This time Hubert and I will accompany our dear daughter Vivian as she makes the long discussed, much anticipated return to the country of her birth.

Almost exactly fifteen years this month we were in a turmoil of excitement and anxiety – how would our trip go? Who would travel with us? Would all the painstaking arrangements and mountain of paperwork help everything go smoothly? Most important of all, what would happen on that momentous day when we would finally arrive at the orphanage and hear our long-desired daughter’s name called out?

Though we only had one week’s notice to get our bags packed and get on the plane to China (a major panic!), everything in fact went very smoothly. And on September 17, a beautiful little baby was placed in my arms. She looked solemnly up at me, staring at my face, not crying or in any distress, just looking oh so closely. I was the one crying – crying tears of joy.

Over the years we have told this story many, many times. Each time Vivian has had more questions, but as the years went by, more and more questions that had no answers. Now it is here – the chance to return to that place where Vivian became our daughter and to remember and reconnect with that precious history. What a wonderful chance for Vivian to begin finding answers to her many questions, to see and learn new things, to ask new questions and find new answers. What an exciting time lies ahead! And what a wonderful privilege to accompany her as she takes these new steps on her life journey.

-Eve