Rejoice and give thanks

What a day! We have been on stressful tenderhooks all day waiting for Beijing to sign off Gabriella's visa that will allow her to permanently enter the UK. By 3pm there was still no confirmation so our guide drove us to the the British Consulate in Guangzhou so that we could plead the urgency of our case. What an experience...at one point I lent over to say to Stephen "I would not like to have done anything I should not have!!" We really had to plead to get speaking to a British official and then once this was granted over the speaker phone, we had to go through security clearance and be escorted to Interview Room 3 where we waited - my heart was thumping so hard I thought everyone in the building could palpate the vibration!! Then at nearly 4pm (and only one hour till the office closed for the weekend) the door opened and Dave (an English speaking British consulate official who had just arrived in Gaungzhou little over 3 weeks ago) spoke to us........confirming that Gabriella's visa was near ready since Beijing had just given final approval. He was very pleasant. In not very 'British stiff upper lip style' my tears started and flowed and flowed!! I think it was just the relief to know we were finally on our way home. All the other documents really meant nothing without her visa and to finally have it in our hands was an overwhelming moment. God really went before us today and we are so thankful that the plans all fell into place. We are all coming home!!

We then headed back to the hotel for some rest and a cuppa of tea. Gabriella then had her bath and we got her ready for going out for a meal - our last night in Guangzhou. On return to the hotel she fell asleep while getting her bottle of milk and is now sleeping peacefully. Stephen and I then tackled the packing :( I hate this part - trying to strategically put everything back into the cases so that it fits well (why does it never fit as well as it did on departure) and also ensure the case is within the allocated weight limit - now that is the hard part, well it is for me anyway!!!

Tomorrow we leave the hotel at 2pm and get a taxi to Hong Kong - yes to read that bit correctly. After our expereince of the train journey on our arrival and given that Stephen is still under the weather, and given that we have a little girl, a buggy and all her 'stuff!' we just could not physically face it. So we got our guide to organise a taxi van to take us to the airport - no doubt many of you are laughing at this!! Ah well can't teach an old dog new tricks.

So we now sign off and next time we post we will be on Northern Irish soil dv

In closing we would just like to thank our good friend Dawn for all her hard work in keeping our blog maintained over the last 2 weeks - she has done a marvellous job and one that did take some time to complete each night. However the blog was our way to firstly keep a daily journal of our trip, a powerful memory tool for Gabriella in years to come; and secondly a way of communicating to all our family and friends during our time in China. Thank you to you all for being such a source of love, support and powerful prayer warriors not only during the last number of weeks but, for some being wonderful prayer warriers for many years as we plodded our way through this long and challenging journey - but hasn't it all been worth it! So thank you from the bottom of our hearts and we now look forward to bringing Gabriella Wenyuan home to you all.

With our love and gratitude
Caroline, Stephen & Gabriella xxx

 

what today's stress was all about - Gabriella's UK entry visa

  

 

the 'Queen' on her throne

 

 

helping daddy count out mummy's spending allowance!!

 

last family picture before we leave Guagzhou