Travel plans

I (Sarah) thought I would give a timeline of what we expect to happen over the next few days as well as a few things you could pray for us (aka the list of things I am most worried about!)

Silas and I are going to get Rachel this week!  We leave this Thursday afternoon out of OKC and fly to Chicago.  From Chicago we go to Beijing, arriving late Friday evening their time.  Saturday will be spent sightseeing in Bejing with 2 other families from our agency.  Then, Sunday morning, we fly to Lanzhou (in Gansu province) along with another family who are adopting a baby girl from the same orphanage.  When we get off the plane at the Lanzhou airport, we will be met by my friend Amanda along with two of her daughters, Alana and Hannah.

Then the most important part: We get Rachel that day (Sunday, 1/12/14) in our hotel in Lanzhou!

The next 5 days are spent doing paperwork and appointments in the province.  We will get to do some sightseeing also.  I am so thankful that Amanda will be there to help us navigate everything.  We will have a guide there, too, but I am so excited to be able to spend this exciting time with such a good  friend.   We just this week found out that a young man from our church is working in Lanzhou also, so we will see him and his sister too.  Amazing how things work out! 

Friday, we get Rachel's Chinese passport and then we fly to Guangzhou, where the U.S. consulate is located.  In Guangzhou, we will be with 3 other families from our agency. While there, we have several more appointments.  We have to do a medical exam including a tb test on Saturday.  Wednesday is our official consulate appointment.  Thursday evening, we pack up and take a van to Hong Kong, spend the night there, then get on the plane and fly home via Chicago!  We will be home Friday, the 24th, in the late afternoon.  Rachel will become a U.S. citizen the moment we touch ground in Chicago. 

Here are a few things you could pray for us if you think of us over the next couple of weeks:

• Safety and smoothness in transportation and weather.  Rachel has to make a pretty long trip to get to Lanzhou.  Her city, Qingyang City, is several hours away, through mountainous terrain, from what I understand.   Not to mention that I don't really love airplane rides......
• Good health for everyone.
• That Rachel trusts us quickly and experiences genuine peace with this process that is disrupting everything familiar to her.  
• That I pack wisely.
• That we are a blessing to others around us.  
• For Steve, David, Jonathan, and Caleb as they hold down the fort at home. And that we are all able to communicate easily through technology.   

I am super excited and super anxious at the same time!  I can't wait to see everyone after we get back.
We plan on "blogging" almost everyday that we can.  Silas is going to add his own section in also, so he can let his class know how things are going from his perspective.  I don't think I can get to facebook while I am in China, so be sure to stop in here to check on us.