|
The Journey for
|
|
I began to fill out the very first paperwork for the adoption of Meaghan Elizabeth (yet to be known) Gietzen on May 1 ,1997. My dossier was completed and delivered to China on December 25, 1997. I received a phone call from Deniece of Chinese Children Adoption International on July 30, 1998 telling me that I had a beautiful 7 month old baby named Yang Fu Ling. She was in Yangjiang Social Welfare House in Yangjiang City, Guangdong Province, PRC. I received her referral picture via Federal Express on July 31, 1998. She is approximately 3 months old in this photo. I promptly scanned the photo a emailed it to everyone I could think of that had been waiting patiently by my side during this VERY long pregnancy. But then labor started... the hardest part of the waiting was from July 30, 1998 when I heard all about her from Deniece over the phone (in between sniffles and sobbing) until she was handed to me in China on October 6, 1998. |
| After a devastating
travel delay, I received these surprise update photos of Yang Fu
Ling.
Yes, they shaved her head. This is a very common practice in the southern part a China. It is very hot in southern China and for many reasons, including cleanliness, they shave the children's head (boys and girls alike). This is not only done in the orphanages. When in China we saw many of the children with their heads shaven. I was so relieved to see these pictures. I then knew that she was growing and appeared to be very healthy. I am also glad because 8 month old babies look a lot different than 3 month old babies and these photos helped me recognize her when we arrived in China to pick her up.
GO BULLS! This is when Aunt Debbie fell in love with Fu!
|
| We finally leave for
China... Thursday, October 1 at 10:40 AM.
Sue Cleland and I got off to an interesting start because we got to the airport in Grand Rapids realizing that we left our video camera at home. Our dear friend, Lorie Shier, who was nice enough to take us to the airport; raced back to the house to get the camera and returned just in time for our plane to depart from Grand Rapids, MI to Detroit, MI. We joined our very close friend Owen Geisz. Owen flew from Kansas City, MO to Detroit, MI where we would all depart for Tokyo, Japan. Owen was, within 3 weeks, headed to the alter to be wed to another buddy of ours, Mary Winkler. Mary, being the saint she is, let Owen travel with us to China for which we will be forever grateful.
|
| Fairly
exhausted we arrived in Hong Kong, via our stop in Tokyo, on Friday,
October 2
at 11:00 PM (Hong Kong time). This would make it Friday, October 2 at
11:00 AM at home. A mere 25 hours after leaving our home
airport we were at our destination. We hooked up with Jeff
Moore and his friend Scooter who had traveled to pickup Jeff's second daughter, Grace. Jeff's wife
stayed home with their first daughter, Hope, also adopted in China. We met
up with them at the airport in Tokyo, Japan.
We sat in the lobby of the Kowloon Shangri-La Hotel until after 3:00 AM just trying to wind down. We were meeting up with the remainder of the CCAI adoption travel group 105 the next afternoon.
|
| On
Saturday, October 3, 1998 we
joined up with the families of the other 12 children that were being
adopted in the CCAI travel Group 105.
We would then spend one addition night in Hong Kong. The first day the group gathered for a traditional Dim Sum lunch and then had a half-day tour of Hong Kong. We were all pretty tired but very excited that we finally within days of getting our long awaited children.
|
| On Sunday, October 4,
1998 we left Hong Kong for Guangzhou
by bus. The bus ride was interesting, as
we had to cross the border and clear Chinese customs as we enter mainland China. It was
an intimidating process, knowing that we now entering a Communist
country. Although China has taken over the rule of Hong Kong from
the British it is still very different from mainland China. I have no
pictures from this portion of the trip because we were warned not to take
photographs.
Ann Dill (another adoptive mom) had her film confiscated by the border patrol after taking photos in Chinese customs. I knew I liked her from the very beginning, I am glad she was not locked up in a Chinese prison.
Anne Dill "shutterbug extraordinaire"
|
| We arrived
at the China Hotel in Guangzhou, that same day and were sent to a conference room to be
checked in and given further instruction.
The travel group was adopting from two different orphanages. Five children were from Gaoming, Guangdong Province and the other eight children were from Yangjiang, Guangdong Province. It was announced then that the Gaoming Group would be traveling to the orphanage on October 5 to pickup their babies and they would be returning that evening to the China Hotel with them. We would wait until October 6 to travel on a 5 hour bus ride to Yangjiang.
|
|
The next day, Monday, October 5, 1998 we completed all the provincial paperwork necessary to complete the adoption process. We did the preliminary paperwork in our hotel rooms and then we traveled to the provincial offices to complete the process.
The Future Mom's of America Club Alice Wu, our CCAI interpreter, (sitting to my left below) walked us through all the paperwork.
The Guangdong Provincial Offices
|
| That
evening the group from Gaoming arrived back at the China hotel with their
babies. They were all so beautiful and healthy.
Needless to say, I cried! Here is a photo of the youngest baby in our group, Jeff Moore's baby Grace. The sweetest happiest baby that you would ever want to meet.
|
|
Finally it is the big day...
Tuesday, October 6, 1998
The day we are going to get to hold Yang Fu Ling and welcome her into her FOREVER FAMILY! We came to know all the people in our group much better as a result of a very long and intimate bus ride to Yangjiang. We talked, we sang, we laughed, we cried... we did anything we could to pass the time. Throughout the entire bus trip we were being told that we would not be going to the orphanage and that the babies would be brought to the hotel. Many of us had a feeling that because Mr. Gu, the CCAI Director of China, was traveling with us that we might actually be able to see the orphanage. We were all very anxious just to get there and get our babies and it did not really matter where or how. |
| When we arrived
at the Yangjiang International Hotel we all had lunch as
a group. Many of us had little to no appetite. We just
wanted those wee ones in our arms.
After lunch we were instructed to go to our rooms and wait and the babies would be brought to our hotel rooms one by one. We were all a little disappointed that we would not be able to go to the orphanage, but we were very happy that we would be able to FINALLY get our babies. We all went to our respective rooms and waited. The phone rang and it was Mr. Gu letting me know that we were going to the orphanage after all. I scurried to get all the documents I needed and count the money necessary for the orphanage donation and notarization of the final adoption papers. Wow... I get to see a little of Yang Fu Ling's history. I get to see were she lived for the first nine months of her life. |
| We all
met in the lobby and then loaded on the bus to travel to the
orphanage. The trip took about 15 minutes. During the entire
trip Mr. Gu reminded us that we should take no video of the outside of the
orphanage and to be very careful of offending the orphanage staff.
The bus backed down a very narrow street. We had arrived at YangJiang Social Welfare House. We all cautiously walked behind Mr. Gu to the gate of the court to the building. I noticed that the walls were protected from intruders by shards of glass placed at the top of the high walls. It was a very intimidating scene. We all gathered in a very small waiting area. As I was approaching the waiting room I noticed a woman carrying a baby that looked very much like the pictures that I had received of Yang Fu Ling. I did not want to be disappointed if that was not her, so I proceeded into the waiting room with all the other parents. |
| This
small room was very chaotic! Everybody was excited and nervous about
meeting their babies for the very first time. In all the chaos a
Chinese woman walked into the room with a baby and hollered out "Yang
Fu Ling, Yang Fu Ling"... It was the baby that I had spotted earlier
and YES she was my daughter...
I began to reach for her and Mr. Gu came into the room and quickly swept this woman and Yang Fu Ling out of the room. There was great confusion. I thought that there was something wrong with the baby. I really did not understand what was happening. As it turned out, Mr. Gu wanted each family group to receive their baby in the vestibule adjacent to the waiting room. This made sence...but I waited another 45 minutes before I got to see her again. It was very difficult!
|
| Finally, my name was
called... it was time for me to really meet my Meaghan. She was very
tentative about leaving the arms of the Orphanage Director. When she
handed her to me she began to cry and so did I.
After receiving a few helpful hints from Sue, she began to calm down and than she began to smile and even laugh. It did not seem to take long for her to get used to me holding her.
Meaghan and mommy at Yangjiang Social Welfare House |
Meaghan Elizabeth Fu Ling 
