God leads and we follow...to China!: Day 11

One of our favorite spots to visit in Guangzhou is Shamian Island. We usually visit at least two times during our visits. We love that the island has a different feel to it. The architecture is ornate. There are cobblestone sidewalks with beautiful landscaping. The shops have fun souvenirs. It also has a Christian church. One of the Sunday services is in Mandarin and English. It is always a treat to visit another country and worship with fellow believers. It is special to praise Him in multiple languages. We have yet to make it through a whole service and today was no different. We were able to hear most of the sermon before the kids lost it. It was a joy to bring Maelee to her first church service!

We were disappointed to find that our two favorite shops had closed down. The big hotel on the island had been under construction for so long that their businesses suffered severely. It was always special to visit their shops with each trip. We were hoping to gift the owners with pictures from our previous visits. They always made friends with our kids and took great care with them. We miss them. Please join us in praying for them as they work to provide for their families in other ways.

The afternoon was spent moving rooms. Matt was able to talk to the right staff member to set us up with adjoining rooms. They do have those here after all! What a novel idea. It is frustrating to know that we called several times asking about this situation. We were told many times that no adjoining rooms existed. The person who checked us in on Friday was not helpful or accommodating either. Deanna is especially thankful to be together now. It was very frustrating to sleep separate and have our stuff in two different places. It always seemed that the needed items were in the other room. Thank you God for Paco hooking us up!

Tonight Deanna stayed around the hotel with the girls. They went shopping for a bit and got a sweet treat. The boys went out on the town! They took the subway to a Guangzhou Evergrande soccer game. Apparently, this is the best team in China and they showed it by winning the game 4-0. The boys had a great time and got back home around 10:30 PM.

Tomorrow is a free day. Please pray that Maelee's TB results come back negative. Please pray that we get our paper we need from the other family.