I got another email update from Steve/Pam this morning. It’s amazing how much I look forward to these little tidbits of information from their trip. I hope you all are enjoying reading about the trip, them, and Katelyn too! It’s always helpful to know how to pray too.

They flew from Shanghai to Guangzhou on Friday. They were told that while Shanghai is 800 years old, the city of Guangzhou is well over 2000 years old!!

On Sunday they were able to attend a Chinese Christian church, which are allowed, but highly regulated. Christ Church has a Chinese service and then a Chinese/English service . . . On the power point screen they printed English words for one song and then alternated with Mandarin characters for the next. Steve said there were about 300 in attendance, with standing room only. During one song, the words were overlaid on a background of John 3:16. They were both again struck with the fact that God so loved the world . . . Americans, Chinese, Brazilian, Jamaicans. (I wonder if this was Katelyn first exposure to the Gospel?)

During the hours around the paper work, they’ve been shopping and bargaining, playing in parks and playgrounds, and talking to the other adopting families. They are exhausted . . . ready to be at home, with family, not having to eat at restaurants, and sleeping in their own beds. All the paperwork is done now, except for having to take the adoption oath. The journey is almost complete!! Of course, then comes the grueling trip home . . . 36 hours of travel, time changes, and jet-lag. Please pray for them!!

Again, I appreciate your love and prayers for my sister, brother-in-law, and new niece, as well as for Joshua, Amanda, and Justin. The China journey might be drawing to a close, but they’ll be starting a whole new journey as they arrive home and get back into life here.

Thanks,
Robin
P.S. Steve listed 5 little known facts about traveling in China, listed in no particular order of importance, so I’ll post them here in his own writing voice:

1: The beds are hard, like sleeping on a padded box spring. We’ve been in 3 four and five star hotels and they’re all the same- a beautifully appointed room with luxurious marble and brass plated fixtures, inlaid wood and stellar panoramic views of city skylines. Then you lie down and feel like you’re sleeping on a 4×8 sheet of plywood. Go figure.

2: After 4 or 5 straight meals of eating with chopsticks your thumb and pinky finger begin to cramp. After a week, you’re slurping noodles like a pro and not giving it a second thought.

3: All the stuff in Wal-Mart that says “made in China”… it’s here too. But it is cheaper and you can typically bargain merchants down by 30-60 percent. If you are buying knockoff Rolexes, you can get a 90% discount. 

4: In China KFC and McDonalds deliver. They have a fleet of bicycles out front and you can get an order of hot greasy fries delivered straight to your door if you want. 

5: Homeopathic remedies take on a whole new meaning here in China. We went to a medicine market and saw baskets of dried snakes, bags of sliced up antlers, bugs, flowers and other unmentionables. Watch out, you never know what’s in that cup of tea!