Day 9: "but JOY comes in the morning." Psalm 30:5

On Friday, January 22, we actually slept in until 6:30 am.  Hallelujah!  I may be a night owl, but I love my sleep. The kids rested well too.  When I woke up, Toby was playing with our Nabi (a kids ipad) with Talia. They were both laughing and smiling. It was a sight to see. We had an appointment at 9:15 so we had to quickly get ready, eat breakfast and meet our guide. We were supposed to go sightseeing to a museum today, but we had a change of plan.  All children who leave the country have to have a medical exam before they enter the US.  It is a very general exam plus a TB test.  Since our consulate appointment is on Monday, our guide thought it best to do our medical appointment today instead of on Saturday. So we got our documents ready and headed to the medical facility.   On the way there, Toby and Talia were playing around with the arm rests and laughing their heads off. It was delightful to hear her laughing and smiling. I had not gotten a reaction like that all week.  She is starting to feel the love of a family and beginning to feel joy!! Joy did come in the morning! (:
 Talia did great at the doctor.    She did her TB test with zero tears just like Toby when he was here. Two years prior, we sat in this same area with a VERY fidgety Toby ( just ask my older kids) and tried to keep him in line.  Impossible!  Today, two years later, he was still fidgety, but I did see some improvement when comparing the two timeframes.  He still has a long way to go.....bless his heart, but I love him soooooo much.
Talia on the other hand is alot more calm and compliant  (for now ). Hopefully, Toby won't influence her too much on how to get into everything. (:
We left the medical appointment,  and decided to go to a Chinese temple.  This was not a tourist attraction,  but a real temple that people came to worship Buddha.  There were several stations with statues where people would bring candy, fruit, money and flowers to lay down in front of these idols. After leaving the gift, they would light incense, pray and go on to the next station. Because we were with another Christian family, we decided to silently pray for these precious people to find Jesus. As Christians, we believe Jesus is the true Savior of the world. We believe He came a long way from heaven to die on a cross for the sins of the world.  We also believe He conquered death and came back to life on the third day. We believe Jesus did this for ALL people. He loves the world.....and has room in His big family for EVERYBODY. He loves all nations!
As I was standing there watching these people worship Buddha, the thought struck me that no other world religion has such a beautiful story to tell as Christianity does. It really is Good News. It's so beautiful that God decided to use the language of Adoption to describe this beauty.  (Read it for yourself in the book of Ephesians)

Because the weather was in the 40's and rainy,  we were very cold. We left and went back to the hotel to warm up. We chilled out in the room and the kiddos played together. They are going to be best friends forever. We met some friends for dinner at Mr. Pancho's Mexican restaurant.  Loved it! Oh the Salsa!!!! And Chips!!  Now I want Moes!!! And Chick fil a sweet tea!!
Walked back to the hotel, and gave the kids a bath and got them in bed. Talia did not shed one tear today!!  Praise the Lord that healing has begun.
 One week from tonight, we will be flying into Dayton.  We are excited to get back home to see our big kids and did I mention MOES and sweet tea?