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Why China?
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An invisible
red thread connects those who are destined to meet,
regardless of time, place, or circumstance.
The thread may stretch or tangle, but it will never break.
~An ancient Chinese belief |
At the beginning our adoption journey, we considered all
different countries. There are many different ones to choose
from and many factors to consider. Our journey started with an
adoption meeting, where we networked with adoptive families. We
were invited to a reunion of adoptive families with children
from Kazakhstan. We had a great time and the children were so
cute, but we left feeling empty. Together we decided that this
was not the route for us, so we went back to the drawing board.
We began researching China and its culture. China is rich in
tradition. The Chinese culture is beautiful and ornate, but we
thought is the path we are supposed to walk? In sharing our
thoughts with a friend, she introduced us to her neighbor who
had recently come home from their China adoption. We met with
her to talk about her China adoption experience. As soon as she
opened the door, and we saw her beautiful little girl, we new
this was “it”. We couldn’t stop looking at her—the experience
took our breath away. It was here that our lives would be
changed forever.
One thing that we weren’t expecting was the spiritual journey
that we were about to embark. Going back to the beginning,
during our first talk about adoption, we thought, “This has been
the route for us all along, but we just now are seeing it”. It
was that night that we opened our hearts to the possibility of
the road God wanted us to walk. We could have followed our minds
and adopted a child (quicker) through Kazakhstan, but instead
listened to our hearts. In meeting the little adoptive girl, we
knew we had a “God moment”. The signs were all around--our
daughter was waiting for us in China.
There are many adoptive children from China in the Chicagoland
area. We knew the importance for Lillianne to have a support
network, of not only Chinese children, but adoptees as well. We
are members of Families with Children from China, which
organizes educational as well as fun events for adoptive
families. We have been fortunate to get to know two families
this year who have adopted children from China, one being
directly next door to us. They have been a great support to us
through this process.
As we continue on our spiritual journey, people have said to us
how lucky our daughter will be and how great we are for adopting
a child—in fact, WE are the lucky ones. Already she brings us
tremendous joy, and we haven’t even met her yet. We are simply
walking the road that God set before us—the one that is leading
us to Lillianne.
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