Fun Times...

Peace y'all!

Ketchup on pizza???

Celebrating Bao Shi Han's (Krystal) 15th birthday, which is Feb. 3rd.

Say, "Chineeeeeese"!

We had such a great time with our precious Chinese exchange students. This opportunity landed smack dab in the middle of our crazy summer last year and the Lord has used it to do incredible things for us. It's such an amazing opportunity to show the love of Christ to children who may have never heard that name before. It fills up a place in my soul... I wish I could explain it, but I don't have the words. When you have 2 people staying with you (who call you "mom") for an extended time period, it's only natural that you become somewhat attached to them. The first night was... interesting. I wondered if they even spoke ANY English. Alex and I looked at each other as we headed to the car from the airport that night and just wondered if we'd make it through the next 2 weeks. I was longing to have our sweet Rita and Michelle back instead. It seemed somewhat bleak, but by the time we got home things had gotten warmer and they were very sweet. It was late, so no one was up. I quietly showed them up their room and they were very happy. I showed them their bathroom and the closet for them to hang up their clothes. They showered me with gifts and seemed very comfortable at that point. We came down and had a quick cup of tea and then it was off to bed. The next morning was great. The kids were very welcoming to them and curious about who they were... asking lots of questions and getting lots of giggles. I took them to school and they asked if they could call me "mom". I said, "Of course!"

The way it goes is that they are here to learn better English, or at least, put into practice what they have been learning in China since they were very small. I dropped them off at their school each morning at 8:30 and they have class most days until noon. Then they go shopping, go to theme parks, go bowling, and other field trips with the rest of the group (there was a total of 10 kids this time, all from China). Then we picked them up at 5:30 each evening, except for the days they go to the theme parks, which get them home pretty late. On Sunday's they spend the entire day with us. Each day they would come home with candy and gifts for each of us. They were so sweet and affectionate. They always wanted lots of hugs and were happy to get back home to us, telling me, "mom, I miss you today." They told Matt several times, "You good Dad," and gave him TONS of candy (which is his love language BTW.) I mean, it's just an all around amazing experience.

Krystal was not feeling well by then end of week 1. I (along with her Chinese leader, Kathryn) took her to the doctor last Monday. She had been running a low grade fever and complaining of a sore throat. Kathryn and I hit it off. She lives in Hong Kong. I was hestitant to tell her about our adoption for fear that she might be offended, but I couldn't resist. I showed her a picture and she told me all about China's one child policy. She was so engaging. She invited us to stay with her in Hong Kong and told me she would show us around town. I tried telling her that our agency plans all of that for us and she said, "No. It too expensive that way. I show you." :) We swapped email addresses and I thanked her and told her I'd be in touch. We may not even fly into Hong Kong.
While at the doctor's office, Krystal was napping in a chair while Kathryn was snapping pictures of everything. It was quite funny. I asked her about medical care in China. She said you wait in a long line outside for a very long time and then the doctor calls you in, checks you out, and sends you out the door in like 5 minutes. She loved our pediatrician too. She wanted her picture taken with him as well. He was tickled and took great time talking to them and making them feel loved. It turned out that Krystal was fine. Just a virus of some sort. She perked up as soon as he said that and that was that. A little nap and some tylenol and she was good to go!

There is so much more to this story, but I gotta run. Stay tuned...

Blessings,
Rebecca