Monday's Blessings

I'm not even sure where to begin today's post.  There's a part of me who feels like I'm failing in my job to ensure that DH & family are on this journey with me.  And honestly, I am.  I know there were things from yesterday that I have not written down.  But, maybe today I can fit those important things in with what happened just moments ago.  Let me just say that God is so good. 

Yesterday, I thought R might like McDs yesterday for lunch.  We walked a long way (although the guide said it would only take about 15 minutes...it was more like 30+) to get there.  She didn't know what to order so she ordered the spicy chicken and she did not like it.  So she ate most of my chicken nuggets and some french fries.  I found a 7-11 on the way, so we stopped there on the way back to pick up water and cokes (although I am no coffee connoisseur, the coffee at the hotel is horrific. truly.  Even 3 sugar packets and the entire cup of creamer couldn't help it!  Bad. very, very bad) and I have had almost no caffeine since I left home. I needed some!  Anyways, that was yesterdays adventure for lunch.  We spent the afternoon utilizing the computer translator to "talk".  It was very laborious, but well worth the effort.  Our dinner adventure was...equally as challenging!  The guide had said there was a "basement" at the hotel and we could buy water and eat down there.  Well, I followed what I thought were his instructions (clearly I missed something) as I found myself being directed (by a non-English speaking hotel staff) into the hotel employee only area.  The minute we walked in, I knew it wasn't right.  Rachel was in front of me, so I grabbed her arm and we turned around.  At the same moment, another staff person (a front desk person who's English is very good) was flagged down by the non-English speaking staff and she was coming toward me as we were coming back out of the door.  I explained to her what the guide had told me...basement to the hotel, food & drinks.  She was very confused as there was no basement to the hotel.  So, I figured we'd just eat at the hotel restaurant that night when she realized he was probably talking about the underground shopping mall, that while next to the hotel, was not in the basement of the hotel.  She directed us to where to go, and we found a Subway (thank you Jesus!) immediately.  Rachel scarfed down her sub and chips (clearly she was VERY hungry!).  As I was about half way done with the sandwich, I realized I was eating lettuce & tomato...neither of which I should be eating!  So, I picked off the rest of the tomato and prayed the Lord would protect my stomach from the small amount of lettuce that was on my sandwich.  I did not get sick, thank you Lord!  Next to the subway is an indoor ice skating rink.  Rachel was enamored!  So, we headed back up to the room so that she could get her camera and take pictures.  (Someone suggested giving her a camera so she can take pictures and that they found it fun to see what she felt was important to take pictures of...smartest thing I have ever done!  Highly recommend it for anyone getting ready to bring home an older child.  We found hers on Craiglist, which is another miracle for another post!)  We got up to the room, and the key would not work.  So, we headed back down to the front desk to get it straightened out.  For some reason, their system thought we had checked out--hmm, no!--so the lady had to type in a bunch of stuff and got it fixed. We came back up, got the camera and headed back down to the ice skating rink.  As we were passing the desk to go to the rink, the lady--I'm guessing the manager--stopped me with another problem.  They had added Rachel to the registry, and to do so meant that they needed her passport number.  Well, she doesn't have one.  That's what we are waiting for.  That caused more flurrying around by the staff...trying to figure out what they were going to do since they didn't have some evidence that she should be with me.  I said all I have is the temporary custody order paperwork, would that work?  I told them we were on our way to the rink to take pictures, but would then head back upstairs and get the documents and bring them down.  The manager wanted to know how long it would take--I said 10 minutes, she just wants to take the pictures and then we'll be back up.  So another trip back up...then back down with the documents.  She seemed satisfied with what I had given her, but I also gave her the guide's number if she had further questions since there was nothing else I could give to or tell them.  So that was Sunday night China time...

Today, we met the guide at about 9am and we went to the Civil Affairs office to do the interview & paperwork.  For some reason I had completely forgotten about them asking questions.  (Honestly, I don't know where my head is!)  It wasn't anything major, but still I was a bit flustered when she began asking them. All answered fine.  She asked R several questions.  R, the orphanage director, the CA Director & the guide are having this conversation around me...still don't know what they were talking about.  (While I think our guide is very nice, he isn't what our other guides were...he is not very organized and I would like him to translate more conversations he has with Rachel for me.  Maybe I just need to be more forward and ask him to tell me.  But, that's a side note for those using our agency coming to Beijing.)  He then took us to Walmart. Yes, mom, they have Walmart's in China.  A lot of them.  And they are big.  Far bigger than American ones.  We found R some shirts, water, coke(!) and clothing essentials.  She did find some capris, but we could not find pants.  There honestly were none, so we're going to have to make do with the 2 pairs she has that I brought that fit and the 1 pair she wore from the orphanage.  Clothes...that's another post...but not for now.  After Walmart (which is close to our hotel), the guide dropped us off back to the hotel.  At about 11:30am, I asked R if she was hungry (I wasn't, but I thought she might be).  She said yes, she was ready for lunch.  Rachel wanted to have Chinese for lunch (who can blame her? She wants something familiar!).  So, we walked down to one the guide had directed us to (we had gone in with him & he showed us on the menu what he would suggest to eat).  It was crazy busy b/c this area is a huge business complex and its Monday at noon.  R--the confident young woman she is--picked 3 things off the menu: a fish (yuck), roasted vegetables (YUM!) and a beef meatball, noodle soup.  They brought the soup and while the beef meatballs were not good at all (R loved them), the broth and noodles were yummy.  We ate most of the soup, they brought the veggies, but the fish hadn't come yet.  She asked the waitress about it and it looked like it was going to take a while before it came, so she asked (I'm guessing here!) that we skip the fish and I thought that was a great idea.  We paid for our lunch and started walking back to the hotel.  Just as we were getting ready to cross the street to the hotel, a lady stops us and asked me if R was my daughter and if she spoke Chinese.  I said yes, so she asked her a few questions.  Then she told me what they had discussed, she asked if we had other children, etc.  She was absolutely precious.  Then she told me that she is an art professor and they are doing an exhibit at the business building across the street from the hotel, would we like to go look at the art?  R had heard of the school and had studied art at the orphanage.  She wanted to go--and so did I--so she took us to the office.  Come to find out, she teaches English part of the year at the University and also teaches art.  The art was AMAZING!  They had the professors work, her work (I think she was technically a teacher or assistant professor) and some student work.  She described so many of the pieces--what each thing represented in Chinese art.   It was fabulous.  Then she told me that they were selling the paintings for scholarship money for the students.  I wanted so badly to buy so many of the pieces!  The professor had done painting on silk MATERIAL, if one stroke was wrong or the paint is blotched the entire thing was ruined.  Gorgeous just not begin to describe.  Honestly.  I took pics and will post.  So, she told me the prices (about $30 for the student works and about $75 for her work and much more than that for the professors).  I saw one that had peonies on it and was very beautiful.  I know it was the Lord nudging me to buy that one, but I didn't say anything.  I found a piece that has the Chinese characters for good luck/happy family/good fortune (or some combination of that) which was a student piece and I told her I would get that one.  I even videoed her telling me what each section represented so DH would know as well.  Then I went to the peonies one.  I told her I wanted that one, but it was one she did and it was very precious to her. Get this...without my request...she told me she was a Christian and that this piece was one that she created about the goodness of God.  I nearly fell out.  I'm not kidding.  I think my chin hit the floor.  She then asked me what my faith was...I told her and she said "we are sisters!".  So, I asked her to ask R if she was a Christian because in our discussion on Sunday night, she said she knew what Easter was and who Jesus was, but I never could clearly understand if she had accepted Christ or not.  She asked her and R told her YES, she was.  Talk about make me want to cry on the SPOT!  So, I told her I would get only the peonies one b/c it was so expensive and I wasn't even sure just how much money I had with me.  So, she talked to the professor (who's English was also very good!) and he said he would give me a deal on the Chinese character one.   The whole time the lady is showing me around, R is taking a million pictures.  After I had paid for the 2 pieces, R told me she loved this one with a tiger.  It was a big one, and way too expensive.  But the lady directed us to a smaller one with a young tiger looking at the future.  The professor gave us a deal for that one, too.  His reasoning was that b/c I was there adopting her, that he wanted to make sure we could get it. And how could I not say "yes" to her.  R then told the lady that she was born in the year of the tiger.  It was perfect.  So, when we get home, be assured each of these pieces will be proudly displayed in our home!  I know the Lord directed us to this precious lady.  I know the Lord directed me to the peonies painting.  I know the Lord put it all together.  It makes me tear up to think about it. 

I think the most overwhelming part for me is that if R had not said "forget the fish dish" at the restaurant, we would have missed this lady.  I would not have gotten the answer to whether R knew the Lord or not.  We would not have gotten these beautiful pieces of art (and certainly not for the price we got them at!).  If I needed any clarification that the Lord is 100% in this adoption of R, I would be crazy.  We found Rachel with the EXACT phrasing we said we needed.  The money came in.  I got her on Easter Sunday.  She is a Christian.   Can we say really overwhelming?  God is so absolutely good.