Thanks so much for visiting us during our journey, Steve, Heather, Ed, Joe, Emily, Hana, Zeke and Samuel!
December 11, 2007 We are finished!!!
Can you believe it? We’re finished. Day 19 in China and finally we can return home. A whole group (7 families) at the hotel received their children today and we learned tonight from their coordinator that, from start to finish in this province, it should take 10 days. We were obviously on the slow track, but it was too late to correct once the error had been made, and the discovery of how to fix it realized. Oh well, what can you do?
Anyway, on to the day events, such as they were. We basically re-packed and tweaked things we had packed yesterday to more evenly distribute the weight. The weight requirement for China Southern is different from U.S. airlines so everything has to be below 44 pounds. We’re flying China Southern from Guangzhou to Hong Kong. Also, we have a couple of breakable things that we wanted to be careful to pack well so they wouldn’t break in our checked luggage. And then there’s one breakable purchase that we will carry with us all the way back to the U.S. We really don’t have that much, though, and on this trip we’re not bringing back swords so we don’t have some of the difficulties we experienced the last time in China packing and then checking those.
After packing and lunch we met the Patzer family and boarded a van for the U.S. Consulate. Leila was going to meet us there since she was coming with another family from the White Swan Hotel. It took 35 minutes to get to the Consulate, and then some time to make our way in, check paperwork, and wait for the oath. The same nice young man from last year handled the oath again this year. After swearing that we have told the truth on all documents and verbally, the adoption was complete and Sam’s Chinese passport, with the U.S, visa, was returned to us. We also received the brown envelope, to remain sealed and turned into immigration when we go through customs in San Francisco. Finally, the adoption is complete, as far as China and the United States are concerned, and we finally have the visa, and paperwork required for Sam to enter the country. When we hand the brown envelope to the customs official, and the passports are stamped indicating that we have arrived in the United States, Sam will be a U.S. citizen and will receive his citizenship certificate in about 45 days.
Leila spent some time tonight explaining to Sam what to expect tomorrow, or actually for about the next 25 hours. We told him that there would be three flights. The first would be a short one from Guangzhou to Hong Kong. We’d then get on our next flight, for about 14 hours, from Hong Kong to San Francisco. And then there’s one last flight, about three hours long, from San Francisco to Albuquerque. Further, we explained that on the long flight there was at least eight hours of movies to keep him amused. He was happy at that.
We asked Sam if he had any questions. His first concerned how much oxygen was on the plane and if there was enough for the whole flight? We assured him that there was enough and that, under no conditions, could he open a window. His second concern was what would happen if someone used their cell phone on the plane, messed up the avionics, and the plane crashed? Heather told him that if that happened, it would only happen once. We think Leila probably corrected Heather’s response in the translation. He then wanted to know if there was snow on the ground at home and, if so, could we have a snowball fight? We told him that it had been snowing at home this morning and there very well might be snow (he’s never seen snow before), but he might be kind of tired for a snowball fight. He didn’t think so. The rest of the questions concerned what kind of pet he could have, he’s partial to cats, although is very excited about meeting our dog, Lizzy.
We also spent some time explaining to Sam that the first lady he lived with was not forever. The orphanage where he lived was not forever. The foster family he lived with was not forever. We, however, are his family forever and that’s why we have been pretty tough on him. We’re teaching him what it means to be a member of a family, how one behaves in a family, and how a person gets along with brothers and sisters. We think, and pray (emphasis on pray), that’s he’s catching on. He’s a great boy and he has such potential.
Tomorrow morning we meet Leila at 6:30 am to head to the airport. Our first flight leaves at 9:30 am. If you read this sometime during Tuesday (December 11th ), or Wednesday (December 12th ), and wouldn’t mind, please pray for our travels. Also, please pray for Sam and this major transition for him. This young boy of 11 years old will be leaving the only place he’s ever known. He’ll be leaving the country of his birth, his language, his culture, his food, and the sights and sounds he’s so used to. Where he’s going will be so much better for him, but there will be times when he’s sure to be scared and uncertain. If you think of Samuel Zichang Allen, we’d sure appreciate a prayer for him.
Blessings to all our friends and family,
Steve, Heather, Joe and Sam, on our way home, and
Ed, Emily, Hana and Zeke at home, along with Grandma and Aunt Sue,
ready to meet us at the airport.
