"Daddy Spots"

It has been neat to see the transformation of Noelle that has happened in just a week. She no longer screams and cries every time we leave her side for a minute to go to the bathroom, change clothes, or some other task. She is getting more trusting. She has also learned to be spoon fed. We don't think she had done that before and she is now quite good at it. I am also enjoying the new "daddy spots" on my shirts. A daddy spot is usually a food, drool, or nose-based splotch where she puts her head and wipes her nose or mouth on me and on my shirt sleeve; these are the tell-tale signs that I am the daddy of a baby! Its great stuff.

Another wonderful part of the transformation has happened in us. Today we were talking and suddenly noticed a very new psychological phenomenon that we did not expect. We realized that we don't even see our little girl as being Chinese, we just see our sweet girl Noelle. We were shocked to realize that today. We LOVE that she is Chinese, are very proud of that fact, and think she is beautiful, but we just don't see any differences anymore. Its beyond that it doesn't matter (which is also true)- but its more than that. We really have to focus on that fact to realize it now. We just see our daughter. I'm not being idealistic, cheesy, or contrived with this, it is this interesting transformation that has happened in our minds in such a transforming way. It is really amazing and hard to explain- and we like it!

This is a neat picture of what happens when we come to Christ for salvation. There is total acceptance, total forgiveness, and total love and affection. He doesn't even see us for what we used to be or what we have done in the past. He "casts our sins into the sea of his forgetfulness" and remembers them no more. The Bible talks about us being adopted as sons into his family. Seeing our closeness to Noelle those adoption verses have a very rich meaning now. Once we come to the Lord by repenting and turning to him completely we are adopted and our past doesn't even matter to him and we don't have to worry about it. Adoption makes the child really yours and this is the case spiritually when we allow God to come into our lives. If Jamie and I in our weakness and limited capacity are able to bond in this amazing way imagine how we bond with the Lord when we come to him. Imagine how he rejoices in our adoption as sons with his great capacity to love. Imagine.

Yesterday our new friends from Arlington had a friend come into town to visit them for the week. She teaches English in North East China (I am keeping this vague to protect her). She told us about the underground "house church" movement in China (she attends one- they can barely fit in their current house, it is in overflow) and how there are many who are hungry for God who simply cannot learn about the Lord and study the Bible without fear of government reprisals and prison time. Sharing your faith is illegal. She told how she teaches English in various classes and is living in China for a year. She takes opportunities to share the Gospel with people in discreet ways and some people have come to Christ. She told how one underground church baptized someone she had shared the Lord with. He was an older man and he was baptized in near-freezing water because they did not have heated water. They would rather get sick in freezing water and risk being put in jail rather than not have Jesus. Her story made me feel so encouraged but so humbled. I'd like to do so much more than I do to share with others. We have so much freedom of religion and speech here that others in the world simply do not have. (you should see the police and others constantly watching all of us- they are everywhere and you become more and more aware of them every day and we have heard some stories of ridiculous examples of needless repression and control by the government- ask me later if you want to hear a couple of them) Lord help me to do better in using our freedoms to share with others- and thank you for it.

Today someone in one of the travel families was talking with our guide and learned that the people who are cleaning my hotel room or holding the elevator door open for me are paid around $48 USD per month. This is so sad I can't talk about it - and to think that is richer than those villagers we saw.. Pray for China with us. Freedom and democracy will give religious, speech, and economic freedom to these people.

Process update: Tomorrow (Monday - by the way we are 14 hours ahead of Texas time as an fyi so I am writing this at 11:17pm on Sunday night and for you I am writing this at 9:17am on Sunday morning) our guides take Noelle's passport and a bunch of U.S. government paperwork to the consulate for us and get her Visa! We have to stay in our room starting at noon because we have to be by the phone in case there are any problems. China adoption is so huge now with Americans (you have to think a dent must be being made in the need!) that the consulate can't handle all of us Americans coming in there so only the guides go now and bring our paperwork. Tuesday we are going to go to a U.S. consulate "swearing in" ceremony. I don't know exactly what I am swearing in for but I think it is that we will be good adoptive parents etc. I'll let you know.

We are scheduled to depart Guangzhou to Tokyo at 8:30am on Thursday via China Eastern Air. That flight is around 4 hours. Then we have a 7 HOUR layover in Tokyo (hurray..). Then we fly 11 hours from Tokyo to DFW via American and arrive at 3:40pm Texas time on Thursday. We tried to change our flight to Wednesday hoping something had changed since we last tried- nothing could be done. That's tough because we miss Maddie so much, we miss all our family and friends and ummm..... can't stop talking about Tex Mex. .... guilty!

Last thing: Check out the December 8th post again- now that I now how to use this system and add more than one picture I updated December 8th with 1 more photo of Tiananmen square (with the single tower) and then a bunch of the forbidden city (where the Emperor used to live) and the Summer Palace. Enjoy!