Dalian

Last night was so much easier on Zach! Earlier in the day, he had shown us a photograph of a group of kids that he had in the backpack that he carried when we were presented with him. Apparently, it is one of the little boys in the photo that he was trying to call last night. This time, he calmly showed us the photo and indicated that he wanted to call his friend. We explained that we didn't have the number, and he shrugged his shoulders and got ready for bed! No tears, no sadness, just acceptance! We couldn't have been happier. Again, he slept peacefully through the night.

We awoke to the beginning of a hectic day. Our wakeup call came at 5:00 a.m. and we were in the van heading to the bus station by 6:00 a.m. We took a bus (like a greyhound bus) to Dalian and arrived after 4 1/2 hours with just enough time to get our luggage to our rooms only to get back in the van and head to the passport office. We got a box lunch for the kids to eat while there. We completed our business in a couple of hours and headed back to the hotel.

Once there, we accomplished another major task -- we were able to get Zachary to change his clothes! Yes, he has worn the same thing the last three days. He arrived wearing nylon pants over pajama bottoms, and a fleece sweatshirt over a pajama top. He would not agree to change clothes. Recognizing it as a comfort issue, we didn't force anything. Today, however, we decided to see what our guide could do. She discussed it with the orphanage director who explained that the kids switch outfits every other day, so now would be the time to switch. The director talked to Zach and told him it was time. He reluctantly agreed, but he did it! Hallelujah!

We also had the orphanage director and another little boy from the orphanage on our bus. He was reading one of the books we had bought for Zach. I asked Maggie to see how old he is. He said he is "much older" than Zach but he doesn't know how much older. It occurred to me that these kids probably don't have any reason to keep track of their ages. This was another interesting observation I never considered.

All in all, we are impressed with the three kids we have met from the orphanage. They are good kids and seem to be prepared for what is ahead. They also seem well cared for and do have an affection for the director and the other woman who came from the orphanage. It is so wonderful to see that.

Zach is really all boy! He loves his football and plays with all the matchbox cars we brought. He loves wrestling with ba-ba (and I love how he laughs when they are goofing around!). He is also a budding computer expert. We bought 7 Chinese DVDs (for around $13 total!). He loves watching them.

Thank you so much for your kind notes on our blog and the e-mails we have received. We can't access the site, but any comments made are sent to our e-mail address so we are able to read each and every one. It blesses us to know that you are there with us!

Our first day with Zachary...

Finalizing Zachary's adoption.

We have now been with Zachary for one full day!

For the most part, he has done great, but he did have a tough time after he went to bed last night. He started crying and wanted to call someone on the phone (we don't know whom). He was very upset, as anyone can imagine. There is a little girl next door named Hannah, who is also 8 and is being adopted by Nancy. Hannah is from the same orphanage as Zach, so he knows her and can communicate with her. She came over and calmed him down. After she left, I laid with him in his bed and after about 10 minutes he was sound asleep. He slept peacefully through the night (probably due to the prayers of his ba-ba/daddy, who could not sleep at all, but just kept praying for him). It was hard to see him grieve, but we would have been surprised if he didn't grieve at all. This morning, he awoke refreshed and, once again, happy as can be! We will see what tonight brings. We are praying that the grieving will be less intense.

According to Zach, we are his ma-ma and ba-ba and he is a delight. Today, we finalized his adoption and are just so excited to call him our son. He can't get enough of his photo album which contains pictures of his sisters and his new home. He carries it with him everywhere and shows everyone.

The photo with the 3 children is of Zach and Hannah, who is next door to us at the hotel, as well as another boy from their orphanage. His family is coming for him next week.

We leave the hotel tomorrow morning at 6:00 a.m. so we are hoping for a peaceful sleep. we travel by bus to Dalian, where his orphanage is. It is supposed to be beautiful, so we are looking forward to the trip.

Thank you so much for your prayers, everyone. We are so thankful for so many who are lifting us up right now. We can feel them.

Meeting Zachary...

We have Zach and couldn't be more excited about the way it has gone so far! He has done nothing but smile all day long. He laughs when he sees the pictures of his sisters. Whenever we go anywhere, he makes sure that he is holding both our hands. Maggie (our guide) told us that he said he loves us and is satisfied with us. What a blessing! She also says it is unusual that he seems to be bonding to both of us, rather than only one.

We certainly realize that this does not imply smooth sailing from here on out. But his disposition is so pleasant and he just seems to be such a delightfully happy boy. We are praising God and thanking everyone for their prayers on our behalf. They are certainly making a difference.

Our arrival in Shenyang...

Today started out uneventfully. We walked around the hotel a little, came back and waited for our guide, Joy, to bring us to the airport for our flight to Shenyang. The plane took off as scheduled and, being a short flight, we barely had time to get settled in our seats before we were getting off again. It was hot in the cabin, so I took off my sweatshirt and the passport holder and placed it in the pouch in front of me.

Then it was every travelers worst nightmare, especially those traveling with adoption as their goal. I left the passport holder which held nearly $5000 in cash along with our passports in the pouch and did not think of it until after we had our luggage and had met our guide, Maggie. She ran with me to the police station, and explained the situation. From my perspective, they didn't seem to have the urgency required (of course I couldn't understand a word being said). Two officers were sent in search of the plane we just disembarked. We sat there for over 20 agonizing minutes. Occasionally, the officer's phone would ring and Maggie would ask another question (how much money was in the pouch? Are you sure your seats were 12A & B?). The longer we waited, the more questions they asked, the more we prayed. I realized that it was in God's hands, and I could do nothing but pray. What would happen if that money was gone? What would we do without our passports?

Just as if it seemed there was no hope because it was taking so very long, the phone rang and we were told that it had been found!. A cleaning lady had turned it in. We were cautiously hopeful that everything was intact. Finally, they brought it in for us to inspect. Praise God! It was all there, every last dollar, both passports, everything!

I have to admit that I did not want to share this story. How careless of me! I still can't think about it without getting angry at myself. But, as Steve pointed out, we have to share how wonderfully God worked this out for us. In a way, it was further confirmation that God does indeed want us to bring Zachary home. It is literally a miracle that this potentially horrible story turned out the way it did. God made sure we had the money. He made sure nothing was delayed. He made sure we had no reason to turn back now (not that we would have...) We give Him all the glory for this day!

And tomorrow, we are going to receive another miracle.

We've Arrived!

We arrived without problems (although they did confiscate my 8oz bottle of hand sanitizer -- 3 oz is apparently the limit for carry-on liquids). We are in Beijing right now and are leaving this afternoon for Shenyang and will have Zachary tomorrow afternoon. The weather is great. We had a blessedly uneventful trip to this point. Everything happened as planned and we pray it continues that way. We had a decent night sleep, despite the rock hard bed!

Due to limited internet connection today's update was posted by Megan Olson on behalf of the Jacob family. Below are some pics of Beijing.

Leaving Tomorrow!

We are finally at the point where I can say we are leaving tomorrow. It seems a little surreal. I will miss the girls desperately, but I am thankful for such loving and capable hands to leave them in. It means the world to us.

I admit that I am a little nervous about what is ahead, so please pray that I will not allow fear to steal my joy in these final days before we meet our son. I am so excited and so thankful for this gift God has given. I trust God to prepare the way before us as we travel to bring Zach home. I can't begin to say how much I have looked forward to this time. I am thrilled.

We will do what we can to post while in China. However, we may not be able to. Keep checking and we will keep trying!

Thank you so much to everyone for praying for us and caring for all of us! We have been blessed beyond measure by the love and support shown in so many ways.

We have our itinerary!

We received our itinerary yesterday. We will leave on the 7th, arrive in Beijing on the 8th, overnighting there. We leave the next day, the 9th, for Shenyang and on the 10th we receive the gift we have waited so long to receive. That is the day we have looked forward to for almost 2 years! We will have Zach on Wednesday, October 10!

It is also a blessing that we will be able to share a guide in Shenyang with another family adopting a 10 year old from Zachary's orphanage. I pray that they are friends or at least become friends! I am glad that he will have someone else going through much the same thing he is that he can talk to.

Then, on the 11th we sign the documents to begin all the paperwork to finalize the adoption from China's perspective. On the 12th, we travel via "small bus" to Dalian, which is the city Zach's orphanage is in. It is called the "Garden City of China," and we have read that it is beautiful (just look at Zach's referral picture!). We will tour for 1/2 the day on the 13th and 14th. Then on the 15th we have been invited to visit the orphanage! We are so thankful to have this opportunity. We drive back to Shenyang that afternoon to complete the paperwork. The 16th we have a free day, the 17th we visit Beiling Park, the 18th we visit Shenyang Imperial City (second only to the Forbidden City in Beijing). The 19th we fly to Guangzhou.

In Guangzhou Zach will have his visa medical exam, the Consulate Appointment and then receive the visa allowing us to bring him HOME! We fly out of Guangzhou headed for the US on Wednesday the 24th. I can't wait to get started on the final stage of this journey to our son.