A Bittersweet Reunion: We finally arrive in Xian!

September 5, 2009

We finally arrive in Xian!

The train ride was fun...my third time on a sleeper train in China. It's always an adventure trying to get them to understand our English/broken Chinese. We couldn't get them to understand "coffee" in the morning.

We are trying to have some down time here in Xian these next two days and then we do some sightseeing. I will post more later.

Oh, and for the people that commented wondering if Chrsitian would be staying in China, the answer is no, he will be returning with us to the US. There was never any intention of him staying in China. His birth family did not expect him to because they know it would be a tough adjustment for him. They want the best for him and want him to be happy and have a good future. He has a new love for China and the people of China now, so I will not be surprised if one day he chooses to come back to live here. If he does I will fully support him. In the meantime we plan to keep in touch with the family and visit as often as possible.

Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. -Romans 12:10

2 comments:

ChantalSeptember 5, 2009 at 12:30 AM
Wow, Julia- what an amazing story. Enjoy Xian (my 3rd daughter is from there) there are many amazing sights. I hope Christian has a chance to relax- no doubt it will take some time to process this trip and come to grips with what it means for him. Assure him that as hard as it's been- there are many other Chinese adoptees who wish they had the chance to meet their birth family again! Best of luck for a smooth trip home.
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UnknownSeptember 5, 2009 at 5:17 AM
Hi, Julia, I read your story from a Chinese website. You are such a great mother! God bless you!
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Our Family's Story.....

In the summer of 2000 I led a mission trip to an orphanage in China. I set out on this trip expecting to be taken in by all the little girls in the orphanage, but instead spent most of my time with the older children. One little boy in particular caught my attention. His name was Jiacheng and his engaging smile stole my heart. I knew I was supposed to do something to help this little boy, but I was 33 years old and single at the time. After returning to the US and praying for this little boy, I began the process to adopt Jiacheng. On April 5, 2001 the adoption was finalized in China and he officially became Christian Jiacheng Norris.

He adjusted very quickly to his new life in America and attached easily to me and my family. When he turned 14 years old, he asked me to help him find his birth parents. Unlike many adopted children, Christian had a lot of memories of his birth family and as he shared this information with me over the years I wrote it all down in the event that some day he might want to search for them. After searching on and off for three years, on May 31st, 2009 a non-profit organization in China that had been helping me in the search contacted me to say they had found Christian’s birth family.

It was such a surprise but the real shock came when we learned his birth family had never abandoned him but instead lost him in April of 1998 traveling back to his father's family village. The birth family searched for years but never got much help from the police. He was presumably kidnapped and sold to another family. Christian had always told me he remembered some man took him by bus and that they traveled for three days to another city. After that he recalls the man left him in a restaurant and never came back.

In February of 1999 the police three provinces away in Henan found him wandering the streets. When the police found him he was so traumatized that he couldn't speak so they just took him to the local orphanage, where he lived until I adopted him in 2001.

After finding his birth parents we immediately began planning a trip to China for a reunion in August 2009. I created this blog so family and friends could follow along with us on this incredible journey.