Biometrics

On Friday, August 24, 2012, we received notification from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (Customs and Immigration) that we were to appear on September 5 to submit biometrics as part of our application process.  Christy and I fully realize that there are elements of this journey over which we have no control.  However, we have always said that it is unacceptable for our little girl to spend one day longer than necessary in an orphanage and that we would be expedient and pro-active about submitting anything requested of us for this journey.  Having said that, we had been informed that it might be possible to go earlier than our appointed time for biometrics.  We were cautioned that they were not required to accept us outside of our appointed time.  We decided that we would be at the immigration office at 8:00 a.m. on Monday, August 27 to try to submit biometrics.  Our prayer as we traveled to Birmingham was simple:  "God, You are the defender of the orphan and Father to the fatherless.  Please create in their hearts a compassion for the same things as You."  We arrived at the office and I explained that we did not have an appointment scheduled for that day but hoped to be worked in to submit biometrics.  The officer sternly explained to me that they absolutely did NOT accept walk-ins and he had no idea as to why I thought that I could come outside of my scheduled time.  My voice trembled as I explained to him that my daughter was sitting in an orphanage in China, she had special needs, and we were willing to wait all day if they would just accommodate us.  It was as if an angel whispered in his ear, because his demeanor totally changed and he told us to come back in an hour and he would take care of us.  The look on his face as he was telling us that he would work with us was that of a man that could not believe what he was hearing from his own lips.  Christy and I left that office as quickly as we could before he had a chance to change his mind.  We aimlessly rode around Birmingham for the next 45 minutes and returned at 9:00.  We thanked him profusely for showing grace and mercy to us and showed him a photo of the little girl whose life would be impacted by his actions.  We submitted our biometrics on Monday, August 27, 2012.  We had been told to expect to wait anywhere from one to three months for approval from Immigration.  We received our approval on Friday, August 31, 2012.  Four days from biometrics to approval.  Our God is SO good!

Our next step is to have the dossier authenticated.  Our documents must be authenticated at the local level and at the Alabama Office of the Secretary of State.  We are told that this process takes approximately three weeks.  We'll keep you posted.  Keep praying!

"Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to Him be glory..." -Ephesians 3:19 ESV

Small Blessings

 We received these via e-mail today. These photos were taken by a family that traveled to pick up their child in March of this year. It is so exciting to see a photo of her and know when it was taken. These three photos, and those that show her with her care package items, are the only ones that we know to be current. We have no idea about the age of any of her other pictures.

It's the Little Things

At this point in our journey, we can only wait. And wait. And wait. At this point it is the little things that bring us so much joy. Today, Shannon came across an on-line group of families that have either completed an adoption or are in the process of adopting from the same orphanage we are. These families have posted pictures of their children. We were able to see our daughter in a small thumbnail on that site. You cannot imagine our joy at seeing her. The image is so small it is hardly recognizable. It will not enlarge. It will not zoom. And yet we both happily sat and squinted trying to get a glimpse of an image of her when she was much younger.

Through this group, Shannon was able to contact a family that will travel September 1st. The director of this orphanage has a history of letting parents photograph children that have been promised to others that they know. We are hoping to be able to get some more pictures of our daughter this way. We are trying so hard to find joy in the opportunity to possibly get pictures from another family and not to be frustrated that it will be someone else seeing her.

In the meantime, we are anxiously waiting for an appointment for bio-metric fingerprinting so that our immigration application can be completed. We hope to be notified of our appointment time this coming week. Once we have the fingerprinting completed, the application can be completed. After that, our dossier can be authenticated (3-4 more weeks) and we can send it to China.

Once in China it takes a couple of months to move through the process. Eventually, we will be given a log in date. From that point, travel usually takes 5 - 6 months. So, we wait.

The Invisible Red Thread

August 17, 2012

Many families adopting from China have read or heard the proverb of the red thread.  Basically, it says that there is a definite link between you and the child that you adopt.  Several weeks ago, we were told that we could begin to send care packages to our little girl.  The agency gave us several cautions related to care packages.  First, it would take three to four weeks for any packages that we sent to arrive in China.  The second caution was that the packages would be delivered to the orphanage but there was no guarantee that the contents would ever be delivered to our little girl.  Some orphanages would deliver the items to the child and some would not; it was entirely up to the discretion of the orphanage staff.  Despite the lack of certainty over whether she would receive the contents or not, Christy and I knew that we had to send items to our Faith.  We shopped and fretted over what items were “just right.”  Finally, we decided on a blanket, two stuffed animals, and an album with photos of our family.  We packaged the items and I took them to the post office.  Before I got out of the car, I prayed that those items would reach our daughter and that she and the orphanage staff members would sense that there was a family that loved her already and was making preparations to bring her into a forever home. 

Weeks had passed and Christy and I actually had a conversation yesterday morning about the fact that it should be about time for our package to arrive in China.  We wondered aloud whether it would reach its destination and if our daughter would be permitted to receive the contents.  And then yesterday, two big things happened.  First, I saw that our check to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security for processing immigration paperwork had cleared the bank! (Who knew that I could be so excited to see such a large chunk of money disappear from my checking account?)  I shared this news with Christy.  You see, adoption is all about waiting.  During the waiting stage, any news…even something as simple as a check being cashed…can be a glimmer of hope.  If our check was cashed, then at least we knew that our paperwork was being processed.  Later, we received an email with the subject line that “Jiang Lan Xin has received the package from the Ginn family.”  I opened the email and was totally surprised to see four pictures of our little girl looking at all of the items from our package.  (Let me confess that I cried at my office desk.)  That email contained something very precious; our first family portrait.  It was a picture of her looking at our pictures.  All of that was just to get to this point:  We already felt an inexplicable connection to our little girl.  Perhaps the connection is the invisible red thread.  Until yesterday, our invisible red thread was still stretched and tangled.  However, once we saw this new family portrait the invisible red thread felt more taut than tangled. 

“A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling.  God sets the lonely in families…” –Psalm 68:5 ESV

Our Family Portrait

Our daughter received her care package! Her orphanage sent pictures of her with all of the things we sent. This one is our favorite. This is the first picture of all of us together, our first family portrait. We were so excited to get these pictures of her and to know that our package got to her. We were thrilled to learn that they are taking new videos of her and will soon be sending a new video. Like any new, proud parent I had to share my new family photos!
 God is so good!!!

Happy Birthday

Yesterday, our little girl turned three. There were no hugs, no kisses. There was no cake, no party, and no presents. Instead, there was an intense sadness knowing that no one acknowledged her special day in any way. She spent her day as she does every other day. We spent the day longing to have her here. As hard as it is to long for her each day, I know that I am the fortunate one. One day, I will have her here with me. Somewhere in China, she has a mother that gave birth to her and was then forced to give her up. Because it is illegal to place a child for adoption, parents must abandon them. They do this by choosing a very public place, usually a street corner, near a police station or orphanage, and then laying their child down and walking away. Most likely, her mom chose to do this because she has medical needs that could not be met in any other way. For many, many poor families, abandoning a child is the only chance the child has to get medical care.  Most likely, her mom also spends her days longing for this child. While my arms ache to hold my daughter, I do realize that I am so much more fortunate than her birth mother. I will hold her, love her, and share her life with her. Somewhere on the other side of the world there is a mother who marks her child's birth date with tears and sorrow. She wonders how she is doing, if she is safe, and if she has a family that loves her. I really wish it were possible to let this mother know that we are doing everything that we can to bring her child home. I wish that we could let her know how important her little girl is to us. As much as I worry and wonder about our little girl, I know that somewhere there is another mother whose fears are even greater than my own. Today, I pray that there is peace for this mom. I cannot imagine having to lay my child on a street corner and walk away so that there would be a chance that my child could survive. I am so very grateful that this mother found the strength to make such a hard choice.

Letter of Acceptance Received

We began this adoption journey after much prayer. We knew then, and we know now, that we are meant to adopt this particular child. Still, the wait has been and continues to be very difficult. This week, we received our letter of acceptance from China. This is huge! This child has been promised to Lifeline and they are supposed to be the only agency with access to her file. Thus far, she has only been on hold for us through Lifeline. The reality of that was that any glitch or change of heart in China could have resulted in her being adopted by another family. As of Monday, China is now holding her for us. No other agency or family will be able to view her information. Now, they know we are coming for her. Hopefully, her orphanage will soon know this and will begin to discuss this with her. We are so very excited. Now, we can begin to send care packages to her. Just think...You have a child that you have never met whose third birthday is in a couple of weeks. What do you send to her? What do you send that tells her, a child who knows no English and who is cared for by a staff that does not know English, that you love her and are so anxious to meet her? Our minds have been racing with possibilities since Monday. We are filling a small photo album with pictures of us. Hopefully, this will help her gain some familiarity with her new family. We are also searching for the "perfect" stuffed animal to send to her. While we know that there is no guarantee that she will receive any of the packages we send her, our prayer is that they make it to her and that they bring her comfort. Even knowing that she may not ever see what we send, we are so thrilled to have the chance to make contact with her.