The Past Two Days

It is nighttime here in Guangzhou.   Yesterday we spent our last hours in Hohhot and as Zoe peered through the window of our hotel to the streets of her providential homeland below, I thought about the differences between life here and in the United States.   The modes of transportation, the housing, the dusty streets and smoggy air, the food, water and lack of freedom of religion to name only a few.   We are truly blessed and without the chance to see how others with such a different life live, I don't think we can truly understand all that we have been given.


We said goodbye to our amazing guide Jessie and sent her on her way with three Bibles for her and her friends, special letters of appreciation and prayers that she too might come to trust in Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savior.  We saw her kind heart this week when she wept with us in the orphanage as she saw the children who spend their lives without a family.We had a three hour flight to arrive in Guangzhou by 7 pm and the girls did great.   Zoe fell asleep until the smell of warm Chinese food awakened her senses and Sasha spent the whole flight sitting in the row in front of us with a little boy whose family we had met in Hohhot.  As for Mikelle - she just made me laugh as we did the chinese stretches they showed us on the tv!
Today was a bit rough on all of us.   Zoe has learned her own way of dealing with things in the orphanage where the children become "streetwise" and tough pretty quickly.   Plus she is afraid of many things just like Sasha was but in addition has been without parents for longer and not in the care of a Christian women like Sasha.   She goes from being happy to mad and upset very quickly and sometimes we are just not sure what caused the problem.   I can only begin to imagine what things are going through her mind and how she must wonder who these strange people are who are taking her to all these different places and speaking in such a strange language etc.  I pray continually that she will grow to love us and come to know Jesus as her Lord and Savior at an early age and follow Him all the days of her life.


We had our medical appointment at Shamian Island, did some shopping there and then came back to our hotel for more paperwork.   Dinner tonight was at 1001 Nights which is a middle eastern restaurant which was wonderful.  Tomorrow off the Sasha's orphanage - a long emotional day again for sure.   Please keep us in your prayers as we strive to serve God to the best of our ability.

"From the ends of the earth, I cry to you for help when my heart is overwhelmed.   Lead me to the towering rock of safety, for you are my safe refuse, a fortress where enemies cannot reach me.  Psalm 62:2-3