An Incredibly Busy Day

I'm not sure I have ever had a busier day than today. Our agency plans many activities for the first days in Beijing to help adjust to the time change and overcome jet-lag as quickly as possible. This is a great idea but living through it is exhausting! First on the agenda of course was getting up and getting ready. This went fine except for the moment when Melissa rushed into the bathroom saying "Mommy - your curling iron is smoking!" Sure enough it not only was smoking but the top had completely melted off. The converter the hotel gave us didn't quite work correctly :). Next came breakfast in the hotel's "breakfast room". It was basically a buffet - some western style food was included but there were also lots of things that I didn't recognize. I must admit I was not feeling very adventuresome so I stuck with rice and noodles.

Our first sightseeing stop was Tienanmen Square and the Forbidden City. Both of these were outside and the weather here is freezing. We spent about 2 hours touring the gates surrounding the square as well as the Forbidden City. The Square is surrounded by government buildings and has a monument in the middle. Our guide did not mention the demonstrations that have most recently made this place famous and I left wondering what the Chinese people think about those student demonstrations. The Forbidden City was absolutely huge! Our tour only went through the central part - and was all outside - we were able to look into some of the buildings but not go inside. The designs of the buildings is so very different from anything we have in America - and of course so much older. Our guide is a very caring Christian Chinese man - he is very proud of his country and emphasized over and over today how important history is to the Chinese people. They have 5,000 years of continuous recorded history - amazing!

Next was the best and most sad part of the day for me. We went to church at the International Christian Church. It was a wonderful service - it felt great to worship and sing with believers on the other side of the world. We even sang some songs I knew! The sad part was our guides could not join us - and neither could any other Chinese citizen. Government regulations prohibit anyone who is not a foreigner from attending - you have to present a passport to enter. It was a sad and strange feeling to be worshiping God, and hearing His Truth - and to know that outside those doors there is so much darkness and so many barriers in between. It really gave me a different understanding of the freedoms we enjoy in our country - and how much I have to be thankful for. I am so glad that Chloe will know the name of Jesus and learn about God - what an awesome thing!

After church came lunch at a buffet - I must admit that so far I haven't been too impressed with the Chinese cuisine we have tasted. The best part of lunch was the french fries - Melissa and I both had seconds :). We then went to a government run pearl factory. China does a big business in pearls and we were treated to a professional sales pitch by Rick - who informed us that he was the "little boss - the Chinese government was the Big boss - and that he would promise to give us all very special deals because we were the first American baby-adopting group of 2005. Not a very difficult accomplishment considering it is only January 2nd. :)

Next we visited the Summer Palace which is a place that the emperor and his family would go during the summers to escape the heat of the city. It was truly an amazing place with many incredible buildings and paintings and even a marble ship that would carry the emperor on the man made lake. If only it wasn't so cold. The weather is making it difficult to enjoy the outside sights.

After the Summer Palace we attended an Acrobatics Show. The athletic skills were impressive and obviously a source of pride for the Chinese people.

Finally we went to our Beijing Roasted Duck supper. Yes I did try it. It mostly tasted like chicken to me with a very potent plum-type of sauce on it. The restaurant that we went to was a government run establishment and was very interesting. Our group were the only people there. They served us many things - none of which I liked unfortunately - but Benjamin you can be proud Mommy tried almost everything! The other thing that really stuck out about this meal was that the plates that they provided for us to eat on were about 5 or 6 inches in diameter. Really Tiny!

We are back at the hotel now and looking forward to BED. In fact as I sit here typing this Dave and Melissa have already fallen asleep. Thank you so much everyone for your encouraging posts - it feels great to come back to the room and hear from special friends from the other more-familiar side of the world.

Charmin, thank you for your update on Pat and Michelle. I have been thinking about them so much and it was encouraging to hear that they are ok. Today in church we sang a song that brought Quinn to mind, the chorus went "better one day in your courts, better one day in your house, than thousands anywhere else". That comforted me just thinking that she truly does have what is better and more precious.

Sarah and Molly thank you so much for your prayers and encouragement! I love seeing your dear names.

Danielle and Eric - what a cool surprise, it is so good to hear from you! Danielle I actually was thinking about you today when many of the street venders were trying to sell us things. Friend, I was wishing that you were with me to help me negotiate :).

Only 1 more day without Chloe . . . . . . . . . Angie