Day 15 ... Last Day in China

Hi all,

This will be our last post from China!  This post is very short because we will busy packing tonight.  We have to be ready to go in the hotel lobby by 6 AM tomorrow morning.  Our flight leaves around 9 AM, connects in Tokyo, Japan, and then flies direct to Chicago, USA. 

We started our morning with a photo shoot at our hotel dressed in our newly purchased Chinese outfits.  We spent the rest of the morning shopping on Shamian Island.  We got back to the hotel around 3 PM, picked up Micah's U.S. Visa, and then headed back out for our last dinner in Guangzhou.  We chose an "authentic" Mexican restaurant for our last meal.  Deanna and Matt ordered enchiladas and Micah had .... chicken nuggets and french fries of course.  We were both happy to eat something other than Chinese food and McDonald's, and the food was actually pretty good.  We made it back to the hotel around 7:30 PM and got Micah ready for bed.

It has been an incredible journey.  Thank you to everyone for your prayers and for checking in on us from time to time on this blog.  We look forward to seeing our family at the airport when we get back!

Lots of love going out to all of you tonight!  See you soon!

Day 14 ... U.S. Consulate Day and Retail Therapy

Highlights for today:

- Trip to U.S. Consulate in the morning to get Micah's visa.  Micah looked very cute in his U.S. flag T-Shirt.  He even recognized that the U.S. flag flying at the consulate matched his shirt.

- There were throngs of people standing in line outside of the consulate, but We were able to walk right in.  Security was tight here and we could not bring in any cameras or phones.  One guy in our group even had to drink his baby's formula to prove it was milk before he was allowed through security.  Once in, we took an oath that our paperwork was filled out accurately.  It was administered by a woman talking through a microphone behind a glass window.  Matt also had to give his finger prints.  Micah got to play with a few toys they had there and we were in and out in just about 2 hours.

- In the afternoon, we took a trip back to Shamian Island for souvenir shopping and to take a picture of a bronze statue famous in the Chinese adoption world.  We took the subway there and spent 3-4 hours shopping.  Deanna was on cloud 9 while Matt and Micah waited patiently in the sweltering heat. 

- While on the island, we found a park and Micah was able to play with other kids.  We love watching him interact with other Chinese children.  He really enjoyed himself.

- For dinner, we ate at Lucy's again.  Micah had the chicken wings again.  Matt and Deanna had deep fat fried chicken.  Yum!

- We ended the night with swimming at the hotel pool.  Micah played with a beach ball with another Chinese boy from our travel group.  Again, we love watching him interact with other kids here.

Prayer requests for tomorrow:

- One day left!  Pray that we can end out this trip without any injuries or sickness.  Deanna is finally starting to feel better and we had a good day today.

- Five of the families in our travel group leave for home tomorrow.  Pray that they have safe travels home.  We feel so blessed to have had other American families in our travel group that we can talk to here in Guangzhou.

- We're thankful that the rain held out for our dinner cruise last night and that it seems to have held off for the people going on the cruise tonight.

 

Day 13 ... China Plaza Mall and Pearl River Cruise

Highlights from today:

- We started out our day today with a visit from Carson and Charlotte.  We volunteered to watch these two adorable kids while their parents went to their U.S. Consulate appointment this morning.  We had a fun time watching movies and playing with Play-Doh.  The kids did great and we got a little taste of life with three kids.

- Just before lunch, we took a trip to the China Plaza shopping mall.  We traveled by subway.  The mall was 7 floors and didn't have a straight line in it.  We get the sense of always being lost over here.  Anyways, the mall was very expensive.  We did stop in the grocery store (floor 3) and bought some goodies.  You can either choose a very small shopping cart or a very, very small shopping cart that holds shopping baskets.

 

Micah with Ultra-Man (kind of like a Power Ranger)

- We ate lunch just outside of the grocery store.  Micah picked out dumplings.  For about $1.50, he got 10 dumplings.  As they heat them up, you go three stations down, pay the cashier, and then come back and pick up your order.  Then, you go stand and eat in a little area just past the food stations.  Chinese fast food!

- In the afternoon, Matt and Micah went swimming while Deanna was in another mandatory meeting.  Micah is a fish and loves the water.  We just need to set boundaries with him because he thinks he can swim and has no fear.  His favorite event today was being tossed back and forth from Matt to another dad in our travel group.

- At night we went on the Pearl River Dinner cruise.  This was basically a 30 minute cruise up the river to see the tallest tower in China and then 30 minutes back.  There were many buildings and bridges that were lit up with neon lights.  It was a beautiful night.  We were so thankful that God held the rain off for the evening.  The "dinner" part was us eating luke-warm Papa John's pizza.  A little taste of home was pretty yummy!

Day 12 ... Guangzhou Zoo

Highlights from today:

- We may officially be over our jet-lag.  All of us woke up around 7:30 AM this morning.  Can’t wait to do this all again in a few days time, but it is nice having some energy during the day now.

- We did more laundry today.  Instead of draping it through our room like last time, Matt made a spider’s web in the bathroom.  All of the clothesline is anchored by one hook on the wall.  We’re hopeful that it doesn’t rip out of the wall with all of the weight we are putting on it!

- Trip to Guangzhou Zoo.  We rented a stroller from the hotel for $3.50.  Worth every penny!  The zoo seemed to be about the size of the Lincoln Park Zoo, but all of the exhibits were outside.  It was VERY hot and humid today.  Micah really enjoyed the elephants and the giraffes the most.  We even got to hand-feed the giraffes leaves for about $4.  Well worth it!

 

- Micah took a nap!  He seems to be on a 1-nap-every-3-days schedule right now.

- We did not get a phone call from Holt today.  That apparently means that our TB blood test came back negative and that there are no other medical reasons holding us up from leaving on time.

- We went to the "park" by our hotel tonight with a family we met in Shanghai.  The park is huge and makes you feel like you are in a jungle even though you are in the middle of the city.  Micah and Fay fed the Koi fish.  They also got to play a little bit on some playground-type equipment.  Side note ... women here seem to wear high heels everywhere ... to the zoo, to the airport, and tonight even on the exercise equipment at the park!

- We made it out of the park just before a huge downpour of rain.  We decided to eat at "Food Street" (Chinese food) again inside our hotel.  This time we got to eat with Bill, Mary, and their 3 kids.  We had a really nice dinner with them and then went across the street for McDonald's ice cream.  Micah really seemed to enjoy being around other kids his own age.

Prayer requests:

- We’re babysitting for Bill and Mary tomorrow morning.  Pray that our time with them will go well and they’ll fare well until their mom, dad, and brother get back from the U.S. Consulate.

- Continue to pray for Deanna.  She had a pretty good day today, but she is facing another severe headache tonight.

- We’ve been told there are many “dirty women” that roam the streets outside our hotel at night.  We haven’t been out late enough to see any yet.  Pray though that these women would realize the sin that they are living in and come to know and hope in Jesus as their Savior.

- Pray that the local church here in Guangzhou would continue to attract new believers and raise up men and women of faith here.

Day 11...Church and Market

Today we had a “free day.”  We started the day with breakfast at the buffet.  It is always a great way to start the day with good food and our adoption family.  It is so wonderful to see familiar faces after being a solo family in our province last week.  After breakfast, we Skyped Nathan and Claire.  It had been a few days since we saw them.  Micah was excited to see them, too.

We had the privilege of attending the Christian church on Shamian Island.  There were several other families from our travel group that attended as well.  It is a great blessing to see the body of Christ come together and worship.  The service was in Mandarin and English.  It was about 40% English.  Although it was difficult to hear and understand, we were appreciative for the opportunity to worship our Savior, Jesus in a country that is full of false idols, false religion and false hope.  We are prayerful that we can share Jesus’ love and gospel with the people we meet here.

 

The island was very cute with many trees and little parks.  We will definitely return sometime this week to explore more.  We had lunch at Lucy’s, a restaurant that serves Western food.  It was pretty good food.  We enjoyed our indoor, air conditioned table during the down pour.  Have we mentioned the weather?  It is HOT and HUMID!!!  I mean, you can hardly breathe when you step outside.  You begin sweating within seconds.  We look forward to air conditioned stores and restaurants. 

This afternoon, Deanna headed to the Jade and Pearl Wholesale Markets.  It was very overwhelming.  There were so many vendors.  Most were selling similar items.  It is hard to believe that they can make a living with so much competition.  Deanna bought a jade pendant. 

Tonight we ate dinner at one of the hotel restaurants, Food Street.  We were joined by another family, Denise, Wade and their son, Asher.  They are a sweet family that we met during our time in Beijing.  We had a good Chinese food dinner with great conversation.  It was nice to eat with another family.  We love each other, but we appreciate talking with other adults. 

Thank you for following our adoption journey.  We appreciate your interest and prayers. 

Prayer requests:

We receive Micah’s medical test results tomorrow.  Please pray that no further testing will be required.

Please pray that Deanna’s ear aches and sore throat will improve. 

 

 Pray for God’s wisdom in parenting and disciplining Micah.  We are building trust and bonding with him, but we need to balance that with making boundaries.  He is testing us daily and we want him to trust us, but also understand that we are his authority figures. 

Day 10 ... Doctor Visit for U.S. Visa

Highlight for today:

Today went great!  Praise be to God!  The nurses at the medical office seemed nice and Micah did well.  No tears even when they took him into a separate room to do the TB blood draw.  Thank you for your prayers.

Details:

 We traveled to the medical building by coach bus with 11 other Holt International families.  It was so nice to see other Americans as well as their adorable new children.  One thing I have found interesting is how many other families already have biological children like us.  Even more interesting is how many of them brought their young (<8 years old) biological children with them.  They are braver than us! 

The doctors office itself was a nice building (nicer than many of the other buildings we've been on this trip) but it was kind of a zoo.  Basically, you get your picture taken, fill out some paper work, and then try to get your way into one of three exam room stations.  Each station had a different line that just seemed to meander through the hall.  There were no numbers or names taken ... Next in line please!  Also interesting to note that there was another Santa Claus decoration hanging on one of the doors there.  We were told in Shanghai by our guide that Chinese think Santa Claus symbolizes happy times to Americans.

 

 

We ate lunch at this place called The Coffee Club.  It sold $9 cheeseburgers, $5 milkshakes, and was slammed full of Chinese people.  We had to wait an hour for our food to be served.  Although these prices aren't ridiculous according to American standards, I get the feeling we're in the Beverly Hills of Guangzhou.  Also noteworthy is that the humidity is so bad you here all of the windows have condensation on them.

This afternoon Deanna had to go to a paperwork review meeting/weekly schedule meeting while Matt and Micah went to the pool.  The pool here is outside, but because it is so hot here, the temperature of the water is rather warm.  The pool had music, lots of inflatables to play with, and a very large screen playing the World Cup Soccer game.  By the way, we see World Cup billboards and decorations everywhere over here.

After pool time was nap time.  Then, off to Seven-Eleven to buy some water and noodles.  We spent our last hour of the night watching home videos on the computer.  Micah thought his brother and sister were hilarious and really enjoyed watching them.  For dinner, we enjoyed a Papa John's pizza and sodas.  Getting Micah down for bed tonight has been a bit harder than other nights.  It probably has something to do with (1) the lack of sleep from the day before, and (2) the late nap that he took today.

 Prayer requests for tomorrow:

- Pray that Deanna feels better tomorrow.  She had a migraine most of the day today.  Combined with this hot, muggy weather, she isn't feeling very good.

- Pray that Micah's blood work comes back negative for TB.  If it comes back positive, we have to get a chest X-ray.  I'm not sure what happens after that.

- We are going to try to venture over to Shamian Island and attend a bilingual church service.  It should be interesting.  Pray that we make it over there on time and that Micah does OK during the service.  We're hoping that this will be a time we get to share our faith and learn about the faith of others in the travel group as well.

- Deanna is going to a market tomorrow with our travel group while Matt stays back at the hotel with Micah.  Pray that it all goes well and the family reunites later in the day without any problem.