He is an easy going boy and gets along with anyone. He eats and sleeps very well.”

Josiah 12/16/09

It is amazing how encouraging just a few words can be when you are separated from the ones you love.  We are encouraged by knowing that Josiah is in a foster home where his experiences are a little more like being in a family.  We are encouraged knowing that he is strong, knowing that his surgery was successful.  We smile when we think about him playing with his friends all the time because that is what little boys should do.  We are proud of how smart and friendly our little boy is when he greets friends and neighbors by name.  Our concerns about adjusting to life in our family are relieved by the news that he is easy going and gets along with anyone.  We are pleased to know that he eats well.  And finally, it is so comforting to know that, despite all of the hardships Josiah has endured in his short life, at the end of the day he sleeps peacefully.

We anticipate that we will be able to travel to China to bring Josiah home sometime in January.  We continue to ask for your prayers on our behalf and for Josiah.

God bless you,

John & Robin

On Monday, we received a long awaited update on Josiah along with 2 new pictures. His is now 88cm (34in) tall & weights 13kg (28.6lb) and seems to be in good health. We are so thankful that he is healthy and we pray for his continued health. We also pray that God will prepare his heart to attach & bond to his new family.

Our agency notified us on Tuesday that our Letter of Acceptance had arrived and they gave us a list of forms to compete to FedEx back to them along with the signed Letter of Acceptance. So, we have spent the last 24 hours frantically filling out forms so that Josiah’s homecoming would not be delayed any longer. Robin took the physician’s release for Rachel to our pediatrician’s office for him to sign it, so that she will be able to travel to China with us. Karis, our friend, and the notary at NuTech was kind enough to notarize all of our documents. She was also witness as we signed the Letter of Acceptance which states that Yes, we will accept & adopt Josiah. Robin then FedExed the entire package to CCAI.

CCAI estimates that we will be able to travel in about 10-13 weeks, which will put us, most likely, traveling in January 2010. Now that the rush of the past day is over, we wait again. We are waiting for our Travel Notice to China. Once we receive that we will be able to have confirmed dates to travel.

Please continue to keep our family in your prayers - for travel mercies, health, attachment, and finances as we continue on this journey to bring Josiah home. May God Bless you.

We continue to do what all adoptive parents do: wait.  We came across this beautiful video by LWB that touched our hearts.  I’m sure you’ll enjoy it, too.

I once commented that I wasn’t going to have more than two children, but God made it clear that it was His will for our lives to be better than I had imagined.  We were calle

d to adopt two little girls from China who have increased our joy and the fullness and richness of our lives immeasurably.

After the addition of our youngest daughter to our family, I would have again said that our family was complete.  However, that still small voice continued to echo in our ears and hearts, and we began the process of adopting another of China’s precious children in the fall of 2008.

Again, our adoption has been a journey of faith.  (See Child of Our Heart and Chosen adoption stories for more information).  A number of outside factors have tested our faith, e.g., uncertain economic times, lengthy adoption wait from China.  These factors combined with the uncommon size of our family, and the apparent shrinking of our home make it look like we are completely insane to those who do not appreciate our calling.

On July 23, 2009, we were given the folio on a little boy from China who was eligible for adoption.  His name is MingXuan and he had been surgically treated for tetralogy of Fallot, the same heart disease that our youngest daughter was also born with.  CCAI, our adoption agency, gave us a few days to decide if we would accept MingXuan.  We reviewed the medical records, progress reports, etc. that we had.  After prayer, and a reminder from Grandma Mary that he was chosen for us, we decided to accept him.  We filled out the letter of intent and we were given pre-approval on August 4, 2009.

Now, we wait again.  We will not be able to travel, most likely, until the first part of 2010.

Until then we ask for your prayers and support.  First we ask for your prayers for MingXuan that he may be kept from harm, and that his transition to his forever family will be painless for him.  We ask for your prayers for us as we prepare our home and our family to receive another member, and as we prepare for another trip to China.  Secondly, we ask for your support.  Adoption costs and travel costs have risen since we began this journey.  As we evaluate upcoming expenses versus the money that we have saved, it is obvious that we need the help of our friends.  Donations of Continental OnePass Frequent Flyer Miles would be very much appreciated, and we would be willing to pay the associated transfer fees.

If you are able to help us bring MingXuan home, please contact John@lovetakesyouin.com or Robin@lovetakesyouin.com.