China Adventure Day 10

 
Today was our first day in Guangzhou. We had to wake up early for Selah’s medical appointment, which was unfortunate since Selah was up until about 2 am. She still has a hard time going to sleep. But, we found out from our guide today that what she is crying for at night is milk (which we didn’t know what she was saying in Chinese), so hopefully tonight she’ll be a little soothed when we give her a bottle at bed time.
 
We met up with all five of the other couples adopting from our agency (three of us were in Guiyang last week and the three others were in different provinces adopting up their kids from other orphanages) and loaded up in a bus to head to our medical appointments. It was pretty busy in the medical office. We were led to a section of the office just for adopting families where we had to go into different offices assembly-line style for different things (ENT, general exam, and a blood/TB test). Selah was VERY brave and only cried a little when they took blood. As long as her TB test clears, we will be cleared for our consulate appointment on Wednesday! As busy and crazy as the medical office was, it was amazing. This small little room was FILLED with families adopting orphans from China. Along with the six families from our agencies, we met lots of other families who were also adopting. There was a lot of Jesus’ love in that room! It was uncomfortable, chaotic, and filled with tears. If you think about it, isn’t that what serving God is all about?
 
After the medical appointment, our guide took all of us to the Wal-Mart to load up on supplies for the week such as water, diapers, formula, and snacks. This Wal-Mart was also underground, but much nicer than the one in Guiyang. It looked cleaner than most of the Wal-Marts in the states! We bought four cases of water to last us (hopefully) the remainder of our trip (we can’t drink the tap water here), a sippy cup and a toy ball for Selah, and some Chinese snacks that Selah likes (she asks for “wo she ma” ALL the time).
 
After we got back, we played in the room for awhile with Selah. She is really opening up! She talks on and on in Chinese and cracks herself up. Her smile just lights up the room. When she got bored, we explored our hotel a little. This hotel has a pool, a little playground, a Starbucks, and a garden. It’s amazing! We’ve never been in a hotel this nice. It is a welcome respite from last week. We are excited to go swimming with Selah for the first time tomorrow.
 
We ventured out to find a noodle place for dinner with three other families. It turned out to not be a great experience; we had a woman follow us the whole way and then sit and stare (without eating) the entire time we were there. It was so uncomfortable that we left halfway through our meal. She followed us out of the restaurant and asked us to buy things for her. We just walked back to our hotel and she stopped. It was definitely a weird experience.
 
Now we're still working on getting Selah to sleep. Bedtime is so hard for her, She is so happy all day and then really fears bedtime. Pray that her little heart would be comforted and that she will know that Dan and I will always be here when she wakes up. Thank you all for your continued prayers!