Today I want to begin with the following versus from Titus Chapter 2. 2:11 “For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. 2:13 “while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ.” This verse sums up many things. First, it tells us that God offers us the gift of salvation through Jesus Christ; second, we hope for the appearing of Jesus to take us Home; and lastly that Jesus is God!
The morning began with a visit to their abandonment site. It was on a road next to a furniture factory. The factory has been torn down and is now a new apartment building in construction. The girls did not remember the area as they were just 3 and 5 years old when found.
We then went to the orphanage. We met a man that is a Christian who runs much of the foster program through the orphanage. He places many children in Christian Chinese homes. Our girls were not part of his program. You could tell by talking with him that his heart is with the orphans just as the heart of Christ.
We immediately met their oldest sister and they got to spend a lot of time with her. She is now 16 and in vocational school. When she graduates, she will be found a job by the orphanage. We think this orphanage does a lot to help their kids and make sure they have a chance to have a normal life once they leave. We also got to tour the orphanage and see where Hope spent some time between foster families and before being with us. Along the way we met several orphans. One was a precious baby and the other a toddler boy. I really wanted to bring them both home. They will be adopted soon I am sure.
Once their second oldest sister arrived for lunch from middle school, they all four were reunited. She was sad they were leaving, but she was happy for them as well. We hope they will all be able to stay in touch via QQ and WeChat. In fact, they just chatted with their oldest sister tonight after dinner.
While their sister was having lunch, we met several other older children waiting to be adopted. They were so beautiful and wonderful. I really wish I could bring them all back home with us, but it is just not possible. I will pray families will open their hearts and homes and bring these children home. They are trying very hard to learn English and embrace the opportunity to be educated. A refreshing attitude to witness.
The good-byes were hard but all left with smiles and blowing kisses. They will see each other again in the future, but it will be hard on all of them until then. Prayers for all girls would be appreciated.
After leaving the orphanage we went to Walmart! Yes, there is an actual Walmart here in the city of Guiyang. We got the girls a few last items they needed.
We are really having a smooth time with the transition. The girls seem to have adopted American culture quite quickly. For example they like to wear shorts. I know this may seem strange, but most Chinese do not want to expose their bodies to the sun to stay light. However, our girls have no problem dressing like Mom. We have also witnessed their good table manners. Sometimes it feels like they have been with us for years when we are all sitting and eating together at the table. They are also very polite and want to serve care for their parents. WOW, what a change for us!
Tomorrow we are going to visit a local park that is very popular with wild monkeys. Apparently Hope’s first foster family lived near this park so she has gone several times.
One last thing I wanted to mention is that we have had the best Chinese food of all three provinces here in Guiyang. They like spicy food with lots of flavor. We have been very impressed, as they have been able to make ALL dishes without soy sauce! We also have a wonderful hotel room that smells good and seems to have no smoke! The only thing we are trying to get used to is the fact that they do not run their air conditioner after midnight so we wake up in the middle of the night sweating! Other than that, our accommodations are fantastic.
Photo captions: First: Girls in van; second: Abandonment site with guide; third: Girls in front of orphanage; fourth: Girls with oldest sister on right; fifth: Hope in room at orphanage; sixth: All 4 sisters
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