We are in Zhengzhou!

Whew! That's quite a looong plane trip. We had about 23 hours of flight time. We had no guide for our overnight stay in Guangzhou and it got a little dicey- thank goodness for the little Mandarin I know. This morning we were walking into the airport and a man tried to convince us the airport wasn't open. Luckily we chose not to believe him . I guess he wanted to carry or bags into the airport some roundabout way so he could make a buck. We just walked up to the doors and they opened right up.

We are relieved to be in Zhengzhou and our guide is wonderful. Zhengzhou is a beautiful city- we noticed that it is very colorful and we can't wait to walk around some more. We exchanged some dollars for yuan and our guide gave us a lesson on spotting counterfeit-hold it up to the light for a second hidden Mao face... There is another great wall family we will meet tomorrow. They are getting a daughter the same age at Cheng. We are going to the civil affairs office tomorrow at 9:40 to meet my son!!!!!! I think that would be 8:40 pm central time. Thanks for your prayers!

Can't figure out how to post pics, maybe i can get someone to help me tomorrow.
God is good!

Love, Pam

The boys' room is done and ...to China or bust!

I chose the book "Where does the brown bear go?" for the theme. Zach was so cute when I was reading it to him, it got me inspired. I copied the drawings with oil pastels. i also decorated the letters and table with an old map and scrapbook papers. I used a paint marker to write some phrases from the book. My mother in law painted "our home" in Chinese.

The last phrase in the book is "...and everyone is home". Soon it will be true, Cheng-cheng! I can't wait to see both the boys sleeping.

Love, Pam

Itinerary

Hi everyone, 1 week from now I'll be in China! That just blows my mind, but I'm ready to hop on that plane :)

Here's our plans:

Friday, Aug 29th Fly Home to Detroit to Tokyo to Guangzhou
Saturday, August 30th Arrive in Guagzhou, stay overnight Novotel Baiyun hotel.
Sunday, August 31st Fly to Zhengzhou. Check in to Holiday Inn Zhengzhou.
Monday, Sept. 1st Gotcha Day!
Tuesday, Sept 2nd, Go to Civil Affairs for paperwork
Weds, Sept 3rd, Shopping or orphanage visit to Sanmenxia (3 hr drive)
Thurs, Sept 4rth, Visit Museum or orphanage visit
Fri, Sept 5th Sightseeing at park and pick up Cheng's passport

Saturday, Sept 6th Fly to Guangzhou, check into White Swan hotel.
Sun, Sept 7th Sightseeing tour to Chen family temple.
Mon, Sept 8th Cheng's visa photo and medical exam
Tues, Sept 9th Guide takes our papers to the consulate.
Weds, Sept 10th Interview and visa pickup at the consulate.
Thurs Sept 11th Fly HOME!

I can't believe I'm going to blessed with another precious son. I'm grateful to God who is so much bigger than we could imagine.

Please pray for my sweet babies at home, that they won't miss me too much. Please pray for my husband and his mom who is here to help. And pray for little Cheng that he would learn to trust again. Last pray for me and my sister, that we will have endurance and wisdom in this journey.

Love, Pam

We are blessed to be here,,,

I don't know about you, but most times as I head off to church, I never give a thought to how blessed we are to go where we want without fear. Just came across this news story:

China Aid Association, Inc (CAA), USA, Aug 06 2008-

CAA has been informed that President of the Chinese House Church Alliance and Personal Friend, Pastor Zhang “Bike” Mingxuan, has been arrested along with his wife and fellow pastor, Wu.

The three were detained by the PSB of Zhengzhou City, Henan Province. Pastor Zhang was on his way to deliver medicine to his ill wife when he was detained. All three are being held at Jing Ba Lu Branch PSB office in Zhengzhou City, the Capital of Henan Province.

This article is from Voice of the Martyrs:

Olympic Persecution: Inspiration for Olympic Prayer Band Arrested

Pastor Zhang “Bike” Mingxuan, known for traveling across China on a bicycle to evangelize, was arrested by Chinese police just two days before the Olympics began. Pastor Bike was the inspiration for the recent partnership between The Voice of the Martyrs and China Aid Association to create the Olympic Prayer Band.

Pastor Asks for Prayer Band
Earlier this year, Pastor Bike pleaded with VOM staff to ask Christians to pray for persecuted Christians in China during the Olympics. The pastor voluntarily preaches the gospel openly in China despite being persecuted. He has asked for his identity to be revealed to bring continued attention to the persecution of Christians in Communist China.

Thanks to Pastor Bike’s inspiration and the commitment of concerned Christians across the United States, more than 800,000 prayer bands have been circulated. On Aug. 6, Pastor Bike was arrested while trying to deliver medicine to his ailing wife. His wife and another pastor were also arrested. We have also learned this week that Chinese officials are opening a full investigation of the Olympic Prayer Bands that were distributed to house church members within China. Despite this increased pressure from Chinese authorities, Chinese Christians continue to ask for prayer and to make their plight known.

More about Pastor Bike
Pastor Bike, president of the Chinese House Church Alliance, rode his bike more than 10,000 miles, visiting 24 Chinese provinces to introduce nonbelievers to Jesus Christ. Armed with a Bible and his business card, which declared “Believe in Jesus, Be Granted Eternal Life,” Pastor Bike brought the gospel to thousands of people. He and other Chinese evangelists have been repeatedly harassed by Chinese officials during this Olympic year.

Please pray for the release of Pastor Bike and his wife.

We will be spending our first week in Zhengzhou. I have read so many stories of persecution in this province. Please pray for the Christians there.

Love, Pam

Homeschooler Pics

Here's that first day of school pic I promised the other day:


Dora and Zach are both loving school so far!

Pam

Alex update

We have our Cheng-cheng's measurements:


height 87cm (34.3 inches)

weight14kg (31 pounds)

head 51cm (20.1 inches)

chest 53cm (21 inches)

foot 16.5cm (6.5 inches)

Big boy! Just a few inches shorter than Zach and a few pounds lighter.

I bought one of those toddler backpack leashes for Cheng. I can't take a chance on losing him at the airport and he may not want to hold my hand. It looks like a monkey and Zach has been strapping himself into it and running around with Dora as his "owner" After a few minutes one or both smack into a wall and Mommy puts monkey away for the day...

We also had our first official day of homeschool for this school year. It went great! I took pictures of them holding up some books since the traditional backpack photo doesn't really apply. we just walk over to the cabinet to get our books! I'll post later. Dora is in kindergarten and Zach is doing 3 yr old preschool activities.

I was going to wait until after we pick up Cheng but Dora was begging to start and my husband was getting nervous because his co-worker's kids have started school.

Please continue to pray for Cheng's transition to a new family and culture.

Love, Pam

Buh-bye!!!!

We're booked to go. Praise the Lord!!!!!They told me not to post yet, so I'll wait a little while longer...call me or e-mail if you want to know...in the meantime here's a little Mississippi Humor a friend e-mailed to me:


YOU KNOW YOU ARE IN MISSISSIPPI IN JULY WHEN. . . .

The birds have to use potholders to pull worms out of the ground.

The trees are whistling for the dogs.

The best parking place is determined by shade instead of distance.

Hot water now comes out of both taps.

You can make sun tea instantly.

You learn that a seat belt buckle makes a pretty good branding iron.

The temperature drops below 95 and you feel a litt le chi lly.

You discover that in July it only takes 2 fingers to steer your car.

You discover that you can get sunburned through your car window.

You actually burn your hand opening the car door.

You break into a sweat the instant you step outside at 7:30 a.m.

Your biggest bicycle wreck fear is, 'What if I get knocked out and end up lying on the pavement and cook to death?'

You realize that asphalt has a liquid state.

The potatoes cook underground, so all you have to do is pull one out and add butter, salt and pepper.

Farmers are feeding their chickens crushed ice to keep them from laying boiled eggs.

The cows are giving evaporated milk.

Ah, what a place to call home. . God Bless Our State of Mississippi !!

Love, Pam

Travel Approval is here!

Woohoo-finally the last thing we needed from China has arrived. We could leave as early as Aug 29th or it could be a little later due to the Olympics. We'll know in 3 to 10 days after our consulate appt is confirmed. Please pray for no more delays .

I'll post again soon when I know anything.