Buddhist temple and shopping...

Hello…things are going great here in China!  Faith is feeling much better today and we went back to the medical clinic to check her TB test and it is negative.  She is now clear to get her visa into the USA!!!  We will go to an interview with the US consulate tomorrow, then on Wednesday we take the oath and Thursday we pick up her visa and take a train to Hong Kong for the night.  Our trip is winding down and we are so excited everything has gone so well and can’t wait to get Faith home to meet her family! 

The hotel here is just lovely…there is also a play room where we took her to play with other children and just be silly.  She loved it there.  She was really shy around the other children and kept really close to us.  There were some very aggressive children in there that night.   She definitely has boundaries.  We will have to be watchful of that when we get home.  Also she is a very picky eater .  We have a big celebration when we find an item she will eat.   So far she likes butter pretzel sticks, yogurt drinks, hard boiled eggs, watermelon, apples, egg drop soup with noodles, mandarin oranges and Pringles chips.

After the shots she wanted to be held all day and would not sit in the stroller,  I am just grateful my back has held up.   I have a slight herniated disk and when the back goes I am down for a while.   The beds here are really hard, and I am sure that is helping my back hold up. 

Faith is starting to get comfortable enough around us to really have some fantastic tantrums.  She will not wear her coat, and last night when we would not open a chocolate for her (because she doesn’t like them and spits them out ) she had another one.    I think having been a parent before has prepared us well for these moments, and we really just let her have her melt downs.  Some parents are already punishing or disciplining their children… the only real frustration we have experienced is when we are out shopping and she won’t put her coat on for us…then a nice Chinese speaking woman will explain to Faith in Chinese why she needs to wear a coat and Faith will just calm right down and put on her coat and Jeff and I are like “ I wish we spoke Chinese!”   Also as soon as we are out of sight of the person who told her that she will fuss and scream and take her coat off herself.  GrrRR. 

Also interesting is the constant question of “Is she special needs?”   She looks and acts very normal, and seems to understand and speak Chinese very well.  If she has a disability it seems to be very minor.  I can’t wait to get her home for her MRI and really find out if the CT scan done here was even hers.   From what we see she acts and seems like a normal 2 year old.  

Her blessing at the Buddhist temple was a beautiful ceremony.  There are many similarities in their ancient religion that coincide to ours.  There is also a wonderful Catholic woman in our adoption group and she was amazed at the symbolism that related to her faith.  She made a comment to me that I agree with…”truth transcends all.”  There are pieces of the gospel everywhere when we look for them.  They had three large golden Buddha’s where we knelt for the blessing… They represented “past, present and future.”    We were sprinkled with water and closed our eyes for a prayer.  We also took off our shoes when we entered the temple.  It was just such an amazing experience… I was grateful to be a part of it.  One Christian family decided to skip the ceremony…I think because they thought it would be worshiping a false idol.   I personally don’t think Heavenly Father considers us participating in that ceremony worship, and I am glad he knows my heart.  Also… there was a beautiful spirit there…He loves all his children and wants to bless them.  Once the gospel opens up there it will be amazing, because there are so many things they already understand through Buddhism. 

After the temple we went shopping to the pearl factory…I totally scored a beautiful pink pearl ring!   We got a lot done yesterday and are feeling ready to head home.  We wish the US consulate didn’t drag out the visa process, just this year another 24 hour waiting period was added, so we are here for an extra day.    I am uploading pictures from the temple…they are horrible…we took our little camera and the guide took the pictures and they didn’t turn out very well.  It was also raining that day and the Buddhists’ believe that when someone is visiting the temple  and it rains they are considered distinguished guests. 

Enjoy the pics!

Dawn