The Great Wall

Another long day is winding down and it's been a great one! Experiencing the Great Wall was incredible. Our time in Beijing was memorable. We met another adoptive couple, the Coopers, who joined us on Saturday. We got to spend Saturday and today with them until we parted ways at the airport. They went to one province and we flew to Taiyuan. They are a great couple and we hit it off immediately. We are excited to see them again in just a few days when we meet up in Guangzhou along with several other families! 

Our flight from Beijing to Taiyuan was quick and uneventful! Our guide is Maggie and she met us at the airport and took us to our hotel. She is amazing, knows her stuff and knows how to make you feel welcomed! She even stayed around to order a pizza for us before heading to her home for the evening! She said we are one of NINE families here in Taiyuan adopting this week! 2 families are Spanish, 4 are Italian and 2 are American. She and other guide, Grace, have a very busy week ahead of them! How exciting that so many children in this province alone are being adopted and will no longer be orphans?!! 

We got Annika's backpack ready tonight to go meet her tomorrow. TOMORROW IS GOTCHA DAY!!! We meet our guide, Grace, in the lobby bar 8:40 in the morning to go to the bank and exchange our currency. From the bank, we will go to the Civil Affairs office where we will meet and get Annika about 10 am!!!!

I have so much I want to share, but my tired brain is mush and tomorrow is THE big day, so for now, I'll share one more story before I get ready for bed....

One of the things I was most looking forward to was fulfilling what I had read from others about taking a lock with their child's name on it and 2 keys to the Great Wall. At the Great Wall, there's a certain spot where people take their lock and attach it on a gate there. Then, they take one of the keys and throw it over the Great Wall and they keep the other key. This symbolizes that their child will forever have a part of themselves in China, the land from which they were born. When the child is grown, you give them the other key to remind them they will always have a piece of them in China. Well, I was REALLY looking forward to doing this! I had my lock and keys ready and everything with Annika's Chinese name and new name on the lock. Then, I found out the part of the Great Wall where the gate is that people do this..... wasn't the part we were going to. Womp womp wommmmmp! I was bummed, but decided to take my lock and keys anyways. Jay and I decided that we were going to do our own rendition of it and decided to hide the lock on a place on the Great Wall that won't ever be removed. Our new friends, Ben and Amy Cooper were with us and with the help of Amy, we found a perfect place IN the Great Wall itself, in one of the towers where the brick had a big hole/crack in its mortar. Because the Great Wall is so old, there are several places that are cracked or mortar gave way, etc. After dropping Annika's lock into the dark crevice, we then took one of the keys and I gave it kiss, said a small prayer and I flung it over the Wall. It was a very emotional moment - way more than I expected - as we thanked the Lord for our daughter from China. Amy was kind of enough to record it for us so I will have that moment to look back on. As Jay and I held hands walking back to meet our guide, I could tell he too was moved by that moment and all it signified. Annika's lock is now tucked away in one of the strong towers of the Great Wall. Just as our Lord is our Strong Tower Who hides us in the cleft of the Rock, Annika is too.

I am so thankful for this day. Seeing the Great Wall, experiencing it with my husband and Jadyn who had a blast! And I'm thankful that Ben and Amy were there. I'm thankful for new friendships, connected with the bond of adoption. I'm thankful Amy knew I needed that momma hug after the emotion of throwing that key and thus leaving a piece of my daughter in China. I'm thankful that we only have one more sleep until we are face to face with our Annika!!

God is good.