After the orientation session, several of the families went to a nearby grocery store to pick up some items. It reminded us a lot of of the Asian grocery stores in Houston with the exception that no one speaks any English. When you ask a store clerk in Mandarin Chinese whether he or she can speak English, you get a funny look or stare.
Then, we went back to the hotel and waited for the phone call from Marie. At the orientation session, Marie told us that she would call us when the babies arrived.
About 2:30 p.m., we received the call. Marie told us to be downstairs in one of the hotel's conference room at 3:00 p.m. Our hearts began to race. We reflected on the long adoption process including all the paperwork, the finances, the prolonged waiting, the travel, and all the emotional energy that we invested. Finally, we said to ourselves, "We are at the finish line!" We thanked the Lord for providing us this little child.
A few minutes later, we went downstairs to our conference room. At around 3:00 p.m., the babies from the Dianjiang orphanage arrived. They were dressed in these cute pink and blue snow suits all bundled up. And, there she was, baby Elizabeth! We could tell her by her big eyes. She was just looking around - her eyes darting back and forth checking out her surroundings.
Finally, we went through a formal ceremony in which each family was presented their child. We also presented our gifts to the orphanage director. And, everyone took lots of pictures and videos. After receiving some further instructions and formula to cover 3 to 4 days, we took baby Elizabeth back to the room.
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