Jie's Journey

By Jerry and Nancy B.

All stories like this are packed with emotion - because they are indeed emotional stories. But we will NEVER forget the moment when our babies actually arrived with their respective care-givers in the Sunshine Plaza Hotel in Langzhou. We eagerly scanned the procession of babies trying to see if our four-month old infant whose picture we had in hand had significantly changed when she became an eleven-month old baby. Truth be told, two did look alike, but in about a heartbeat we saw that special smile that was uniquely Jie's.

Emotion continued after the first glance between mothers and daughters (and fathers and brothers and sisters and aunts and nieces!) under the watchful and sad eyes of the care-givers. It was as natural as breathing when Jie was placed in Nancy's arms, yet the moment was still quite surreal and spiritual. There was no music playing in the room, but the walls resounded with a symphony of sheer joy and delight.

Although this has to be the highlight of any adoption trip, so much happened prior to and following the trip that the story would be incomplete without these pieces.

Our family is not very good at paperwork (but our eventual rationale was that our procrastination was the determining factor in Jie becoming our own special and unique daughter!).

We couldn't believe how patient Wide Horizons was with us (our move from Massachusetts to New Hampshire certainly helped exacerbate the process!). But we had wonderful guidance and direction in completing all the necessary forms both in the U.S. and in Guangzhou.

Like all adoptive families we had a ton of questions each of which was answered generously and completely by the experienced staff at Wide Horizons. If the answer was not immediately available, it was delivered shortly thereafter. Advice ranging from what to pack, what was and was not available in China, and how to travel was excellent as was the leadership of Dr. Steve on our trip. Social worker, Wendy Norton, and China program experts Linda Lin and Joy Mazzola, made us feel as if we were the only ones on the planet adopting from China. The personal attention and professional caring were and still are to this day simply indescribable.

The trip itself was memorable from so many dimensions, but when one thinks about traveling halfway around the world with total strangers and their new babies - yikes! Our common goal of adopting from China was the obvious bond that saw us through rainstorms, heat, plane delays and ear infections. But China Group 114 also had a special spirit of sharing and caring that will be eternally etched into our minds. Some attribute this to the younger folks that traveled with us (daughters, sons, nieces, aunts, sisters, and brothers), but whatever it was, there was rarely a sad face at any point in our journey. We are now all forever joined at the hip as are our daughters and their sisters from Gansu.

A slight advantage that our family might have had was my familiarity with China dating back more than 25 years when I was conducting business there. But China has changed so remarkably, that it was still very new for me as well as my family. Traveling as a family made the trip unique because it undeniably demonstrated to the kids the notion of unconditional love. I know that this was true for Alyssa - adopted at the age of 8 weeks, as well as for our "biological" (aren't they all biological?) son Matthew.

We were advised that the Chinese would thank us for our kindness and generosity in adopting orphans from China. But it is quite easy to see who the beneficiaries are of the adoption of Maely Jie and her sisters from Gansu. She is a delight plain and simple. Generous of spirit, loving, compassionate, a great sense of humor and absolutely adorable - many descriptions for such a little girl, but they are all true! We, and our fellow travelers on China 114, are the ones who are truly blessed!

But now looking back, the amazing thing was how very natural this journey was. Prepared parents with backpacks crammed with diapers, wipes and "just-in-case" medicines looked into their babies eyes and, instantly a family grew by one - albeit a very special one. Glazed eyes and spirited laughter were the order of the day as we all held our babies for the first time - as though it were the thousandth time. There was no language barrier with love as the common denominator.

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