Max is about to arrive in China!

Only God could have planned this! Only God could have known when Max applied and was accepted to co-host a group of Pepperdine Students to Shanghai, China, that we would be adopting another daughter from China. Max has been granted the extra-ordinary priviledge of getting to visit his daughter, even though we don't yet know when we'll be allowed to bring her home.

So the past few weeks have been frantic as we prepared for him to leave on this trip while we work on adoption paperwork. I prepared a scrapbook of our family, Max got her a "Pepperdine" sweatshirt and workout clothes to wear in dance class, and her siblings stuffed some of their Easter candy in Max's suitcase to give to their new sister. One wonderful man we met on Craig's List gave her a beautiful new digital camera. This British man was orphaned during WWII. He mournfully told Max how he wished he'd been adopted; yet he is so in love with all of his grandchildren - three of whom were adopted from Liberia! Dear friends from China helped us arrange the details of the weekend schedule Max will get to spend with Joy Jin Hua, some teachers, a translator, and some of her friends in the orphanage. We are friends with some of the other families adopting children from this orphanage, so Max will get to meet with their children and learn more about them.

While mom and the children are recuperating from adoption doctor visits of sore arms from shots and blood tests, Max is about to land in Beijing, China. He will transfer to Tianjin where Joy lives (about 1 hour East of Beijing). He'll freshen up in the hotel, gather assorted gifts, and then walk to the orphanage where the meetings will begin somewhere between 1:30 and 2pm. Please pray with me over this first meeting of these hearts. (watch for pictures as I get them from Max)