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Sunday,
December 24, 2006
TOTO, I DON'T THINK WE'RE IN KANSAS ANYMORE
“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what
we do not see.” -Hebrews 11:1
All I can think of tonight is the saying from the Wizard of Oz,
“Toto, I don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore.” We flew to Wuhan
today; it is the capital city of Hubei Province. This is where
we will meet Jia-Li tomorrow—TOMORROW! The short experience we
had here before we retreated to our room and ordered room
service was extremely surreal. Everywhere we looked there where
people dressed up with Santa hats wishing us a “Merry Christmas”
Ira, our local guide, told us they are not Christians but have
adopted Christmas as a kind of cultural celebration.
The city of Wuhan never sees the sun, it is so polluted
everything has a gray layer of grit all over it. The streets are
swarming with people; it is very dirty and very overwhelming.
People here never see westerners so when they saw us they
actually just stopped and stared at us. No one speaks English,
including the people who work in our hotel-the East Lake Hotel.
Our guide walked us down one side of a street to show us where
the Carre-Four, (kind of like a 3 story Wal-Mart) was located.
The whole goal was not to have to cross a main street, as the
drivers are crazy! We will stay here for 5 days and it will be
more than worth it because this is where we will receive our
precious Jia-Li, but I have to say, I will be glad to get back
to Guanghgou.
Tomorrow we will go to a government building at 10:00 and pick
up Jia-Li!!! The whole process will take about 15 minutes and
then we will bring her back to our room and bond with her. The
process is understandably very traumatizing for these children,
and they recommend that we stay in the room all day on the first
day to see how things go. The next day will be more detailed
with a great deal of paperwork to fill out.
Our guide says that we will not get to meet Jia-Li’s foster
parents as they are often overcome with grief and try to follow
you back to your hotel. What a hard thing to have to do! Our
prayers will be with these people as we lead Jia into her new
life with us. |
Anna and Katie on the Red Couch . . .
the only one missing is Jia-Li
Drew, Anna and Katie at the White Swan
Lesa, Anna and Katie at the White Swan
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On this most un-Christmas like Christmas Eve from across the
world we celebrate with you, our friends and family, the birth
of our Lord and savior, Jesus Christ.
Today, I would like to thank everyone in our children’s life and
say a special prayer for Jia’s foster parents and of course the
most wonderful foster parents ever—our dear, dear friends Rita
and Mike Parker who placed Laura (Katie) and Lilly (Anna) into
our arms, but never let their love go from our precious girls!
For Mrs. P’s students: How To Use Chopsticks
1. Rest the end of the lower chopstick in the V of your
thumb and forefinger.
2. Hold the upper chopstick as if it were a pencil,
between your middle and index fingers.
3. Make sure the tips of the chopsticks are always even
and the same length.
4. When picking up food, the lower chopstick should remain
still-only the upper chopstick should pivot, with the
thumb as axis. |
Drew is now in
charge of posting pictures, take a look at our dropshots link
for additional shots and please email or sign our guest book.
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