Monday, March 9, 2009
After a 5:00 wake up call on March 4th, and a 1 hour bus ride,
the group caught a 9:30 flight to Shanghai. At 5:05 pm, we were
on an United Airlines flight to Chicago which arrived 12 hours
later at 3:00 (2 hours earlier) the same day. Going east, we saw
the sun set, go through the night and see the same day dawn
again. March 4th was a very long day! I was home by midnight and
finally went to bed at 3:00 am March 5th. After waking 36 hours
earlier, I was finally in my own bed. Jaidyn and the other girls
weathered the trip well. Most slept for most of the flights, but
with that much rest, they were very much awake when we
landed—part of the reason that I was up until 3.
Rhonda and Kailyn had their “gotcha” day at the airport. Little
Jaidyn seemed a little dazed; again her world was changing
dramatically. Gone was all that she knew as familiar. As I
thought about how much was changing for Jaidyn, I reflected on
my past 2 weeks in China.
I learned a lot while in China. I was reminded that China needs
Jesus to reap the benefits of Him, which would include not
requiring any family with more than one child be forced to
abandon that child. I realized that because of the “one child
policy” that many girls are abandoned, but there are many more
reasons for children to be orphaned. These include having
children with special medical needs where the parents could not
afford care, some families cannot financially afford children,
some children are born out of wedlock, thus “shaming” the
family, there are single birth moms not wanting to abort, but
unable to care for their children—these plus many more reasons
outside of the one child policy compel some in China to abandon
their children.
I realized how grateful many of the Chinese people were for us
adopting children that they (for various reasons) could not care
for. I saw and heard of poverty much worse than anywhere in the
US. Not to belittle the needs of others here, but there are very
few in the US who truly do not have food or shelter. China does
not have a social security system or a network of churches and
non-profits that care for those in need.
I was impressed with the pride the Chinese people have in their
country, culture and history. Instead of looking at China as
Communist, I saw it as just China. A conversation that I had
with our tour guide Joy was enlightening. I asked her how old
Beijing was, and she responded it was over 3000 years old. I
told her what a contrast from the US where the country is just a
little over 200 years old. She said that was not true. The land
is much older than that with the Native Americans having
civilizations much older than 200 years. I sensed, and Joy
confirmed, that China sees itself as Chinese first, and
Communist second. Over the millennia, there have been many
dynasties, ruling bodies, and governments. Communism is just a
little blip on the history line of China. It dramatically
affected China, and still does today, but I came away with
another challenge from Jaidyn’s birthplace. A single day or
event can significantly affect your life, but it is only one day
or event in the whole of your life. How you live today is what
you have control over—yesterday is gone, and tomorrow may never
be. Am I living for God today? Am I caring for and serving
others today? Am I an encouragement to others today? Am I the
best dad to Kailyn, Jaidyn and soon Loryn today? What a journey
this has been for Rhonda, Kailyn, and me to get to Jaidyn, and
what a journey it will be with Jaidyn!
Even though we have been together as a family for just under a
week, Jaidyn is beginning to bond with us and seems to know that
she is loved. We are also getting to know Jaidyn better as her
personality is beginning to reveal itself more and more. We are
truly enjoying getting to know her. Thanks for following our
journey with your prayers and encouraging notes.
--Kevin |
Finally home!
Enjoying my new toys.
Jaidyn and her big sister, Kailyn.
Happy to be home. |
