Beijing Day 3

Our last night as a family of four!
Keeping all of our friends back home up to date!
Ben the Shopper

2/21/05

Except for the day I gave birth to my first kidney stone, this is the longest day of my life. We've been trying to pass time by shopping (which is always an enjoyable experience for us men) and resting in the hotel room. I hope Katie Lin doesn't enjoy "Shark Tales". If I have to watch it one more time my hair will be a lot thinner or grayer by the time I return to the States.

At this point, everyone is ready to complete our mission. Enough of Beijing, let's fly to Nanchang and get our little girl. The last few days have been time well spent with the family seeing things that we would probably never have taken the time to see otherwise, but I think we'll all be a little less on-edge once we are with Katie Lin.

I am grateful to our friend, Karen McReynolds, who reminded us in an email earlier today of the following verse:

"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be
terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with
you wherever you go." Joshua 1:9

Is that not true? He IS always with us wherever we go. Why should we worry or fear when He is sovereign and in complete control of all things.

I am also grateful for the wisdom of Tal Prince who told us recently of how the Lord had reminded him that, even if Johannah (his second daughter from China) did not accept him immediately, he must love her unconditionally, just as our Father has done for us. How can you argue with that? There is no more accurate picture of our relationship with God than the adoption of these precious orphans. If not for His grace, what kind of future would any of us have?

God has used so many of you to help prepare us for this day that we're about to experience. Your prayers, notes, emails, phone calls, and gifts have been invaluable to us. Thank you a thousand times!

Now on to some logistics...

We should arrive in Nanchang at 1:00 p.m. Tuesday afternoon. That's 11:00 p.m. Monday night in Alabama. After a long ride to the hotel and lunch, we should have Katie Lin by late afternoon, I'd say around 2:00 a.m. Tuesday morning CST. I'm not sure what type of internet connection we'll have, but I promise to post ASAP. If we don't have broadband then I'm sure the pictures will be fewer than Sonya would like to post, but we'll try to describe "the moment" with as many pic's as possible. Hopefully by the time you wake up Tuesday morning, you'll have a great story to read and pictures to view.

Thanks again for all your prayers and support. We feel as though you're all right here with us.

Jeff, Sonya, Drew, Ben and Grandmother