Wednesday, June 7, 2017

“It will be very interesting one day to follow the pattern of our life as it is spread out like a beautiful tapestry. As long as we live here, we see only the reverse side of the weaving, and very often the pattern, with its threads running wildly, doesn’t seem to make sense. Someday, however, we shall understand. In looking back over the years, we can discover how a red thread goes through the pattern of our life: the Will of God.” ~Maria August von Trapp

A Passport Applied For & A Visit To Say Good-Bye…

It was a new day and it was a long one! The morning started with noodle bowls for the boys for breakfast at 4:45 a.m. since we had to leave before there was anyone in the hotel kitchen even. I couldn’t handle that thought though, so I had a bowl of fruit from the fruit market instead. Then off to the van to start what turned into about a 17 hour day. I’m pretty sure Lucas can handle to long plane ride after being a trooper on the travel front today.

One of my joys today was having a driver who could safely drive in the states. If you have even driven in China, you know how rare this is. We had seatbelts for everyone, room in front of the car as it drove and we even staying in our lane…amazing! It only got a big scary at the end when we were all tired and wanted to be home and traffic was in the way.

The drive itself was interesting. In the city center where we are staying things are modern, though unusually clean. As we headed out of Hangzhou, we went through about an hour of buildings that I asked our guide about. He said they were all built about 15 years ago in a “Paris style” and they were definitely different than anything I have ever seen before in our trips to China. Then we headed into the mountains. The southern part of this province is considered a mountain region. They just built the road through here about 6 years ago and it was stunning to me. At home we drive through the mountains going over or around them. In China, you go through them. I have never seen so many tunnels in one day….well over 40 today…with the longest one being 10 km long. Basically the road stays straight and flat with gradual changes only...you just go through a tunnel in each mountain that gets in the way of that plan. Oh, and a siren like a police car is playing in each one so you don’t fall asleep while you drive though it…seriously that is what they told me! As we came through the mountains, we began to see more the types of buildings I expected to see.

Our first stop was the police station in Wenzhou to apply for Lucas’s Chinese passport. The officer did not like our paperwork and I was reminded why you always take everything even if you “don’t need to” for the day. He did not want the copy of the Power of Attorney that the Civil Affairs provided to the orphanage. Thankfully, I figured out what he was giving Peter a hard time about and pulled out another original. We have never needed that extra one before, but we did today. Then the officer was not willing to accept the translation Peter did for the Civil Affairs office so we had to go find a translation office to translate it for us. That translation took another hour...finally we could submit the documents.

The next stop after about a 90 minute drive was lunch with the orphanage director and the paperwork ladies for lack of a better name. I admit to being puzzled by it all. The orphanage only has 14 kids in the building, but they have three ladies to do paperwork/administration and a director. Meanwhile, the nanny who actually took care of Lucas was not there. It was interesting to see how that worked out to me. There was a HUGE amount of food and they joked that the government was paying for it when I said to thank the orphanage for lunch.

The old orphanage in Cangnan is being torn down and a new one built in its place so they are in a temporary location right now. It is on the fourth floor of a building and I suspect the fifth floor as well though we were only taken to see Lucas’s room and the TV/play room (which did not really have toys). I was sad that we did not get to see “Bella” who is going to be joining her family soon. She is a special friend to Lucas, but she was gone to school when we were there.

Lucas entered the orphanage at a normal pace, but then hopped and strutted into the play area when we got to it. The kids who were there were very happy to see him and he was very happy to see his nanny. While return trips can raise tension, we have found the closure of waving good-bye to be helpful after a few pictures and gifts. Lucas’s posture and countenance filled with joy as we left and he seems much more at peace. Someone did a great job of preparing Lucas for the transition from the orphanage to our family and it showed today. He even moved closer to me when he started to feel overwhelmed. Then the big smiles emerged as we headed out the hallways. So many things to celebrate is just this paragraph!

We did get to briefly meet a deaf boy who is listed with our agency, Great Wall China Adoption, and I would love to see him find his family too! I hope to see good news on that front in the next few months. Please help spread the word if you know anyone considering adopting!

When we left the orphanage, we made a detour in Cangnan to stop at Lucas’s finding spot. So many years ago, he was placed there to be found and taken into the government’s care. My heart breaks when I think about what it must take for parents to come to the place where they feel that is what they must do for the sake of their child and then to actually do it. It was in a poorer, agricultural area and was definitely a different picture of China than what we have seen most of this trip.

Despite some serious rain, cat and dog rain as my kids would say, we made it through the city and back into the mountains to head home. The trip home was expected to take about 4.5 hours, but it ended up closer to 6 hours due to the traffic. We were super glad to see our hotel come into sight. The boys are both asleep and I think I will join them soon.

Tired But Happy,
Brandy, Jonathan & Lucas