We have finally been united with Joy!

Max barely slept last night, I slept a little more than him. We were consumed processing what the day might be like for Joy, and what it would be like for us. We understood that Joy has been excited about her new family; but crying with her friends as she prepares to say "goodbye". We thought how awkward it might feel for her to leave the busy-ness and crush of all the people at the orphanage, and then suddenly be stuck in a hotel room with us. We tried to think of ways to make the whole experience more comfortable.

We arrived at the orphanage a little after 9am (the driver was a bit lost, Tianjin is not a modern planned city with a well organized grid of streets, so we wind down snaking alleyways that would be a small footpath for us in the states, and sometimes discover we need to back out because another car is coming in from the other direction). Immediately we were whisked into a small meeting room, we barely put our stuff down to find that Joy had been escorted into the room. She was smiling and had her head held high; but she was trying to hide tears as she was escorted by her nannies who have cared for her for the last 6 years. She would brush a palm across her eyes to quickly get rid of tears. It all happened so fast. There was a flood of emotions all at the same time: wanting to establish connection with her, wanting to focus on the orphanage staff and show appreciation, considering in this inter-cultural situation what to do. I was so happy to be able to give her a big hug, Max got to hug her; but we were also aware of how the Chinese are not very physical and we did not want to overwhelm her. We then were to sit down and sign papers. Next, we had a moment with the nannies and the director; they were complimenting Joy on what a fine help she is. (I hope they didn't think we were adopting her to help with the children). The main Nanny was crying the most. I am standing next to her in the group photo. It made me think of the stories you hear of family's adopting from a foster family situation and how painful it is for the mother to say goodbye. The new orphanage director is standing in the middle of the picture and is looking very elegant. I cannot believe the whole thing took less then 20 minutes. Then we had her in the van, and she took one last look at what had been her life for the last 6 years.

We went to the police station to apply for her passport. By 10:30am we were back in the hotel.

She was immediately excited about the television, and I think that helped to break the ice a little. Next our coordinator came to visit and helped us communicate. We had a special moment when we could speak with our family on Skype and for her to see some of our pets.

Next we did a little shopping and that night we enjoyed a Chinese speciality called "Chinese hot pot". It was definitely like going to the local dive. The place was packed and many people were smoking and throwing cigarette butts on the floor. "Hot Pot" is fondue of boiling water with herbs and vegetables. You dip meats and vegetables into the boiling water, pull it out again and place it in a bean curd sauce, and eat it. It was delicious!

This is definitely a delicate bonding process, Joy is holding my hand and wants to be close to me. She likes Max, but is very shy with him. He's feeling a bit like a third wheel. Please continue to pray for our bonding and establishing ourselves as parents. Being an expert in human relations (and enjoying being liked), this is probably the biggest challenge he's ever faced in trying to understand this father/daughter relationship.