Immigration

We took Lily to the U. S. Consulate in Guangzhou today.

The adoption process is laborious and long, but is also legal and proper.

Let me paint a picture for you.

We are a nation of immigrants.

But we are also a nation of laws (and paperwork).

Legit.

Fun in the bus with new friends!

Day trip to Shamian Island.

Still unsure if Confucius overcharged honest Abe or not...

Hey, mom! It looks like you got some fruit drink at Starbuck's.

I like fruit drinks.

Hey, I was just kidding but that was actually kinda yummy.

Out of a sense of tradition, we had chicken fingers and fries at Lucy's.

Then we shopped around at a few local stores.

Mostly, we just strolled through the streets.

We miss home.

Trusting in God

We spent a few hours walking around Shamian Island today.

It was really nice to get out of the hotel for a while, and Jackson did better than expected.

We walked past all the souvenir shops and local vendors.

We strolled through the park and observed all the hacky sack players.

We meandered down to the Pearl River.

The island was filled with photographers and their subjects, especially brides and grooms.

This was an interesting sight. Creepy, but interesting.

This photographer either thinks quite highly of himself or cannot read English very well.

This dove reminded me of the power of the Holy Spirit to transform broken lives.

I have been feeling somewhat inadequate lately as a parent of children with special needs.

This statue reminded me that the Bible is literally filled with stories of inadequate people that God chose to do his will. All of them were successful, not because of their skills but because of their faith.

We walked pretty much the entire island over a three hour period.

Towards the end of our time there, we went around a corner and saw

many simple drawings of what appeared to be Bible stories.

The first one we saw was this one.

At first I thought it was from one of the Gospels but none of them has 37 chapters.

When we got back to the hotel I looked it up on cnbible.com

当 将 你 的 事 交 托 耶 和 华 ， 并 倚 靠 他 ， 他 就 必 成 全 。

Commit your way to the LORD, trust also in him, and he shall act. (Psalm 37:5)

I will try to remember that.

Perhaps we all should.

Keep the faith, friends.

Sophie and Samuel on Shamian Island

Night on Shamian Island

In the Clear

Medically Cleared

Today we went back to Shamian Island to the clinic to have the PPD (TB
skin test) read. Joshua's was positive so he needed a chest
radiograph. It was, of course, normal. So the boys are clear to get
adoption visas home. We visit the consulate on July 6 and can start
traveling home 2 days later on July 8, when we will take a train to
Hong Kong, spend the night, then fly home (by way of Detroit). Looking
forward to that short flight from Hong Kong to Detroit already!
After the trip to the clinic, mom went shopping with the ladies and
dad and the boys headed back to the hotel for some down time. We
decided to be very American and had McDonald's for lunch. McDonald's
is the same all over the world. Take that anyway you like.
We will have dinner out with the group tonight. I did not take too
many photos yet today so I will post a few plus some older ones that I
never got a chance to previously.

Banyan Trees

Note the characteristic adventitious prop roots of this fig tree.

At the Clinic

Lunch and Strolling

It's always funny when multiple things spill at once, domino style!

This chocolate milk tastes a lot like Ovaltine. Hey! Where is my secret decoder ring?

Carter King, new son of Todd and Nikki (friends of Mary and Allen Neal) sneaks up on a tourist.

Annabelle playing run around the gate with Carter and dad.

An historic monument, memorializing the time when Confucius and Abraham Lincoln

met to have a Coke and discuss government and human nature.