"An invisible red thread connects those who are destined to meet, regardless of time, place, or circumstance. The thread may stretch or tangle, but will never break."
~Chinese Proverb

“Adoption is a perfect picture of what God has done for each of us in making us His children through Christ. Psalm 68:5-6 tells us that as the Father of the fatherless, God delights in setting the lonely in families. It has been our experience that the scriptural mandate of caring for orphans, such as the one found in James 1:27, is really a wonderful invitation to experience God in a profound way by being part of His sovereign plan for His precious children.” Steven Curtis Chapman & Mary Beth Chapman, Authors of "Shaoey and Dot", a story about adoption.

Saturday, August 21, 2010

In Nanchang

We're in Nanchang, Jiangxi Province.  This is the city where we met Abby 8 yrs ago.  We're very thankful God has brought us safely here.  Thus far we have been on our own, navigating around airports with no guide is very intimdating and you can't help but feel vulnerable.  At the airport here in China, Micah and I had to use the bathroom before we departed.  We tried to explain to an airport staff our needs, but she couldn't understand what I was trying to communicate and gave us the motion to go away.   We walked further and found a restroom.  This ended up being an adventure for me.  I had forgotten that the public toilets in China are like urinals built into the ground.   I contemplated a few seconds and went for it.  The funny part of this story, when I walked out of my stahl, directly across the way was sign written in english that said "for the weak only".  I opened the door and there stood an American toilet.  I said to micah, "I can't believe I struggled for nothing". Micah on the other hand liked the chinese toilet better, he said "that's my kind of toilet I wish we had that at home".  Today we travel to Abby's orphanage.  Thankfully we will have a a guide and we met her last evening.  Yihuang is 3hrs away.  We hope and pray Abby and Micah will do okay with the traveling and processing their experience.  Our guide informed us that we will get the tour the entire orphanage and have lunch with the director.  We will also get a chance to review Abby's file and information they had about her when she lived there the first 8 months of her life.  Abby said she is excited to see where she lived.  I want to close with saying to our family and friends - thank you for your prayers. 
--Jackie