China Days 8, 9 & 10: U.S. Consulate

We took the immigrant oath on RaeAn's behalf in fulfillment of the US Immigration requirements.

Last Friday, after getting RaeAn’s passport, we boarded a plane for Guangzhou, China. Our flight was super easy and RaeAn did great! She played, took her bottle and slept the entire trip without a single tear! We thought the altitude would hurt her ears, but evidently it didn’t!

As we exited baggage claim we were met by our new guide, Elvan. He’s hilarious! We have been laughing at this jokes and stories since we first met! When he was in school, he tells the story of how his English teacher wrote 45 English names on the board for the students to choose from. Peter, Paul, John, etc. Unfortunately, he was sitting in the back. So by the time it was his turn all that was left was “Elvan.” So, he’s been Elvan for the past 15 years!

Saturday morning our family went to a medical clinic where RaeAn had a Medical Exam in preparation for the US Consulate appointment. Saturday afternoon, Elvan and the guys spent two hours going over our paperwork to make sure every little detail was perfect.

Sunday we visited another Buddhist temple where Elvan explained that for the majority of Chinese people, Buddhism is more “tradition” than it is “religion.” We saw lots of people burning incense and praying to the different Buddha statues. Elvan mentioned that for most people there, they were just going through the motions as they have specific needs in their lives. Made me wonder how often we just “go through the motions” of worship on Sundays because of our Christian worship traditions. Is that what our God wants from us? It’s a far cry from loving God with all my heart, soul, mind and strength…. Something to think about for sure.

Sunday night we enjoyed dinner at Burger King! Yum, yum:)

Monday morning we went to the US Consulate (along with dozens of other families adopting from China) to finalize adoption paperwork and take the “Immigrant Oath.” The consular said everything was in order! RaeAn’s US IR3 Visa will be ready tomorrow! For those who have been following our adoption journey from the beginning, this was THE DAY that all of the paperwork was for! All the notaries, authorizations, home studies, fingerprinting, payments, applications, etc. were in preparation for this day! Hip, hip, hooray!

We’ll get her Chinese passport back tomorrow afternoon (Tuesday) and then Wednesday is a “free day”. Thursday we leave for Honolulu and more USCIS paperwork processing! Still praying that proposed changes in the Certificate of Citizenship application process won’t take effect until AFTER RaeAn’s CoC is completed….

It’s been one week since they first put RaeAn in our arms and everyday just gets better and better. She’s such a bundle of sweetness and joy! She’s bonding well with all of us, something we are VERY thankful for!

There’s one other thing I’d like to mention…When we first received her medical report at the time of her referral, it noted that she was “Active.” Oh my goodness, this baby is ALWAYS ON THE MOVE!!! The only time she’s still is when she’s asleep:) Go, go girl!

Posted more pictures… Enjoy:)