Day 6 with Olivia

Today is Sunday so we went to church. There happens to be a Catholic church just a few blocks away from our hotel. We walked in and were the only white people there.....and people were lookin'. We got some help finding a place to sit (it's a small church and it was almost full by the time we arrived) and tried to follow along. I was actually amazed at how easy that was to do. You could tell what part of the mass it was and I would quietly say the English version of what was said. You could tell when the priest was saying "Peace be with you" and you could tell when it was time to recite the Lord's Prayer. The kiss of peace was so nice. Everyone around us either shook our hand or gave a nod with their hands together in front of them. They were all smiling at us and so genuine. It was really something actually when you think about it. Here we are, half way around the world, with different cultures, different language, different look, different expectations in life and yet we were all there in that church serving the same God, the same Christ. For that hour, I didn't feel so different at all.

After mass was over, we headed outside where we were met by many Chinese people wanting to talk to us. A couple spoke English and others spoke in Chinese but you could see in their eyes and faces they were pleased. We were asked many questions about her and if she was our first child. They all gasped when we said we have 5 sons at home. Everyone does here....they can't possibly relate to such a large family. And the church women, like every other person we've met who's found out about our 5 sons, told us we are very lucky and that we would be very popular in China. Shortly after, the Priest walked outside too and he spoke English really well. He asked us about our family and told us she was a lucky girl to be getting adopted by us. He then asked if we were planning on having her Baptized. We told her it is already scheduled for April 10th. He was very happy about that and surprised that it was already arranged. We talked for a bit more with everyone and then said goodbye to the sound of many Chinese people saying "God Bless You". It was one of the best parts of our trip so far......honestly. As we walked back to the hotel, I told Jason that I'm sure they are so happy to see her being adopted into a Christian family. She had no hope of ever knowing Jesus as long as she stayed in that orphanage.

Later we met up with Barb and Mark again (they went to church with us too but hadn't stayed after as long cuz their little one was getting hungry) and had some lunch together. Today's weather is the nicest it's been since we arrived....about 76' today....so we ate out on the patio and the guys shared a pitcher of beer.

Afterwards, we went to a park right next to the restaurant and the kids played for quite a while.

Livi had so much fun. I wondered if she's had the chance to go down a slide like that before.

She sure loved it!

She started crying when we left and she doesn't do that very often at all.

We went around to a couple shops where Jason started learning how to play China's version of 'hacky sack'. It was funny and the girl from the shop was getting quite the kick outta him.

Kinda took it easy the rest of the afternoon and met up again for dinner. We walked for about 15 minutes to get to a "western" style restaurant only to find out it had gone out of business and a French one had taken over. Good Lord....French? I can't even imagine what would be on a french menu. But, we were there and we were hungry so we went in. Well, to keep it short and sweet, it was probably the worst meal I've had since we've been in China. I ordered a Mediterranean style salad. Um...no. Not even close. Even with everything they said was on it, it was terrible and I could hardly eat any of it. Jay liked his okay, but Mark decided he's done 'branching out'....which is what we said we were doing when we decided to stay at the French place. Haha....no more adventures for him. I'm kinda with him actually. One thing I will NOT miss here is the food. I think the only time I haven't been disappointed with some aspect of my meal was when we've gone to McDonalds and when we ordered Papa Johns one night. All I can say is that I am dying for some homemade spaghetti and french bread......anything just normal and flavorful. No more bland, blah food thank you very much.

Well, time for bed, it's late and tomorrow we are spending the day at the zoo. Til then......