Day-13: Medical Checkup and Pearl River Cruise

As we reflect on this day our hearts are heavy at the news of a hard Providence our dear friends in Colorado are facing. We received word this morning that our friends newborn son who suddenly became gravely ill may not survive the day. We have spent as much of the day as possible in prayer for God's grace and comfort upon them during this time of great trial. While we know that the same sovereign God who brought the affliction can certainly remove it, we are comforted that His will is perfect and that our Lord has so ordained each of our days for His own purpose and glory. Our hearts and prayers have and continue to be lifted up to our great Physician on their behalf. It is difficult to be away from our church congregation at this time and this makes us all the more eager to get home. But we are thankful that we have a faithful and merciful High Priest who hears the prayers of His people wherever they are physically located.

Today Moriah had her final medical appointment and we were able to enjoy the dazzling night scenery of Guangzhou during an evening dinner cruise on the Pearl River.

Day-12: Shopping and Thai Food

We are at the end of another pleasant day in Guangzhou. Andy spent some time doing some things for work this morning while Moriah practiced walking around the lobby of the hotel. She especially enjoyed dipping her little hand in a very low, shallow fountain. There is also a large cage of birds in the lobby which she liked watching. We spent some time in the Swan Room which is a play room furnished by Mattel. She enjoyed playing with the toys and other kids in there. I enjoyed talking to some other adoptive parents. We went to Starbucks for a little lunch. It was really nice inside. It smelled and felt just like a Starbucks should. After lunch we did some shopping for gifts and souvenirs. We found some cute clothes for Moriah and a few other fun things to bring home. We liked the one called "Andy's Shop" When Andy told them that was his name they said, "Oh, you are our boss!" Andy is very good at the bargaining thing. He got some good deals today. This afternoon, Andy went to our guide's room to do some paperwork and then several families from our group met for some Thai food for dinner. It was a delicious meal. Moriah hung in there well even though she was tired due to having only had a short stroller nap today. She wasn't quite as cheerful as she has been on the other days. She woke up kind of grumpy this morning and had a hard time off and on all day. It would be nice to know what is going on in her little head, but we'll just keep loving her and trusting the Lord to give us wisdom in how to meet her needs. We are getting more and more eager to get home with each passing day. We are so ready for this little girl to meet her brothers and sister and grandparents. At the same time, it has been a wonderful gift to see some of China, to learn more about the culture of this vast country and experience it first hand.

Day-11: Mid-Autumn Festival and other stuff...

We enjoyed an interesting day in Guangzhou. We started with the very nice White Swan breakfast buffet. It was quite a change from Zhengzhou where we were often the only Americans there. Here, there are many adoptive families. The place was full of little ones and their new parents. It was neat to see all of these children beginning their new lives. Moriah especially liked the tater-tots and scrambled eggs.

At 9:30, we left for the Six Banyan temple. It is a Buddhist temple that was build in 537 AD. The picture of the pagoda is from there. It made us sad to see the people so overtly worshiping idols. We thought it must have been something like what Paul saw at the Areopagus in Acts 17: "For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription 'to the unknown God'. What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man..." It was sad to see so many walking in darkness, but it also made us rejoice that Moriah will be able to learn about the one true living God. May our Lord continue to build His church here and shine forth the light of Christ to give sight to those who are blind.

Next we went to a famous house that is now a museum called the Chen House. There were rooms with beautiful art and embroidery (even one of Hu Jintao), ivory carvings, and original furniture. It had beautiful architecture with ceramic figures on the roof line as well as intricate carvings throughout. Finally, we stopped at a store which offered lots of neat Chinese things for sale. Across the street was a little grocery store. We found a few things (diapers and snacks) but not what we were really looking for: Cheerios. Moriah loves them! We did find some later near the hotel, but we held off on buying them because they were about $6 for a small box. Maybe we can find some other snacks for her to enjoy. After all of this, we came back to the hotel for a much needed rest. When Moriah woke up, we headed out for some shopping and dinner. We ended up at Lucy's again because all of the restaurants were quite busy because of the Mid-Autumn Festival (also known as the Moon Festival). After supper, we went for a walk along the river. It had gotten dark and the moon had risen. River boats which offer dinner cruises and sightseeing floated by. There were many families out. The children had paper lanterns with candles inside. It was a festive atmosphere. Moriah enjoyed looking at the lanterns and the people. We did buy some lanterns to bring home. A few other highlights of the day: some Chinese teenagers wanted their picture taken with me, we received the special Barbie doll with the Chinese baby that is given to adoptive families who stay at the White Swan Hotel, we got Moriah some squeaky shoes (they squeak each time she takes a step), and we got to know some new folks who have joined our group. Their babies were in this province, so they have been here the whole time. One has adopted a two year old girl and the other has adopted a set of two year old twins. It was nice to meet them today.

Moriah is continuing to do very well. She seems a little more relaxed each day. She didn't seem quite so frantic about food today and seemed to stop when she'd had enough. She really liked drinking water out of the lid of the water bottle today. It was pretty hot, so I'm sure she was thirsty. She tried Gatorade, but I think she liked water better. She likes french fries, but not ketchup. She is happy and cheerful and makes everyone around her smile. We met a young woman working in a store who is from Kaifeng, which is near Zhengzhou. She was so excited when we told her where Moriah is from.

It was a great day!

Day-10: A Narrow Escape

Warning: If you are planning to travel to Zhengzhou in the near future and you are at all anxious or fearful about it, you might want to skip this blog entry!! (Did that pique your interest? :)

We had an eventful day. We began by going down to the lobby ready to get on the bus at 8:40 as we had been instructed. There was only one problem: the bus wasn't there. After lots of heated phone calls to the bus driver by our guide, the bus finally arrived. This put us on a tight schedule to catch our plane. Our guide had our passports in hand ready to help us through the security checkpoints at the airport. She was telling us that we would need to hurry when we got there when all of the sudden, a little old man carrying lots of cabbages on his motorbike basically ran into the side of our bus! I watched it happen. The bus driver tried to swerve away, but the little man just kept coming. He flew off the bike and landed on the ground. The cabbages went everywhere. The driver and our guide jumped off the bus. We watched as a crowd gathered. Our guide stood in the road with all of our passports in her hands shouting at the people in the crowd who were (I guess) giving the bus driver a hard time. On the bus, we agreed that we would probably miss our plane. We were trying to keep the kids calm. We watched as a police car drove right past, then a military officer bicycled past, then another official looking vehicle drove past. None of them stopped. The crowd stood around but it didn't seem like anyone was giving attention to the poor old man laying in the street. Finally an ambulance came and they loaded him up. Another bus came and the men in our group shifted all of our stuff to it while the women shifted the kids. We hurried off the airport. Because we were late or because we were Americans with Chinese kids (who knows), the security people decided to give all of us an extra hard time. They held the plane until we all finally got on. We made it!! The stress level in our group was quite high, but we all arrived in Guangzhou in one piece. We were sure glad to be in a new place. Zhengzhou is an interesting place. I think it will take us a little while to process everything that we experienced there. We will always remember the place of our daughter's birth and we feel privileged to have seen it for ourselves.

We have a different guide here, Grace. She seems to have everything well in hand. We are hoping for an uneventful time! Shamian Island, which is where we are staying, is a fascinating little area. It has a lot of British influence with architecture from the late 1800's. There are large banyan and palm trees everywhere. The consulate is here, so every adopting family must come here before going to the United States. There are lots of little souvenir shops that cater to the adoptive families. Tonight we ate dinner at a restaurant called "Lucy's" that specializes in American food. They were playing American music and had American movie posters on the walls. It was a refreshing change for us! The White Swan Hotel is beautiful. The rooms are clean and bright...not smokey like our last one was. We are looking forward to a wonderful week here before heading home.

Moriah did ok on the plane ride. She was a little fussy, but after about an hour she fell asleep. On the bus and the plane she wanted to eat lots of snacks. We think it is her way of trying to find comfort when she is stressed. Once we got to our room here, she played happily for quite awhile. We were able to borrow a stroller from one of the shops for the time that we are here. She really loved riding around in that. She is sleeping peacefully now.

Tonight we are so thankful for the Lord's protection over us in so many ways today. We should also note that our guide in Zhengzhou has been doing this job since 1995 and she said nothing like that had ever happened to her before, so it's not as though it's a common occurrence. The traffic is insane, though, and I'm sure there are many accidents every day. Most of the time, it is more entertaining to travel about than scary, but there are those moments...

Day-9: Last Day in Zhengzhou

We had a good day today. After breakfast, Moriah played with the other little girl in our group, Emma. They got along quite well and Emma shared her bread with Moriah, which of course made Moriah happy. We went with the Johnson family to the New Island Coffee House which is right by the hotel. They have good affordable food. Moriah loved the noodles and had them all over herself and me. Andy had some sort of dish with meat and vegetables and a fried egg on top. We also shared some fried dumplings which were very good.

We had our laundry done today. It came back wrapped so beautifully we hated to open it. The shirts were folded like you would buy from the store, complete with plastic over them and cardboard in the collar. I think they even ironed my nightgown. Amazing! We came back to the room for a nap. We found a food that Moriah doesn't like at dinner tonight. So far she has eaten everything we gave her, but tonight we tried to give her ice cream. She made a really funny face and decided she didn't want any more.

This evening we got packed and ready because tomorrow we will fly to Guangzhou. We are looking forward to the change of scenery. It is about a two hour flight, so it will be good practice for Moriah and us. All adoptive families must pass through the US consulate there before they can go back to the USA.

Moriah is continuing to do well. She smiles and giggles a lot. She is also getting quite loud and insistent about what she wants (usually food). We taught her the sign for "please" today and she seemed to learn it quite quickly. She was funny in the bathtub tonight splashing and giggling. She has been practicing her walking in the hall of the hotel. I think she will take her first steps by herself soon. We got her Chinese passport which will allow her to travel to the USA. She is a precious gift and we are very thankful for her.

Day-8: Zai Jian (Good-bye) ZZ SWI

John 14:18 "I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you..."

Today we visited three important places in Moriah's first nineteen months of life. It was a hard day in some ways, but a good day. First, we went to the hospital where we think she was found after being abandoned. It is a huge, busy place. The original hospital has recently been replaced, but we took pictures of the old parts that remain and the gate at the entrance. It was a busy, bustling area, so it is easy to imagine that she was quickly found after being placed there.

Next we went to the Zhengzhou Social Welfare Institute (ZZ SWI) where Moriah spent some time. We are not exactly sure how long...possibly six months. We were welcomed by the orphanage directors and staff. We were shown to a conference room where we talked with the staff for a few minutes. Next we walked through the grounds to the orphanage. There were some very beautiful gardens and a vegetable garden that was being cultivated along the way. Another large building housed an old folks home. When we went into the orphanage building itself, we were ushered upstairs to a school room and play room (yet noticeably there were no toys around). There were about twenty children in these two rooms. We passed out lollipops to the children and took pictures. Some of their sad faces broke our hearts. It was especially sad to see older children who are past the age of being adopted. We were not able to see any sleeping or eating areas and I don't think we saw all the children. But we were thankful to see the parts that they were willing to share. We enjoyed seeing some children who will soon be adopted by people we have met through CCAI. It was great to tell them their parents will be coming for them soon. Before long, we were being ushered back out to our van. We said our goodbyes. It was good to hold her and remind her as we left that she is no longer an orphan, but our child and a child of the King. I also felt a deep sense of thankfulness to the orphanage staff who had put the paperwork together for Moriah to be adopted.

Our next stop was the foster home where Moriah has spent the last two months. It was a blessing to meet her caregivers and the other children who were there. She clearly enjoyed being there and felt at ease. It had a wonderful homey atmosphere full of warmth and love. This dear family has blessed us and we are thankful that He brought them into her life and ours. After a delicious Chinese food lunch with her caregivers, we headed back to our hotel.

So, we come away from today with a deep sense of the goodness of the Lord in His many Providences in Moriah's life. Clearly He has had His hand upon her. It was a great feeling to bring her home in our arms knowing that all of those places are behind her now. She fell asleep on the way home and slept hard for several hours. At one point during her nap, she woke up, looked around and saw us, gave a sigh and went back to sleep. She is a brave, sweet girl. It is exciting to think what the Lord has in store for the rest of our lives together.

2 Corinthians 5:17b "The old has passed away, behold the new has come."

Day-7: Our New Noodle

Today was a slower pace than the last couple of days and for that we were thankful. Little did we know we have a giggle monster, eating machine (and yes my grocery bill is now going to skyrocket!), and a smushable little noodle. She has really opened up more and more...last night she had a 30 minute giggle fest, combined with a funny type of Chinese baby talk/grunting that really is hilarious (at least she thinks so:) before she finally drifted to sleep. I find myself (Andy) having to try and refrain from squeezing her too much or too tight as she is just that lovable. And for Kimberly, Caleb and Josiah you can sympathize for her (check out the updated photos in the slideshow--she has discovered the scissors!!!). Today we went to the Henan Provincial Museum...an interesting place filled with ancient artifacts dating back to 16th and 17th century BC. Somewhat of a strange layout and lots of empty space but supposedly one of the oldest Chinese museums. Zhengzhou is situated in what you might call the cradle of Chinese civilization and seeing some of these ancient writings, pots, etc. was quite interesting. Although I have to admit I would have much more preferred to see some MiGs, Sukhois, and military stuff. But it got us out of the hotel room. Tomorrow we will be journeying to Moriah's orphanage (Zhengzhou Social Welfare Institute), her finding site (steps of the Henan Provincial Hospital), and a home where she has been lovingly cared for for the past few months. We have struggled with whether we would both go and take her with us to the orphanage or one of us go so the other could remain with her at the hotel. We have decided to both go to the orphanage together hoping that Moriah will understand that she now belongs to us while at the same time being sensitive to how she may feel during the visit (one of us may stay outside with her, should we need to). Please pray for her and us tomorrow as it will be a very emotional day but a necessary one for closure and for us to understand another part of her life. We also look forward to passing on some news of children who were adopted earlier from ZZ SWI and those whose parents want to send hugs and tell their sons and daughters they will be here soon. Blessings from the PRC...Andy