I'm Back - With Lots of Catching Up To Do

I’m back online (at least for the time being). As if computer problems aren’t frustrating enough, when you are trying to talk the hotel’s computer tech and neither of you really speak the other’s language, you can imagine how the blood pressure responds. The first lady spent a whole day coming in and out of our room at various times to “try something else” and finally decided she’d have to “have my boss come look at it tomorrow.” He came by today and in about 5 minutes, had it up and running. I’m not sure what he did but I’m sure somehow, even in Vietnam, Windows Vista is to blame. Thanks to those who were praying to the saint of high speed internet connections. God knew I was going to go crazy if the “limited connectivity” icon down in the corner of my screen didn’t disappear.

Though I’ve been disconnected, I have worked on keeping up with the tale of our adventure so now I must catch up. Also, this may be more detail than you care to know, but Juneau’s mommy is sitting at home craving every word I can supply about the trip and about her little girl. You may have to read this in more than one sitting. Here we go:

Day 3: Giving and Receiving Ceremony, Monday, July 14, 2008

This morning was so overwhelming emotionally. The whole drive down to Tam Ky from Hoi An (about 45 min) I just sit quietly and don’t participate in any of the chit-chat going on between my parents and Lilian. The worm is turning in my stomach and I am too anxious - will she be able to adjust? will she take to me okay?

Department of Justice

We arrive at the Dept. of Justice and walk upstairs to a small conference room adorned with banners and a bust statue of Ho Chi Minh at the front. As we enter the room, sitting on a chair off to our left is Juneau, being held by one of her nannies. I recognize this woman from video we saw of the Tam Ky orphanage months ago. She is smiling and playing with Juneau and her affection toward my daughter is obvious. Within a minute or two of my entering the room and sitting down, I see the nanny’s expression change. I am sure she has been through this many times and knows the time is growing short. Her playfulness with Juneau starts to turn to hugging and kissing and it is clear she is doing her best to keep from crying. I am immediately overcome by this sight and have to step out of the room until the lump in my throat clears.
Within a few more minutes, the appropriate personnel are gathered in the room and we begin. I am sitting on one side of a table with Lilian who acts as coach and translator. Across the table is the orphanage director and the vice director of the Dept. of Justice. The Director of the Dept. of Justice sits at the head of the table and acts as emcee. After some formalities, I stand and receive the official decree of adoption from the DOJ Director, pose for the photo op and then the moment arrives. The nanny hands Juneau to the orphanage director who then hands her to me officially. We pose for photos and then sit down again. Juneau is overwhelmed and begins to cry so we give her back to the nanny so we can complete the formalities of the ceremony. The DOJ Director makes a short speech wishing us luck and that he hopes someday, when she is older, we might bring Juneau back to visit so she can understand and be proud of where she came from.Then I am asked if I would like to say anything. I am not sure how to adequately or appropriately say what is on my heart at that moment so I simply say: On behalf of myself and my wife who couldn’t be here today, I would like to say how happy we are for her to join our family and we will do our best to make sure she is raised in a happy and loving home.
The formalities are over and we prepare to leave. As we approach Juneau, her nanny begins to cry and just squeezes her and kisses her and hugs her. I just stand there and let her go for as long as she wants…I will hold this child for the rest her life, I can wait a few more minutes. Finally, she pushes Juneau in my direction and I take her and head for the door. My mom is coming behind me and empathetically shares a hug with the nanny. Juneau is still a bit fussy so I take her downstairs to the entry way while Lilian is finishing papers. The nanny comes down on her way out while we are standing there. Again, she stops and hugs and kisses Juneau while holding back the tears. She goes over to the motorbike she and the orphanage director are riding but comes back one last time to put a little hat on Juneau’s head (undoubtedly the hat she had put on her head on the way from the orphanage this morning), making sure even up to the last minute that Juneau was taken care of. One last time she hugs and kisses her and walks back to the motorbike in tears. As they ride away on the motorbike, she looks back and waves the whole time until they are completely out of sight.

The Giving & Receiving ceremony was nice and marked the official moment of Juneau joining our family so those events from the day were important but none of the formalities of that event will stick with me next month or even next week as strongly as the interactions between Juneau and that beautiful, loving woman. The love she had for my daughter, evidenced by her profound sadness in seeing her go, is what will stay with me forever about today.

Juneau fusses for a little while on the drive back to Hoi An but eventually falls asleep. The rest of the day she is in a state of shock and doesn’t make a sound as long as I am holding her. The moment I lay her down for even the slightest thing, she clings to me and cries until I pick her back up (so diaper changes are a bit of a trick). She eats pretty well and then in total exhaustion, passes out for the night…BUT, every time I try to lay her down, she wakes up and begins crying again. If not for our baby carrier, my arms and back would have been even worse off than they are.

Juneau looking at pictures of her new family on the ride back to Hoi An

Back at the hotel

Eventually, she falls soundly enough asleep for me to be able to lay her down; I don’t even attempt to take her out of the carrier and just unsnap it from my body and she sleeps in it for a couple hours. Tomorrow is an early day. We will drive to Danang and fly (1 hour) to Hanoi. I’m nervous about taking the upcoming flight with this fragile little girl so it is hard to sleep, but I am so tired from today that I pass out quickly. Juneau wakes up 1 time but a little milk puts her right back to sleep (with me holding her of course).

I am thankful that this day was finally able to come. I am thankful for all the prayers from our friends and families and for the hard work from Christine, Ruthanne and others at HIC that have allowed this to happen. But most of all, I am thankful that God has blessed Emilie and me with the gift of caring for this beautiful little girl.