Sunday, March 11, 2012
Saturday, March 10, 2012
we are here!!!
well we got ourselves to the hotel. woohoo! miraculous!
last night i had doubts we would ever get here.
we waited around in Hong Kong airport from 3 AM until we could get a flight out. there were only two flights available to us without added cost-one in the morning and one at night. they didn't want to give us boarding passes until our luggage was located. it was very frustrating. the flight was scheduled to leave at 8 AM. by 7:30 seven of us, from hellacious United flight 895, were still sitting at the ticket counter. we finally said forget the luggage, just get us out of here.
with boarding passes in hand, we ran through the airport, got on an elevator, took a train, another elevator, and ran some more. we got on the plane with ten minutes left until take-off.
at 9 AM we landed in Guangzhou, went through immigration check points, and down to baggage claim. the seven of us waited until all the bags were claimed. none of ours were anywhere to be found.
a wonderful man named Yuri was part of our group of seven. he knew we didn't know our way around and waited for us to fill out baggage claim forms. we all went to arrivals and guess what? NO guide! our agency left us there without a ride...in a foreign airport, with no instructions, no native language skills, and no idea how to get Chinese money or a way to the hotel.
Yuri, our angel, helped us exchange $100 and offered us a ride in his car. he even told the driver to help us hail a taxi and instruct the taxi driver where to take us.
i am not sure what would have become of us without his generous help. we were dropped off by James, his driver, and got into a cab. after a 25 minute drive, the cab driver dropped us off at the China Marriott. sigh of relief.
we are currently waiting for our guide who said she would be here by 3 o'clock. it is past three now. we are hungry again, but fear leaving without making contact with her.
we traveled 39 hours to get here, but we made it...with lots of help.
what we don't have:
luggage
help
a cell phone
much Chinese money
what we do have:
perfect strangers helping us at every turn
water and a clean top from cherrie-an adoptive mom who has been here since last week(so cool)
faith
intact senses of humor
Jehovah Jireh-ever faithful
we would like to thank:
Simon
Judy
Yuri
James
Cherrie
your help enabled us to keep it together under intense circumstances. you will forever be in our memories as part of our adoption story.
tomorrow we pick up the children at 2:30(1:30 AM Sunday night EST). we are tired and dirty. hopefully they will see the love we have for them and the promise of a bright future and not notice my lack of styled hair or smelly clothes.
here is a photo of us in Hong Kong airport at about 4 in the morning.
tomorrow will be pictures of our girls! promise!
last night i had doubts we would ever get here.
we waited around in Hong Kong airport from 3 AM until we could get a flight out. there were only two flights available to us without added cost-one in the morning and one at night. they didn't want to give us boarding passes until our luggage was located. it was very frustrating. the flight was scheduled to leave at 8 AM. by 7:30 seven of us, from hellacious United flight 895, were still sitting at the ticket counter. we finally said forget the luggage, just get us out of here.
with boarding passes in hand, we ran through the airport, got on an elevator, took a train, another elevator, and ran some more. we got on the plane with ten minutes left until take-off.
at 9 AM we landed in Guangzhou, went through immigration check points, and down to baggage claim. the seven of us waited until all the bags were claimed. none of ours were anywhere to be found.
a wonderful man named Yuri was part of our group of seven. he knew we didn't know our way around and waited for us to fill out baggage claim forms. we all went to arrivals and guess what? NO guide! our agency left us there without a ride...in a foreign airport, with no instructions, no native language skills, and no idea how to get Chinese money or a way to the hotel.
Yuri, our angel, helped us exchange $100 and offered us a ride in his car. he even told the driver to help us hail a taxi and instruct the taxi driver where to take us.
i am not sure what would have become of us without his generous help. we were dropped off by James, his driver, and got into a cab. after a 25 minute drive, the cab driver dropped us off at the China Marriott. sigh of relief.
we are currently waiting for our guide who said she would be here by 3 o'clock. it is past three now. we are hungry again, but fear leaving without making contact with her.
we traveled 39 hours to get here, but we made it...with lots of help.
what we don't have:
luggage
help
a cell phone
much Chinese money
what we do have:
perfect strangers helping us at every turn
water and a clean top from cherrie-an adoptive mom who has been here since last week(so cool)
faith
intact senses of humor
Jehovah Jireh-ever faithful
we would like to thank:
Simon
Judy
Yuri
James
Cherrie
your help enabled us to keep it together under intense circumstances. you will forever be in our memories as part of our adoption story.
tomorrow we pick up the children at 2:30(1:30 AM Sunday night EST). we are tired and dirty. hopefully they will see the love we have for them and the promise of a bright future and not notice my lack of styled hair or smelly clothes.
here is a photo of us in Hong Kong airport at about 4 in the morning.
LORD GOD, THANK YOU FOR SENDING HELP TO US WHEN IT WAS NEEDED MOST. PLEASE REMEMBER THE KINDNESS THESE SPECIAL PEOPLE SHOWED US AND MULTIPLY THEIR BLESSINGS ACCORDINGLY. WATCH OVER TIM AND NANCY AS THEY TRAVEL TO MEET US TONIGHT IN CHINA. OPEN OUR CHILDRENS' HEARTS TO JOINING OUR FOREVER FAMILIES. PLEASE HELP OUR TRANSITIONS TO BE SMOOTH ONES. WE EXALT AND GLORIFY YOU FOR YOUR GOOD GIFTS. AMEN.
tomorrow will be pictures of our girls! promise!
still stuck
it is almost 4 am in hong kong airport. we haven't any idea what to do next. the travel agency, adoption agency, and united airlines all cannot help us now. so scott is in a long line waiting for direction on what we are supposed to do.
we have been traveling for 33 hours straight and still are not at our final destination. we have been smiling at each other and in good spirits. i will swim to shenzhen to meet my girls if i have to. gotcha is in less than 36 hours if we ever get to Guangzhou.
they starved us on the plane for 12 hours with no snack or anything but water. what a way to fast during
Lent, hahaha.
pastor, i wasn't blaming you. i was just pointing out that we should take these solar storms seriously. i have great respect for their impact now, lol.
nix, we are being loving and kind. i haven't cried except for one solitary tear that slipped out when i realized that we would be stranded overnight in the hong kong airport. scott even got up to use the restroom and i was so tired after over 40 hours without sleep that i lay down in his seat and fell asleep. he stood in the back of the plane until i woke up. i have no idea how long i was out for. i apologized and he said no problem and that he found me cute sleeping in his spot...yeah sure. but anyhow...we are being smiley and focused on why we are here.
we have no luggage and no way to recharge my computer, so i may not be able to blog again until we are in our hotel with luggage. i have the cord on me but not the converter. lesson learned.
love to everyone praying and keeping vigil for us. know we are well as can be expected and feel your support.
we have been traveling for 33 hours straight and still are not at our final destination. we have been smiling at each other and in good spirits. i will swim to shenzhen to meet my girls if i have to. gotcha is in less than 36 hours if we ever get to Guangzhou.
they starved us on the plane for 12 hours with no snack or anything but water. what a way to fast during
Lent, hahaha.
pastor, i wasn't blaming you. i was just pointing out that we should take these solar storms seriously. i have great respect for their impact now, lol.
nix, we are being loving and kind. i haven't cried except for one solitary tear that slipped out when i realized that we would be stranded overnight in the hong kong airport. scott even got up to use the restroom and i was so tired after over 40 hours without sleep that i lay down in his seat and fell asleep. he stood in the back of the plane until i woke up. i have no idea how long i was out for. i apologized and he said no problem and that he found me cute sleeping in his spot...yeah sure. but anyhow...we are being smiley and focused on why we are here.
we have no luggage and no way to recharge my computer, so i may not be able to blog again until we are in our hotel with luggage. i have the cord on me but not the converter. lesson learned.
love to everyone praying and keeping vigil for us. know we are well as can be expected and feel your support.
Friday, March 9, 2012
stuck
ok pastor, you looked skeptical about those solar storms and flares effecting us. well believe it! we were unable to fly our route over the polar ice caps because the solar storms knocked out radio and gps signals. we had to unfuel our plane. sit on the tarmac over 5 hours with very little water and only a small bag of pretzels. we were rerouted to san francisco...not a scheduled stop.
we will be getting back on the plane soon. it is 10:18 EST and we have been traveling over 14 hours so far and are still in the usa. we are slated to get into hong kong at 3:25 am their time. i have no idea what time that is. i am so fried. i have been awake since 9 am on thursday. too nervous to sleep. united refuses to put us up in a hotel or book us another flight. we will be lucky to get into guangzhou by sunday evening.
they do not even have dinner for us on the plane. we are not allowed to leave the gate. thank God they let us off the plane so i could try to contact the agency.
we do not have a phone on us, so we have relied on the kindness of strangers whom have allowed us to use their phones.
all in all, we are in good spirits. i don't care if i have to swim to my girls. mommy is coming girls. it is a classic case of planes, trains, automobiles. this will make for a dramatic telling of Gotcha. really, did we expect anything less? i do nothing without an extra flourish of drama.
do yourself a favor and remind yourself not to travel with me. it is always full of unexpected adventures.
prayer requests:
that i would get some rest. 37 hours awake and counting.
that united airlines will feed us and make restitution
that we get there in time for Gotcha
that the girls will be ready for us and patient with travel haggard parents
that we get a hotel...i smell bad after all this nervousness
scott just back back from foraging...he scored Dramamine. sleep here we come.
little did we know the nature of the adventure we were embarking on, lol.
so we are safe, but tired. in good spirits and thankful.
we will be getting back on the plane soon. it is 10:18 EST and we have been traveling over 14 hours so far and are still in the usa. we are slated to get into hong kong at 3:25 am their time. i have no idea what time that is. i am so fried. i have been awake since 9 am on thursday. too nervous to sleep. united refuses to put us up in a hotel or book us another flight. we will be lucky to get into guangzhou by sunday evening.
they do not even have dinner for us on the plane. we are not allowed to leave the gate. thank God they let us off the plane so i could try to contact the agency.
we do not have a phone on us, so we have relied on the kindness of strangers whom have allowed us to use their phones.
all in all, we are in good spirits. i don't care if i have to swim to my girls. mommy is coming girls. it is a classic case of planes, trains, automobiles. this will make for a dramatic telling of Gotcha. really, did we expect anything less? i do nothing without an extra flourish of drama.
do yourself a favor and remind yourself not to travel with me. it is always full of unexpected adventures.
prayer requests:
that i would get some rest. 37 hours awake and counting.
that united airlines will feed us and make restitution
that we get there in time for Gotcha
that the girls will be ready for us and patient with travel haggard parents
that we get a hotel...i smell bad after all this nervousness
scott just back back from foraging...he scored Dramamine. sleep here we come.
E and A saying bye to mom and dad(bring us home some sisters)
so we are safe, but tired. in good spirits and thankful.
THANK YOU LORD FOR THE KIND PEOPLE YOU HAVE SENT TO HELP US. PLEASE BLESS THE NICE WOMAN WHO LOANED US HER PHONE A NUMBER OF TIMES. REWARD HER FOR HER ACT OF GENEROSITY. WE TRUST YOU LORD. WE KNOW THAT THIS IS ONLY A SMALL PIECE OF OUR JOURNEY. PLEASE BLESS THE REMAINDER OF OUR TRIP. WE ASK THIS IN YOUR SON'S NAME. AMEN.
Thursday, March 8, 2012
china bound
well folks, we leave in less than 15 hours. we will be traveling for 24 hours straight so we will not be updating our blog until we get to Guangzhou. we should be checking into the China Marriott around Sunday morning 11 AM EST.
we pick up our two children on monday 10 PM EST. we will post video and pictures as soon as we can.
some prayer requests for those of you willing to send a few up for us...
that we make it to China safely
that our biological children find peace and relief from anxiety while we are gone
that our Chinese children will accept us as parents and blend into our family with minimal drama
that we are delivered back home to the US safe and sound
that my mother who will be staying with the children here at home will be protected and supported
that our church congregation will be kept safe and intact while we are away
that our journey might move others to answer the call to adopt one of the world's 160 million orphans
may the Lord protect each and every one of our readers and shower them with blessings and love.
ronnie
we pick up our two children on monday 10 PM EST. we will post video and pictures as soon as we can.
some prayer requests for those of you willing to send a few up for us...
that we make it to China safely
that our biological children find peace and relief from anxiety while we are gone
that our Chinese children will accept us as parents and blend into our family with minimal drama
that we are delivered back home to the US safe and sound
that my mother who will be staying with the children here at home will be protected and supported
that our church congregation will be kept safe and intact while we are away
that our journey might move others to answer the call to adopt one of the world's 160 million orphans
may the Lord protect each and every one of our readers and shower them with blessings and love.
ronnie
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
tickets are purchased
tickets are purchased, hotels are booked, AND i've lost my ability to form coherant sentences.
guess that means we are ready to go!
i was off on the dates a bit. we leave for China 8 am on friday, march 9 and return just before midnight on sunday, march 25.
three other families have contacted us today about traveling together. how exciting. there will be 12 year old and 10 year old boys, a 10 year old girl, and a few little ones with the same Gotcha day as us. i do hope we have fun and make many lasting memories and friendships.
T minus 9 days and counting......
guess that means we are ready to go!
i was off on the dates a bit. we leave for China 8 am on friday, march 9 and return just before midnight on sunday, march 25.
three other families have contacted us today about traveling together. how exciting. there will be 12 year old and 10 year old boys, a 10 year old girl, and a few little ones with the same Gotcha day as us. i do hope we have fun and make many lasting memories and friendships.
T minus 9 days and counting......
save the date
save the date all you blog stalkers!
we're headed to China!
i haven't had a chance to buy tickets yet, but the itinerary states that we travel on March 10 with a Gotcha of March 12.
thanks for all the prayers and support. we truly couldn't have been on this walk without our community. you kept us bolstered through the waiting times, cheered us on when we hit important dates, tutored us through the paperchase, rejoiced with us through the happy times, and prayed us through the hard times.
hold on girls...we'll be there for you in 13 days!!!! we can't wait to hold you in our arms.
we're headed to China!
i haven't had a chance to buy tickets yet, but the itinerary states that we travel on March 10 with a Gotcha of March 12.
thanks for all the prayers and support. we truly couldn't have been on this walk without our community. you kept us bolstered through the waiting times, cheered us on when we hit important dates, tutored us through the paperchase, rejoiced with us through the happy times, and prayed us through the hard times.
hold on girls...we'll be there for you in 13 days!!!! we can't wait to hold you in our arms.
LORD, I SEE YOUR PLAN. IT IS INDEED PERFECT. THANK YOU FOR ALLOWING US A CLOSER RELATIONSHIP WITH YOU. TODAY, I ASK THAT YOU BLESS BAO AND XI'S BIRTH MOTHERS. WOULD YOU LET THEM KNOW SOMEHOW THAT THEIR DAUGHTERS ARE SAFE AND LOVED AND OFF TO THEIR NEW LIFE IN AMERICA? THANK YOU FOR THESE WOMEN, FORGIVE THEM ANY TRANSGRESSIONS, AND HAVE MERCY ON THEIR SOULS. WE GLORIFY YOU. WE KNOW HOW BIG YOU ARE AND HOW YOU HAVE THE POWER TO MOVE ANY AND ALL MOUNTAINS THAT STAND IN OUR WAY. CONTINUE TO USE US AS YOUR HEART, VOICE, AND HANDS. WE ARE YOUR FAITHFUL SERVANTS AND WE LOVE YOU, ABBA. AMEN.
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