Day 11 - Shopping & River Cruise - Easter Sunday!!
So today was a down day that was filled with activities as we wait for medical exam reports and our consulate appointment. In order to make the waiting time go by quickly as well as to enjoy our visit to China we usually get to go on excursions on our down days. Today’s visits included some special wholesale & touristy shopping as well as an evening cruise on the Pearl River!
While at breakfast we decided on doing a short Easter devotional reminder about Jesus from John 20:31. Although God had communicated his love through the Bible and the prophets over the years, Jesus’ coming was the fulfillment of His love so that we might believe and have life. After Jesus’ resurrection he appeared to give evidence of His love so that His disciples and others would believe and receive His love forever.
Adoption has some similarities to Jesus’ coming and future return. John 14:18 explains "I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.” As we’ve progressed through the adoption process we’ve been writing and sending pictures of our love to the US and China so that the news might eventually reach our daughter Mia that she is chosen for and loved by a forever family. When we finally appeared to her, it was further evidence that we are who we say we are and that our love for her is real. Now she is with us forever, we get to continue to evidence our love for her forever! What a Resurrection Sunday joy to be adopting on Easter!
After breakfast, our first stop was to a six story huge mall full of wholesale jewelry and specially shops. Shop after shop was full of individual items like pearls, jade, amber, turquoise, diamonds, embroidery and more! We spent most of our visit at a pearl shop. The variety and quantity of the selection was amazing. Think Hobby Lobby of pearls all packed in one jewelry store. After you pick out the string of pearls you desire, they transfer the pearls to a string for your bracelet or necklace, tying each pearl off with some impressive craftsmanship and speed. They also make beautiful dangling earrings with any spare pearls from your string. Pretty incredible!
After the mall shopping we ventured to Shamain Island. The architecture and landscaping is reminiscent of its British colonial heritage. We greatly enjoyed a Christian
owned shop where we purchased most of our souvenirs. She had quite the selection and was so kind to give special deals to adoptive families. She also gives a percentage of what she earns to charity for orphans. How could we not support her??? She even said “God Bless You” as we left, which is not a phrase you hear often here. Brittney felt a special connection to her especially when Amy gave her a bracelet after making a purchase. Brittney plans to wear the bracelet to remember to pray for Amy, the owner of the shop. Being a Christian in a communist country is hard and she needs our prayers.
We went back to our hotel room with the hopes of a nap because of a late night ahead, but as all parents know, sometimes our kids are not so cooperative. So naptime turned into not-naptime. Haha!
Pearl River Cruise! We’ve been looking forward to this! We started out on the first floor and ate our pizza before heading to the roof for some beautiful views. The Pearl River runs through Guangzhou (a city of 20 million!!) and skyscrapers line the banks with amazing color changing LED lighting. One set of about 10 buildings has coordinated lights that together looks like a TV screen of sorts. The coolest part was the final turnaround point where the tallest TV tower in the world is, with an amazing light show surrounding it!
Our Easter journey to see lights on river was a great reminder of the even greater, more magnificent and captivating Light of the World that we have in Jesus. With Him as our Lord and Savior we get to join Him in radiating His great love to the dark world around us!
We got the best Easter Gift to finish our day! Mia called us “Mommy” and “Daddy” for the first time! She said “I love my family” too! Mia is a very shy girl, especially in public, so every word she utters is a big step out away from fear and anxiety. After our River Cruise Sophia and her were being silly and in her joyous relaxation she talked a ton to us. What a gift it was to hear our daughter verbally love us back on Easter Sunday!
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