Beijing Day 1

We are finally here. We started out this morning with our good friends/God parents, Harlan and Heidi Hendricks, meeting us at 4:40 this morning. After a brief goodbye, Heidi was gracious enough to take us to the airport to start our incredible adventure. Thanks again Heidi, you really are a child of God. We checked in late and were told that we may not have a seat on our flight from Chicago to Beijing. After careful checking, we were granted our tickets and thankful that our day will begin. For all those who are flying internationally, please take my advice and check in at least 1 ½ hrs before your flight, no matter where you are leaving from. We were off at 6am sharp and arrived in Chicago 45 minutes later via United Airlines. We were able to meet up with 3 other families that were adopting and shared our stories about how God has put adoption on our hearts and in our minds. After an unexpected 2 hr delay due to mechanical problems in Chicago, we were off and flying. 13 hrs later we landed in Beijing and met our guide, Joy, who works for Bethany Christian Services. We were a little late and ended up getting stuck in rush hour traffic on our way to the hotel, Days Hotel and Suites. You are probably wondering what you do for 13 hours on an airplane and I can tell you that you go stir crazy, walk around a lot, and watch lots of movies. We watched 5 ½ movies to be exact. We checked into the hotel and met other Bethany families that are here for the same purpose. We went to the local grocery store for our essentials and then went to a local Chinese restaurant for supper. 5 families were able to eat family style for 200 yuan, or 5 dollar per family. We walked back to the hotel to unpack , relax, get a good workout in, email updates to our beautiful kids, Keanan and Abby, and update our days activities on our blog. Tomorrow we get up bright and early and head to the great wall. Jet lag has not set in yet so we will have to see on that. Terri and I are once again blessed with this opportunity. So many people say Caleb in lucky, but I think we are the lucky ones. God is good, mysterious, loving, and powerful. We are truly in awe of his grace and love. I hope our journey will give you a glimpse of the adoption process and maybe spark an interest in your own heart. Good night from Beijing.

Inspired by the Spirit

Brett