As I type this, Trevor and the kids are having one final lunch in Guangzhou and then beginning their journey to Hong Kong and home. And that means that I am officially *not* going to China!
Yesterday (Wednesday) morning for them was Tuesday evening for us, and we were all praying fervently for the consulate appointment that caused us so much uncertainty just before Trevor traveled.
He was in a group of a dozen American adoptive families, all waiting, as he was, to finalize their child’s US visa.
The first thing they announced to the group was: we will need just one parent to come forward for the interview, and that parent must be a US citizen with their US passport. (I am so thankful I didn’t hear the tale until everything was already over!)
Trevor was the very last to be called, and, as promised, the first question was, “US passport, please?”
Trevor showed his British passport and US permanent resident card, and produced the email from that very office stating that he would be able to complete the adoption without me.
The man conducting the interview went to fetch his supervisor and discuss. I can only imagine how long those minutes must have felt. Finally, he agreed that the permanent resident card was sufficient, and continued with the interview.
After asking Trevor a few questions, the man spoke to Teddy. China’s policy (which I knew about but had forgotten since it never applied to us before) is that any child age ten or older must give consent to being adopted.
Well, our boy was apparently not in the mood for an interview. Though he is fairly verbal and certainly understood what was being asked of him, he refused to answer. “Well,” the man suggested in Chinese, “Could you point to your daddy?” Nope. Teddy could not.
The supervisor was fetched again. When it was clear that Teddy was to be an immovable force, the man said to Trevor, “I can tell from your interactions with him that he is clearly part of your family.”
And with that, the interview was over. Praise be to God!
They fly home on Saturday. God speed, my sweet loves!
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That was meant to be a heart, not question mark sorry!
I can see that you do not exactly have a lot of spare time, but would you consider putting a list of the children’s names, and perhaps birth years, somewhere on your blog? In “Who Am I” perhaps. Those of us not close to you IRL may start losing count …
Oh my goodness! Be still my heart! These things are so tricky! Good thing we have the King of the Universe on our side 😉 Glad Teddy’s home!
Done. Excellent idea! I think even those who are close to us irl are losing count :). Thanks for reading and commenting!