The last piece to the 

LONG paper trail.

It Is Almost Time

The Journey to John begins with a 

6740 miles (like they say, "As the crow flies")

trip for St. Louis to Beijing. 

We will leave St Louis and fly to Chicago 

and then onto Beijing.

Once in China we will have three 

parts to our travel.

1. We initially fly into Beijing.  China is divided into provinces, but Beijing is not in a province...it's sort of it's own province. Harmony House is located outside Beijing in Langfang.  We will travel the 32 miles from Beijing to Langfang where we will meet John for the first time.  Temperatures are expected to be between 25 to 45 degree, much like Missouri's weather. 

While in Beijing we will tour: 

The Great Wall

Construction of the Great Wall began more than 2,500 years ago by China's first emperor to protect China from aggressive northern invaders. The Great Wall is one of the most famous cultural sites in the world and was listed as a UNESCO world heritage site in 1987.

Hutong Lane

'Hutong' is a Manchurian word for 'lane' or 'alley'. These areas are typical old Beijing neighborhoods and are mostly designed in the Siheyuan style, with four houses surrounding a shared square courtyard (imagine if you don't get along with your neighbors!). Hutong tours are run by the state and are conducted on three-wheeled peddle rickshaws. The Chinese government trains and regulates the drivers who lease the rickshaws; guides are required to wear red uniforms and abide by rules and guidelines.

Forbidden City

Closed to commoners for 500 years, the imperial palace was constructed by 200,000 workers between 1406 and 1420. It is said to have a total of 9,999 rooms. Its many pavilions, gardens, and courtyards cover 178 acres.

TianAnMen Square

Tiananmen Square is the largest city square in the world. Located in the center of Beijing, it was originally designed for political rallies and important state events. Today the square is flanked by the Forbidden City in the north, the Great Hall of the People in the west, Mao Tse Tung's Mausoleum in the south, the Museum of Chinese Revolution and the Museum of Chinese History in the East.

2. We will then travel (with John) by train 250 miles to  Shanxi province and go to the capital, Taiyuan. This is John's home province. We will stay in Taiyuan for 4-5 days to complete more adoption procedures. We will be completing documents and having them notarized and will also be getting his passport, as well as other various pieces of paperwork.

3. We will then travel 1017 miles to Guangzhou.   The US Consulate is in Guangzhou and ALL adoptive families MUST leave from Guangzhou.   John's visa will be issued and his immigration completed at the consulate.  The temperatures should be much warmer, much like Florida's winter weather. Since ALL adopting families must come here, it tends to be somewhat of a "haven" for Americans. Things are much more "western-ized" and the area is full of other Americans as well as great shopping and restaurants. We will be in Guangzhou about a week then start our journey home!

Then the long Journey home begins:

7887 miles from Guangzhou to St. Louis

after around 16 days and 15926 miles 

(give or take a few) we will be 

HOME.

Travel Approval

We have our Travel Approval

February 12, 2013

Travel date is March 6, 2013

JSC Foundation

Received an exciting email today!

Dear Larry and Andrea,

Congratulations! You have received a grant in the amount of $600 from JSC Foundation for your upcoming adoption. The check has been sent to Holt and should arrive shortly. If there are fees that you have paid so that your balance with your agency is less than $600, you can use the excess for travel by having your agency reimburse you for travel fees. It has been a pleasure to learn about your heart for adoption. We would love to have a picture of your family after you bring your son home. God Bless!

Diane

Director, JSC Foundation

 

We are so very thankful to the JSC Foundation and to all those organizations who stand in the gap to help families afford adoption.  We continue to see the Lord move mountains and continue to stand in awe as to how He has provided financially for our journey to bring John home.

Friends Along the Journey

I have such a special group of friends that are passionate about adoption and have been so supportive of John's adoption. Starting on the left is: Wini whose family is in the process of adopting from Brazil, next is Heather whose family is in the process of adopting a little girl for China, then Becca who has adopted a little girl from Ethiopia and is currently in the process of adopting a little boy from the same country and on the far right is Andrea who advocates for orphans continuously.   They organized a drop-by-party to celebrate John's homecoming. The Lord has blessed me so much by their friendship and encouragement and I am so thankful to be on the adoption journey with them.

Skyping...again...

The first time Larry and Aaron got to Skype with John.

John was alot more relaxed but still laughed and giggled alot.  

He hates Larry's mustache and beard.

He loved Aaron's spiky hair and wants his like that.

He loves chocolate ice cream. And was excited to hear that Aaron works at an Ice Cream (froyo) place. 

He had been in a fight and had a black eye.

He wants to go to KFC.

He wants to go EVERYwhere with Aaron.

He thought it was amazing that we have blue eyes.

He wants a game machine.

He wanted me to swim to China to get him! ?????

Lily measured him and he has a 21 inch waste, 29 inch length...which means he will wear about a size 8.

His foot is 8 inches long and he needs shoes.

He wants Aaron to teach him how to play basketball.

He wants to ride Grandpas tractor (and drive)

He can ride a bike and wants a big bike and not a child's bike.

He said he will clean the floors for me.