I try to keep you informed when I have time, but not much has happened on the adoption front. We are at the phase (paperwork wise) where we are ready to travel as soon as China says we can. One thing we hear a lot from those asking about the adoption is comments in regards to when will the USA let people travel to China again.
Currently, the USA would allow us to travel to China to retrieve our child. It is China that is not allowing adoptive families to pick up their kids because they feel the USA is unsafe at this time. They are worried about the rampant spread of CV-19 here and do not want to release the children until they think it’s safe for the kids to be in the USA.
We’ve had conference calls with the State Department but basically they are doing very little. My perception from the phone conference was that they have sort of placed the ball in China’s court, so to speak.
There is a bright spot in the midst of the storm, though. We received confirmation that our daughter was told she is being adopted! They sent us video of them showing her our family photo album for the first time, as well as a second letter of them reading to her a letter that I wrote her. The videos arrived while Dave and I were on a lunch date the other day we wanna talk about having a “moment” in the middle of a restaurant… we had one! It was impossible to stop the waterworks when we heard her little voice calling us “mama” and “baba” and pointing to our picture. My favorite video though is the one of them reading her my letter. She nods along, smiles a lot and even laughs a little at one point. My mandarin teacher watched the video and I believe the part that she laughs about is a mis-translation. They are reading to her about our dog, Ana and they say “The dog is protective and nice and if you feed her she will hug you.” The original text says “she will snuggle with you if you give her treats.” Ha. I guess I like “hug you” better anyway.
Our adoption agency started an email correspondence chain for the 50 families that are in the same stage we are – matched and waiting to go get their kid. It’s been really nice to connect with some of the families. Someone from the chain started a facebook group and it’s been a cool source of therapy for some people. For me, it’s felt nice to connect with others out there who can 100% relate to what we are going through right now because we’ve often felt alone on that front.
We are staying very distracted with packing for our big move in September, as well as working on our Airbnb projects. We’ve also been working on a Youtube channel, so yeah – who has time to stop and worry?! Lots to keep us going!
We are doing all we can to stay positive. I pray every day for God to show me what it is he has for me to learn while I’ve been in such a process to start my family. I found an excellent devotional called “waiting” and I have never felt more “seen” than when I crack it open in the morning. There’s always a lesson to be learned in life’s trials and I’m seeking to find mine.
Thanks for always thinking of us and keeping our family in your thoughts and prayers.
-Big love,
Stacey