So....here we are on our last night in China, and what a crazy and amazing 2 weeks it has been. We've had lots of amazing experiences, some incredible high points, and some pretty low points at times. But most of all, we have been blessed to bring Ellie into our family.
Living with 3 kids for 2 weeks in a hotel room, in a different culture with different foods, customs, and even smells has been a challenge, to say the least. But we have learned to rely even more on God for our moment by moment patience and enjoy our time here.
We have also caught maybe a glimpse of God's love for us as we see Ellie each day. While we were in a helpless situation spiritually, God swooped down and paid for our wrongs. Then He adopted us and allows us to call Him Daddy. Sometimes we resist, we fight against Him, and don't really even understand the things that He wants for us. Ellie has no idea that we are trying to help her when she throws tantrums and fights against us - she has been in a place so lacking freedom and love that she doesn't really know how to interact and receive love and affection. The patience and love of our Father help us learn these things, and we pray that we can give even a small portion of that love to Ellie.
We have seen Ellie grow from not interacting at all and saying nothing on day 1, to playing, smiling, saying "ba-ba", "da-da", and "up" in just a few days. She loves to explore new things, and I can't imagine what is going through her mind as she takes in the thousands of things she has never seen before. She still has a long way to go, but we can't wait to see her blossom in a more stable environment once we get home.
Today we did a bunch of just hanging out. We talked with some of the other families in our group after breakfast for a while. Then came back up and worked on packing. We have everything packed and ready to go! We got more ice cream this afternoon, then went off to the US Consulate, a 35 minute ride, to make our appearance and say the oath to get Ellie's immigration paperwork and her visa to enter the US. Then back to the hotel, give Ellie a bottle, and back to Lucy's for dinner. And, of course, and after dinner ice cream. Then we took some pictures on the famous "red sofa" at the White Swan.
Wake up call is at 5am, then leaving the hote at 6am for an 8:30 flight to Toyko. From Tokyo to Detriot, and then back to Cincinnati at 4:30PM. By that time we will have been up for 23 1/2 hours :-( Please, please, please continue to pray for us as we are travelling. Especially that we each can get some rest on the flights and that Ellie doesn't throw too many tantrums :-)
We hope to see many of your soon! We'll try to keep posting as we get back to normal life in Burlington. It will be facinating to see how Ellie changes each day, week, and month......
Living with 3 kids for 2 weeks in a hotel room, in a different culture with different foods, customs, and even smells has been a challenge, to say the least. But we have learned to rely even more on God for our moment by moment patience and enjoy our time here.
We have also caught maybe a glimpse of God's love for us as we see Ellie each day. While we were in a helpless situation spiritually, God swooped down and paid for our wrongs. Then He adopted us and allows us to call Him Daddy. Sometimes we resist, we fight against Him, and don't really even understand the things that He wants for us. Ellie has no idea that we are trying to help her when she throws tantrums and fights against us - she has been in a place so lacking freedom and love that she doesn't really know how to interact and receive love and affection. The patience and love of our Father help us learn these things, and we pray that we can give even a small portion of that love to Ellie.
We have seen Ellie grow from not interacting at all and saying nothing on day 1, to playing, smiling, saying "ba-ba", "da-da", and "up" in just a few days. She loves to explore new things, and I can't imagine what is going through her mind as she takes in the thousands of things she has never seen before. She still has a long way to go, but we can't wait to see her blossom in a more stable environment once we get home.
Today we did a bunch of just hanging out. We talked with some of the other families in our group after breakfast for a while. Then came back up and worked on packing. We have everything packed and ready to go! We got more ice cream this afternoon, then went off to the US Consulate, a 35 minute ride, to make our appearance and say the oath to get Ellie's immigration paperwork and her visa to enter the US. Then back to the hotel, give Ellie a bottle, and back to Lucy's for dinner. And, of course, and after dinner ice cream. Then we took some pictures on the famous "red sofa" at the White Swan.
Wake up call is at 5am, then leaving the hote at 6am for an 8:30 flight to Toyko. From Tokyo to Detriot, and then back to Cincinnati at 4:30PM. By that time we will have been up for 23 1/2 hours :-( Please, please, please continue to pray for us as we are travelling. Especially that we each can get some rest on the flights and that Ellie doesn't throw too many tantrums :-)
We hope to see many of your soon! We'll try to keep posting as we get back to normal life in Burlington. It will be facinating to see how Ellie changes each day, week, and month......
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