Welcome Home Sienna

While were in China, after returning to Guangzhou for the second time time, we had a conversation with our son on skype. He said "Mommy, there's another family from church in China now getting their daughter." I have been with FCC for our entire wait and have attended all the events, met people and so on. There was nobody even close to traveling to get their child. So he had to have been mistaken :)

That same day I heard voices in the playroom at the Dolton hotel, I stuck my head in and saw several families. I stepped out of my shy box and said, "Is anyone here from Arizona?" A woman immediately looked up and with a puzzled look on her face, said yes. I asked if she was from Gilbert? She said yes again. I asked if she went to Mission Community Church? She said yes!!!!

It was at that moment that even more peace came over me. God had provided for us once again. We had someone to grasp on to, to share our concerns with. Someone else to lift us in prayer and advocate for us so that we could quickly get back to Guangzhou, get an earlier consolate appointment and get back to the US before hitting one month in China. We missed our kids, we missed our home, we missed our bed. They helped to break that time up. They shared their story with us as well. They were adopting a little girl who had been sponsored by Dianna of 1daimond1ruby1pearl. Dianna had hoped to adopt the little girl she had grown to fall in love with while she was her sponsor. Jill and Ralph were already in love with the little girl they had agreed to adopt. And so sorrow turned to joy when Dianna found her daughter Sienna and found out that Sienna was best friends and next door neighbors in foster care with.... you guessed it, the little girl she had sponsored!!

When we got home we checked out Pearl Rivers Blog for the first time. What an amazing organization! And in doing so we noticed that the little girl on the top right of the header looked just like a little girl (Katie Mei) adopted in our first travel group (yes we went through 3 travel groups during that long trip!) I went back to some October posts and found a post on the little girl and it said she was going home to her forever family and it gave her birthdate which also matched perfectly with the little girl in our travel group. I told Jill about it and and she said that Dianna had also sponsored that little girl!!!! Could this red thread get any more amazing!! I contacted Jacob, Katie's daddy and told him what I had found. He couldn't believe it!

So needless to say we have been following the Journey to Sienna Grace ever since. And TODAY she made it home sweet home to MN to meet her little sister Ruby and begin her new life in this beautiful family! Last weekend we got together with Jill and Ralph and all their kids to take this picture. Jill's kids made this awesome banner! We only had 2 of our kiddo's in the photo, our youngest and oldest.

Welcome Home Sienna! We have prayed for you and our prayers have been answered.

Love from Arizona! Can't wait to meet you all some day when you visit Arizona.

Mary