This is our Holt International travel group. There are only four families in our group which is really nice. We've been able to get to know each other well. Pam and Rick who hail from Pittsburg are on the left with AJ. We flew in with them from Newark and will return with them on Friday. (Not a day too soon, I might add!)
You can see Barbie and Ed DeVlasco next to Autumn and Mei. They are the only family we've been with the whole time as both of our daughters come from Jiangxi.
Autumn told Catherine, our Guangzhou Holt host, that she likes being part of a family. That was good to hear because she waivers in and out of being a happy, carefree little girl to being withdrawn and quiet as she lets go of this world that she knows. We are greatly encouraged when she is smiling.
I guess it would be untruthful to write all the happy things on this blog and not tell you that there are fears. I've decided that international adoption of older children is not for the faint of heart. It is a journey accompanied by an elixir of emotions. One moment you feel such a great high that you know you're going to begin to fly. The next you are considering your worst fears. (Mine include the fear that Autumn won't like our home and will be lonely there or that we'll have her only for a few short years before she wants to come back here to live as a young adult...taking my heart with her.) Thankfully, there's not been a moment that I would change what we are experiencing. I have an inexplicable peace that this is God's path for our family. I love that feeling. I'm not sure I could describe it if I tried.
Incidentally, in Guangzhou alone there are nearly 1000 orphaned children waiting for homes. About eighty percent of them are special needs children. If you can't imagine taking one of these children in, consider this. Mei is a special needs baby! She has already had one open heart surgery and may need another. She still has a slight heart murmer as revealed in her medical examination today, but her blood flow is strong! Can you imagine not taking this one in to your family?
The verse that comes to mind as I ponder my fears as well as any that Barbie and Ed may have is this: "God does not give us a spirit of fear, but of power and love and a sound mind." Perhaps this is a verse that you need as you consider how God might increase your family?
Last night we took a group boat ride down the Pearl River. Guangzhou is an impressive city which is home to over 10 million. Here are some of the sites.
The White Swan Hotel at night is below. It's our five-star home away from home and adoption central!
