Island Adventures

December 31

Today we visited Shamian Island (you can google that and learn all about it) for pics and shopping.  Afterward we came back to the hotel for a terrible dinner experience followed by bedtime routines.  Kinda a mixed-bag of a day.

Best news of the day, we got the kids' visas so they can actually come home with us - so that's good.

Tomorrow (the 1st) will be a long day.  We leave the hotel at 05:30 and land in Houston at 2:40 pm (Air China flight 995 if you want to track us).  Doesn't sound that bad unless you remember that we get 14 hours back in the process...  It'll be a long day and we'll finish it off by working our way through immigration in Houston.

This has been a great trip but we're all ready to go home.  Will be glad when we get there...

The kids playing with some of the statues on Shamian Island.

The kids trying to play hackie sack.

Lauren helping Lora and Joshua play a game.  She had games, crafts, books, and all sorts of things to entertain them.  She's really been a lifesaver for Heather and I on this trip.

This is the garden and waterfall in the back of our hotel (hence the name "The Garden Hotel").

Consulate Day

December 30

Today was our appointment at the US Consulate.  Because of the adoption process between the US and China most of the immigration work is done ahead of time for our adoption.  As such, our appointment today at the consulate is almost a check-the-box activity, albeit and important one.  It happened without a hitch although I will say it was immediately obvious that we had re-entered a small part of the US because all the signage pointed us in the wrong direction.

After our appointment we went to the store to get more diapers, been going through those like crazy.  Stores here are always fun, just to see the different merchandise and foods.

After naps we walked down the street to a German restaurant we've heard about.  To my surprise it was delicious and did not taste the least bit Chinese.  The service stunk, which is atypical of our experiences here, but otherwise it was good.

Lora on the escalator on the way to the store.

Bizarre looking fish at the store.

Dried squid, for breakfast maybe.

A dried fish.  It had clearly been split in half and smoked that way.  Not sure what you'd do with it now.

Outside of the store I saw an old man carrying eggs in an unexpected, yet genius, way.

Scored some Sour Plum and Melon flavor chips at the store.  I was about out.

Also got some Chef Salad chips.

Check out all the plants on the roof-top and on balconies.  This is where people garden.

The Invalid
On the way to supper tonight we saw an invalid lying on the sidewalk, barely dressed, shaking, with a coin cup in front of him.  We both recognized this guy as being someone we saw last time we were here, two years ago.  Immediately the thoughts started:

• Should I give this guy some money?  Why wouldn't I?  It's not like I don't have any.
• Giving this guy money will only perpetuate this kind of activity.  I shouldn't give him money.
• I wonder if he's even aware of his circumstances or if someone else is totally exploiting this guy?
• The way this guy is dressed is ridiculous.  They're clearly milking this for all it's worth, what a scam.
• Etc...

At dinner we discussed it a bit and basically discovered that we were all dealing with the same questions.  My mind starting flooding with scripture passages such as Matthew 25:31-46, Acts 3:1-10, John 5:1-15, 2 Corinthians 9:6, 1 John 3:17, James 2:14-17, etc...

On the walk back I knew we would encounter this man again and my mind went back to racing about what I should do.  What's the Christian thing to do in this situation?  We finally came to him and the kids even started asking about him.  I thought to myself "we can pray for him and his salvation" but I thought that's pretty weak.  About the same time Lauren assured the kids that we could pray for him tonight.  We walked on by and I felt this wash of guilt come over me because I didn't do anything to help this invalid, this hopeless paralytic, this guy that has no hope of survival without the kindness of others.  I mean seriously, I call myself a Christian and what am I doing to help people like this?...self-righteous hypocrite...

Then it hits me.  As I look at the little girl sitting in the stroller in front of me, this girl with arms that don't work, this girl that wouldn't survive without the intervention of others.  THIS is what I'm doing about it.

There's only one explanation for this.  Why would I worry about this invalid on the street when I'm in the process of adopting two children who are basically in his situation (dependent on the charity of others)?  What would possess me to care that much?  It's not me, I know me, it's not me.  It's Christ in me.  That's the only explanation and this event becomes a welcome assurance of my salvation and the fact that Christ does indeed live inside of me, and my wife, and Lauren.

I don't know if I did the right thing tonight.   Regardless, I will indeed pray for this man and I do indeed hope he finds Christ - perhaps you can pray for him too.

BTDT day

December 29

So December 28 part 2 never happened because, well, it just didn't.

Today was a free day for us.  Our agency planned a few outings for us so we participated.  First stop was the Guangzhou zoo.  The highlight of that was seeing more giant pandas and feeding the giraffes.  Otherwise, it was a zoo much like every other (Chinese) zoo.

Naps in the afternoon for everybody but Scott, who refused.  Then Lauren, Lora, Joshua, Jacob and I went on a river cruise.  It was the same cruise we did when we were here getting Joshua except it wasn't as crowded this time.

Heather stayed at the hotel with Scott and Mae mainly because Heather hasn't been feeling good today and didn't feel up to the cruise.  Scott's been a bit iffy as well and still runs a fever about once a day so we thought it would be good for him to stay in as well.

Overall I think we're feeling a bit road-weary.  This is day 16 of living in hotels, eating every meal in restaurants, living out of suitcases, etc...  I think if we were here to stay we would've begun to make ourselves more comfortable by now but since we're constantly moving it's hard to get very well settled in.  All the same, we're trying to make the most of it while we're here.

Here's a few pics from the day.

Random factoid #1, the Chinese name for a kangaroo literally means "big sack mouse."

Joshua feeding the giraffe.  Random factoid #2, the Chinese name for a giraffe literally means "long neck deer". 

Jacob participating in the floor show.

 

While I'm Here

December 28 (part 1)

Today I'm hanging out in the hotel room with Jacob and Scott.  Scott has had a fever for about the last 18 hours so we thought it best for him to stay close to "home" today.  Jacob is with us because frankly it's easier for me to watch him here than it is for Heather and Lauren to watch him while they're out.  Also, Jacob doesn't care about shopping.

I thought while I was here I might address a couple comments I've seen that we haven't answered already.

I Can't Comment:
A few folks have noted that they can't seem to leave comments on the blog.  I am sorry that this is the case for some.  You should know (if you don't already) that I can't help you with this problem.  I mean, in theory I could.  But in practice you should consider it a miracle that I managed to get my computer connect to the internet in a foreign country, much less troubleshoot some problem with a website.

Jacob's Heart:
There have been a few questions about Jacob's condition.  He has a congenital heart defect.  The primary defect is that his heart and his lungs aren't connected in the normal fashion which means his blood doesn't get enough oxygen in it.  There's a few knock-on defects as well but I think it's all driven by the heart-lung connection failure.  In practical terms it's kinda like this, if he walks more than 60 feet without stopping he starts to breath hard and his fingers turn purple.  He spends a lot of time in the stroller...

Travel Doctor Ninjas

December 27

Today we took Mae and Jacob to the international travel clinic here in Guangzhou to get them approved for travel to the US.  Every American family adopting from China has to go to this single clinic (tell me that's not a racket) and they do adoptive families on Saturdays which means there were several families there from several clinics.

There is one other family from our agency that's here.  It's there first time adopting and first time in China.  It sounds like they had some culture shock in provence but are getting along better now.  Back to my story...

While at the clinic it was kinda interesting watching all the other families.  You could instantly tell who had done this before and who the newbs were.  We got both kids through he clinic quickly and were back to the hotel in a couple hours.

Mae being examined by the ENT.

Jacob loves the Dr.

Later we met up with the other family from our agency and went to dinner (late lunch) and then to the grocery store.  We had a good visit and enjoyed hearing their story.

After bathing the babies the older kids reminded us that we never fed them supper.  I took Lora and Joshua out to Subway to get sandwiches.  On the way we stopped by Mr. Pancho's Tacos and Shawarmas for a chicken shawarma.  I know, a shawarma in China, but it was super delicious.  I'll likely be a return customer later this week.

This little piece of photographic awesomeness is a man helping his son pee in the shrubbery right in front of Starbucks.   Fortunately I was Quick Draw McGraw on the camera so you can enjoy this too.

There's a wedding reception in our hotel tonight so Lora got her picture taken with the bride.

Last Stop Guangzhou

December 26

Today we flew from Chongqing to Guangzhou.  It was hard to say goodbye to Sonia and her family but it also felt nice to move along.  Guangzhou is a pseudo-familiar place and the most westernized of all the cities we've ever been to in China.  We didn't take any pics today b/c I packed up the camera.  Don't get your skirt in a bunch though we'll take a picture of something tomorrow, I'm sure of it.

As for the flight and how Jacob did on the plane, I'll just summarize it by saying it was as normal a flight as any other Chinese domestic flight I've been on.  I checked his O2 saturation a couple of times on the flight and it was actually higher than normal, go figure.

The hotel is nice and just as I remembered it.  We had a little situation with our rooms but that's been par for the course so I think I'm getting used to that.  I think we have it sorted out though so no worries.

Christmas in China

December 25

This morning we celebrated Christmas with our new kiddos and with Sonia and her mom.  After naps we had a wonderful Christmas dinner with Sonia's family and Kishi (one of Sonia's friends that is also going to school in Houston, but here on Christmas break obviously).  Overall it was a wonderful Christmas!  Won't say much more but here's a few pics from the day.

This is what Mae looks like when she's not getting her way.

Reading the Christmas story.  Fortunately I have a Chinese Bible on my iPad so Sonia's mom was able to follow along.

All the babies got panda hats and scarves.  Here's Jacob modeling his.

This is Sonia's mom.

Jacob watching the window washer.  In case you're wondering, he's sitting on a board much like a park swing, hanging from a single rope from the roof.  After washing the window he lowers himself by giving some slack to the down line much like repelling.

Heather and I were talking about how when we were married we never imagined in a million years that we might celebrate a Christmas in China with our two new children and the family of our exchange student.  We agreed that we wouldn't want it any other way.  Loving every day!