Finally here...

Well, we made it into Beijing safe and sound.  The flight was not bad at all.  We got the good seats up front, can't remember what they are called, and then had our own little TV set with our choice of games, movies, and TV shows.  It is about 11:45 am Nashville time on Friday and it is 1:45 am Beijing time on Saturday, so we are 14 hours ahead.  We are headed out in a little less than 7 hours to tour the Forbidden City, TienAnMen Square, and then the Great Wall!  Also, we'll get a taste of authentic Peking Duck tomorrow.  I hope that it's head and feathers are off when it comes to me....anyone remember the scene at the very end of the movie "A Christmas Story"?  Yep, the duck that was smiling at them and Deck the Hars with Bars of Horry Fa ra ra ra ra ra ra ra ra.  On to a more politically correct topic.

As we were flying to Beijing something very obvious came to my attention. We were sitting next to a very nice, young American family who actually now live in China.  During our discussion, really Nicole was talking with the other young lady (those who know me get that I am not much for conversation with strangers...or with people I know for that matter...I prefer to be known as the silent type) our adoption came up and we were asked why we decided to adopt...up until that point it's been a normal question from people we know who know our faith and the answer is an easy one.  But now, a stranger has asked us why we are adopting....Nicole paused and I think I know what was going on in her mind...Where do I start?  How much do I share? How spiritual do I get with her? (Maybe not Nicole, but certainly that one would go through my mind)

Than it hit me like a ton of bricks...a duh moment.  This story is our entry to sharing the gospel with others.  We cannot share our story without sharing how God has done this amazing work in our lives.  There is no way to tell the story without talking very specifically about God and His provision and work.  And that made me tear up because I realized that for the rest of our lives when someone asks about our family, they have unknowingly asked about our faith and, hopefully, every time they will get a response that includes God.  When I am 90 and Bo is 43 and people find out she is my daughter and ask the story, I , and she, will have the opportunity to share the gospel.  That excites me, but it also scares me...my wife is much better at this than I am.

Baby Bo is less than two days away!

God, my immediate prayer is rest.  We have a short night tonight and a long day tomorrow followed by an early morning flight to get Bo...make each hour of sleep feel like 3 hours of sleep.