Twenty Years of Memories

Last month, I attended a celebration in Guangzhou, which was hosted at the US consulate in Guangzhou  (see photos included here). The purpose of the event was to commemorate 20 years of China -US adoptions.  The evening was incredible and full of memories of the 20 years.  I spoke at the event, and "Somewhere Between" was shown.   It was  emotional to watch Fang search for her birth parents and not yet find them.  And to watch Haley locate her birth parents, especially when the two families were united and hugged.  The girls were not lost and found, they had two moms and dads who love, care and think of them.  During that moment It occured to me that the last 20 years was rewarded.  There was a mom and adopted daughter on the panel on the consulate celebration night.  When audience said the daughter was lucky, and the mom said “no, we as parents were the lucky ones”.  I was in tears.  

This past week I have experienced a lot of memories.  It was  20 years ago  (Dec. 10) when I landed at the  SEA/TAC airport, arriving to the US for the first time from China. I am grateful to my parents who encouraged me to fly over to the US and start my new life in Tacoma.  I am pleased that Louie, worked before hand and initiated contact with adoption agencies throughout US before my arrival. So much has occurred during the past 20 years, including  working with  approximately 30,000 families who traveled to adopt and unite with their children.  Last week was the anniversary of my 20 years in US; October marked Lotus’ 20^th anniversary.   Wow!

Lotus Travel is like our 20 year-old "baby".  Louie and I contributed part of our life together as we also established this relationship with the adoption community. As Louie continues to lead homeland heritage tour groups, I am focused on cultural exchange ; living in China life experiences as well as sharing and giving back to the community.  Life is moving on. We are grateful for being part of the adoption journey with so many families.  I pray that as we continue,  the journey filled is filled with joy, peace and hope.