I'm so sorry this is so long. Please forgive me, it's difficult to leave anything out when I write. If you all get sick of reading, I guess you can skim. :)
It is 1:20am and everyone is asleep but me (Cherie). Faith has a 9:00am doctor's exam in the morning and I fear I shall be up for a long time writing this post, but this is my journal of our journey to our daughter, plus it is our love letter home, so it is important to me.
Well, we were singing "On The Road Again" today. On the road and in the air. This afternoon we said goodbye to our Nanchang guide, Helen, and boarded a plane for a one-hour flight from Nanchang to Guangzhou - and one hour was about all Faith could stand... we have no idea what we are going to do with her for 14 hours on the way home!!! The seatbelt thing did not please her. Eating keeps her busy but she can't eat for 14 hours.
We are reeling from the experience, because we got on a plane in a third-world country and got off the plane in a resort area! How crazy is that? How can the surroundings be so completely different after a one hour flight?
We are absolutely jumping for joy - our new surroundings seem like paradise to us! It started when our new guide, David, met us at the airport here in Guangzhou, and his English is so clear and easy to understand!! I don't have to ask him to keep repeating himself. Then he took us out to the curb and we joyously cried, "a meenee bus!!" (For those of you who missed my earlier post about the meenee bus... that's how Susan our Beijing guide pronounced it) The bus he picked us up in was nice and CLEAN, CLEAN, CLEAN! Did I mention it was CLEAN?! If you all could have seen where we have been for the past week and what we have been riding in... we're talking filth here, people... well we were ELATED!! We drove for about a half hour on roads with actual traffic patterns and no horns beeping. David told us all about Guangzhou and Shamian Island, and we all kept looking at each other and smiling.
Just as a side note, it's very interesting to us that the people here are Cantonese and they have just a little bit different look to their faces. It's hard to put a finger on what it is, just something a tiny bit different. And, of course, they sound different.
Anyway, he helped us get checked in and we oohed and aahed over the gigantic lobby area with waterfalls, shopping mall, and beautiful fish that Faith loves. And then he took us out behind the hotel and showed us where all the shops are.
Sue and Lisa (by the way Lisa, I am praying for your foot and thinking about you all the time... let me know how you really are doing when you comment) (And Kim, the proud aunt thing made me smile so much) Anyway, you two will have to endure reading this description.
Behind the hotel is this quaint little area of shops and there are really not many cars to speak of on the streets back there. We only got to explore a little this evening but I'm excited to explore more. The hotel is on a little island, so to speak... it's actually surrounded by a river, but it is beautiful. We stood on a dock and watched beautifully lit boats going up and down the river and it was wonderful. Faith would yell, "Momma, Momma," and then point to the boats. Our room is gorgeous and immaculately clean, and we have a gorgeous view of the river, and Faith can stand in the window and watch the boats.
We had cheeseburgers and french fries for supper and you would have thought it was a gourmet feast. (Of course Faith stuck to her congee. She loves her congee. She puts everything in it. Mitch handed her a french fry and she put it in her congee. We joked that if we gave her a drink of coke, she would probably pour it in her congee.) We were starved! We have eaten so very little in the past week. Trying new things is nice, and having an opportunity to experience what people eat in another culture is nice, but when there is nothing else but that to eat for a week's time, and you can't eat any fruits or veggies... well, we were hungry, to say the least.
Today Faith had her first stroller ride. That was nice. She had her first experience of sitting in a high chair in a restaurant and ordering something from a menu. More importantly, she had her first Western style potty experience... and... OH YEAH... she did great and I am ecstatic!! I desire to completely break the squat thing before we get home!!!
But something much more important happened today - the most important thing. Today, Faith became truly ours. Oh, not because of paperwork or anything like that. But, today she truly became ours because we packed up and took her with us. Today we brought her out of where she has always been, and brought her with us, kind of on the first leg to a new life.
It's more of a feeling than an actual event. But, it was substantial in the journey. You see, for as long as we were in Nanchang, there was always the hotel lobby where the orphanage director had brought her and the foster mom had handed her over. I always had the fear she would get upset when we walked through the lobby. And for as long as we were in Nanchang, Faith fussed everytime our guide was around, and I think it's because she associated her with the whole event that turned her world upside-down. And for as long as we were in Nanchang, Faith would stand on a chair in our hotel room window looking out over a most depressing scene of poverty.
And for as long as we were in Nanchang, I felt like we were frozen in that moment when we first got her and couldn't move forward... and I felt like she sensed the same type of feeling. Now I know she did, because she seems different, even in just the one evening that we have been here. Something is different. Something has been severed and something has been bonded...and it is good.
She is such a dear little girl. She is so smart. She has one dimple... just one, on her left cheek. Tonight she would not let me hold her, she would only let Matthew or Mitchell hold her.
At her 9am exam she has the dreaded TB test (please pray that we don't get a false positive... it's been known to happen). David tells us she will get between four and seven shots. We are hoping for the four.
Christian and Gracie, you are gonna love this girl! You 2 are going to be great English teachers!
I guess I'd better get a little sleep. Tomorrow is another day.
Love to you all.
Miss you like crazy.
5 comments:
Hey Steeles,
I am simultaneously broken hearted and overjoyed for you all as I read for the first time your many days of posts. As I was reading KLove was ironically streaming Jeremy Camp's Walk by Faith. How appropriate as we all walk by faith! I can't imagine your joy! Thanks for sharing your experiences with us all. Diane
Hi All! It is so good to see you eating again! ha ha Never thought you'd love burgers and fries so much did you???? Tim wanted me to tell Mitch that the gray slime he ate was probably pickled jellyfish. He and TJ ate it when we were there too. I opted out of all things of the "gel" nature. We honestly ate at Lucy's nearly every day at some point - either there or in the hotel. Cherie, ask for a shop called "Jordan's". He is a christian and was the one who stopped me because he saw my cross necklace. He is so nice and he has everything you could want to purchase. I remember the shop being out back and down a block and then turning left and it's on the left after a little ways. People will know. Mitchell and Matthew there are cool antique shops out back, across the street and on the right side. TJ got a sword in there. He also bought one in the hotel antique shop. You can really dig around and find some neat things. I bought my jade necklace in the hotel antique shop. The lady there was so nice and took lots of time with us - opening drawers full of old things for us to see. You can see the shoes that they used to bind feet with too. I did not buy those. lol Ok, about that river around the White Swan. It is pretty and there are beautiful boats in it. You'll also see men swimming laps in it in the morning at breakfast; BUT, that is also the same river we saw sewer trucks dumping wast into! YUK! Can you imagine?! That's also the same river we took a dinner cruise on with our agency families - oh my - eat before you go! If you are offered the dinner cruise, fair warning, the food is gross and the smell is worse! No one ate out of 16 total families cruising.
I remember going for Emma's medical "check-up". It was hilarious. just another of those things you do in a step to get your little girl home. Just smile and say "okay" and get her out of there. I will pray her TB went well. I would have to look back and see, but Emma may have had a positive TB test before we got there. It didn't deter anyone from letting us bring her home AND she tested negative 2 times when we got home. Things are so different over there. It's amazing they have any healthcare at all.
So, you asked how I was doing with my broken heel. Well, it's been...well, it's been boring! I lie in our living room in my hospital bed and stare at the tv or books all day long. When I sit up with my legs down, my foot swells horribly. The pain is finally starting to lighten up. I still need pain meds about 3x/day - which is unbelievable to me. I do not like taking pills, but the pain is so bad at times I cannot bear it. The swelling is the worst and makes the pain more pronounced. But, you know, God is faithful and He only knows why I am in this place at this time. I will trust in Him to get me through it. I have a year they tell me, before it will heal completely - if it goes back to normal. Six more months of swelling. two more months of non-weightbearing. Crazy!
So, back to Faith...Has she eaten anything else besides congee? I only ask, because I am wondering if you are picking up any special recipes? ha ha ha I remember bringing home Emma's Rice and Sweet Potato formula - 4 boxes. It was more like cereal here. It was all she would eat. I'll pray she does okay with that.
Cherie, if you get offered a sight-seeing trip to the "mall". You should go. It's funny. The largest size they had was a 4 in US size and that was 5 yrs ago. Remember when I told you a large woman at the White Swan told me she was glad she brought enough underwear with her? That was so funny. It's neat to see how they shop there.
Emma is so excited to meet Faith. She talks about her all the time and wants everyone to see the pictures. I will write again soon. Take care and enjoy your new surroundings! Love you all so much!
Lisa
I can relate to the eating thing. When I was in the Philippines we did not have bread for the 6 days we were in the mountains. When we got back to the city the 6 of us ate an entire loaf of bread during breakfast.
I can also kinda relate to the potty thing. We had some issues with the toilets in the Philippines. Not quite as powerful as they are back home.
Anyway, Christian spent the night at our house last night. We slept out in the hammocks. Today, we were playing with the dog. We would kick the soccer ball and he, the do not Christian, would chase it. Then Christian kicked the ball and hit him in the chest. Now the dog is scared of the soccer ball and runs away every time it comes near.
Also while we were playing with the dog. I had to walk across the street and didn't want to dog to follow me so I told Christian to call him. Christian yelled, "Come here Gracie!"
Looking forward to seeing you when you get back. Enjoy the rest of your journey.
Ben
Psalm 143:8
Have you all been drinking tea with all your meals???
Faith is adorable. We loved the picture of her holding her hands out to Matthew for food. I wonder if it would be hard to make her congee. Dan says maybe your whole family will end up liking & eating her congee, putting whatever other food you have into it for every meal! Hmmm . . . congee with spaghetti & meatballs anyone?? We'd like to be served that combination next time we visit~not really.
Praying for & thinking of you all~we both are loving reading your travel blog everyday & seeing pictures of beautiful Faith with her wonderful new family!! Thanks so much for sharing details of this amazing time with all of us! I've loved reading & studying books about China for years, so it's so interesting to read about your thoughts & impressions.
Love to you all,
Jes (& Dan)
You are are the home stretch! I'm glad to hear you are getting some food in your bellies and are safely ensconced in the White Swan. How about the attendants on each floor. Have you gotten to touch the elevator button yet? I only got to push it once and sensed that the poor woman thought she had failed me somehow, because she hadn't beaten me their...and they "knew" when we were in our room and when we weren't...made me wonder.
Like Lisa, we ate at Lucy's every night, except the night on our consulate visit...our guide took our group to a really good local Tai restaurant...but we had to miss it...lets just say I wasn't eating anything that night...I'll pray none of you have a similar experience.
The White Swan it beautiful. I keep a pic on my desk at school of Lainie and Brad behind the waterfall...beautiful father/ daughter portrait in a beautiful setting.
We will continue to pray...with that TB test in mind in particular!
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