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| March 14 & 15 |
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| March 26 |
| March 27 |
| March 28 |
| March 29 |
| March 30 |
| March 31 |
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We started the day off meeting
together for a very good western & chinese breakfast,
interesting combination but quite good. Leila our coordinator
went over things with us so we had a handle on what to expect
for the day. She is a remarkable individual. There were no
options for worship locally so we had communion in the room
after sharing scripture and prayer. That was actually the last
thing we did prior to leaving to go get Levi at the Civil
Affairs Office. But prior to that we just "got ready".
What in the world do you do while you await an appointment
for the moment in time that you are adopting your son?? We
wrapped gifts for all the officials for the week. Cindy,
grandma and grandpa--all of us were getting clothes ready and
just busy. Well, Blake and Ethan and I went bowling and I got
my haircut. Guess that's not overly spiritual, but we had fun
and I have to say was one of the best haircuts I have ever had.
The hotel actually has a 4 bowling lanes and they are electronic
scoring even--good thing. We really had a blast. Bowling on
Brunswick Lanes in Fuzhou, Fujian China on the Sunday before
Levi joins his forever family. It was great Blake and Ethan
time and was a reminder what blessings they were to Cindy and I
and that the message tag that accompanied their arrival from the
Lord was, "Children are always gifts, always blessings and never
accidents."
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Back to the communion time. Cindy shared an excerpt from Beth
Moore that Joy Pierce had posted on the "waitingchinafamilies" list
serve where all of us "waiting china families" go for answers,
questions and many times deeply needed support during the roller
coaster ride of adoption. Joy has been an inspiration to Cindy
during our journey to Levi. Here's the quote:
"We often think receiving what we've been guaranteed ought to be
a cakewalk, but scripture shows the opposite is more often true.
The most profound things God promised were often fulfilled against
the greatest odds and through the most difficult hardships. To God,
faith is often the point--God does nothing cheaply. Perhaps the
divine nature of a promise fulfilled guarantees its expense. We may
receive a hundred unexpected things from God with delightful ease
while the fulfillment of some of the things we believe He promised
us proves virtually impossible. You see, the impossibility is what
makes the fulfillment of the promise fall under the God category.
God makes promises man simply can't keep."
"How we praise God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has
blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms
because we belong to Christ. Long ago, even before he made the
world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without
fault in his eyes. His unchanging plan has always been to adopt us
into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ.
And this gave him great pleasure." Ephesians 1:3-5
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Welcome Home Levi Samuel ZhiBei
Wall! They brought with him his layette his mother had him
in when he was found and a locket from his Nanny that had her
contact information enclosed. Levi's link to China.
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We made it back to the hotel in the quick van ride and had about
30 minutes before the photographer for the Civil Affairs Office
arrived for the official family photo with Levi. We had to wake him
up and he was in an amazingly docile disposition.
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Went through this process quickly and we made it back to the
room. Cindy and her dad figured out a bottle of rice & formula(new
for him) and he took it very well! Leila, the boys and I took a
quick ride in a taxi to get more KFC and McDonalds. "Made it
back" does not quite tell the whole story, but we did. It could have
been a turkey dinner on Thanksgiving Day, the food was great and the
thanks-fulness was overwhelming. We were settled in for the night
during the process called the "Harmonious Period" while we are
guardians of little ZhiBei. Tomorrow morning at 8:30 we sign all
the papers and have the interview. It will be a week to remember.
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There's
a new sound in the room tonight. Soft & small breathing. Haven't
heard that sound in a while. Our son is sleeping.
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