Planes, Trains and Automobiles

Things are still progressing well.  It is our prayer that we will be able to leave for China on Wednesday June 10th. We will arrive Thursday June 11th in Beijing and meet Charlie at Bethel Doudian on Friday.

They usually have a party and cake for the child and family.  If we get to go and be there by June 12th, we will have a heck of a party, because 4 Bethel Boys are coming to Marietta, Georgia (hopefully together)! Three of them are in the picture below: second from left is Gabe, next to him (in glasses) is George and that's our Charlie rockin' out!

On that Saturday and Sunday we plan to do some sight-seeing in Beijing.  Sam and Kate are very excited to see The Great Wall.  (Kate is actually doing a school project on it right now!)  Stay tuned for pictures in the next blog post!




Then Sunday evening, we will take a train to Zhengzhou, the Capital of Henan which is Charlie's home province.  He was brought to his home orphanage in Luoyang when he was 13 months old, and then moved to Bethel when he was 2.  But all adoptions take place in the capital city of the child's home province.



On that Monday, we will get him at the Civil Affairs office.  (A chaperone will bring him from Beijing to the Civil Affairs office.)  After that, he will be with us forever.  Well, until college anyway.  We will have to stay in Zhengzhou for a few days for a couple of appointments and then that Friday we will fly to Guangzhou, in the Southern part of China, near Hong Kong.



All Americans adopting from China go through Guangzhou, as that is where the U.S. Consulate that handles foreign adoptions is.  We were actually there for most of our trip when we adopted Kate because it is the capital city of her home province, Guangdong.



The weekend of June 20th and 21st is The Dragon Boat Festival.  If we are there during that time, it will make our trip a few days longer, but looks like it will be a lot of fun!

  



When we told the kids about it, Stephen said there are races and you pick a team to cheer for.  Sam said, "Awesome!  That sounds like Medieval Times!"  Well, yes... but maybe even cooler!

So, then we will be in Guangzhou for another week.  Friday to Friday, probably (possibly Saturday). Several of our friends will be there then too.  Many of us will even be at the same hotel!

Please pray with us, that this timeline will work out.  It would be so amazing if we could all be there together!