Beijing to Nanchang

Sunday 4-4-10 to Monday 4-5-10

Maria says (author's note): I have a tough act to follow! I'm a little intimidated by the thought of trying to capture my thoughts and experiences of meeting Mia on the heels of the great job Matthew has done with our travel blog to this point! Even though I have been right by Matthew's side experiencing all the same things he has been experiencing through our journeys, even I look forward to reading his posts at the end of the day. Thank you to all our faithful followers who have encouraged him and commented on his descriptive accounts. His confidence in his writing ability has skyrocketed through this experience (I must admit that I have not always been the biggest fan of his writing ability, so hearing from all of you has helped tremendously). Thank you!


Maria says: After attending a beautiful Easter vigil service at my parents' church, we slept a little bit before leaving for the airport at 3:00am to catch our 6:30 am flight to Beijing, with a stopover in Hong Kong. It was very moving for me to watch the sun come up at the Hong Kong International airport, realizing that just as the sun was coming up to begin the new day, and just as we were celebrating the fact that Christ rose from the daead so that we may have new life in Him that gloroius Easter morning, we were journeying to begin our new life with Mia, and Mia was beginning her new life with us.

Our adoption agency arranged a day and a half sightseeing trip so that we could see the highlights of Beijing. Even though it was incredible to see Tianamen Square, the Forbidden City, and the Great Wall, I must admit, my mind was elsewhere. As we shared our Easter meal together that evening at a local restaurant famous for its Peking duck, I was painfully aware that it was going to be the last meal we would be sharing together as a family of five. Looking around the table at each face...wondering what changes tomorrow would bring to each person's life...feeeling blessed by the life experiences we'd shared together as a family up to this point, questioning what made us consider this life change anyways...ultimately finding comfort in the realization that it was only after long, prayerful discernment and putting our trust in God's plan for us that brought us to this juncture. It was this realization that gave me confidence and security (and comfort from my worries and anxieties) which allowed me to enjoy the best Peking duck I've ever tasted (followed by a pretty decent night's sleep!)

On Monday, after our day of sightseeing, we departed Beijing on a 7:20 pm flight to arrive into Nanchang at 10:55 pm. Once on board the plane, I kept dozing on and off as I waited for the plane to take off. Every time I woke up, I found we were still on the ground! It seemed like hours before the plane finally left the ground. I was very pleased by the fact that during my interrupted sleep I had dreams...happy dreams of a sweet baby girl being full of joy to be a part of our family. (I am actually prepared for a lot of crying and unhappy times in our early days with Mia, but my dreams assured me that at least my subconscious mind was not spending any time worrying about the fact we were going to have to endure some massive crying spells!)

When we arrived (half dazed, especially Dale who had to make a 12 hour jet lag leap in the last 24 hours) into the Nanchang airport, we were greeted by our newest and bestest friend and guide, Karen. Nanchang, pronounced Nanchung by Americans, is the capital city of the Jiangxi Province, the province from which Mia comes. It is a province located a little bit more than halfway down China, towards the eastern coast. (Since our flight originated in Beijing, which is toward the northeast corner of China, our flight took us almost directly south). Mia's orpanage is actually about a 2 hour drive further south of Nanchang, in a town called Zhangshu. We were told that the orphanage director and the woman in charge of all the caregivers at the Zhangshu Welfare Institute would be driving the two hours early the next mornning so we could meet Mia first thing in the morning. The directions given to us before our guide left us in the hotel lobby in Nachang City at 1 am in the morning: "You will meet Mia at 9:00 am tomorrow. I will meet you in the lobby at 8:50am. Bring your passports. Have a good rest! " (Actually, she gave us a lot of helpful information and was absolutely wonderful, but those were the only words I heard!)