That’s a pretty popular sentiment around State College. Most of the PSU students have hit the road. PSU parents are looking forward to their kids coming home. Folks around Happy Valley are making plans to travel to see friends and family. We’ll be headed to Bedford, just like usual, spending some time with Kim’s family over the Christmas break.
But that’s not really where we wanted to be.
Don’t get me wrong–we love love being with family, especially at times like these. But Kim and I thought we’d be flying to China Christmas eve to meet Annabelle face to face, finalize the adoption, and bring her home. We haven’t received our travel approval yet, so we’ll wait another couple of weeks before we get to make that trip.
It’s been a long process–almost 5 years now. We’ve had our plans changed big time. We thought we were waiting to adopt a baby girl that we would name Annabelle. Turns out that Annabelle is a 9 year old girl, who is named Mei Yun. During our extended wait, I’ve learned a lot about patience, had my heart stolen by a girl I haven’t even met, and come to gain a new perspective on orphans.
I used to feel bad for those kids without families and homes, but that was where my experience ended. Then I went to the Rose of Sharon orphanage in the Dominican Republic. Talk about an attitude adjustment! I began to pray for the boys that I got to know. Over the past 11 years, I’ve come to love those guys (and girls now), and find ways to love and support them. I try to go down to visit them every year at least once. It sounds ridiculous to say it…one trip a year to see some kids that I love…
But somewhere along the way, I began to think about what we could to do make life better for at least one child without a family. God began to move in my heart (bringing me in line with Kim’s heart, and His) and soon we were smack in the middle of the adoption process.
That process has taken a lot longer than we expected, but the finish line is in sight. Within a month, we should be in China. I have a hunch that getting through the adoption process is probably only the beginning, though. There will be lots of hurdles and unforeseen situations that develop as we adjust to life with Annabelle, and she to us.
But to have her with us, here, at home…it’s so close now we can almost taste it. To quote Alvin and the Chipmunks, We can hardly stand the wait…
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