One step closer...

How nice it was to leave Taiyuan this morning! Although we were up at 5:00, eating at 6:00, and in the shuttle at 6:40, check-in at the airport was a breeze and the flight was on-time and shorter than anticipated (which was even nicer). We were actually collecting our luggage at our scheduled arrival time. Our coordinator for this area was awaiting us with transportation back to the hotel.

This area (Guangzhou) is very different from the province we just came from. Our hotel is on Shamian Island in Guangzhou, which has a history of French and British occupation and influence. The architecture even reflects that. There are many English speakers, and the shops and restaurant cater to (prey on) visitors like ourselves, so they are more than willing to accommodate us and our dollars.


John-Nathan was a good traveler for his first flight. The flight attendant explained to him that he needed to keep his seat belt on during the flight, so he complied. He didn't scream or fuss, and he was very patient deplaning, getting luggage, and transferring to the hotel.


Right after we got checked-in we went to a Thai restaurant for lunch which is right around the corner from the hotel. After that we took an orientation walk around a portion of the island with our coordinator.

When dinner rolled around, our taste buds were whispering "western," so you can see from the picture how things worked out. A run to a nearby 7-11 helped with beverages for dinner and milk for the room.





In many ways, today was a better day, despite the challenges associated with traveling (again, the travel day went VERY well). John-Nathan gave and received kisses, and he generally had better eye contact and good responsiveness to simple instructions. That said, he was shorted about 2 hours on his nap, which meant that he went and went and went until he dropped--or more accurately, fell apart. Please continue to pray for him as he grieves all the hurt from the past and the inexplicable confusion of the present. Lord, help each day to be a day of little victories for him and for us! (PR)

Waiting Day #2

Today was another leisurely day--at least from the standpoint of not having any specific commitments. We had our usual morning routine of getting up and getting ready to head down for breakfast. John-Nathan again slept peacefully all night and ate heartily at breakfast. Our sole excursion was to pick up a couple of items at a store. We fixed lunch in the room, and Celinda and the children laid down for a nap. Julianna still is not feeling well--pray on. John-Nathan took a bite of his peanut butter cracker, then inspected the remaining portion in his hand--what's this?!? It was quite humorous. Here you see him trying his hand at the #1 national pastime...

Our coordinator picked up John-Nathan's passport this afternoon. This will serve as his ID to get him on flights, etc. He will get his immigrant visa from the US Consulate on Monday or Tuesday. We are packing now for our departure from here (Taiyuan). We will leave the hotel tomorrow at 6:40 a.m. to catch an 8:50 flight to Guangzhou. Scheduled arrival is 11:25. (PR)

Video P.S. 1) There was a wedding at the hotel today, so there was some extra "entertainment" outside for guests as they arrived. 2) We had fun sharing goldfish crackers today.

Learning to Count

Waiting Day #1

We're thankful for a good night's rest. John-Nathan slept all through the night Tuesday night. He awoke more mellow and has remained so throughout the day. Sure there have been some of his bright, silly smiles, but he has also been adjusting to being with us and away from his norm. We did not have anything that we HAD to do today, which was nice. We are in the waiting phase before getting his Chinese passport Thursday afternoon. We did have an outing to a nearby park which went fine, although he didn't seem too interested. We strolled on down to a KFC where we got him some chicken nuggets and some mashed potatoes and gravy--which he gobbled down. This kid has no trouble eating! (In fact at breakfast this morning at the hotel, he probably ate more than Julianna!) From there we went to a department store and bought him two new pairs of shoes/sandals (see picture) for $8.85, which we thought was a pretty good deal! We all came back to our home-away-from-home and Celinda stayed in with the children while I went back out hunting to provide for my family--actually, I took a taxi to Pizza Hut and returned with a large pepperoni pizza, which we all oohed and ahhed over! Everyone napped at some point this afternoon before getting up for, well, more lounging around the room, wondering what we would have to eat later on, dealing with a grieving child, and getting the little guy a bath and to bed. Please pray for God to work in his little heart and mind to reassure him through his grieving process that it's all ok, that he can love and trust us to care and provide for him fully. It's been a good lesson for us who are God's children to think about how distrusting we are of His provision for us, and how unwilling we often are to relinquish our hold on our former ways.(PR)

Squeaky Clean

Another victory--bath time! We just wanted to share with you what may seem like a small thing, but for someone who likely has never sat in a bathtub, played with splash toys, had his head lathered up, etc. this was a major accomplishment--especially given his total lack of interest in anything of the sort last night! After his bath, he enjoyed a relaxing rub down with nice smelling lotion. He fell asleep quickly in Celinda's arms during prayer time. Please pray for a good night's rest for him, and us! And that Celinda & I don't get the little cold that Julianna has been fighting today. Is it too early for us to be ready to come home?!? (PR)