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Thompson’s China Adoption Trip

Adoption is the heart of God. It was His purpose from the beginning of time. He loved me so much that He sent His Son, Jesus, to live and die on this earth in my place for my sin, that by placing my faith in Him alone, I might be adopted into His family and be called a child of God. He loves you that much too. All of us who have placed our faith in Jesus Christ have an adoption story. We thank you for joining us in prayer for the following requests while we are in China to adopt our daughter: Ruth Min.

Aug 25th: Pray all flights and connecting flights are on time carrying us AND our luggage. Pray we will all sleep on the Chicago to Beijing flight. (We arrive 11pm on Aug 26th)

Aug 27th- 28th: Sightseeing in Beijing. Pray we adjust quickly to the new time zone and that we have energy to walk many miles for sightseeing.

Aug 29th: Fly to Guangzhou – again, us and our luggage.

Aug 30th: GOTCHA DAY! Today we will be blessed with Ruth Min as our daughter! Pray the bonding begins immediately with every family member.Pray we easily adapt to her particular needs of cleft lip and palate and wisely feed her. Pray the blankies made by many of you will be a comfort and encouragement to the children who receive them.

Aug 31st: Conduct Chinese adoption paperwork and formalities. Pray we bless the officials with our joy for allowing us to adopt Ruth Min. Pray our interview with the Chinese officials goes smoothly. We will also apply for Ruth Min’s Chinese passport

Sept 1st: Ruth Min’s physical examination.Please pray that a minimum number of shots are required and that she doesn’t get sick from any of the vaccinations.

Sept 2nd: We plan to ALL go and visit her orphanage. Pray today that Ruth Min knows that she is leaving with us permanently. Pray the visit doesn’t upset her, but allows us to see and learn of her life thus far. Pray that we are encouraged by the care Ruth Min received there and that we can show our gratitude to her caretakers.

Sept 3rd: Get TB test results. Please pray results are negative so no further doctor visits including x-rays are needed.

Sept 4th- 6th: Free days to enjoy each other and explore the city through sightseeing and shopping.

Sept 7th: Submit VISA petition for Ruth Min at the US Consulate. Pray no further documents are needed from us and that they have all the necessary details.

Sept 8th: Oath-taking ceremony at the US Consulate. Pray this is enjoyed by all and that we proudly agree to be her parents in the eyes of the US government. One day soon, we will stand before you and declare to raise her in a manner that pleases our Lord.

Sept 9th: Pick up her VISA by 4pm. Please pray it is even earlier than that since we have an 8pm flight to Beijing. We are also spending this night in the Beijing airport. Pray for our security and some comfort for the children.

Sept 10th: 6:55am we will depart from Beijing and head home! Sleep…sleep…sleep on the plane!

Then…… the time of adjustment to a new culture, new family, and completely new lifestyle will begin in Rocky Mount. Please pray that we are sensitive to this time of transition and that we don’t introduce every facet of the American lifestyle too hastily. Bear with us as it may seem that we are sheltering her when we arrive back, but we desire to be cautious allowing us to encourage and strengthen our family bond first. Thank you for continuing your prayers!

“For this reason, since the day we heard about Ruth Min, we have not stopped praying for her and asking God to fill her with the knowledge of His will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. And we pray this in order that she may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please Him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God.” Colossians 1:9,10

Bags Packed-

We did it! We fit into 3x 44 lb bags and 4 carry-on backpacks (less than 11 lbs). Since we can technically check one more bag, I think I've decided to spread things out a little amongst 4 bags now. Who knows.. I may need the extra room for the treasures we bring home from China.

We are also thrilled to have Skype installed on several computers. Now we will be able to share Ruth with Granddaddy back home.

5 More Days!! and Lots of things happen

1- I met with Ruth Min's Plastic Surgeon yesterday at UNC Children's Hospital.  I'm so grateful for such a great Craniofacial Team! We got an appointment in Sept for Ruth.

2- Get home last night and Ruth's finding ad was in the mailbox. I'd been worried that I wouldn't recoginze her on Gotcha Day... but I quickly picked her baby picture out amongst several finding ads in that newspaper issue. God is good!! I know my child, just like He knows His!

3- Still stuff to do! My list now is for those little yet important things.... extra camera tapes, new SD cards, haircuts for everyone, etc.

4- Somewhere in these last few days I need to stay on top of the laundry pile and then officially put our clothes in the suitcases!  All we talk about now is "Next Friday at this time...."  WE JUST CAN'T WAIT!

We got our In Country Itinerary today!

It's just Monday and this week has been busy already. My sister, Juli, had a baby girl yesterday. I held her for quite some time last night getting sad that I didn't hold Ruth Min when she was that little. But then it made me grateful to her caretakers for the first 27 months of Ruth's life! I plan to make up for missed time with rocking, singing, hugs and kisses.
Today we've been trying to gather the thank you gifts for Ruth's nannies. It is hard to express your gratitude in a small gift. Maybe it is the intention that counts.
Then we got home to have an email from our agency with our travel details and the adoption process in China! It is a FULL two weeks. 
Now the countdown to our flight out of this country..... 9 DAYS!

We are now trying to upload a video

And look what we found on Scott's phone.... Enjoy!
Timon says You got the Best of Both Worlds.... Yes Ruth Min will.

The things that keep me up at night....

I’m a little worried about staying connected to work and others while we are in China. I’ve got Scott up tonight figuring out our older video camera. I do want to record EVERY moment, and then be able to upload a few on this blog while in China!

So we are trying a few things now to be prepared… this in particular is posting from email since Blogger isn’t accessible while in China.

And this picture- well, it is a try too.

Mother’s Day Tea in Timon’s school class.

Okay… the big moment of did this work-à

3 weeks to go!

I've got that nesting feeling..... I'm oddly going through old stacks of magazines, old toys and stuff that's been sitting for years. By the end of this week, the lady at the Salvation Army may think nothings left in our house.

Our agency is still working on our plans while in China. I've tried not to ask for too much, but still waiting to see if the main requests can be fulfilled --> orphanage visit and 2 bedroom hotel suite.

Now we just need to hear whom Chloe & Timon have a school teachers in the fall so we can get their work together for the trip. Otherwise, I guess I will keep working at cleaning and organizing the house and preparing to be gone from the office so long!