Day 5 ... Gotcha Day!

Today was an amazing day!  We got to meet Ji Chun today and take him back to our hotel!  We truly felt the hand of God at work today.  Matt’s stomach problems settled down after breakfast and Deanna’s cold symptoms subsided for the morning.  Micah came right to us calling us Baba “Daddy” and Mama “Mommy”.  Our time at the Civil Affairs office went smoothly and we were back in our hotel before we knew it.

 

After our paperwork, we were taken to a local grocery store.  This was probably Micah’s first shopping trip.  He had a big smile on his face and wanted to stand in the cart so he could take it all in.  We treated him to “almost” everything he wanted.  His favorite buys included a new sippy cup with a straw, juice boxes, oranges, and milk.

 

Once we made it back to the hotel, our escort left and we were on our own.  We had learned only a few words in Mandarin Chinese.  One sounds like "sha she" and it apparently means “potty”.  We heard that a lot today because Micah drank something like 5 or 6 cups full of water throughout the day.  His first foods included a whole bowl of instant noodles, an orange, a banana, dumplings, a few Poky (cookie) sticks, and a few handfuls of goldfish crackers.  He also took a bath and brushed his teeth on his own accord.  We were shocked and thankful for such a trusting and loving boy!

One other thing that we learned today is that Micah really likes French fries.  Those came with our room service hamburger today.  Micah enjoyed dipping them in ketchup like “baba”.  He also enjoyed mixing them with his noodles and eating it that way.  What a great symbol of our new relationship: noodles and French fries.

 

Our night ended with a meal out with our escort.  Matt and Micah were thrilled to leave the hotel room for a little bit.  Matt was also thrilled to eat something besides hamburgers, pizza, or rice.  Later, our escort showed us a shopping mall as well as a park to take Micah tomorrow after we get back. 

We look forward to our day tomorrow and are prayerful that it goes as well as today.  Thank you for everyone’s prayers.  As mentioned earlier, we truly feel the hand of God at work here in Shanghai.