We woke this morning to sunshine and cool temperatures. At breakfast we met a few other adoptive families who are here at the hotel for the week finishing their paperwork as well. Sweet people and wonderful kids. After breakfast, we wandered the streets around the hotel and found.......a Starbucks! Kirstin's homing chip was at work. Soon after our guide Connie met us and we walked to the clinic for Elsa's medical exam. This experience which all adopted children from China share is a rite of passage and a US government requirement. After moving from room to room, the doctor finally looked Elsa over and stamped her records. Now we wait to have the TB test read before her visa is issued. After the exam, Connie went through more paperwork with us and our itinerary for the rest of the week here.
The rest of our day here involved walking this beautiful island, shopping, people watching, and resting. Since it's a Saturday, there are lots of people shopping here. There are unique food booths set up in the square. We tried the crepes with mango and loved them. We found a few shops that catered to adoptive families. The shop keepers are sweet. One man, Jordan, found us on the street and gave us his card. We later saw his shop and went in. He offered to do a calligraphy of Elsa's name for free while we waited. Throughout the day, we got text updates from the boys as to their whereabouts. We are so excited to see the tomorrow! We walked into a few restaurants to see what was on their menu for tonight before settling on eating dinner at Lucy's, a popular spot on the island.
Elsa continues to get to know us and we are more and more familiar with what she needs and how to meet those needs. Dad is still her favorite, but the two of us walked around the island alone for an hour or so this afternoon to give Dad a break. After the initial shock of "where's Baba?" , we had a great time together. Definite progress. Her smiles were few today. I think the late night of travel yesterday and the medical visit today have taken its toll. Annika and Mari are great with her. And they are a big help to Mom and Dad! It is wonderful to be here with them. Annika is experiencing a new side of adoption. Her soft heart is obvious as she deals with her new little sister. I am excited for Elsa to meet her brothers tomorrow!
We ended the day at church for the Christmas Eve service. We were there earlier in the day to find out what time the service was scheduled to start. They told us to get there early for the 7:30 service because it would be crowded. At 7pm we arrived and there were crowds outside the closed gates of the church. We assumed that they were waiting to open the gates until a certain time. The longer we stood there in the crowd, it became obvious that we were not getting in. Someone from the church told us that the church was already full and that's why the gates were closed. The rest of the people who couldn't get a seat were waiting outside to hear the service on the speakers mounted on the fence. Some were crowded around a blank wall of the church to watch a video feed of the service. We were overwhelmed by the desire of so many Chinese believers to worship the newborn King. We sang with the congregation in the pews, " O come let us adore Him, Christ the Lord."
Beautiful Shamian Island.
One of our favorite shops!
Sampling some unique food.
Having fun with one of the many bronze statues.
One of the items on a menu in one of the restaurants near by.
We asked someone to take our picture... this is what we got.
Christmas Eve dinner at Lucy's.
Complete with complimentary Santa Claus hats.
Waiting outside the church for the Christmas Eve service.
Merry Christmas!
