June 29, 2008
RAIN, RAIN, GO AWAY COME AGAIN ANOTHER DAY!
I am not sure I mentioned this in any of my
earlier posts, but I believe the day prior to
us arriving in Guangzhou a typhoon hit the
Hong Kong area and so Guangzhou has gotten A
LOT of rain. It has not limited us other than
we have not swam in the pool and maybe we
haven’t taken Ellie Lu out as much.
The plan today is to have breakfast then
attend church at the Christian Church and then
walk around the island. This afternoon there
is a group outing to the Pearl and Jade
markets and maybe a trip to the store to pick
up supplies. Mel is still not feeling well so
he will likely stay in today.
I went down to breakfast alone and Mel stayed
in the room with Ellie Lu. It was really odd
having breakfast by myself…I ate pretty
quickly and also gathered some things up for
Mel, mostly toast and brought it back for him.
I also found formula in one of the hotel
shops. When I got back to the room I got Ellie
Lu ready and we both headed out to church. We
didn’t take an umbrella, probably because my
hands were pretty full. It was very peaceful
walking to church it was about 10:15 am. We
arrived at the church to a crowd that was
gathering…there was already a non-English
service going on and it was not clear if the
crowd was just listening or preparing to
attend the English service. Since we were
early I walked down the street by the church
and found “Susan’s” shop and also saw “From
China with Love” and several other shops. It
was beginning to look like rain and so I
walked back to the church and it was amazing
how people came up to us and would squeeze
Ellie Lu’s hand or smile and try to talk to
me. One lady in particular really connected
with us and when it began to rain she pulled
us in under the shelter and she spoke English
and talked to me at length. It was one of the
best conversations I had with someone I didn’t
even know. I wish I had somehow gotten her
name…she was really sweet and knew a lot about
adoption too. When it was time to enter the
church she wanted us to sit with her and
helped me into the church. I had to explain to
her that we needed to sit in the back and also
I might need to leave suddenly if Ellie Lu
fussed. It turned out that it got very crowded
so I actually just stood in the back…just in
case. We also saw some of our travel group…The
Lamb’s and our guide Catherine’s son was
there. Also Catherine brought us an umbrella
which we ended up needing pretty badly.
The service was very beautiful and it was in
both Chinese and English. It was one of the
most spiritual services I had been to. The
church was standing room only and there were
even people outside. The music was so nice. We
made it about 75 % of the way thru before
Ellie Lu was fussy. Turns out this was a huge
blessing…we arrived back at the hotel and
literally were just in the door and it was
like the flood gates opened. When we got back
to the room Mel was feeling a little better.
We all rested and then at 2 pm I met the group
to go shopping for pearls and jade.
We rode on a bus to the pearl and jade shops.
We first went to the pearl shops. There were
all kinds of booth, but only a few reputable
stores that took credit cards. I finally found
one and bought several pearl necklaces,
bracelets, earrings in different styles and
colors. I hope to give these as gifts to Ellie
Lu as she gets older.
The only thing I really wanted from the jade
market was a “mother/daughter” necklace and
the guide helped me find one. I also looked
for Mel something but it was so Smokey and it
made me sick so I had to stand outside and
wait for everyone. While I was waiting I
watched the people and talked to some of our
group members who came by. I spoke with Dr.
Lamb quite awhile and learned about their
adoptions, it was really nice to learn their
story. I also took quite a few pictures…some
in particular of these twin girls who had a
friend with them. They were so cute in the
rain and all together…a few minutes later they
came by…the twins were not speaking the friend
took the side of one twin…some things are the
same in all cultures…three’s a crowd.
As we were all walking to get on the bus one
of our travel mates Barb fell and I could tell
right away it was serious. I heard something
pop when she hit the ground. For a few minutes
there was total confusion then several of us
pretty much demanded the guides take us to the
hospital. Turns out Dr. Lamb went with Barb
and her sister and the rest of us were taken
back to the hotel after they were dropped off.
We later found out that Barb broke her
shoulder.
Once we got back to the hotel after shopping…I
made us some macaroni and cheese and we all
loved it…even though it was the instant
kind….even Ellie Lu liked it. While we watched
the movie I began organizing our suitcases and
removing things we would not need to take
home…we will donate those to our agency so
future families can use them. We watched a
movie and put Ellie Lu down and also looked
ahead to see what types of activities we would
be doing on Monday.
Tomorrow there will be a group trip to the Six
Banjan Temple for a “baby blessing” and then I
will go with one of our guides Ruth to the
consulate to have one of our documents
notarized. Apparently in all the confusion of
leaving and receiving Ellie Lu’s referral on
June 11; I actually wrote her name in a way
that is confusing so I must go in person and
“swear” that the paperwork is correct. |
Daddy and Me
Ellie Lu and Mommy on our way to
church...bottle in hand
Pretty in my first church dress...thanks
Fran
The Christian Church
Three's a Crowd
White Swan Barbie
|
