Well, our trip sure has been eventful thus far and we don't even have Lucille yet! We're going to try to recap our days on this blog, probably in more boring detail than you all care about, but we want to have it for our own sake. So, sorry!
We've already mentioned how we noticed our air conditioner not working the evening before we were supposed to leave. There was no way we could wait until we got back to fix it because there are people staying at our house with the kids while we're gone. But as our beautiful friend Meg pointed out we were amazingly fully packed and ready to go much earlier in the day, so Steve actually had a full evening to take apart and diagnose the a/c. He got up at 6am on the day of departure to drive to the opposite side of town to visit five different places, none of which had the part we needed. However, the last place recommended a store that Steve didn't have on his list and they actually had the part! He made it back in plenty of time to install the part and save the day! Our hero!
Our fabulous friends Nate & Marie arrived to drive us and all our luggage to the airport. They got to witness the awkwardness of their friend crying in the back seat as we drove away. Sorry, guys! Leaving the littles behind is the hardest part! They prayed with us when they dropped us off, which was so very special to us. We have the best friends ever. The first leg of the trip to Detroit was uneventful, but it was fun seeing Ella experience everything for the first time. The flight attendant gave her a little pin to commemorate her first flight.
In Detroit we were waiting for our flight and a woman approached me and said, "are you Heather?" She introduced herself as Debi, a fellow adoptive mom traveling to pick up her precious 7 year old daughter. Of course, I immediately knew her from one of the adoption Facebook groups I'm a part of. I don't care how badly some people dislike Facebook, it is definitely a blessing in the adoption world. We're able to have an extremely supportive, encouraging community around us of moms from all over the country (and even the world). It is invaluable. So here's a shout-out to all you moms in my FB groups! I consider you part of our "village!" So Debi had seen me walk by and remembered my face from FB. I'm so glad she came and introduced herself! She was on the same flight to Shanghai. After we boarded we sat on the plane for nearly 2 hours before taking off. I'm thankful for the blessing of wi-fi and all you friends that kept me company by talking with me over messenger :) 14 1/2 hours later we landed at the exact time our next flight was taking off. We had to deplane on the tarmac, take a shuttle to the terminal, meander our way to the long, slowest-moving line known to humanity-Customs. We had to collect our checked baggage, and it turned out that Debi's checked bag never made it on the plane, so please pray it meets up with her today or tomorrow before she meets her daughter!! At this point we teamed up with Debi, each taking turns encouraging each other that it would be OK! We somehow found the counter that had someone who could get us a hotel room for the night and book us all on new flights for the next day. We waited awhile for the hotel shuttle and once it arrived everyone else stormed it within 2.5 seconds and it was clear there was no way we were going to fit! So, Steve to the rescue again! he chased down someone and paid for a taxi to take us and Debi to our hotel. We checked in and said goodbye and good luck to Debi. We crashed for five hours and were back to the airport!!
Trying to check-in this morning on our new flight was not without hiccups. They somehow could not find Steve's itinerary and we were having trouble communicating with the agent! Thankfully, I had heard a Chinese woman in line behind us speak English earlier so I asked her if she could help us. We eventually got it worked out and were on our way. I hope you all are seeing the way God provided in each of these tough situations. The air conditioner part, running into Debi so she could encourage us to trust Him, the wi-fi on the two hour delay, a great hotel when our flight was missed, the woman behind us in line who could translate. We never panicked even though there were lots of times that we could have (and believe me, staying calm is not always our first reaction). God is good and He's in control.So we're now settled into our hotel in Guangzhou and in just about 24 hours we will meet our sweet Lucille :)
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Quick update after our first night out on the town. Here's how you order at McDonald's here. No, we didn't try the green bun pork sandwich. Pro tip, when customizing the cheeseburger for a happy meal, don't deselect the thing that says "10:1 xxxx". Turns out that line means "beef patty". We almost had a cheese-and-ketchup sandwich for Ella, but one of the workers that spoke a little English came to us very confused and made sure we wanted it that way. The cooks in the back had a nice laugh over that one! Stupid Americans.
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