What a difference a night’s sleep makes! We woke up and there were people everywhere this morning! Some large trade show is going on that has started in Guangzhou that has brought people and languages from all over the globe to fill up the lobbies and extra spaces. But the best part was all the moms, dads, siblings and little Chinese children that were in the dining area that now have the hope and possibilities of a much brighter future. They were running around, carried on hips, strap-on carriers or pushed in strollers. But man, they were all over the place – crying, laughing, eating, throwing food, etc. It was a blast seeing all of the proud parents walking around, and it really did not matter to anyone there if the children were quiet and behaving or throwing a complete temper-tantrum (as these little guys can really throw them!) because everyone of them is in a better situation than they were five days ago. PTL for all these mom’s and dad’s that we are meeting! We are truly blessed to be part of this “fraternity” and “band of brothers and sisters”! This is a club that I am not ashamed to say that we are a part of going forward.
Today was one of our longer days that are scheduled for the trip – the dreaded medical exam! We started out walking from the lobby to the clinic at 10:45 this morning. After a quick visit to a small office for her VISA photo, we stood in line at the clinic. As I described it a couple of days ago, this is a decent size clinic, but with little room for waiting on a doctor. So it does resemble a clinic in the middle of flu season. But now all these doctors and nurses were handling these little ones for the last time in their country. We were fortunate to be a non-Hague family (please don’t ask me what all of that means when I get home…..’cause I still don’t understand all of it….) and we had the opportunity to opt out of vaccinations for this visit. Whew!!!! We have “pledged” to the government that we will have Mary Beth immunized in the states within 30 days of bringing her home. No problem. That is a no-brainer for us. However, we felt so sorry for so many of these little ones. One little boy had to receive 9 shots today! I have no idea where they stuck him, because he was just an itty-bitty guy to get stuck so many times. The dad said it took 3 people to hold him down. The poor mom looked worse than the little boy when they came out. He had the famous dum-dum sucker in his mouth to make him feel better. She needed something a little stronger than that, I think…..
Jenn took Mary Beth to her office visits, while Brian and I managed the older girls, so they would not jump 10 feet out of the office to get hit by the taxis that were flying by…..as they will NOT slow down for pedestrians over here. (It is difficult to explain that to these US children. But anyone who has visited China can relate to this part of their culture.) Outside of her left arm (which was pretty obvious to us too….), Jenn said the doctor said she had a heart murmur, which threw us off a bit. We did not expect that because it was not reported to us on her original report we received. We were a little concerned at first. But to be honest, I am not that smart and I really do not know that means and did not think about it again. I guess it could have been a lot worse, as we have heard of many issues in the past with other families where the original medical diagnosis was not accurate for their adopted child. But I immediately thought of a couple of promising aspects for Mary Beth. Would I rather have a heart murmur and spend my life having someone in Fuling handle it……or live within a 30 minute drive to the best cardiologists in the country??? Gee…..that was easy, and we can check that one off the list of concerns for Mary Beth as far as it goes for me. Plus, even this doctor said she could grow out of it. So we will let The Healer place His hand on her, so she can know Who is getting credit for any healing that will occur in her body. We do not know if she would get that opportunity to understand that here. So our odds are good with taking her home in this condition. (I mean, can it be any worse than when she hits 12-13 years old and she is a pre-teen?!?!? At least her new mama and daddy appear smart now…..)
After the three-and-a-half hour ordeal of the clinic, we made it back to the hotel for playtime with new friends in the playroom and with the Freeland’s. We sure missed them and were glad to get Lauren and Jessica back together. Olivia, their newest daughter, is such a doll! She is 18 months old and has a cleft lip, but adapting so well. Up until this week, the little one had never had anything besides milk/formula, not even rice cereal. So the first bite of food that they gave her was the first in her life. So far, “all systems are clear” for her as she is enjoying to eat now.
Tonight ended with yet another visit to Lucy’s Café with the Freeland’s. We know that we are safe there, as everyone has something they can eat. Jenn and I are itching to eat Thai or Cantonese on the island. But we may have to wait until we get back home, as we know it will not be well received by the majority in the family.
Tomorrow starts out with a group photo on the famous “long, red couch” in one of the lobbies at the White Swan where all the Chinese children are supposed to be dressed in their silk Chinese outfits…..of which we have not purchased yet. So if we cannot get to one of the stores early, she may be wearing her new clothes from the USA that have been given to us. Either way, Mary Beth will be in the picture wearing something she did not own 6 days before, and that is all that matters. After the picture, we are due to do some touring in Guangzhou and go to some temple. IF we go, we will report how it goes. But it will be Sunday……and we miss our place that we get to visit and worship at each Sunday, and we look forward to some of that “Fellowship” next week when we return home!
GDaddy and I had some good conversations the past couple of days on a couple of topics that I need some Word time and some jogging time to consider before posting. Eyes are opened when we step out of our own world and when we invest in others. I am learning this more and more these days, as I have spent many of my 41 years with closed eyes. I need to seek Wisdom before sharing more, as I need to firmly believe and understand it myself before beseeching anyone else to do something I am not willing to do.
Jenn and I thank each and every one who is sharing this time with us. Dwight is keeping us posted on a little of the activity of the blog, and we are blessed by your words of encouragement. As one new dad wore a shirt today, the expression on the front of his shirt is our thought and reminder for us……
It’s not about me……
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