Hello again - this time from Zhengzhou!  I was too tired to post anything last night, so I'll give a run-down on yesterday's events. 

We had a great day Saturday as we toured a few more places in Beijing.  We started off at a jade factory, seeing lots of sculptures and jewelry - amazing work by gifted people.  Our guide told us how their workers spend many hours sculpting and carving to get things just right.  A couple of interesting things we saw...

That last one just made me chuckle...

Then we headed to The Great Wall and spent a couple of hours there.  It was amazing to see such a place, as well as difficult to climb the many, many steps!  I had joked before we left home that I would probably pass out by about the 10th step.  I made farther than that, but it wasn't long before I was puffing pretty hard.  The good news is that there were plenty of other people huffing and puffing right along beside me!  The steps are hard to climb because they are so uneven.  So you definitely have to hold on to the handrail.  But to me, coming down was the hardest!  Hannah and I went a good little ways up, but Chad and Matthew went on farther than we did.  It was a very neat experience, and one I won't soon forget.  Hannah and Matthew enjoyed it as well.


The Stuckey Pose!

Just for you, Jason Stuckey!

Princess Hannah in her tower!

We left the Great Wall and went to eat at a nearby restaurant for lunch. The food was good.  We've eaten lots of meat and veggies, noodles and rice.  But this is the most interesting thing we've been served since we've been here...

Then we left there to go by to see the Olympic Park where the 2008 games were held.  I just have to say that the driving in Beijing could be an Olympic sport!  Our bus driver gave me no fewer than a dozen heart attacks yesterday.  But praise the Lord, nothing happened - we were safe!

We then went to a Chinese acrobatic show.  Talented people, some of which can do some very interesting things.  Of course, alot of the show was dare devilish, which racked my already frazzled nerves.  Between the bus driver and the show, I was in need of a sedative!  We went back to the hotel and packed up things to be ready to head out this morning.
We left Beijing this morning and had a nice, not too long of a flight from there to Zhengzhou, which is in the Henan Province.  It's been a pretty low key day.  We settled into the hotel, got instructions from our new guide Rita about tomorrow.  Then us and our new friends Stephen and Jennifer walked down to Wal-Mart.  Let me just tell you, there is no adventure anywhere like that.  The traffic and cazy driving of Beijing does not compare to Zhengzhou!  Cars and buses everywhere.  Mopeds and bikes all over the place.  And all of them want to go at the same time.  It was pure entertainment to watch.  And Wal Mart in any country is always an adventure.  This one is on 3 different floors with an escalator that's flat so you can roll your cart right on up or down with you to the next floor. In Beijing, alot of things were in English, probably because of lots of tourism.  Here, hardly anything is in English.  I could barely figure out what anything was.  I never even found a couple of things on my list.  There were people everywhere! 

I'm looking at the time right now - 11:05 p.m. here...11:05 a.m. at home.  Boy am I missing Calvary Baptist Church right now!  I pray God graces you with His presence in a mighty way.  I will miss the music, the opening of the Word and the fellowship of brothers and sisters in Christ.  We had a sweet time of fellowship and prayer with Stephen and Jennifer this evening.  Their little boy is in the same orphanage Joshua is in, so we will travel together with them tomorrow to get both boys.    

In less than 12 hours, we will be on our way to where he is.  It is all coming together - just as God ordained it would and provided for it to be.  We will leave the hotel at 9:30 in the morning (that's 9:30 Sunday night back home).  We have about a 2 hr. drive to the meeting place - where for the first time we will lay eyes on our little Joshua Caleb. Our adoption agency rep. earlier handed each family an information sheet about the child to be adopted.  We had not received any information about him since last August, so I had no idea what to expect.  There are hundreds of children in this orphanage, so we're still not sure if all of this information is fully correct about him.  But a couple of things sound like God has picked just the right one for us...  Apparently, he still can't walk yet.  But that's ok, because big sister Hannah will want to tote him around for a while anyway!  I have no doubt she'll make sure he's taken care of.  And of all things for them to mention - he loves toy cars.  Well, big brother Matthew has that covered - he has plenty to share! 

I began to pack a few things a little bit ago - things I haven't packed in a long time - diapers, wipes, Gerber puffs, along with the sweet blanket from Laurie and the one Hannah made for him.  I'm not really nervous right now, I guess because of the way I've seen God work all this out.  I know the times He and I have shared together on this journey these last few years.  I've heard His voice, I've seen Him work, and I know He will be with us tomorrow.  Please pray for us these next few hours.  Pray especially for these 6 children that will be handed over tomorrow to arms that have longed for them for quite some time.  I'm so thankful to the Lord for this journey - oh, how I love Him!  Thank you to all who have supported us and encouraged us along the way.  We are eternally grateful.

I better get to bed and rest up for a God appointed, life changing day!