Gotcha Day in China

Tiffany, one of AGCI’s Inquiry Coordinators, has had the opportunity to travel this week with a family who is in China to bring home their child. Here are some of her thoughts from China:

GreatWall2My journey to Beijing, China began March 1st and ended with me arriving to my hotel March 2nd at about 11pm China time. I entered my room with the hopes of getting some much needed sleep before seeing the city and meeting up with our AGCI family who is completing their adoption this week. Though sleep evaded me, the adrenaline pumping through me from all of the excitement has made sleep unnecessary for the moment! I got to spend my first morning with our Foreign Service Provider Rocky. AGCI is so blessed to not only be working with such a capable FSP, but one that knows his history, and is one of the friendliest people I could hope to meet!…

…Today we visited Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. Following my tour with Rocky I had a delicious traditional meal and then was able to spend a couple of hours exploring this incredible city! Tomorrow we will be able to visit the Great Wall and then we will make our way to Tianjin City for our adoptive family to be united with their wonderful daughter. I am so grateful to join them as they finish the process to bring their child home. I will have more to share as this adventure has just begun!…

…Yesterday was a day filled with site seeing and cultural experiences! After being able to finally meet the family in person, we made the trek to see the Great Wall and make the climb along the mountain side to a couple of the watch towers. To say the wall was impressive would not do it justice. When considering the challenges and technological barriers that were overcome to create such a large structure, it seems impossible. After seeing the Wall, we went to have lunch and take a tour at a cloisonné factory. It is such a beautiful art that has deep roots in Chinese history, especially among the royal families. After this we quickly traveled back to Beijing to take a Hutong Tour. This tour takes you into one of the oldest surviving traditional neighborhoods in order to experience the traditional family life. To wrap up our time in Beijing we went to visit a Tea House where we learned proper tea etiquette and were able to taste a few teas that are typical in day to day life. From there we were able to drive to the province where the family’s child is from…

…This morning was the day! Gotcha Day! The whole reason we are here! Prior to meeting their daughter, I had asked their 4 year old if he was excited to meet his sister? He told me “no, he was excited to bring her home.” He wanted more than a moment, he wanted – and was ready for – forever. I can’t picture a more beautiful thing then what I saw today. The culmination of all of the paperwork, the fundraising, the waiting, and countless prayers, all came together when mom held her daughter for the first time. The rest of today will be mostly down time for the family to get to know each other and rest. Tomorrow the family will continue to complete paperwork here in the Province. What a day and what a blessing this little girl will be to everyone she meets!