Reconnecting and Waiting

The last couple of days have been a whirlwind for sure.  It is hard to believe that only a few days ago we were going to sleep in our bed in America without a child for the last time! Since then we have flown on three planes, traveled a total of 28 hours, fought jet lag, reconnected with friends, and enjoyed some REAL Chinese food! And now, we are about 48 hours from finally holding our little girl in our arms!  The story itself seems almost unbelievable but it is definitely evidence of the great God we serve working all around us!

The trip itself was uneventful for the most part although on our longest flight (13 hours) God blessed us with an empty seat and gave us an entire row to ourselves!  Once we arrived in China we were immediately met at the gate by some of our close friends here.  We have been staying with them and enjoying a great time of reconnecting with them.  They too are in the adoption process and it has been wonderful to encourage each other through this process we are sharing.

Then on Friday morning we got to see some of the brothers and sisters here that were a major part of the work while we lived here.  The most encouraging part is that the work is continuing on and even thriving in many ways!  Below is a picture of one of the key leaders and his new wife (they were married on September 15th!) and one other great leader.  

 After spending some time with these amazing Brothers and Sister we were able to connect with some other great people and also revisit some of the places in Shanghai that mean so much to us. We stopped by our first apartment where we saw God do so much and we also went to the campus where we studied Chinese and were a part of some great movements of God. Below is picture of the Chairman Mao statue where we would often share the Good News to those practicing their English and then there is also a picture of us sitting in a field on the campus where God gave us clear direction in our future and gave us a great promise.

We also got to have some of our favorite foods too!

Overall, it has been a great few days but the best is yet to come.  It seems like after waiting for more than 16 months since we started this journey a couple days wouldn't be that hard but the wait has been very challenging.  We fall asleep thinking and dreaming about her, and she is the first thought on our mind in the morning. But, our God is faithful and we know He has a perfect plan in all of this! 

Keep checking back for more updates! You can also see more pictures on our facebook at http://www.facebook.com/michaelshannonhill

Thank you to all of you who have been praying!