Awaiting our connection

We made it to Seoul, Korea after a 14 hour flight that left at 1:00AM from Chicago. The flight was very smooth. A special thank you to Kathy for posting updates to Facebook for us. We had excellent service with Asiana Airlines and 3 meals (I passed on one - considering it was the MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT!) Steve has done a lot of reading - one book is finished and he has only pages left in #2. (Thanks for the supply Steve Clem!) I have been enjoying journaling in my gorgeous journal (thanks Jess!), snacking on fresh saltwater taffy (what a treat Christy!), listening to praise & worship on my Ipod, reading some adoption attachment material and spending some time in the Psalms & Isaiah. There is nothing like singing about the Lord and His Majesty 48,000 feet above the earth. He has gone before us and I have such peace. I know that it is because of all of your prayers. We have been so blessed by the Lord through each of you. Thank you.

We are awaiting our next flight to Beijing and we will arrive in Beijing at 9:40AM (Wed. 7/21). That will be 8:40PM Tuesday night for most of you! After we get through immigration and customs we should be picked up by our agency guide and head to our hotel. The Wangfujing Grand Hotel of Bejing. We hope to get the lay of the land, find out where we can buy snacks and bottled water, figure out our internet access and get plugged in. I am really hoping to be able to Skype with the kids tonight. We miss them already and heard that there were some tears at bedtime last night. =( 18 more sleeps is a long time if the first one was rough.

I got an email from Grandma & Boppa that they are off to go sailing in Door County with the kids. I am sure that will be an adventure. Thank you for loving on them and to Bob & Donna for joining in!

It is really hard to believe that in just over 24 hours we will have Mia in our arms!!! I am excited to get to the city where her life began. I don't want to miss any of it. I hope to take it all in.

In closing, I have to share yet another unbelievable piece of God's sovereignty and His plan for Mia and our family. With our airline tickets, we received a huge city map of Beijing. I was thrilled to get it and start checking it out. I immediately looked to find the location of our hotel and then wanted to locate some of the other places that we have been hoping to see. The most important spot that I want to visit is Mia's finding location. In the paperwork that we received about Mia, it is very specifically documented where she was found - only days old.

(This is obviously a very painful part of her story and I want to be careful & sensitive in sharing it -please know I share this part only to give glory to God. The details are for Mia to share as she wishes).

What is unbelievable to me is that as I searched this HUGE map for the location....in Beijing - an enormous city with over 20 million people... I finally found the exact spot on the map where Mia's adoption journey began.

And it is ONE BLOCK from our hotel.

That can only be the hand of the Lord.

I was overwhelmed.

I know with certainty that the Lord - in His grace- has allowed us to see another glimpse of His perfect plan.

The Lord saw this newborn baby girl.
Left alone.
That must have been a devastatingly difficult decision by her birth mother.
A dark and painful time for both of them.
Yet in His Sovereignty, He provided a family.
Our family.
HER family.
From 10,000 miles across the globe, to return 1 small block away 4 years later.

She was never alone.

She was never lost.

He has seen it all and

He turns ashes into beauty.

I cannot wait to meet the treasure hidden in the darkness.
Here we come baby girl!