From the Ridiculous to the Sublime

Today began with an exercise that MelodyJoy clearly saw as ridiculous: A trip to “The Examination Room for Adopted Children.” We were herded through three medical examinations along with a string of . . . who knows? . . . hundreds of Chinese orphans all receiving perfunctory reviews required by the US government. They checked Melody’s hearing (and, frankly, it appeared to me that she failed the test but perhaps they were grading on a curve), listened to her chest and eyeballed her from head to toe, measured her and more. She was thrilled with each aspect of this process, especially being weighed. We found out that she weighs 18.4 pounds and is 27.9 inches tall. The third doctor also told us that the bump on her head is a boil and wrote a prescription for us.

I spent two hours this afternoon jammed into our guides’ hotel apartment with over thirty other parents as Amy led us line by line and form by form through the process of filling out paperwork for the US embassy. (Not to mention turning over the last official payment--$460—of this adoption process!)

It was tedious but I was so grateful for Amy’s guidance as some of the questions appeared simple but were not. For instance, one form asked for the names of MelodyJoy’s siblings. I would have quickly listed Jordan, Phillip and Jameson. Uh, no, the correct answer was “Unknown,” because we can’t know if she has any biological brothers or sisters. In fact, it was a stark reminder to me of Melody’s situation as I saw how many unknowns there were on the children’s forms. Birth city? Unknown. Parent’s names? Unknown. Health history? Unknown.

We all get along well so at times it was hard for Amy to get us through the forms as we were entirely too busy chattering away over this and that, helping one other keep up with her instructions. One very light moment came as we came to a series of questions that asked things like whether the applicant was of average appearance and average intelligence. Naturally, we simultaneously thought the same thing: NO! Our daughter is well above average! Amy insisted we all write “yes” and move on. Another item asked if the applicant plays sports and games with others and Amy again told us to write in “yes.” Pretty funny when you consider that two-thirds of the kids can’t even walk yet.

This evening, after dinner in the hotel’s Chinese restaurant, we went up to an apartment that has been assigned to two of the couples—a huge penthouse place on the 17th floor—and Peter organized a worship service for us all. I’d guess that about fifty or sixty of us, including babies, were there. Our daughter’s first “church” service. After some singing, Pete brought a short “message,” several people shared their thoughts, and one of the pastors in our group led us in communion. I closed in prayer after reading the verses that God gave us as He led us to decide to move back to Oregon from Kentucky six years ago:

“. . . the Lord who created you says, ‘Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you. I have called you by name; you are mine. When you go through deep waters and great trouble, I will be with you. . . . . For I will give you abundant water to quench your thirst and to moisten your parched fields. And I will pour out my Spirit and my blessings on your children. They will thrive like watered grass, like willows on a riverbank.’” (Isaiah 43:1-2a, 44:3-4)

May God indeed be with our children as they go through difficult times and provide for all their needs!

Returning to our room, we experienced a couple more firsts just before bedtime. Jeannette put MelodyJoy down on the floor and convinced her to crawl for what we assume is the first time. (Another unknown!) Afterwards, Jeannette sputtered and nuzzled MJ’s tummy and elicited our first full-out laughter. We also tried out the “squeaky shoes” that Jeannette bought today—little shoes that squeak with every step—and Melody had fun being walked across the floor for a few minutes.

We also got good news today that my dad is finally home from the hospital after his overnight visit turned into overnight-after-overnight for the last week. Our travel group had prayed for him several days ago as we drove through Guangzhou’s traffic on our way to a meal. Glad you’re home and able to read this blog now, Grandpa!!

Tomorrow we will visit a folklore museum (if I understood what Lineaker was telling us) and go to a tea ceremony (where Jeannette is sure they will figure out a way to sell us something), then have the rest of the day to ourselves. Thanks for following our journey. For another viewpoint, visit www.thedriskills.blogspot.com.