Updates with Prayer Requests

Hi Everyone!!

Well, we’re getting really close to the end of this process and I (of course it’s me when I say “I” because Brian is always the calm one) … I am on the edge of freaking out!!  For several weeks now, I have had an idea of when we would be traveling to China and all along I have been hoping and praying that my plan is the same as God’s plan.  Well, now it’s getting to the nail-biting stage as we only have one a few more days before our Article 5 is picked up from the Consulate in China and Express Mailed to Beijing.  When that happens, our Travel Invitation/Approval can be issued.  Now, here’s where it gets tricky … there are some important holidays that are coming up in China.  The below paragraph explains the holidays. 

“The CCCWA and provincial offices will be closed September 26–27 for the Mid-Autumn Festival and the U.S. Consulate will be closed September 26-28. The CCCWA and provincial offices will be closed October 1-7 for Chinese National Day and the U.S. Consulate will be closed October 1-5.”

According to our Case Worker, this means that our Travel Invitation needs to be issued NO LATER than 9/24 so that we would have time to have our Consulate Appointment scheduled BEFORE everything shuts down for a week!! 

·         PLEASE PRAY that our Travel Approval will be issued quickly after our Article 5 is picked up on the 21st.

Now, even if we get caught in the holiday shut down, we will still likely be traveling in October with the final portion of our stay (Guangzhou) being in later October or early November.  Below is information that we have received regarding the Trade Fair that happens every year in Guangzhou. 

“The China Import and Export Fair, or Canton Trade Fair, is held biannually in Guangzhou and is one of the largest business trade fairs worldwide. This fall, it will occur in three phases: October 15–19, October 23–27, and October 31–November 5. During these timeframes, air travel and lodging demand increases, making bookings more challenging and expensive. Since all families finish their adoption process in Guangzhou, families who travel during this time may be affected by the both travel upsurge and the holiday closures.

The Garden Hotel is where the majority of WACAP families stay in Guangzhou. Families usually stay in a Premier Suite and the current rate is $150 per night. SSIT (Shaanxi Sun International Travel), our partner travel agency, informed us this week that the rate for this type of room will be $195-270 per night during the trade fair.

October 14-18: $240 per night

October 22-26: $270 per night

October 30-November 2: $195 per night”

Because we do not know at this point when our Travel Invitation will be issued, we do not know where we will fall as far as our stay in Guangzhou but because of the Trade Fair, we will already be subject to paying nearly double the regular room rate.  Obviously, we want to bring our boys home as soon as possible and we do not want to delay our travel simply because of the Trade Fair, however, there is a slight chance that we will be required to book two rooms in the hotels that we will be staying at during our time in China.  With us having six people (after we take custody of the boys), we may be forced to have two rooms.  We do not want to do this, not only because of paying double the already higher rates, but because we want to be all together to help with the bonding process.

·         PLEASE PRAY that we will be able to have only ONE ROOM/SUITE.

As we get closer to leaving for China, there are, of course, a million things going on inside my head … things I feel need to be done and/or in place before we leave so that when we come home with the boys we will be able to focus on them and our family and not all the other little household things that will take away from that.  Perhaps, it’s a bit like “nesting” but I’d like to organize several areas of the house (mainly the kitchen and bathrooms) and we’d like to prepare a bunch of “make-ahead” meals that we can freeze and then just thaw and heat when we are back home. 

·         PLEASE PRAY that we will be able to get these things done before we go to China.

Whenever we go, Molly and Brynn are going to be missing several weeks of school, most likely THREE.  We know that they will need to catch up on their homework and we will try to bring along some things to work on while we are in China.  This is a life opportunity which may not come again so we feel that it is important that they are with us, in their birth country, experiencing all that they can and will most likely remember for the rest of their lives. 

·         PLEASE PRAY that Molly and Brynn will be able to catch up on their school work easily, especially Brynn who struggles a bit and requires extra effort already without missing a bunch of school days.

·         PLEASE PRAY that we will all remain healthy and strong up to and during our trip to China. 

·         PLEASE PRAY that Jonah and Rees are healthy and that God, if no one else, is preparing each of them to join our family.  We have only just found out that they DO KNOW that a family will be coming for them.  We wonder what they think about that.  We hope that their hearts are soft and willing and that they are interested and eager to be loved on and cared for.

·         PLEASE PRAY that all of our travel arrangements will come together smoothly once we can begin making them, that we will be able to get the BEST deal possible for flights, hotels and in-country arrangements.  Pray for all the people that will touch “this adoption” from this point forward: Officials, Case Workers, Travel Guides, Airport Staff and Flight Crews, Weather Conditions, …

We want to continue to SEE and FEEL God throughout the rest of this process JUST as we have SEEN and FELT up to now!  We feel so BLESSED and so LOVED and so THANKFUL!!!