Shannon & Maria Begeman's Daughter
 |
Dear Family and Friends, April 10, 2004 We apologize for not being able
to contact each of you personally, but
we are eager to share our news! We are thrilled and thankful to
announce that we finally received the news of our referral from China
on Thursday evening! Yesterday (Friday) we received the official
package from FedEx with the official paperwork from China. Here's
what
we know about our daughter:
Her Chinese name: Chun, Hua Su (Chun is a family last name, named after the social institute (orphanage) she is currently at; Hua Su is her given name, like a first name) Her name when we pick her up (or when you pray for her now): Melanie Su Begeman |
| Estimated date of birth:
31 July 2003. She was found on the
4th of August 2003 in a cardboard box with a cup of milk and an extra
set of clothes, just outside a hotel. The people who found her
called
the police, who then did a search for her parents. When no
parents
were found, she was brought to the Yang Chun Social Welfare Institute
in the Guandong province, which is in the southern part of China (near
Hong Kong). Her initial health checkup from the Chinese doctors state that her lungs and bones are good and she is "growing up well." The notes from her caretakers in the orphanage gave us the following insight into her personality, which make us think she's well-suited to be a part of our family: - She is very curious and likes to stare at new things (Shannon is very inquisitive) - She loves her bath time and pats the water and laughs (Maria loves the water) - She gets to go outside every day and loves the outdoors (we can't wait to put her in our bike trailer and go on an adventure!) Yippee! We are excited to welcome Melanie into our family and look forward to bringing her home. Please pray for wisdom and patience as we make final preparations to go get her and also for the timing to work out, so that Shannon can go for the full 2 weeks. We will be traveling in the next 6 to 8 weeks to pick her up depending on paperwork and when our agency coordinates travel. Love, Shannon, Maria (and soon to be) Melanie |