12/23 Things are going very well here

We have finally finished all our paperwork and tours and have a week to ourselves before we come home so I have time to blog again. Thank you for checking in on us. I want to pick the story from last Monday 12/19 and let you know how the week has gone.

As I wrote before, we met Jen on Monday and she was in shock as you can imagine. We had prayed that she would be brave and she was. Our Chinese guide/facilitator saw her in the waiting room before we met her and said she was doing great. The actual meeting was in a crowded room with many families waiting on their babies. After some pictures and the exchange of gifts with the orphanage vice director, we left for the hotel. I've written previously about Jen's first moments at the hotel in a previous post. So this is where I'll begin tonight.

Kristy and I studied Chinese for about 3 months before coming it has been very helpful. Just so you understand, we can't speak Chinese or communicate with adults but we learned enough so we could talk to Jen. She was able to understand us when we said simple phrases like "do you understand?", "do you need to use the bathroom?", etc. So on that first day we tried our best to say what we could. We walked her around the hotel and showed her the waterfall and the Christmas decorations. Then we came upstairs and let her choose an outfit to wear to dinner.
At first, she had difficulty with more than 2 choices. A choice from 3 options was too much for her. But she enjoys picking either this or that shirt, the pink vs the red pajamas, etc. On Monday evening, we met our guide for dinner at a nice Chinese restaurant just down the street from the hotel. We posted 1 picture from the meal. By then, she was comfortable enough to eat an entire meal. Our guide, who has been fantastic, talked to her throughout the meal although she would only respond with a headshake or not at all. She is extremely shy in public and it takes a while for her to speak to adults although many try to engage her. When they speak Cantonese she usually acknowledges them but rarely responds. We are not sure whether that is just her personality or if it is something else...the orphanage said she was very quiet.

On Monday, we tried to follow the routine she had in the orphanage so she took a bath and got ready for bed on her own. We showed her the bed and she crawled right in with her bear beside her. She was not speaking at that time or making eye contact. She let us touch her but wasn't engaging us at all. I held her hand a lot on day 1 just to comfort her as we walked around but her grip was very loose. We went to bed just so amazed that she was doing so well all things considered.

On Tuesday, we began what has become our usual routine of going to the breakfast buffet overlooking the Pearl River. This has been a blessing because she likes the food (Chinese and American offerings) and it has given us some much needed structure. The serving dishes are labelled in Chinese and English so that has helped us and her. She can read (in the 3rd grade) and can make decisions about food choices with no trouble. The buffet gives us tranquil and dependable start for each day. That morning, we had to go through a short interview with the local officials to finalize her adoption. Then we took Jen to see the doctor because she arrived from the orphanage with something like bronchitis. We are still watching that but for now we aren't treating it -- she is not showing symptoms except for a cough. They don't do a thorough medical check so that will have to wait until we return to Houston.

Jen has been a super compliant child and wants to please us. I think part of it is that she was told to be that way by her caretakers as they prepared her for adoption. But I think it is mostly because she is truly a sweet child that has a wonderful heart. I told Kristy that she is the kind of child I wish I could have raised. If my natural born 10 year old was this well behaved and had this kind of sweet spirit, I would be very thankful. We have the orphanage staff to thank for placing such a well-raised child in our care. I think about Paul's words to the Corinthians when he is talking about the role that he and Apollos had in shepherding the church... he said...I planted, Apollos watered but God gives the increase. What I mean is that Jen's life is a gift that began in the care of others and now the job of raising her has been transferred to us. We are thankful for the job they did and hope we can do as well as they have done to raise her up to be a sweet young woman.

Tuesday was a typical day for the week....very busy...and Jen was doing very well but not talking and not engaging us. We met again for Chinese food that night with our guide. Jen has immaculate table manners and it is a marvel...really. She eats slowly like Kristy and enjoys her food.

Wednesday we got the final adoption decree and then went clothes shopping for Jen. That was an experience -- we went to Chinese equivalent of Macy's and found some nice clothes for her. There are lots of baby items near our hotel but for children her age we needed to go a store like this. Then we went to McDonald's -- it was her first time.

I still can't post pictures but am trying...

I'll pick up the rest of the week in the next post. The highlights of the week so far have been going to church 2 times, meeting a couple from SC who adopted a little girl and the breakthroughs we have had with Jen in the last 3 days.

To give you a preview: Jen is calling us Momma and Daddy, hugging us, having the time of her life in the bathtub, correcting our Chinese, learning English daily and she is bonding to us.
She followed along today in church and understand way more than us as it was largely in Mandarin with English translation.

Will post more soon